Solivair pointed at Arthur with fury. “Arthur! Every single flower in this courtyard is a rare species unique to Heaven Island! You can’t even buy these on the outside. Do you have a death wish, barging into a place like this?” As he spoke, he kept darting meaningful glances at Arthur—urging him to come out. He wanted to see Arthur humiliated. In fact, he wouldn’t mind if Arthur dropped dead right now. But he still needed Arthur alive… to find Lynn. And besides, Arthur and Ashley were his responsibility. If they were foolish enough to get into real trouble, it might reflect badly on him. Arthur stared in disbelief at what Solivair was saying. He looked down at the flowers by his feet again. Arthur didn’t know much about plants. He had only thought they looked nice. Ashley, upon hearing Solivair’s words, immediately released the flower in her hands in a panic. Thank God she hadn’t picked it! She wasn’t familiar with botany either. She just thought they were pretty and unusual. Seeing the startled look on their faces, the group outside burst into laughter. “Hahahaha! Look at them—so clueless. Never seen anything like this in their pathetic little lives!” “They probably don’t even know how much these flowers are worth! Even we can barely get our hands on them!” “People like that think opening a small company and making a little money means they’ve ‘made it.’ What could they possibly understand?” “This courtyard? We don’t even dare step inside—just glance from the outside. And these two brainless kids actually walked right in? They must have a death wish.” “If word of this gets to Mr. Drake, they’re done for.” Their voices dripped with gleeful malice. At that last line, Solivair stiffened. He quickly put on his fake smile again. “Gentlemen, they’re just two dumb kids who don’t know better. Punish them if you want, but I still need them for something. Do me a favor—don’t let this get back to the Governor.” The group gave Solivair a dismissive look, their disdain thinly veiled. “We don’t decide whether it gets to the Governor or not,” one of them said coldly. Then they pointed at Arthur. “They broke into a protected garden. Who knows who else saw them? Even if we don’t report it, someone else might.” They didn’t care about Solivair’s plea in the slightest. Even without passing the assessment, their families’ wealth and influence were equal to—or greater than—Solivair’s. And they were confident in their chances of being accepted into Heaven’s Cult. After all, the organization only admitted the most powerful and influential. With Arthur and Ashley at the bottom of the pile, it only made the rest of them look even better by comparison. Their self-assurance was unshakable. Solivair felt the chill settle in his chest. They weren’t giving him even a shred of respect. He turned his eyes back to Arthur—now filled with deep resentment. It’s him. Arthur ruined everything again. A few nights ago, Arthur had caused him to offend these high-status elites and lose Mr. Drake’s favor. Now, he was embarrassing him again in front of the same people. If he didn’t still need Arthur to find Lynn, he wouldn’t keep him around for another second. Arthur caught that venomous look from Solivair. Once again, he was grateful he had insisted on coming to Heaven’s Cult. Because if he hadn’t, and if he did help Solivair find Lynn—there was no question Solivair would eliminate him the moment he outlived his usefulness. Not just him. Ashley and the Yan family might not be spared either. Still, Arthur couldn’t shake his confusion about this courtyard. He asked tentatively, “Wait... you’re not staying in courtyards like this?”Was that what this was all about? The others stared in disbelief. After all this... he still wants to play dumb? How thick could someone be? Solivair groaned in exasperation. “Arthur, I really thought you were a smart kid. Clearly, I was wrong. What kind of mindset do you have, still trying to play dumb at a time like this?” The rest cast Arthur a scornful look. “He’s trying to worm his way out of this by pretending to be stupid. Thinks we’re gullible enough to fall for it.” “God knows how many people he’s fooled with that act before! I hate kids like that—always trying to cut corners.” “You mess up, and instead of fixing it, you act clueless and hope it’ll all go away? Pathetic.” “If this were my kid, I’d break both his legs.”