Ch. 1791..1795: The Secretly Rich Man Chapter 1791-1795
Chapter 1791
Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1791
Upon looking at the message, Gerald couldn’t help but momentarily pause.
“Water that comes crashing down from three thousand feet… Could that be hinting at some kind of waterfall…?”
After thinking about it for a short while, Gerald instantly stepped out of his office—making sure to properly lock the door behind him—before driving off to the newest waterfall in the Leicom Continent. All of this… it couldn’t just be pure coincidence.
The clues that the other party provided most probably involved incidents that were happening around Gerald, and if Gerald’s thought process was correct, then the old poem was probably hinting that there was a hostage in that area…
Whatever the case was, after about half an hour, Gerald arrived at Durduff Mountain where the newest waterfall was located. The area itself had the largest mountain range in all of the Leicom Continent, leading many tourists to have their vacations here.
Regardless, upon entering the mountain, Gerald blended in with the crowd. After following them for a while, he eventually arrived at the newest waterfall…
Looking up, Gerald saw that it was barely even a hundred feet tall. While it certainly didn’t have a height of three thousand feet, Gerald was well aware that the ancient poem’s description was simply a hyperbole. After all, did a waterfall spanning three thousand feet even exist?
With that, Gerald immediately resumed looking for hints while everyone else was still aweing at the waterfall.
While looking around, the corner of Gerald’s eye caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a rather narrow and mysterious-looking boulevard on the left of the waterfall. From the looks of it, only one person could pass through at a time…
Still, Gerald felt compelled to head there, which was why he immediately did just that…
After walking for a bit, he eventually arrived at the opening of a large cave. Before he could even venture in, however, he suddenly heard someone from inside crying out, “H-help…!”
Hearing how anxious the feminine voice’s cries were, Gerald immediately deduced that she was in grave danger. With that, he bolted right toward the source of her voice without any hesitation!
As the screaming grew louder, Gerald soon caught sight of a woman who had been tied to a stone pillar. With water appearing to constantly drip from above her, it certainly explained why she was so drenched.
Running over to free her, Gerald also noticed that both her eyes were bloodshot, signifying just how long she had been trapped here…
Either way, upon seeing Gerald, the overjoyed woman instantly cried out, “H-hello! P-please, save me…!”
Nodding in response, Gerald then retrieved a small knife from his backpack before easily freeing the woman from the rope.
Realizing that she was finally free, the relieved woman instantly hugged Gerald tight.
Not even flinching from that, Gerald didn’t beat around the bush and immediately asked, “You’re safe now. Regardless, may I know how long you’ve been trapped in here, miss?”
Hearing that, the woman shook her head before replying, “…That… I’m not too sure, honestly… All I remember is that I was knocked unconscious by someone as I was heading home last night… Upon waking up, I was already here…”
Upon hearing that, Gerald instantly frowned before asking, “…I see. Prior to getting knocked out, are you absolutely sure you didn’t come across any weird situations on your way home?”
Shaking her head again—and feeling slightly confused as to why she was being asked all this—, the woman then replied, “Not at all. After all, I always get off work at around eight. While it’s true that I leave work alone, I also drive, you see, and I make it a habit to go straight home after office hours…”
As Gerald registered her reply, the corner of his eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a purple envelope that had been slipped into a stone with a tiny crevice on its side…
Raising a slight brow, Gerald then walked over and picked it up.
“…Huh? An envelope…?” mumbled the confused woman.
“…Whatever the case is, you’re safe now, miss. Even so, I’ll need you to report what happened to you to the Grand Council. Also, please be more careful in the future!”
Chapter 1792
Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1792
Gerald had deliberately avoided her question so that she wouldn’t ask too much.
Getting the hint, the woman then nodded before quickly leaving the cave.
Seeing that she was now gone, Gerald quickly opened the letter and began reading through it…
‘Congratulations on finding the first hostage, Mr. Crawford! Now hurry along and go find where the next hostage is! There’s no money hidden here!’
