Ryzen POV

Inwardly, I sighed.

Out of all days, why did she have to visit today? It takes too much energy to keep up with her and her elitist personality.

Right now, I really cannot be bothered to deal with someone like Juli, Millen Yu's bestfriend.

She and the original Millen Yu were probably having the best time talking about the latest gossips, trends and so on.

But, I am different. Aside from the fact that I am too old for that already, I have different morals and ideals. Those things do not satisfy me at all.

Immediately, she stood up and hugged me. When she let me go after a while, I gave her a small smile.

"Millen, I've finally caught you! It's so hard to get in touch with you. You barely even message me these days. I was calling you to let you know that I'm here but you weren't answering." Juli said in a pouty voice.

What she said wasn't a lie, but I think she's exaggerating a little. Although I have been busy with Lennox, I would still reply to her messages and calls. After all, it was the least I can do for Millen Yu's bestfriend. However, it has been a long time since we last met each other. We tried to catch up, but our schedules wouldn't match. From what I remember, she told me that she stopped working in her family's company because she would like to try setting up a business on her own.

"Sorry... Also, I went for a jog and left my phone in my room so I didn't know..." I replied in a soft tone.

Juli sighed and shook her head a little.

"Then, you owe me a favour. You have to visit my cafe today. I just opened it and you promised that you'd go before, right? But up until now, you've never visited." she murmured in a discontented voice.

Ah, right. That's the latest news about her. Juli recently opened a small cafe business in the capital city, which is only a few towns away from La Coron City. I remember her messaging me one day, asking me to post in on my Instagram to promote it since I had a lot of followers.

"Since it's your first order, I won't charge you. Come on, let's go! Don't waste my effort going all the way to your condo in La Coron City." she said in a somewhat threatening tone.

With not much of a choice, I only took a quick shower and dressed myself neatly before following Juli to her car.

At the back, I can still sense the bodyguards following me. However, I gave them a knowing look and they seemed to get my signal. It was the same look that I'd give them whenever I'd enter Lennox's car, not wanting them to follow anymore. Well, in any case, they do have a tracker on my phone, so they still know where I am.

I would say that this kind of protection is a bit extreme... but, it is better safe than sorry.

Anyways, it's just a hang out Juli, what else could happen? It's not like I can refuse her.

Maybe, it is also good this way. If she didn't suddenly appear, perhaps I would lock myself in my bedroom then I'd just overthink, without properly coming up with a resolution or fully understanding my feelings.

Although it does take effort to keep up with her elite personality, hanging out with her would be a good distraction for the day.

Once we drove away, Juli was surprisingly quiet. She had a serious expression on while driving.

Hmm... this is fine, I guess. Later, when we do arrive at the place, she would probably talk non-stop, updating me with the latest gossip.

But sometimes, with Juli, I still could not get rid of the nervousness that I feel.

Based on the memories that I got, Millen considered Juli as the person who knew her the best in this world. After all, they were friends ever since they were kids. For Millen, Juli was like a sister.

Did she really not notice anything at all? Of course, at the start, I did try to maintain what Millen usually does. However, it is really quite difficult to pretend someone you're not. Gradually, my own personality came out without any restraints at all, with the people in Millen Yu's life only referring to the change as her being 'more mature'.

I stared at the windows mindlessly, drowning into my thoughts.

Hmm...

Ever since the start, I was not someone who was good with directions and roads. I had a hard time when I started to drive and I would often get lost, even while using devices showing an automatic map to guide me. Therefore, most of the time, while working, I was relying on taxis and other transport services.

But even though I am not good with roads, I can feel that the environment outside is somewhat strange.

Juli's cafe is located in the capital city, which is only 30 minutes or so away from La Coron City. I should be seeing buildings and other establishments right now, not fields of grass...

I looked ahead and noticed that the pathway was very narrow and the road was not even filled with concrete. There was not a single establishment anywhere, not even a house.

This is definitely outside the metro cities...

If my guess is right, this is a pathway that led to the rural towns outside the metro area.

Immediately, my heart raced really fast. I had trouble breathing as I instinctively felt that something was not right.

But, it can't be...

Maybe, I am just overthinking.

I don't why, but I needed a little bit of strength just to glance at Juli, who had an unreadable expression on.

"Where are we?" I tried to say calmly, even smiling at her.

But instead of answering me, Juli continued to drive without giving me a glance.

"Juli?" I tried to ask her again, wanting assurance.

This is way too strange... Juli would not be able to do anything outrageous. Above all, I trust Millen Yu's memories. What they had was an unbreakable bond.

She couldn't possibly do anything dangerous to her, right?

But even though I tried to cling into that hope, my instinct was really telling me otherwise. I don't know why my heart would not calm down. It was beating fast and loud, probably filling the silence right now.

Suddenly, without any warnings, Juli stopped the car. In a quick manner, she grabbed something from the side of the car door.

When I realised what it was, it was too late. She sprayed it into my face, making me feel burning sensations throughout my eyes, nose and mouth.

I cannot see anything! Everything is so dark!

I feel like my whole face is about to fall off, as if it really got caught into fire.

"Ahhh!!!!" I screamed frantically in pain.

Why!? Why in the world would she do this?

Although the burning sensation pained me very much, with shaking hands, I tried to touch where the car handle was.

There may be a possibility that it's locked, but I still want to try my luck.

This was not normal! Is she possessed or something!?

I should have gone with my instinct from the start, when I noticed that something was off. I shouldn't have trusted Millen Yu's perception of her.

But before I can even try to open the car handle, I felt a handkerchief pressed heavily on my face.

In an instant, when she forcibly made me smell the dangerous scent, I felt lethargic and disoriented.

No matter how much I tried to preserve my consciousness, the dosage of the drug was too high. I cannot win against it.

This can't be...