Ch. 399: Mr. Edwards’ Unraveled Life Chapter 399

Chapter 399

Norah sat by the window, gazing out onto the tarmac through the glass.

The airstrip was barely a third the size of Belourvinelle Airport. The small concrete surface was marked with wide white lines, and a simple iron fence enclosed the area.

The plane descended abruptly, skipping the usual landing process. The sudden jolt made Norah's stomach churn, and a wave of nausea hit her hard.

She couldn't hold it back and began retching.

Karina, startled, sat up straight and placed a reassuring hand on Norah's shoulder. "Hang in there, Norah. It'll pass soon."

Trained for situations like this, Karina kept her voice calm. "We're in first class. We'll be the first ones off."

"Yeah." Norah took a deep breath, still feeling queasy but managing to endure it.

Even though they had priority exit, there was no jet bridge. They had to descend the stairs and walk across the tarmac to the terminal.

It wasn’t just smaller than Belourvinelle Airport—it wasn’t even as well-maintained as Belourvinelle University’s basketball court. Plastic waste littered the overgrown grass around the airstrip.

A gust of wind blew, carrying sand that stung Norah’s eyes.

Karina took her hand. "I'll grab our luggage. You find a place to sit and wait for me. We need to hire a translator before heading to the Yi tribe."

Without a translator, they’d be lost.

"Got it."

There was no baggage carousel like in Craggaville. Instead, they had to collect their luggage manually from a counter.

Luckily, they didn’t have much—a small suitcase each.

Karina wheeled her bag over to Norah. "How are you feeling? If you're still nauseous, I can get you something to drink."

Norah shook her head.

This airport was worse than a remote bus station in Craggaville. Even the signs were rusted. The chair she sat on creaked loudly with every movement.

"Let's find a hotel nearby," Karina suggested. "I need to wait for someone to deliver something."

"Okay."

Karina chose the best hotel in the area, but it wasn’t any better than a budget business hotel back home.

Lying on the bed, Norah finally had a chance to relax, but exhaustion weighed heavily on her.

Steven and Kevin still hadn’t contacted her.

That’s right—Steven!

She grabbed her phone and quickly dialed his number.

"Beep... beep..."

After two rings, the call dropped due to no signal. Karina took the phone, made a few adjustments, and handed it back.

"You need global roaming to make calls."

"I completely forgot," Norah muttered, feeling a little embarrassed.

Kevin had once promised to take her to Foutumsally, but that never happened. The farthest she had ever traveled was to a neighboring city.

She had been too eager.

Karina reassured her. "Get some rest. Room service will bring food soon. Once we have what we need, we'll head to the Yi tribe."

"Alright."

Even as she nodded, Norah kept trying to call Steven.

The first call rang endlessly before disconnecting.

The second call had the same result.

She hesitated, debating whether to send a text when suddenly, Steven's number appeared on her screen.

She quickly answered. "Hello?"

The voice on the other end spoke in broken Chinese. She recognized it instantly—it was the same person who had called from Steven’s phone before.

"It's me. Steven wanted to reach someone. My name is Norah. I'm in the Yi tribe now. Can you send me an address or give me your number? I need to know exactly where you found the phone."

She had to track down his location.

Steven had gone through so much just to leave her a recording—to help find an antidote for her. She owed it to him to find him.

As for Kevin…

She had to reach him, too. He needed to stop interfering. She didn’t need him arranging everything for her.

She wasn’t a child anymore. She could handle this.

Especially now that scattered memories were resurfacing, linking her to an organization called Nile.

There were things she needed to uncover—on her own.

"Sending anything near the Yi tribe isn’t easy," the caller said. "But I can give you an address. You’ll have to pick it up yourself. You don’t need to pay me. We found the phone next to a trash can."

Norah’s heart sank.

If the phone had been near a trash can, that meant it wasn’t at the original scene.

It would be hard to trace back.

"Fine. Just tell me where I can find it. I’ll come get it."

"Okay. You can pick it up from a watch shop. I'll send you the location."

"Thank you."

A moment later, the address came through.

It was ten hours away.

Traveling here wasn’t as easy as back home, but she needed that phone. It could help pinpoint Steven’s last known location through GPS.

Just as she was contemplating her next move, Karina walked in.

She wasn’t alone.

A woman in her early thirties followed behind her, tall and slender with bronzed skin and small, tight curls. A red ribbon held back her hair.

"Norah, this is Julissa. She’ll be our translator."

"Hello, Norah," Julissa greeted warmly.

Norah introduced herself briefly.

Karina got straight to the point. "Payment is settled daily. Bank transfer or cash."

Then, she opened her palm.

A small white pill lay there.

Both Norah and Julissa froze.

Julissa frowned. "What is this?"

Though foreign, her Chinese was fluent.

Karina remained unfazed. "We need absolute trust. The pay we’re offering is higher than any translation job you’ve ever had. If you’re not comfortable, you can walk away now."

She stepped aside, giving Julissa the choice.

Julissa’s face remained calm. She considered Karina’s words, then made her decision—she swallowed the pill.

Karina handed her a thick stack of foreign currency. "Wait for me outside."

"Okay."

Julissa left.

Norah turned to Karina, stunned.

The object in Karina’s hand made her breath catch in her throat.