Hollywood Zenith

Chapter 464 Unusual movements

" Have you found the cause?"

" Not yet. I have sent some of our agents to gather more information about it, but they have been elusive so far."

Zero and her subordinate were discussing inside her temporary office in LA. They had been stationed here for the foreseeable future, dealing with their discovery of the mole that they found inside the foundation.

So far, they had effectively attacked a few of the enemy's forces but could not find anything substantial. Steve and Arthur personally led their team for these incursions, but every time, they would fall short. It's like something was protecting them from the shadows.

Arthur had suspicions about the matter, but so far, he hadn't disclosed it to anyone, not even Steve. Even though they couldn't find a hidden force behind the operation, they could rescue plenty of people through the process which was a good thing.

Currently, they were chasing a lead in Europe with what Samuel had instructed them to do. It was to find out matter regarding Elise; since the first time he had seen her scars, he made a vow to completely crush whoever was responsible for it.

His orders were simple first, not to alert the other party in the slightest so what they had been doing previously couldn't be carried out here. Second was the inquiry about Elise's origins; even if they couldn't find everything, some clues were bound to be left behind.

Third was the set up of the early work for the entry of his Verdant foundation in these dilapidated areas. His money showed no signs of decreasing, and with his recent move to acquire shares of LVHM, it would only grow in the future, so it was best to start his plans early.

Samuel had enough money to spend, so his ultimate goal was to control the financial market through a shadow entity. In doing so, he could have ample wealth to implement his volunteer work globally. With his wealth of knowledge, it was easier for him to predict how everything would flow in the future. It gave him a tremendous edge over everyone, even if it was an opponent so embedded in the society that even Rothschild and others could not find their root!

Lastly, he wanted them to only observe, and when they found the culprit, their orders were not to engage in the slightest. It was not so that they couldn't crush the enemy, it was so Samuel could inflict pain so worse than death that they would regret being born!

" We only know their unusual movements have been centred around Paris, but due to their extreme secrecy, we couldn't find out why...wait."

" Exactly, young master is currently in Paris. It couldn't be a coincidence." Zero said after some hesitation. She couldn't believe it was happening at the worst possible moment of their operation.

" I also discovered a vital thing about them...they resembled the forces the young master's team encountered when they were here."

*Baam!* Zero slammed the desk so hard that it left a faint imprint on the surface. Her subordinate didn't know why she reacted so violently to her speculation, but knowing her loyalty to the young master, it began to make sense.

Even after losing dozens of their subordinates during their 'war' under the House of Medici, they still followed the Rothschild family under Samuel's command. He, a new member of the AXA guild, didn't know how to change court so decisively, but after working here for a few years, he knew how much Zero valued Samuel's 'mercy'.

Although there was friction between Rothschild and their faction, within a few years, the guild had become an integral part of his main force with Samuel's support. Their intelligence network encompasses numerous countries, and even something happening in third-world cities was swiftly relayed back to the HQ for sorting.

" How certain are you?" Zero asked with her bloodshot eyes. The person who always dawned an emotionless face looked at him with such viciousness that made him shudder involuntarily.

" I have analyzed it several times and even consulted other members-"

" Give me a conservative estimate." Zero didn't want to hear technical jargon. They had a much more pressing matter: if 'he' was making a move, how come nothing was conveyed to Zero?

" Around 80%?" He said as he looked at Zero's face. Even though he still didn't know whether Zero was a man or a woman, Zero's expression of biting down the nail made him lean toward a woman.

" Alright, you are dismissed."

" huh? Shouldn't we come up with a protective-"

" You don't have to worry about that, but tell everyone not to spread what we discussed. We don't want those hot-headed fellows to start running around alone. Understand?"

" Yes, sir." He bowed and exited the room. Without skilful, Zero was sure she had ample contagious in place for a situation like this. He also knew that several ghost soldiers were guarding their boss twenty-four-seven, so it shouldn't be a problem. Besides, he heard that the young master was also a skilled fighter.

With these things in place, there shouldn't be any need for him to worry. As soon as he left, Zero opened a hidden compartment and took out a strange-looking apparatus. It resembled a handheld phone, but at the same time, it was too bulky to be carried around in public.

" Hello, it's me.."

...

...

...

" Ho ho, You can eat slowly; no need to stuff your mouth like a little mouse." Michelle was holding Elise, sitting on her lap, enjoying snacks. She was extremely fond of these, which was why Michella had prepared them when she heard she was coming today.

" How great, she doesn't even look at me anymore.." Mi Sun was feeling dejected. She felt the shock when Elise refused to leave Michelle's embrace since she saw her. She later discovered that she cared for Elise when she was here, but that didn't matter to Mi Sun, who wanted to play with her.

" Sunbae, you shouldn't worry about these things; we will have plenty of time to play with her!" Ningning said optimistically.

" Are you planning to keep staying at their home?" Yoona asked.

" Of course! We don't have to deal with fanatic fans; the building security is also good. The main reason is that our little Sami will be there too!" Soo-jin said enthusiastically. She remembered Samuel's half-naked body, which made her daydream since last night.

" I definitely heard Sami's name! Are you bad-mouthing him again?" Mayra, who was listening to them, didn't know Korean, but when she heard Samuel's name and looked at Soo-jin's vulgar face, she knew they were up to something terrible again!

" It's a misunderstanding; they said they would love to stay at your home. The security-" Yoona wanted to clarify, but Mayra stopped her before she could do so.

" No! Absolutely not! With what happened yesterday night, I can't have you around Sami anymore!" She was not saying that because she found them cumbersome. This morning, she found out why they were acting strange yesterday.

Suspecting Samuel to be some sort of escort!? How on earth do they even think of that? She reluctantly agreed for them to accompany her to work and brought them here because of Elise, but that didn't mean she completely forgave them!

With these girls staying close to Samuel, there was bound to be some trouble in the future. It was better to cut the root cause before it became a hindrance!

" Eh? Can't you think more about it? I wanted to show Elise around the city during these few days." Mi Sun knew Mayra was not overreacting, but she still thought they had mended the bridge enough for her to accept them, but she guessed wrong.

" No, I am sure Kayla will also have the same thought. Besides, don't you have to go meet your manager? He sounded serious over the phone." Mayra didn't raise her voice because of the children around them, but she was definitely a ticking time bomb if they pressed this issue further.

" She is right. Noona was also worried about us; we should head back." Yoona was a lot more realistic than the rest. Bo-mi had been blowing up their phone, threatening to look for them around the city if they didn't disclose their location, and Manager Kim was also sombre over the phone, so they asked him to come to the orphanage to pick them up later in the evening.

Although Mayra had told them a few things, she didn't disclose Samuel's real identity. It was bound to be something tyrannical with how he carried himself, so inconveniencing such a person would result in backlash from him. It could affect their livelihood!

" Alright. We will go back." Mi Sun accepted it. With everything working against her, she was bound to get separated from her 'princess', but she promised to maintain a friendly image to get regular updates on Elise in the future! If she made sufficient effort, she could invite Elise to visit Korea!

With these happy thoughts in her head, she was frowning on the surface, which made everyone misunderstand her. Although Mayra felt a little guilty, she refused to budge!

" That's good-" Mayra wanted to say something but that's when she caught something shining in the distance.

Suddenly, something fell behind her and exploded, making her look toward Elise instinctively. It was not the only one; several more 'things' fell from above and exploded one after another!