Chapter 91: An Offer Too Suspicious to Refuse

Balian gasped and covered his mouth with one hand. However, Summer could tell that he was only exaggerating his reaction.

"Who is that?" Balian asked, widening his eyes. "I’ve never heard such a name before. How strange."

Summer rolled her eyes. "If you really don’t know who that is, then stop pretending to be surprised."

Before any of the Sentinels could say a word, Summer continued, "Mr. Devereaux, no matter how many times you try to explain it, I won’t believe that you became my biggest spender by accident."

Balian fell silent for a moment, but his eyes remained fixed on Summer. He didn’t look away even for a second.

Then, out of nowhere, he burst into laughter. "Oh, Summer... my Summer..." He shook his head with a smile. "I had no idea you were such an overthinker."

Summer’s eye twitched. Neither Archer nor Ilya had ever called her something so sweet before, let alone in such a familiar tone.

"That’s not an appropriate way to address me, Mr. Devereaux," Summer said coldly. "I can file a workplace harassment complaint against you for that."

"I can file it right now," Ilya immediately offered.

He was already reaching for his terminal when his hand suddenly stopped in midair and only then did he realize what Balian had done.

They had made an unspoken agreement not to use any of their abilities inside the hospital, yet Balian had just broken it.

"Drop it," Archer warned in a low voice. There was no hint of a joke in his tone and his expression was just as serious. "Drop it before I send you to the hellhole."

"Alright, alright." Balian casually raised both hands and released Ilya. "My, my, there’s no need to get so worked up."

Before either Archer or Ilya could say another word, Balian turned his attention back to Summer.

"And that’s not what I intended, Miss Summer."

He finally rose from his chair, but he couldn’t get any closer to her with Archer standing firmly between them.

Balian let out a weary sigh and decided to give up. Picking a fight with Archer in a confined space like this would only end in disaster, and he had no desire to find out how bad things could get.

"I apologize for what I said earlier, Miss Summer," he said. "I shouldn’t have called you something you never agreed to."

Summer frowned, suddenly at a loss for words.

To be honest, she had expected Balian to lose his temper, just like any ordinary man who couldn’t stand the thought of being scolded by a woman.

She had expected anger, accusations, or perhaps even an attempt to make her feel guilty.

But none of that happened.

Instead, Balian simply acknowledged that she was uncomfortable and apologized without making a fuss.

Summer had no idea how to respond.

After all, how was she supposed to react to something she had rarely experienced before?

Even her own teammates, some of whom disliked her, couldn’t help but see her as a sexual object.

So what was she supposed to do when a man actually respected her boundaries without making her pay for it?

"Alright..." Summer finally said. "Just calling me Summer is fine. Don’t add anything else."

Balian smiled. "Noted."

For a while, he said nothing more. Eventually, however, he seemed to decide that there was no point in hiding the truth any longer. "And to answer your earlier suspicions, unfortunately, not everything has a hidden meaning. I simply came across your stream by chance and found you interesting."

"Who would have thought you’d become these two gentlemen’s precious Guide?" Balian added with a smile.

Summer continued to look at him with suspicion. Seeing that, Balian finally decided to get to the point. "Actually, there’s another reason I came to see you today, Miss Summer."

Summer immediately grew wary. "What is it?"

"A job offer."

She blinked in surprise because that was the last thing she had expected him to say.

"I have a mission coming up, and I need a Guide to accompany me," Balian explained. "I need to collect a sample from the Blackstar Restricted Sector, an S-Rank Polluted Zone."

Blackstar Restricted Sector?

This was the first time Summer had ever heard of a place that didn’t have a number in its name. Even the original body’s memories contained nothing about it.

"Why the hell would you want to take her there?" Ilya gritted his teeth. "That place is incredibly dangerous. Even I have no idea what’s inside!"

"Didn’t I already tell you? I need a Guide," Balian replied calmly. "Besides, neither of you has clearance to enter that place because it’s mainly used to store medical resources."

Archer clicked his tongue in disbelief. "Sounds like a scam to me."

Balian stared at him, momentarily speechless. "Where do you think all the supplements and healing pills you take come from? Just because you can’t enter that place doesn’t mean it’s a scam."

"Can’t you just teleport inside?" Summer asked.

Archer let out an annoyed snort. "I can’t teleport somewhere I’ve never been before."

That made sense.

Summer turned back to Balian. "If that place is so secret, does that mean Ilya and Archer aren’t allowed to come with us?"

To be honest, she couldn’t help thinking that a place like this was exactly the kind of thing the government would use for its shady experiments, perhaps even to create biological weapons.

"Unfortunately, no," Balian replied. "They don’t have the required clearance."

Summer narrowed her eyes at him. "If even these two don’t have clearance, how am I supposed to know you’re not creating weapons of mass destruction in there?"

"Are you referring to the government’s shady dealings, Miss Summer?" Balian asked.

He didn’t seem offended by her suspicion. Instead, he looked at her with a hint of amusement. "I understand why you’d have those concerns, but I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. I’m not on the government’s side, Miss Summer, and I certainly never will be."

Summer raised an eyebrow because that was quite a bold statement coming from a businessman.

In a world where power and money often went hand in hand with the government, it was rare to meet someone who openly declared that they would never side with it.

"That’s a pretty bold thing to say for someone in your position," she remarked.

Balian chuckled. "And why is that?"

"Because you’re a businessman. Surely you know better than anyone how much influence the government has."

"Of course I do." Balian sat back on the couch, looking completely at ease. "But that’s exactly why I believe I have a choice."

He tapped his fingers lightly against the armrest before continuing. "I’m a businessman, Miss Summer. I have my own company, my own resources, and my own way of doing things. I don’t need to rely on the government to survive, so why should I become its slave?"

"And what if the government decides to make things difficult for you?" Summer asked. "Having money doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want."

"That’s true." Balian smiled. "But having enough money means I have more choices than most people."

He said it so casually that Summer couldn’t tell whether he was being arrogant or simply stating a fact.

Despite everything, Summer could tell that Balian wasn’t simply making things up to fool her.

"What kind of guarantee can you give me that I won’t become your test subject the moment I step into that shady place?" she asked.

Although she still had her doubts, the thought of exploring a new place was tempting. After all, how often did someone get the chance to visit a place that even most elite Sentinels couldn’t access?

The idea of such an adventure sounded exciting, even if it came with a certain amount of risk.

"Summer!" Ilya exclaimed. "Are you seriously considering his offer?"

"That place is dangerous," Archer added. "And there’s clearly something suspicious about it. If you’re going there, then I’m coming with you."

"You can’t," Balian replied calmly. "I don’t want to increase the risk of something going wrong by allowing people without the proper clearance to enter."

"People without the proper clearance?" Archer repeated, looking as though he wanted to grab Balian by the throat and strangle him right then and there.

Balian didn’t even bother responding to his glare. Instead, he turned to both men and sighed. "Gentlemen, why are you acting like a pair of uncivilized beasts? She’s your mate, so what? Does that mean she’s no longer allowed to make her own decisions or have control over her own body?"

For a moment, neither Ilya nor Archer said anything. Deep down, they both knew Balian was right.

"To answer your earlier question, Miss Summer, we’ll have to sign several NDAs and agreements before you enter that place," Balian explained. "However, if that’s still not enough to put your mind at ease, you can turn on your stream while we’re there. That way, people can watch everything that happens and serve as witnesses."