After reading through the letter, Gerald couldn’t help but frown. Another ancient poem…? The culprit really enjoyed using ancient poems as clues, didn’t he?
Regardless, the hint this time was pretty straightforward. Since the poem included the word ‘money’, it was only fair to assume that the next hostage could be found in a bank.
However… which bank? There were way too many banks in the Leicom Continent for Gerald to find the right one in such a short amount of time.
Realizing that he wasn’t going to get anything done just by speculating here alone, Gerald immediately left the area, intent on studying the clue with Rey back at the office.
The second he got into his car, however, he immediately received a call from an unknown number.
“It appears that you’ve rescued the first hostage, Mr. Crawford. I’m guessing you’ve found the purple envelope as well, then?”
While Gerald could tell that the speaker was a male, his voice was weird, to say the least. Whatever the case was, Gerald then retorted, “I have, also f*ck you. You won’t get away with all of this! I’ll make sure I capture you if it’s the last thing I do!”
Following that, Gerald immediately hung up, not wanting to waste his breath on this strange man.
With that, Gerald then drove Juno’s car back to his office. Since his own car had previously been blown up, he could only use hers for the moment…
Regardless, upon entering his office, Gerald was instantly greeted by the sight of Rey and two others inside.
Seeing that Gerald was back, Rey took the chance to ask, “Mr. Crawford, you’re back! Where did you head off so early in the morning?”
Since all three of them hadn’t seen Gerald all morning, they all had a hunch that he had probably gone off to do some personal investigating.
Either way, despite Rey’s question, Gerald simply ordered, “Rey, I need you to immediately start investigating the phrase, ‘There’s no money hidden here’!”
Not even bothering to ask why, Rey immediately headed to his computer to get to work as he replied, “Loud and clear!”
While Rey was used to not getting immediate answers from Gerald, Juno wasn’t. With that in mind, she quickly walked up to him before asking, “What’s wrong, Gerald…?”
Hearing that, Gerald retrieved the purple envelope from his pocket before handing it to Juno.
After reading through it, she momentarily appeared shocked, though that was to be expected.
What Gerald hadn’t expected, however, was the fact that Juno would suddenly say, “…I… I think I know where the letter is pointing to! If my guess is correct, it should be referring to a bank or a tax building… And there’s only one place I can think of where both buildings can be found close together!”
Upon hearing that, Gerald immediately knew the area Juno was referring to. With that in mind, he patted Rey’s shoulder before saying, “You heard her. Let’s head there right now!”
With that, Gerald and Rey bolted out of the office before speedily driving toward the tax building Juno had talked about.
Since Juno’s guess made total sense, Gerald had a feeling that the second hostage was definitely going to be there…
Chapter 1793
Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1793
While they were on their way there, Rey couldn’t help but ask, “So… mind filling me in, Mr. Crawford…?”
Turning to look at Rey for a moment, Gerald then replied, “Remember that call from yesterday?”
Nodding in response, Rey then said, “I do. That person said he wanted to play a game with you… Don’t tell me it’s already started?”
“It has. That person has challenged me to rescue six hostages, and I’ve already rescued one this morning. We’re currently on our way to rescue the second one!” explained Gerald.
Hearing that, Rey found himself momentarily speechless. No wonder Gerald hadn’t been around this morning… He had already saved someone while they were still barely awake!
Disregarding how stunned Rey looked, Gerald then added, “Either way, that phrase I told you to investigate earlier, ‘There’s no money being hidden here,’ directly relates to the second hostage’s location, which is why we’re currently targeting the bank near the tax building!”
Just as Gerald completed his explanation, both of them arrived at the entrance of the tax building.
After getting off, the duo began looking around for the bank, and soon enough, they found it. However, since it was the weekend, the bank was closed, and only the self-service bank—at the side—remained open.
“Closed, huh… What should we do now, Mr. Crawford?” mumbled Rey as he looked at Gerald.
“I’m sure the culprit anticipated the bank being closed today as well. With that in mind, the second hostage should be within the only operational part of a bank on a weekend, that being….”
