Chapter 311 - 310: People from The Genetics Organization Have Boarded the Ship

Chapter 311: Chapter 310: People from The Genetics Organization Have Boarded the Ship

The masked woman smiled and raised a hand, gesturing for Asher to step forward. "If you aren’t... I’ll kill you."

She seemed to be waiting—waiting for Asher to fail the scan so she could execute him.

I clenched my hands, staring at the masked woman. Under these circumstances, I didn’t know what I could do to ensure Asher’s survival.

Down in the crowd, Zeke Shaw, Lucas Grant, and Felix Foster watched the stage nervously.

"If the real CEO of Astraeus Group steps forward now, you can still save all these people... Otherwise, everyone dies," the masked woman announced, looking out at the captive audience.

The CEO of Astraeus Group had definitely boarded the cruise ship. If he wasn’t among the people on stage, he had to be down there. Everyone looked at the stage in terror. In such a massive banquet hall filled with so many people, it was astonishingly dead silent.

"Alright, you’re up." She pointed at the safe, signaling Asher to unlock it.

I watched him nervously and took a deep breath.

Asher placed his palm on the scanner. The safe didn’t trigger an alarm. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes, desperately hoping he was the one the Rebels were looking for. After all, when sacrificing one person could save the rest, human nature was inherently selfish...

"Iris scan," a member of the Resistance demanded. They didn’t dare get physical with Asher; his oppressive aura sent shivers down their spines.

Asher looked toward the iris scanner himself.

"BEEP BEEP... Error! Error!"

The safe let out a blaring alarm.

It was a mismatch...

I stared at Asher in shock. He wasn’t the CEO of Astraeus Group? Or perhaps... Now, even I wasn’t sure.

The masked woman and the rest of the Resistance were visibly stunned. They looked around, wondering who on earth the CEO of Astraeus Group really was. Compared to everyone else’s shock, Asher remained completely unfazed, standing there without a hint of worry.

"You played us," the masked woman gritted out, raising her gun to shoot him.

Asher looked at her coldly, his gaze incredibly dark and brooding. He was betting she wouldn’t dare pull the trigger.

I panicked and tried to rush forward, but was held back. I stared at Asher in terror, terrified that the lunatic would actually shoot. Fortunately, she didn’t... She looked at him, her arm trembling for some unknown reason, and finally lowered her weapon.

She hadn’t spared Asher out of fear—that much was absolute.

"It seems Sebastian Lancaster isn’t the CEO of Astraeus Group." Owen Foster stepped out and grabbed the masked woman’s wrist to stop her from going crazy and firing. "I advise you not to take this too far."

The masked woman glared at Owen angrily, looking entirely out of control. I guessed she must be heavily conflicted—hoping Asher was the CEO of Astraeus Group, yet simultaneously hoping he wasn’t.

"The rest of you, continue!" she snapped, shaking off Owen’s hand and pointing at the remaining hostages on stage.

They all slumped to the ground in fear, every single one of them pale-faced.

Owen frowned, knowing the masked woman was about to snap. Sure enough, she executed two more people consecutively.

"That’s enough," Owen said in a deep voice.

I pulled Asher back, watching that crazy woman warily. She was genuinely insane. Asher frowned, his gaze fixed on Owen. Owen never looked back at Asher, simply placing himself between the madwoman and the hostages.

The crazy woman looked out over the crowd. "I know you’re on this ship. If you refuse to come out, I’ll keep killing." With that, she pointed her gun straight at me.

I knew she really wanted to kill me, but held some sort of reservation. Asher glared at her furiously and stepped directly in front of me to shield me.

"Is she really that important to you?" the masked woman asked in a manic tone.

Asher didn’t answer her. His actions had already told her everything she needed to know.

"Then you can die for her!" she roared at Asher, preparing to pull the trigger.

My heart leapt into my throat.

"Stop killing them!" Right at that moment, a shrill, trembling voice rang out from the crowd.

Everyone turned to look.

In the midst of the crowd, the young master of the Sutherland family stood trembling, his eyes red. "Stop killing them. I am the CEO of Astraeus Group... I kept my startup a secret from my family and founded Astraeus," Isaac Sullivan choked out.

