The police did not anticipate that the bomb was not placed inside the Century International Group building but in the parking lot in front of it. The deafening explosion diverted everyone's attention, and the police swiftly shifted their search focus to the parking lot.
Louie's Chevrolet was blasted high into the air by the bomb, subsequently damaging a police car. The white car's body was now unrecognizable, rendering it completely totaled. Car debris scattered everywhere, and the damaged police car's emergency lights continued to flicker.
Louie's face turned ashen, clenching his fists, cursing, "Damn bastards, daring to mess with me. The tiger doesn't roar in vain; they think I'm a sick cat."
Rarely witnessing Louie angry, Isabella chuckled inwardly, thinking, "Serves you right. I won't let you make snide remarks now. I'm going to thoroughly embarrass you." While contemplating this, she felt a sudden chill throughout her body, as if the air around her had plummeted. Confused, she looked at Louie and sensed he had transformed into a different person. His face was iron-like, emitting a powerful, intimidating aura that made Isabella uneasy. She held back the words she was about to say.
It wasn't just Isabella; everyone around Louie felt an oppressive force, involuntarily taking a step back. Especially Barton, who turned pale and, cowering, tried to squeeze into the crowd.
Isabella, accustomed to a life of comfort, shared common hobbies with her peers—shopping, gatherings, and traveling. However, she had never encountered individuals from the lowest social strata, such as Louie. When she felt the chilling atmosphere Louie emitted, she realized this wasn't a cruel battlefield. She sensed Louie calming his emotions, returning to his usual self, and wearing the familiar smile. "Isabella, the vice general manager, my car got blown up here. Are you compensating me?" he joked.
"Could it be an illusion?" Isabella, now seeing the familiar rogue in front of her, rubbed her eyes to confirm she wasn't mistaken, especially when Louie was looking at her cleavage with a lecherous gaze. Gathering courage, she reverted to her usual tone, saying, "You have insurance; why not go to the insurance company?"
"I didn't insure my car." Louie said helplessly, "Who knew something like this would happen? I planned to wait for my salary next month before getting insurance."
"Hmph, if you can't afford it, don't play with cars." Hearing Louie's words, Isabella thought he was one of those spendthrift playboys who bought a car just to impress girls but had no money. She scornfully looked at Louie, teasing, "Or I can lend you some money, and you can repay me at the end of the month."
"Really? That would be great. Let me borrow not much, just 10 million." Louie shamelessly suggested an absurdly high amount.
"Are you robbing me? It's just one dollar, not a penny more." Smirking, Isabella pretended to search her pocket. Just as her right hand went in, she suddenly said, "Oh, sorry, I forgot I didn't bring any money."
"No problem, we can go together to get it from my place. It's been a while since I saw our parents." Louie's casual remark stunned the Century International Group employees present. What? Our parents? These employees genuinely doubted their ears. Some of them, suddenly awakened, thought, "No wonder our vice manager and this person chatted so harmoniously. It seems like they've never seen our vice manager chat with a man like this before."
Isabella was also bewildered; she hadn't reacted at first. "Our parents?" she repeated. Soon, she realized her company's employees were looking at her with peculiar expressions, and it dawned on her. Her face blushed like a ripe apple, and her cherry-like lips quivered. Isabella clenched her fist, swinging her pink fist towards Louie's chest.
"You perverted scoundrel! I'll teach you a lesson."
"Stop, Thoreau, I admit I was wrong. I'll kneel at the foot of the bed when I get home tonight." Louie, not allowing Isabella to hit him, deliberately ran around the crowd. "Thoreau, I know I was wrong. I'll disappear. But, think about it, you're quite dangerous. Why not hire me as your bodyguard? I guarantee your safety. No pervert would dare to have ill intentions toward you." Louie teased, his face impervious to Isabella's anger.
Isabella, wearing leather sandals, felt her feet hurting after a few steps, but the thought of Louie tarnishing her reputation made her bite her lip and continue chasing him. The more she chased, the more the Century International Group employees felt there was some kind of relationship between them, looking at Isabella with increasingly curious eyes.
Kathleen, preoccupied with the explosion scene, hadn't noticed Isabella and Louie's playful banter. At this moment, Matthew Titus, the head of the Sradarc Criminal Investigation Division, rushed out upon hearing the news. As a seasoned detective with over twenty years of experience, Titus realized the severity of the situation. It was a blatant challenge to the police, a deliberate attempt to show them some color.
Kathleen respected Titus, her superior, immensely.
"Captain, based on my assessment, this suspect is highly knowledgeable about bombs." Kathleen pointed to a fragment of the bomb. "I suspect it's a remote-controlled bomb."
Titus didn't speak, just nodded. He bent down, gloved hands delicately inspecting the evidence.
"Captain, a call from the monitoring center just came in. A man wants to talk to you." A detective handed the phone to Titus.
Titus stood up, removed his white gloves, handing them to Kathleen, and took the phone. "Hello, I'm Captain Titus of the Criminal Investigation Division. Who are you?"
"Captain Titus, you don't need to ask who I am. I just want to inform you that this is another warning. I hope you don't waste your efforts, and obediently transfer the money to the account I specified according to my request. If you don't comply, the next target won't be a parking lot; it will be a densely populated center. The responsibility for however many people die will be on you." A hoarse voice emanated from the phone. Titus frowned and said, "Let's negotiate, but please refrain from using such extreme methods."
"Negotiate, huh? That's why I'm talking to you. I'll give you three days. If, after three days, the money isn't deposited into the account I specified, I'm sorry, a more powerful bomb will explode in a densely populated center. Goodbye."
"Hey, wait!" Titus hurriedly shouted, but the other party had already hung up. Titus hung up the phone and immediately commanded, "Notify the control center and quickly trace the origin of this phone call."