“The self-service bank!” yelled the duo at the same time.
Now that they had come to this conclusion, both men rushed into the self-service bank and immediately began looking around.
A short while later, Rey—who had searched high and low for clues of where the hostage could be— couldn’t help but say, “…There doesn’t appear to be anyone here, Mr. Crawford… Could we have been mistaken…?”
“Negative. I’m sure Juno made the right guess!” replied Gerald without any hesitation.
The hostage was definitely here. They just hadn’t found them yet.
Thankfully, since there weren’t too many people around—due to it being the weekend—after the duo went silent for a while, they were able to hear faint knocking sounds coming from behind them!
Turning around, Rey perked his ears… before pointing at one of the ATM machines and shouting, “It’s coming from the third ATM, Mr. Crawford!”
Nodding in agreement, both of them then hurried over to the machine…
As Gerald squatted and began investigating the ATM, the duo was caught slightly off guard when they heard a voice coming from the area where one would usually slip their cards into!
The voice itself was feminine, and it was calling out in a weak voice, “H-help… Please…”
Hearing that, Rey instantly yelled, “We’ve found the second hostage! We really did come to the right place!”
“Indeed, but it’s too early to be celebrating! Go call the Grand Council, Rey! Tell them to send people over to open this machine up!” ordered Gerald.
“Roger that!” replied Rey as he quickly fished his phone out and began calling the Grand Council…
Chapter 1794
Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1794
About half an hour later, people sent by the Grand Council could be seen rushing over alongside a few of the bank’s staff, all of them appearing anxious. After all, it was definitely flabbergasting to learn that a person was locked inside an ATM machine.
After about another ten minutes of prying the ATM open, they finally managed to reveal what was inside…
Just as Gerald and Rey had deduced, there truly was a woman trapped inside! To make matters even more shocking, she was one of the bank’s staff!
Regardless, once the woman was hurriedly sent to the hospital, those sent over by the Grand Council began inspecting the scene…
From what they could gather, the lid—at the back of the machine—had been deliberately welded tightly by the perpetrator…
As they continued investigating, one of the supervisors retrieved a purple envelope from within the machine as he asked, “…Hmm? A letter?”
Hearing that, Gerald immediately took it from him. The supervisor himself made no effort to stop him. After all, Gerald had become quite famous among those in the Grand Council, which explained why he was aware of who Gerald was and why he knew better than to meddle in the youth’s business.
In any case, with the letter now in his hands, Gerald then led Ray back into the car…
Once inside, Gerald immediately opened the envelope… but instead of a message, the only thing inside was a pink hairpin…
“…Hmm? A hairpin…?” muttered Gerald as he raised a slight brow.
‘This is a new one… Was there really a need to make such a major change in how you give your clues out?’ Gerald thought to himself.
While two heads were definitely better than one, neither of them could figure out what the deal was with the hairpin.
Due to that, the duo eventually gave up for the moment and decided to return to the office first. Women would probably know more about hairpins than them, and thankfully, they had Juno and Yrsa on their side. With any luck, they’d be able to decipher the message behind the hairpin…
With that in mind, upon returning to the firm, Gerald instantly handed the hairpin to her before saying, “Say, Juno, have a look at this hairpin. If I wanted to buy something similar, where could I get it?”
Taking the hairpin and frowning slightly, Juno then brought it with her to the computer and quickly began researching it…
Shortly after, she exclaimed, “I’ve got it! It’s a special hairpin that’s currently being distributed to all the staff members of one of the banks! They’re given out in pairs!”
Hearing that, Rey was momentarily stunned. After gathering his thoughts, he then turned to face Gerald before saying, “…You know, the woman we saved before had a similar hairpin on! However, I’m pretty sure she only had one on, which is why I’m assuming this pin is hers! No wonder the hairpin felt so familiar when you first took it out of the letter!”
“What? Are you absolutely sure?” asked Gerald.
