Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 504. Motives

Once everything was inspected and every single curtain was closed, the Governor's Mansion plunged into darkness. Julio let out a slight sigh of relief and turned his head to look at the wall in front of him.

It seemed like he was looking at the wall, but in reality, he was looking at the street outside the wall. Julio waited until the holes in the canopy above Hope Island were covered, which allowed night to fall upon the island, before making his move.

Julio reached into his coat with his right hand and fumbled around. Moments later, he took out a pearl and tossed it into the air. A green light burst out of the pearl, illuminating everything. The shadows of the chairs, tables, and nearby objects distorted and warped beneath the eerie green light.

The shadows curled and hollowed tentacles stretched out from the shadows; bizarre, misshapen voids riddled the shadows; the lavishly decorated hall instantly became a terrifying nightmarish place.

"I want to know everything there is to know about that mouse just now," Julio said.

At his command, the shadows rushed toward the door and windows. Julio then sat on a stool and put his feet on the table. He reached out behind him, and a bright red apple appeared in his hand.

Julio chewed on the apple and waited patiently for the shadows' return.

Swoosh!

There was a flash of light, and Sparkle appeared in front of Julio.

Julio's chewing abruptly came to a halt. The two stared at each other for a few seconds before Sparkle stretched out her right hand and reached for the bright red apple in Julio's hand.

Shadows burst out of Julio's sleeve like a torrent, shooting straight toward the petite Sparkle. The shadows pierced Sparkle in the blink of an eye, but Sparkle snatched Julio's apple at the same time.

Then, Sparkle vanished with a flash of light.

Julio was stunned. He had been a governor for so many years, but Sparkle was the first one to have easily escaped his grasp.

"Not bad. It seems Charles has quite a few remarkable helpers. I underestimated him a bit," Julio said. He took out another apple and was about to bite into it when Sparkle reappeared in front of him and snatched that apple away.

Julio's expression was ugly as he stared at his empty palm. The astonishment and awe in his eyes transformed into anger. "Is that little girl trying to provoke me?"

Julio waved his right hand, and five apples appeared on the table in a single file.

"All right. Let's see if you can take these five apples away from me." Julio then poured a dark blue liquid on the ground. The liquid moved on its own, creating a triangular magic formation with the table and the apples in the middle of it.

However, Sparkle didn't instantly reappear to snatch the apples away. Julio waited for a long time. Finally, on the daybreak of the next morning, Sparkle reappeared with a flash of light.

Sparkle waved her arm, scooping up the five apples when the table folded from the middle. A loud bang echoed as the table sandwiched Sparkle from both sides.

Meanwhile, the triangular magic formation came to life, and multiple dark blue threads rushed out of it, shuttling through the table to sew it in place.

However, Julio's anger was not assuaged by the sight. Instead, he was further infuriated upon using his xray vision and discovering that the huge cocoon-like object before him was empty—Sparkle had escaped him once again.

"Hahaha, great! This is just great!" Julio exclaimed, revealing a forced smile.

Julio went head-to-head with Sparkle over the next few days. He tried every possible way to trap Sparkle, but the latter would always escape him.

Julio had been the overlord of the Subterranean Sea for a long time, which meant that things would often go his way. However, Julio couldn't trap Sparkle for some reason, making him feel like he was about to go crazy from frustration.

Julio was sure that he had never been so frustrated before.

The daybreak of another morning arrived, and Julio was unwittingly transfixed on the ten apples in front of him. The faint dark circles under his eyes indicated that he was sleep-deprived, but Julio needed to trap Sparkle rather than sleep.

The ten apples in front of him were in the middle of a variety of formations, relics, and strange mechanical objects brimming with inscrutable inscriptions. Julio had decided to go all out just to trap Sparkle, and he refused to believe that the little girl could still escape his trap.

Julio cast a nervous gaze at the clock hanging on the wall. His multiple encounters with Sparkle over the past few days had allowed him to grasp Sparkle's attack pattern.

Sparkle would snatch his apples every day at seven o'clock sharp.

"Five, four, three, two... one! Don't even think about running away from me this time!!" Julio roared. His eyes flashed with excitement as he took to the air; the formations, relics, and strange mechanical objects came to life, emitting both dim and radiant light.

A creaking noise echoed as the door next to Julio was opened.

Anna walked in while holding Sparkle's hand.

"I didn't expect Governor Julio to be a child at heart. I'm really surprised to see you playing so enthusiastically with a child less than a year old."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Julio waved his hand. The formations, relics, and strange mechanical objects in the hall vanished.

"Ahem... ahem," Julio cleared his throat before asking, "Who are you?"

"Weren't you looking for the Governor of Hope Island? That's me. And this place is my home. If you need a place to stay, then go and look for a place to stay outside."

Julio's bravado returned upon hearing Anna's remark. He stared coldly at Anna and pointed out. "As far as I know, Hope Island's governor isn't a woman. Tell Charles to come out and see me."

"Whatever business you have, discuss it with me. If you don't want to talk to me, then please leave. Hope Island doesn't welcome you," Anna said. She walked to a chair and sat down sideways.

Julio examined Anna carefully, and his eyes reflected not even a tinge of illicit desires as he was faced with Anna's sexy figure. His eagle-like eyes allowed him to see deeper, and he muttered in astonishment, "You... seem to..."

"Are you going to speak or not? They're all ready outside," Anna asked, staring calmly at Julio.

Julio turned to look at the wall and saw that the streets and rooftops outside the Governor's Mansion were riddled with troops armed with deadly weapons. The dark muzzles of the troops' weapons were pointing at the Governor's Mansion.

Julio turned to Sparkle sitting on Anna's lap. "I acknowledge your qualification to speak to me on account of her being so obedient to you. I don't like beating around the bush, either.

"Anyway, I'm here to meet the Governor of Hope Island for a couple of things.

"First of all, I need those seeds that can grow under the death light. Distributing them island by island is too slow. The Northern Seas isn't the only sea region throughout the Subterranean Sea. The Eastern, Southern, and Western Seas exist as well."

"How much are you willing to pay for those seeds?" Anna asked, smiling faintly at Julio.

Julio frowned slightly and pointed out. "Aren't you giving out those seeds for free?"

"That's right; they're free. They're free if you can wait. My obedient daughter will eventually arrive at your Cat Island to deliver those seeds to you; you just have to wait for half a year or maybe a year," Anna said, hugging Sparkle in her arms.

"That calamity is affecting every single human being throughout the Subterranean Sea. Planting those seeds a day sooner means saving more lives than later. Knowing that, how dare you set such conditions?" Julio stood up. His towering figure as well as his angered expression made him look like a furious lion.

The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly tense, and just as it reached the boiling point, Anna covered her mouth and chuckled. "Governor Julio, you really have no sense of humor. I was just joking. Why did you take it seriously?"

"That wasn't a funny joke at all," Julio said, sitting back down with a cold expression.

"So that was your first motive for coming here? What's next?" Anna blinked at him.

"I've also come here to know more about the death light that's exterminating mankind as we speak. Does it have anything to do with the missing Divine Light Order?" Julio asked.