Chapter 256 Incident, Seeking Help Beyond One's Rank
"Can you get through on the phone?"
What York didn't know was that as soon as he and Emily entered the village, their signal had been blocked.
York, who was supposed to report to Daniel every hour, had suddenly lost contact.
Daniel had already arranged for other people who were now on their way.
The one speaking now was Oliver, who ranked below York in the Dark Order.
"Sorry, Mr. Smith, York's signal has been blocked. We're working on breaking through it."
Obviously, if it required their professionals to work this hard, the person blocking the signal was an expert.
A remote village with someone this skilled at blocking signals—that said it all.
"You go, gather the team."
Daniel frowned. If necessary, he was even prepared to go there himself.
Oliver had already heard from York and could see Daniel's intention. He spoke up, "Mr. Smith, if you're planning to go to Cliff Village, I'm sorry, but for the sake of your health, we can't let you take that risk no matter what!"
Daniel was their leader, their backbone.
The Dark Order existed because of Daniel.
Daniel frowned, "What, so now my authority is being undermined? You won't listen to me, and you want to control me instead!"
These were serious words, just short of accusing them of betrayal.
Oliver felt bitter inside, but still insisted, "Mr. Smith, even if I'm punished afterward, I'll still do this. York said this was Ms. Johnson's instruction—she's worried about you. And Ms. Johnson said that with your physical condition, you going would actually be a burden!"
Daniel felt both frustrated and dejected.
He could actually sense his body's condition.
Unlike last time, he was clearly much weaker and more powerless now.
"Bring me a computer!"
Daniel didn't mention going in person again, but no one knew what he was thinking.
His sudden request for a computer made Oliver think that as long as Daniel didn't go take risks, he would satisfy these requests.
Daniel could become the master of the Dark Order because he was exceptionally capable.
Whether in combat skills, computer technology, or organizational ability, he was top-tier.
His fingers flew rapidly across the keyboard, his expression and movements remarkably similar to Emily's.
Sure enough, the signal was blocked.
Daniel now had to both remove the block and do so without the other side noticing, to avoid alerting them.
Additionally, he could use the necklace Emily wore to locate her exact position.
Then Daniel discovered that the method used to block the signal was actually self-destructive.
Once the block was removed, the system on the other end would crash immediately, thereby alerting them.
For Daniel to handle this would take time.
After a long while, he stopped.
After first locating Emily's position, he stopped working on the computer.
Instead, he took out his phone and made a call.
"Daniel, why are you suddenly calling me? What do you need?"
The speaker was a middle-aged man, but his familiar tone showed they had a close relationship.
"I do have something I need to trouble you with."
This middle-aged man had connections through Daniel's mother's side. Daniel rarely asked people for favors, so when he called Irvin, the man immediately became more serious.
"Why be polite with me? Tell me!"
"I need to ask your law enforcement team to step in. My friend entered a village and I can't reach them anymore. The signal's been blocked."
Daniel wasn't local, and even though the Smith family was powerful, a strong dragon can't suppress a local snake.
To be safe, he bypassed the town's law enforcement and contacted the city's law enforcement directly.
This meant skipping two levels, but mainly because this was the only level where he had connections.
A village installing signal blockers that could evade Daniel's detection—Irvin Hays, who could reach this position, truly had ability and immediately sensed something unusual.
"Alright, I'll mobilize people right away."
"Thank you, Mr. Hays!"
After thanking him, Daniel hung up.
But his tense nerves never relaxed.
All he could do now was wait—wait for the people Oliver was gathering and the people Gabriel was mobilizing.
Emily and York, whom he was worried about, were now sitting at the dinner table.
The village chief and his wife had prepared a feast.
You couldn't say the chief's family was poor—though his house was still made of mud bricks.
But you couldn't say they were poor either—the food they prepared was truly abundant and generous.
And just as they sat down to eat, two more people arrived—one old, one young.
The older one was about the chief's age, but clearly had a menacing air.
The young man with him was around Emily's age, at most in his early twenties.
But Emily noticed the dark purple circles under his eyes—clearly from excessive indulgence.
More importantly, the way he looked at Emily was obviously murky and lustful.
Emily had originally thought the village chief was probably the one in power here, but seeing this menacing man, he was probably the real decision-maker.
As for this lustful man, she had an unpleasant suspicion.
"We rarely get outsiders in our village. Now that you're here, we must treat you well. Are these things too shabby?"
The menacing man spoke.
The young man immediately chimed in, "Yeah, village chief, such a pretty girl comes to our village and you don't treat her better. Your name's Emily, right? Come on, eat more, don't be shy!"
As he spoke, the young man put a piece of steak on Emily's plate.
But York grabbed it from Emily's plate first, "Emily doesn't like this. I'll eat it for her!"
Emily didn't even have time to stop him.
But this was fine—they probably wouldn't suspect she'd discovered the food was drugged.
Though the young man was unhappy with York's action, seeing York eat it, a smile flashed in his eyes.
Seeing Yosef's blatant gaze, the chief coughed lightly to ease the awkwardness and avoid Emily's suspicion.
"I know you city people are particular and don't like others putting food on your plate, so Emily, don't be shy, help yourself. These vegetables were just picked from the field—fresh and all natural. Try them!"
"Okay!"
After the chief spoke, everyone's eyes were on Emily.
Emily knew she had to eat to dispel their doubts.
She knew medicine, and these drugged things wouldn't affect her.
So after agreeing, Emily ate openly in front of everyone.
As soon as the food entered her mouth, almost everyone's smiles became genuine.
Based on the drug's effects, Emily knew she should be passing out about now. She put her fingers to her head and rubbed, her body seeming to sway unsteadily.
She reached out to grab York beside her to steady herself, "York, what's happening? I feel dizzy."
When Emily grabbed him, York was startled at first, but immediately realized Emily had slipped him a pill.
Hearing Emily say she was dizzy, he knew there was something wrong with the food.
Then he actually started feeling dizzy himself, which further confirmed his suspicion.
He first tried to comfort her, "It's okay, probably just tired, rest first..."
Before he could finish, his body collapsed onto the table. As he fell, he put the pill Emily had given him into his mouth.