“Positive!” replied Rey.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s head to the hospital!” declared Gerald as he and Rey bolted out of the office again, driving straight for the hospital…
While driving, Gerald—who now understood that the incident had been too straightforward for it to be over—was prompted to say, “The incident is far from over… Freeing that girl from the ATM was only the first step! With that in mind, we haven’t moved past the crisis regarding the second hostage!”
Forget the third hostage, they weren’t even done saving the second one yet! Regardless, now that Gerald was sure that the incident wasn’t over yet, he knew that he had to protect the second hostage at all costs.
“I see… How abominable our opponent is…! To think that he’d fool us like this!” grumbled Rey.
Either way, the duo soon arrived at the hospital…
After quickly inquiring about the woman, they realized that she had left the hospital not too long ago!
Chapter 1795
Gerald Crawford: The Secretly or invisible Rich Man Chapter 1795
Hearing that, Gerald and Rey dashed out of the hospital, hoping to catch up with the woman. As they rushed out, the duo thankfully stopped just in time to avoid getting run over by a speeding black car!
“Where the hell did you learn to drive, b*stard?!” scowled Rey as he glared while pointing at the black car.
Gerald, on the other hand, was much more interested in the purple letter that had fluttered out of the car and was now lying on the ground.
Quickly opening it, Gerald then read the letter…
‘The second game has officially begun!’
“That utter b*stard…!” growled Gerald as he crumpled the letter up, knowing full well that he had been a step too late.
Since the envelope had come from that black car, the car was undoubtedly the key!
Still, now wasn’t the time to feel sorry for himself. With that, Gerald began running toward their car while shouting, “Hurry, Rey! We have to pursue them!”
Once both of them were inside, Gerald stepped on the accelerator, sending the car lunging forward! Since the black car was long gone, Gerald could only speed in the direction he had last seen the black car in.
Unfortunately, even though Gerald accelerated all the way, soon enough, he understood that he had lost the black car for good…
Thinking the same thing, Rey was prompted to ask, “…What should we do now, Mr. Crawford…?”
Neither of them even knew how to proceed since the culprit was always one step ahead of them…
As Gerald wondered how to even reply to Rey, his phone suddenly began ringing.
Immediately knowing who the caller was, the angered Gerald picked it up and roared, “You b*stard! What the hell do you want? Are you fooling around with me?!”
Laughing maniacally, the caller then mocked, “Not so calm anymore, eh, Mr. Crawford? It’s not your style to be this manic!”
“…Don’t get too smug just yet! I’ll definitely capture you…!” sneered Gerald.
“Hah! Be my guest! If you can, that is! Regardless, let’s meet at the Moon Observation Deck at seven tonight! If you don’t come, well… this woman isn’t going to be alive for much longer!” scoffed the man before hanging up the phone.
The Moon Observation Deck was a viewing platform in the Leicom Continent that was only open at night. From up there, one could see the entire continent…
Regardless, since the perpetrator had made an appointment there, Gerald was sure that something was definitely going to happen at the observation deck. Even so, what choice did he have but to obey the scoundrel’s orders…
With that, Gerald and Rey then drove to the Moon Observation Deck… While it was still noon by the time they arrived, their wait in the car didn’t feel long at all.
Soon enough, the clock struck seven and the Moon Observation Deck became open to the public. With that in mind, it barely took a few minutes for the entire place to be packed with people. Everyone had
come over to enjoy the night view from the famed observation deck…
Well, everyone except for Gerald and Rey. They were here to save someone.
Either way, now that the observation deck was finally open, the duo got out of their car and immediately began looking for that woman… To their dismay, no matter how much they looked, they simply couldn’t find any traces of her!
“…Could that b*stard be playing around with us again…?” speculated Rey with a slight frown on his face.
Upon hearing that, Gerald gave no response. However, it was shortly after when Gerald noticed the presence of a rather odd spot.
Pausing for a moment, Gerald then said, “…Come with me. I think I have a lead!”
With that, Rey began running after Gerald who was already bolting toward that place…