Though paralyzed, still radiantly charming!

Chapter 175: Could he outrun a bullet?

After trying for a while, Ryan felt utterly powerless. His plan to sabotage himself was veering way off course.

Initially, Ryan went straight for pissing off Alice, but no matter what he tried, he couldn’t succeed.

Alice’s tolerance for him was surprisingly high. Even when Ryan went as far as to kiss her in her bed, all she did was push him away.

Seeing Alice’s Favorability towards him only confirmed that his usual self-sabotage tactics were useless.

So, he decided to help Alice first and then betray her at the most critical moment, thinking that such a drastic turn of events would definitely make Alice despise him.

But once again, he was left confused. Now, her Favorability was increasing, only ten points away from the system’s warning level of seventy.

Trying to sabotage things now seemed futile,Alice’s Favorability was rock solid, and instead, his own Darkening level kept increasing, which was the last thing he wanted.

What was he supposed to do now?

If he didn’t comply with Miss Alice, her Darkening level would max out long before her Favorability ever decreased.

“Miss Alice, is this pressure okay?” Ryan asked as he massaged her shoulders.

“Mmm…”

Back in reality, Ryan was gently massaging Alice’s shoulders, his earlier resolve crumbling in an instant.

Alice was great, really charming, but as Ryan inhaled the cool fragrance of the person in his arms, he couldn’t muster any ill intentions,he was still worried about his future.

“So, Miss Alice, what are you actually planning to do? Why does it feel like everyone’s against you?” Ryan asked while continuing the massage, thinking that getting Miss Alice to end him might take a longer strategy. He felt the real issue was the crisis Alice was in.

Alice was definitely not acting normal. What normal person just ups their Darkening level on a whim?

There had to be a reason for her abnormal behavior, and Ryan believed it was related to the environment she was in.

If he could get Alice back to normal, to have the emotional reactions of a regular person, maybe then she might kill him in a fit of anger?

This didn’t conflict with Ryan’s original plan of betrayal,he just added this new angle to his strategy.

Keep helping Alice, then betray her at the most crucial moment, only now he added changing her environment completely to make her emotionally normal.

“Let them oppose if they want to, a bunch of old relics, they need a cleanup,” Alice said slowly, her eyes closed, not finishing her sentence. She was about to add that as long as Ryan didn’t oppose her, they could continue with their plans.

But that didn’t sound like something she would say,she had never relied on anyone, only others relied on her.

After saying this, Miss Alice fell silent, just quietly enjoying Ryan’s service.

Ryan’s confusion grew,Miss Alice hadn’t given any crucial information. It seemed he would have to figure out what was really going on by himself.

It felt like Miss Alice wasn’t entirely the villain he had imagined, quite far from the villain Ryan had in mind.

Of course, this was also a good thing, at least Ryan didn’t feel guilty while helping her.

The car hadn’t stopped once, and Ryan looked out at the roads, unsure where they were.

Two minutes ago, many cars identical to the one Alice was in had appeared,Hannah’s security arrangements had arrived.

Ryan opened the mission panel and checked the unresolved danger status,they still hadn’t completely shaken off the assassins.

Was he supposed to chase them down to a gang hangout now?

Ryan tensed up, with Hannah not around, he naturally had to take on the role of protecting Miss Alice.

Eventually, the vehicle smoothly stopped in front of a building, a hotel that looked much more modest than Tony’s place, just a simple business with no extra frills.

“This is my property,” Alice noted as Ryan surveyed the hotel, implying there wasn’t much danger here.

Ryan nodded. Miss Alice, true to her mafia princess role, made such statements seem effortless.

If Ryan owned this hotel, he’d probably just lie down and let the days pass, collecting money.

Alice had informed Ryan about the ownership, but Ryan still remained on high alert.

Even though the hotel was Alice’s, it didn’t mean everything inside was safe.

What if an assassin had bribed a waiter or the lobby manager? Wouldn’t it be terrifying if he wasn’t prepared at all?

The bodyguards gathered around, waiting for Ryan’s orders. With Hannah gone, Ryan had clearly become the man in charge.

Feeling a bit awkward under everyone’s gaze, Ryan wondered how Hannah managed to handle so much attention.

“Hannah told you all what to do, right?” Ryan coughed twice, trying to sound a bit more authoritative.

