After saying goodbye to Ryan, Evelyn led the way. She didn't say a word, and Ethan was more than happy to enjoy the silence. Who knew what kind of trouble she might stir up if he tried to talk to her?
Soon, they arrived at a large, walled estate. The gate was made of redwood, a rare sight in this part of the city. In fact, such a private, standalone courtyard was almost unheard of in Ember City. Above the gate hung a beautiful ornate carving that read: rcer Manor.
Ethan's eyes widened. 'This is so serious wealth,' he thought.
In the middle of a sprawling tropolis, this place had sohow escaped the clutches of urban developnt. As he glanced at the plaque on the wall beside the gate, he understood why.
[Historic Landmark Building]
The plaque bore three large words, with smaller text below explaining its historical significance. Ethan didn't bother reading the details. He followed Evelyn as she pushed open the redwood gate and stepped inside.
The mont they entered, Ethan saw Victor and Williams sitting at a stone table in the courtyard. To his surprise, Leo, who had been missing for a while, was also there.
Ethan paused, then walked over and asked, "Leo, where have you been?"
"Ethan!" Leo waved, greeting him with a smile. But when Ethan asked his question, Leo's expression turned awkward. "Don't even ask. I got hungry on the way to the hospital and saw a street vendor selling Burrito.
I asked if anyone wanted so, but you guys were too busy listening to Williams ramble about that water spirit nonsense. No one answered , so I got one for myself. It was so good, I decided to grab a few more for you guys. But when I went to pay, I realized my phone and wallet were gone.
Can you believe it? Soone actually pickpocketed ! I had to talk my way out of paying the vendor. Since I couldn't reach you, I went to the ICU to look for you, but you were gone. I had no choice but to head back to the gym and find Celia. I tried calling you, but no one answered. Finally, I got through just now, so I borrowed Celia's phone and ca straight here."
Leo rambled on for a while, and Ethan listened with a furrowed brow. When Leo finished, Ethan pulled out his phone, tapped on Leo's profile, and played a 59-second voice ssage.
"This wasn't you?" Ethan asked.
The ssage was nothing but static: Zzz… hiss… zzz…
Both Victor and Williams had heard the ssage before. They looked at Leo, curious for his response.
Leo shook his head and pointed to the tistamp on the ssage. "Look at the ti. By then, I was already back at the gym." He then pulled out Celia's phone, scrolled through the call log, and showed them the ti of his call. It was a few minutes earlier than the voice ssage.
Ethan nodded. "I already knew it wasn't you when I figured out what the ssage ant."
This only deepened the confusion for Victor and Williams. When Ethan had first played the ssage for them, he'd asked if they could decipher it. Both had listened carefully but found nothing unusual. Ethan had even joked, "Is it Morse code?" But neither of them had any clue.
So how had Ethan figured it out?
Seeing their confused expressions, Ethan picked up a stone and began etching symbols into the dirt. As the strange buzzing and hissing sounds continued, he made the connection: each buzzing sound was a "0," and each hissing sound was a "1."
By the ti Ethan was done, the courtyard of rcer Manor was covered with a dense grid of 0s and 1s. Using the stone, he circled the first two lines of numbers:
01110100 01110010 01100001 01110000
01101001 01101100 01101100 01110101 01110011 01101001 01101111 01101110
He pointed to the first line and said, "This is basic binary code. The first line translates to the word 'trap,' and the second line is 'illusion.' The rest of the sequence spells out 'little girl'…
When I figured this out, I knew it couldn't have been Leo who sent this ssage. But whoever did is clearly soone who knows well—my major is software engineering, and this is basic stuff for . The real question is, who sent it? And why steal Leo's phone to do it?"
Because of this ssage, I paid extra attention to that little girl, and sure enough, I noticed sothing unusual about her."
Ethan spoke confidently, leaving Leo, Victor, and Williams utterly baffled.
Leo rubbed his head and muttered, "Who the hell sends ssages like this? It's way too complicated! You'd have to be crazy or just plain stupid!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the gate creaked open, and Ryan walked in. He was carrying a bottle, presumably filled with the purebred black dog's blood he'd been searching for.
Evelyn, hearing the gate, ca out of the house and saw him. She shouted excitedly, "Ryan, you're back!"
The mont she spoke, soone burst out of the house—Leeroy, already in his transford state. His speed was incredible, and in an instant, he was next to Ryan. Without warning, he kicked Ryan square in the chest.
Crash! Bang! Thud!
Ethan, Victor, Leo, and Williams watched in stunned silence at first, then winced as the beating continued. Eventually, they just looked bored. anwhile, Evelyn grabbed a small stool, sat down, and started munching on sunflower seeds, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle of Ryan getting pumled by Leeroy.
The 'fight' lasted a solid fifteen minutes. Finally, Leeroy, exhausted, stopped and stood there panting.
Ryan, who had been covering his head the entire ti, slowly lowered his arms. His face was completely unhard, but he wore a pitiful expression as he whined, "Dude, why'd you hit ?"
Leeroy, still catching his breath, glared at him. "You've got so nerve asking that! You said you needed my blood for the Spirit-binding charm, and I let you take it, didn't I? Then you went out looking for a purebred black dog! That's what you said, right?"
Ryan, realizing what had happened, pointed a trembling finger at Evelyn. "Evelyn… you…"
Before he could finish, he suddenly passed out.
Evelyn stood up, walked over, and gave him a light kick. "Hmph, Ryan, that's what you get for insulting !"
Leeroy, confused, blinked at Evelyn. "Eve, what did Ryan say to you? Should I beat him up again?"
Evelyn waved her hand dismissively. "Thanks, big bro, but it's fine. I don't know what you think, but I couldn't stand him calling you a mutt!"
She then knelt beside Ryan, her hands glowing with a faint yellow aura, and began healing his wounds. Her energy was truly remarkable—within seconds, the bruises covering Ryan's body faded away.
The whole scene played out in front of Ethan and the others. They exchanged glances, each seeing the sa mix of disbelief and amusent in the others' eyes. They wanted to laugh but weren't sure if they should. Their sides were practically hurting from holding it in.
Ethan didn't know whether to be concerned. One sibling snitched, the other snapped and dished out a full-on beatdown, the victim fainted more from sheer outrage than actual injuries, and now the instigator was casually healing him like nothing happened.
It was the most dysfunctional yet oddly efficient family dynamic he had ever seen.
But just as they thought the drama was over, they realized it was only the beginning.
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