Return Of The Prodigy
Return of the Prodigy Chapter 130

After dealing with Gemma's troubles, Adam returned to Hartley Group.

As he got upstairs, he saw an anxious-looking Katie.

Adam frowned. "What happened?"

Katie briefed him as she left her office, "Something happened to one of the engineers we sent to survey Plot No. 3. He disappeared, and we don't even know if he's still alive." Adam felt a chill in his heart. "I'll go with you. Did you inform the police?"

Katie nodded, her worry evident.

The company had yet to start building on Plot No. 3, yet something had happened already. If this matter was not handled carefully, it could have a huge impact on Hartley Group. The duo headed downstairs, and Adam drove Katie all the way to Phoenix Mountain.

Phoenix Mountain was located northwest of Lisle, not far from the downtown area. To preserve the beautiful scenery, Urban Planning had decided to turn the place into a tourist attraction, which could also help raise Lisle's popularity.

Half an hour later, the couple arrived at the foothills. The police were already at the scene with a rescue team, combing the entire area.

Katie quickly looked for another engineer and asked, "What happened? Can you tell me where Mr. Mann went missing?"

A total of 13 engineers were sent to survey Plot No. 3. The person that went missing was Carl Mann, a senior engineer in his fifties. Hartley Group paid a considerable sum to hire him; he was the leader of the survey team.

"It was close to Area 2. Mr. Mann said there was a cliff that could be turned into a waterfall. He wanted to survey the area in person so headed there all alone.

"Forty minutes ago, we heard his scream through the walkie-talkie, followed by silence. We tried to contact him through his phone and walkie-talkie, but he didn't pick up either." The engineer recounted the story. Then he asked, "Ms. Hartley, do you think something happened to him?"

Katie did not know how to reply, and she could only comfort the man saying, "Don't worry, we'll do our best to find him."

Then, she headed toward the mountain.

Adam stopped her and said, "Stay here and coordinate with the research team. I'll look for the missing engineer. Where is Area 2?"

"It's this place," said an engineer while pointing at a certain place on the map.

Adam glanced at the map and walked away.

Katie looked at his retreating back and reminded him, "Be careful!"

-

At this time, in the capital.

Mario Morales sat in a wheelchair, still recovering from his injuries. Silas Camden sat opposite him, on the other side of a table. Chips and cards were scattered on the table, but neither Silas nor Mario were in the mood to play. The room was empty but for the two of them.

Ever since his father was forced to shut down the casinos in Alameda County, Mario had turned the luxurious villa he lived in into a casino to relieve his boredom. But as he did not dare to open it to the public, there were no guests, and a casino without players was bound to be boring no matter how fancy it was.

Mario was trying to kill his boredom when Silas dropped in.

"Hehe, Mario, why the long face? Did something happen?" asked Silas, his eyes narrowed.

Mario glanced at him and said calmly, "Aren't you in the same situation? I've heard of Plot No. 3."

Silas' eyebrows twitched. "Perhaps we should stop taking a dig at each other and form an alliance. That's why I came here."

Mario was taken aback. He frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

Silas smiled and explained, "Are you telling me that you don't want to take revenge after what happened? I won't take it lying down, and I've already started to make preparations."

Mario asked in surprise, "Are you going to deal with that bastard?"

Silas shook his head. "My goal isn't to take down Adam Drake but the Hartleys. After all, I'm a businessman."

Mario pursed his lips, seemingly not interested in the Hartleys. "I'm only interested in that bastard. I want to tear him to pieces!"

Silas laughed and said, "That's why I came to you. I'll deal with the Hartleys, and you deal with Adam Drake. How about it?"

Mario sneered, "Silas, do you think I'm an idiot? I don't even need to use my brain to see that you're trying to use me to get rid of that guy! The Hartleys aren't worth shit without Adam Drake. Thanks for leaving the hardest job to me!"

Silas raised an eyebrow and asked, "Mario, do you know any inside information? I told my men to investigate that guy, but they found nothing out of the ordinary."

Mario kept silent for a few seconds and said with a solemn expression, "I'm also not too sure about what happened, but my old man told me not to pick a fight with Adam Drake. To make sure that I didn't try anything, he even confined me to this place." Silas' expression turned serious. "Not even El Coco wants him as an enemy?"

Mario said with a sigh, "As I said, I'm not sure what's going on. In all these years, it is my first time seeing my old man being so cautious. However, he didn't tell me the details no matter how I asked."

Damn, even El Coco is scared of him? Is that guy's background really so scary?

Silas had come here for two reasons. First, he wanted to gather more information on Adam. No matter how he thought, he could not figure out why someone like Mario Morales had not taken revenge after the humiliation he had suffered at the wedding. Second, he wanted to drag Mario into this mess. As long as Mario was on board, El Coco would also be on board.

After losing Plot No. 3 and returning to the capital, Silas had been scolded by his father, and the power of the Camdens he could borrow was limited. He needed allies.

However, Mario's answer was out of his expectations.

"I see. Since this is El Coco's will, there is nothing we can do. You can ignore everything I said earlier." Silas smiled and did not continue with this topic.

However, Mario was not done just yet. "Anyway, how did you want to deal with the Hartleys?"

Silas shrugged and said casually, "I lost Plot No. 3 to the Hartleys, so the first thing to do is to get it back. But if I can't have that piece of land, I'll make sure no one gets it.

"The initial plan was to turn Plot No. 3 into a tourist attraction, so I'm going to make the land unusable and stop all of their attempts to build on it."

Mario sneered, "Your plan sounds like shit. You might harm them, but you're not gaining anything from it. What's the point of stopping the construction work if you can't have the land for yourself? You'd just be wasting your money and time." "This is just the first step. I also have a plan to get the land back and snatch all of the Hartleys' assets," Silas explained.

Mario said scornfully, "That sounds too troublesome. You can just hire a bunch of killers or foreign mercenaries and have them kill that bastard. After all, once he's dead, all of our problems will be solved."

Silas thought to himself, Do you think I can't come up with such a simple plan by myself? Hiring killers is supposed to be your job!

"Thanks for the reminder, but I don't really know which killers are the best or how to bring in foreign mercenaries into the country unnoticed. It seems I can only proceed with my snail-paced plan. It's fine, though. I'm not in a hurry for now. "Anyway, I've said what I wanted to say, it's time I take my leave. Mario, I wish you a quick recovery, and if you're bored, I can send some of my men to play cards with you." Then, Silas got up and walked toward the exit.

Mario's expression was hazy. There was nothing outrageous about what Silas had said, but Mario found his words grating on the ears.

Wishing me a quick recovery and sending people to play cards with me...

Does he think I'm an old man on the verge of retirement? Or is he insulting me because I'm trapped here and unable to take revenge? Mario lost his temper and shouted, "Wait!"

A smile appeared on Silas' face. Then, he turned around and asked in puzzlement, "Yes?"