“Report, assistant, we have a rough idea,” one of the bodyguards responded.

Ryan hoped Hannah had already trained them well, and thankfully, it seemed she had.

Although Ryan had accidentally saved Alice before, his professional skills were lacking. If he had to arrange everything now, he’d surely disappoint everyone.

“Stick to the original plan. Pull a team to verify the identities of all hotel staff.”

“If there are too many people, disperse them and replace the service staff with our own,” Ryan commanded the bodyguards. It was his first time doing this, but he had seen enough TV to pull it off with some flair.

Miss Alice glanced over unintentionally, her attention caught by Ryan’s serious demeanor. Then, something seemed to irritate her, and she shot Ryan a displeased look.

The security Hannah had arranged for her seemed full of holes. Alice couldn’t believe that Ryan’s reaction was just that of a graduate student.

Ryan wasn’t very obedient, and he still kept many secrets from her.

Feeling the chill from Alice’s cold stare, Ryan shivered.

[Alice Mood Level-3, Current 72/100 (Pleasant)]

Miss Alice was being fickle again. It wasn’t easy to increase the Mood Level, so why the sudden change?

Ryan immediately dropped what he was doing and ran over to Alice, who just huffed and walked into the hotel.

Ryan’s attempt to appease her had failed.

But it was okay, as long as the Darkening level didn’t increase. If the Mood Level dropped, a few more massages might just bring it back up.

The meeting was set on the fifteenth floor of the hotel. After escorting Alice up, Ryan got busy.

With previous experience in mind, he first checked for any tall buildings nearby.

The fifteenth floor was considered high here, and apart from a few rooftops in the distance, there were hardly any buildings of this height.

Then, feeling uneasy, Ryan drew all the curtains and switched to the conference room’s internal lighting.

Now, snipers were out of luck. He didn’t believe they posed much of a threat without a clear line of sight.

After finishing these preparations, a bodyguard approached Ryan.

In the last few minutes, they had dispersed all the hotel staff and replaced the waitstaff with their own people.

Ryan followed the bodyguard for another inspection to ensure there were no suspicious individuals before nodding in approval.

It was 1:30 PM, half an hour before the meeting was due to start, and attendees were gradually arriving at the hotel.

Ryan had arranged for the bodyguards to guide people on the first floor, while he sneaked into the hotel’s kitchen. Alice hadn’t eaten yet, and he thought he might swipe a piece of bread or something for her.

‘Swipe’ might not be the right word, considering everything in the kitchen belonged to Alice. Bringing her something from her own kitchen was just returning it to its rightful owner.

The kitchen was huge, the kind Ryan had only seen on TV shows.

He was surprised to see a seafood tank in the back kitchen, and couldn’t help but smack his lips at the sight of the large lobsters swimming around. The lifestyle of the wealthy was truly beyond his imagination.

But serving up a lobster to Miss Alice wasn’t practical,her appetite wasn’t exactly robust. Ryan continued on, his primary target being the fridge.

However, as he ventured deeper, Ryan started to sense that something was off.

Was that a noise?

The moment he realized it, Ryan stopped in his tracks and quickly scanned the surroundings.

The stark white tile walls suddenly seemed oppressive, and the sound of rummaging continued—it wasn’t just his imagination.

Crash—

Something sounded like it shattered, the noise exploding in Ryan’s mind.

His adrenaline surged, enveloping him in a sense of danger he had never felt before. His teeth began to chatter.

Could it be that the assassin had followed him here?

He hadn’t been this scared even when he was hundreds of feet away from the assassin before. Now, Ryan truly felt the fear, every inch of his skin exposed to the air felt vulnerable.

He had to get out. Facing the assassin head-on wasn’t an option,he wouldn’t even be a snack for them. Ryan’s heart pounded uncontrollably, and he dared not linger any longer.

His eyes fixed ahead, he began to step backward slowly, his palms sweating, his breathing heavy.

But after only a few steps back, the noise stopped, as if whoever was making it had realized someone else was in the kitchen.

A chill ran down Ryan’s spine, and the kitchen fell into eerie silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Ryan fought the urge to run,fleeing now would be the most irrational move. Could he outrun a bullet?

He dared not make another move, just kept his gaze fixed towards the direction of the fridge.

Creak—

The fridge door closed, and a figure slowly emerged from behind the counter.