?Chapter 435


    Wiping the cold sweat off his forehead, Carlisle nced at the clock. It was only 6:00 am.


    Devoid of any desire to sleep, he decided to get up and go for a morning jog. During his jog, Francis received a call informing him that he had just arrived in Rivend due to a traffic jam.


    Carlisle sat on the bench to catch his breath.


    With a slight pant, he said, "Where''s the security team you promised to find me?" "They''re already in Rivend. I''ll have them gather at Willow Grove," Francis replied.Content ? N?velDrama.Org 2024.


    Carlisle then ended his morning jog and returned to Willow Grove.


    Meanwhile, outside Willow Grove, seven nondescript men with buzz-cut hairstyles gathered and engaged in lively conversation. They were seasoned special forces veterans, having served longer than Francis in the military.


    After being discharged, they were dissatisfied with the job opportunities provided by the government and harbored ambitions to carve out a new path. However, they encountered repeated setbacks in their careers.


    Hence, when Francis told them that his boss would offer a sry of at least five thousand, they epted the job without hesitation. In fact, they would have been grateful even for a job offering only a thousand dors.


    Hands in pockets, Wendell Webb asked skeptically, "Francis, what exactly does your boss do? Just to be clear, if this job involves anything shady, count me out!"


    The others nodded in agreement.


    Francis sighed in response.


    "Come on. Do you really think I''d get involved in anything shady?"


    Despite his confident tone, Francis felt a twinge of unease. After all, aside from legitimate business, Carlisle did have close ties with Prince Heath.


    Spotting Carlisle approaching in the distance, Francis gestured toward him and told his oldrades, "Therees my boss."


    Wendell and the others turned their gazes toward Carlisle, their eyes widening in disbelief. "A rich kid?"


    Wendell smirked.


    Francis shook his head and replied, "Self-made. I just visited his parents. They''re ordinary folks who run a convenience store and breakfast shop. He''s the one who funded them!" Francis'' exnation left everyone dumbfounded. Before Wendell could inquire further, he


    noticed Carlisle had already approached them, so he withheld his questions.


    "Hi, everyone!" Carlisle greeted them first.


    "Hi, boss!"


    Wendell and the others instinctively straightened up, lifting their heads.


    Francis nced at Carlisle''s new hairstyle before introducing the team to him.


    "Boss, these are myrades from the Leopard Strike Team. They''re as capable as me, if not better."


    Carlisle nodded calmly and said, "Let''s head upstairs where we can talk."


    Noticing the slight displeasure on Carlisle''s youthful face, Wendell couldn''t help but frown, thinking that Carlisle might be dissatisfied with them.


    However, since Francis had followed Carlisle for some time, he knew something must have happened to thetter, which was why Francis was summoned back to Rivend. Still, he knew this wasn''t the time to pry, so he followed Carlisle back to the apartment as requested.


    Carlisle led them into the apartment and offered them some energy drinks from the fridge. He then took off his sweaty shirt and changed into a clean short-sleeve shirt which wasid on the couch.


    Francis noticed the bandages on Carlisle''s shoulder and asked with concern, "Boss, are you injured?"


    "Yeah. I got into some troublest night when I was out for a drink. No big deal," Carlisle replied after sipping his energy drink.


    He then nced at Wendell and the others, who had lined up in a row, and said, "Since you''re all Francis''rades, I''ll certainly reward you handsomely. I''ll offer you a monthly sry of six thousand for now. Take the next few days to familiarize yourselves with Rivend, and then I''ll assign a task to all of you."


    Wendell and the others were stunned by the offer of six thousand in monthly sry. In their previous attempts to secure security jobs, all they had encountered werepanies offering a mere thousand as base pay, with a chance for a 40%mission if they were hired by clients.


    Carlisle''s straightforward offer of six thousand dors amazed them. They realized that Francis had been right all along.


    ncing at the time, Carlisle realized he only had half an hour before his ss began.


    As he headed toward the bathroom to freshen up, he instructed, "Francis, please take them to the game studio. There''s three million in cash in my room. Use it to pay them a year''s sry in advance."


    Wendell and the others gasped. They were astonished that Carlisle wanted to pay them a year''s sry in advance before they even started working. They wondered if Carlisle was


    even worried they might run off with the money.


    When Carlisle entered the bathroom, Wendell whispered to Francis, "Francis, are you sure the boss won''t involve us in anything illegal?"


    Everyone stared at Francis anxiously, their eyes filled with doubt.