Everyone stared at Isaac, but very few believed him. After all, he had previously stepped forward to claim the title just to protect a woman, but had unfortunately failed the test.

"Your bleeding heart is a bit too much," the masked woman sneered, turning back to Asher, intending to shoot.

"It really is me!" Isaac pushed past everyone, walking forward step by step.

We all watched as he climbed onto the stage, peeled a thin, transparent film off his palm, and popped out colored contact lenses from his eyes. He then placed his bare hand on the scanner and aligned his eyes with the sensor.

"CLICK. Match successful. Unlocking..."

Everyone stared at Isaac in utter shock. Even I was stunned... He just looked like a weak, helpless second-generation rich kid. How could he... To think he had hidden himself so deeply. He actually knew how to protect himself and blend seamlessly into the crowd.

"Astraeus is my company. I didn’t want anyone to know. I guessed there might be danger today. My original intention was just to protect my assets and keep my existence a secret..." Isaac muttered, his head bowed.

I looked at him in awe, then turned to Asher. Asher remained silent, merely squeezing my hand.

If it was Isaac, then it was a happy ending for almost everyone else. The Sutherland family definitely wielded considerable power in Meridia. It wasn’t entirely impossible for them to have secretly backed Isaac in becoming the CEO of Astraeus Group.

"I’ve been autistic since I was a child. It’s congenital autism... but it’s not severe. I just don’t like communicating with people. I prefer to hide. My dad and grandfather cared too much about our reputation, so they never dared to tell anyone...

"They forced me to socialize like a normal person, but I just wanted to hide behind everyone. Ideally... I wanted no one to know me," Isaac said softly, his head bowed so low it almost touched his chest.

He certainly seemed withdrawn.

Below the stage, the wealthy elites were dumbfounded. Isaac Sullivan—the most inconspicuous rich kid of them all—was actually the CEO of Astraeus Group. You really couldn’t judge a book by its cover.

"I never would have guessed. He’s always so awkward and overly kind-hearted, but he’s actually a genius."

"The CEO of Astraeus Group is indeed a genius, and rumor had it he was a young man."

"That matches up perfectly. But what good is being a genius? You still need a powerful father. The Sutherland family is top-tier in Meridia. Giving their son a few hundred million as a startup goal naturally gives him a much higher chance of success than the rest of us."

The crowd below had already broken into fervent whispers.

From the moment the safe clicked open, the boats belonging to The Genetics Organization had closed in on the cruise liner. Their operatives had already boarded. This was the exact moment they had been waiting for.

"They’ve boarded," Owen announced warily, looking outside.

The masked woman still wanted to kill, but Owen held her back. "You’ve already released those wolfhounds from the underground lab. We can’t stay on this ship anymore. We need to leave immediately!"

The masked woman was reluctant, glaring furiously at Asher and me. It seemed she was disappointed that she hadn’t exposed him as the CEO of Astraeus Group.

"What exactly... is going on?" I whispered to Asher.

Asher shook his head. "I’ll explain once we’re out of here."

I nodded. "No matter what, we have to protect Isaac."

However, when Owen and the masked woman left, they took Isaac with them. After all, he was the CEO of Astraeus Group. Both The Genetics Organization and the Resistance desperately wanted him.

"Someone boarded the ship! They’re here to save us!"

People began to cheer. Little did they know, these men were not here to save them. They were only here to save Isaac—to secure the CEO of Astraeus Group, their biggest financial backer.

Just as everyone grew excited and the Resistance began to retreat, the gruesome sounds of tearing flesh echoed from outside the banquet hall.

"There are wolfhounds! They’re eating people! They’re the monsters bred on this ship!"

"Help!"

Chaos erupted once again. Everyone screamed and scattered in a frantic bid for survival.

The Resistance intended to expose every single scandal that had taken place aboard this ship. Now that The Genetics Organization had fought their way on board, the Resistance was fleeing with Isaac in tow.

This wasn’t the end. And these guests would never receive their rescue. Because The Genetics Organization wanted them all dead at sea far more than the Resistance ever did.

My eyelids began to twitch violently as I looked at Asher in sheer terror. These people had boarded the ship to leave no witnesses and frame others for the massacre.

They wouldn’t let a single soul leave this ship alive.