Chapter 613: The Work Secret Potion

When Hayden Jennings walked into the basement, the look on his face was utterly foul. There was only one reason for it—his wife, Cindy Hughes, had been missing for over 12 hours.

The bodyguards he’d sent out to find Cindy Hughes had all come back empty-handed. The nearby security cameras were also conveniently broken. No one knew where on earth Cindy Hughes had gone...

This had completely derailed Hayden Jennings’s plan!

In Hayden Jennings’s original plan, once Cindy Hughes successfully drugged and kidnapped Melody Summers, he would kill Cindy.

Then, with Melody Summers missing and Cindy Hughes dead, and no other witnesses in the villa, not even the police could do anything to him!

Even if the Summers Family decided to investigate, they likely wouldn’t press the issue too much, out of consideration for his wife’s death.

And even if the Summers Family did insist on pursuing it, he could turn the tables and accuse Melody Summers of killing Cindy Hughes before fleeing to escape justice.

After all, everyone knew that he, Hayden Jennings, doted on his wife. No one would ever suspect him!

The problem was, Hayden Jennings had planned for everything, except for one thing—Cindy Hughes had actually escaped!

’How dare she betray me!’

Hayden Jennings’s mind was filled with rage at being betrayed by his "pet," so he didn’t have a pleasant look for Melody Summers.

He stared coldly at Melody Summers and said in a low voice, "You’re smart to cooperate. Where is the knockout drug?"

Melody Summers replied, "You can have my knockout drug, but only if you tell me what you plan to do with it."

Hearing this, Hayden Jennings turned and walked away without another word.

Seeing him leave, Melody Summers hurriedly shouted, "It doesn’t matter if you won’t tell me! I already know! You’re researching a new type of virus, aren’t you!"

The instant Melody Summers finished speaking, Hayden Jennings whipped around.

He stared at Melody Summers, his expression so dark it looked like it could drip ink. "...How do you know? ...Did that woman, Cindy Hughes, tell you? Where the hell is she now?!"

Melody Summers gave the same reply. "Unless you tell me exactly what you’re up to, I won’t give you the knockout drug, and I won’t tell you where to find Cindy Hughes."

Hayden Jennings glared at Melody Summers, as if trying to burn a hole through her with his eyes. Melody met his gaze fearlessly, her posture making it clear she was prepared to outlast him if he refused to talk.

Melody Summers was well aware that Hayden Jennings was far more anxious than she was!

"Hayden Jennings, I suggest you think this through. You’re running out of time! If you really dare to lock me up for a couple of days... I’m afraid it’ll be too late for you..."

"If my family discovers I’m missing, they’ll definitely call the police! Everyone knows I disappeared at your house, so the police will certainly make you their prime suspect!"

"Even if you’ve already hidden all the evidence, what about Cindy Hughes? If she goes to the police and tells them everything..."

"Hayden Jennings, let me remind you again: this is Anworth, not your Aeridor! I don’t need to tell you whether you can get away with anything you want here. You know the answer to that yourself..."

"...And don’t count on your partners in crime, the Walsh Family, to help you. The Walshes couldn’t even save The Serene Leaf Teahouse. Do you really think they can save you?"

With every sentence Melody Summers uttered, Hayden Jennings’s expression darkened. He clenched his fists, the muscles in his face twitching with uncontrollable rage.

Melody was unfazed and continued, "I’m a woman of my word. Just tell me what I want to know, and I’ll give you what you want. And as a bonus... I’ll tell you where Cindy Hughes is!"

After Melody finished speaking, silence descended upon the basement.

Melody waited for a long time. Just when she thought Hayden Jennings wasn’t going to answer, he took a deep breath and said slowly, "We... are working on a monumental research project... Once this project succeeds, it will be enough to change the entire world!"

"So, just hand over the knockout drug. If it proves useful to this project, you too can be a part of changing the world! This would be a supreme honor for you! An opportunity others can only dream of!"

Melody Summers: "..."

’I can’t believe he held all that in just to spew this pile of nonsense,’ Melody thought. ’This is a complete waste of my precious time!’

She couldn’t help but mock him. "What ’monumental project’? Are you trying to create a zombie virus? Planning on becoming the Zombie King?"

Hayden Jennings frowned and retorted, "What are you talking about?! What zombie virus?!"

Melody snorted. "Stop playing dumb! It’s all coming back to me! The woman from Building 4, Unit 1404—the one who had that ’accident’—she worked as a nanny at your house, didn’t she? Is that where she was infected with that zombie virus?"

Hearing the words "zombie virus," a wave of fury surged through Hayden Jennings. He abandoned all pretense of composure and snarled at Melody Summers, "We are not researching a damn zombie virus! That mutated strain was just an accident! A minor hiccup in the scientific process!"

"What we are creating is a magnificent breakthrough that will push past human limits and unlock humanity’s greatest potential!"

Seeing Hayden Jennings’s face flushed with agitation, Melody smirked and said sarcastically, "Well, your research must be pretty far off course, then, turning a ’magnificent breakthrough’ into a zombie virus... That does explain it, though..."

Seeing Melody trail off as if holding something back, Hayden Jennings asked, perplexed, "Explains what?"

Melody scoffed. "...It explains why Professor Paige Walsh completely overshadowed you at the Anworth research institute. It seems your research skills are just so-so, not even in the same league as hers!"

Melody’s words struck a major nerve. Hayden Jennings finally snapped. He strode forward and viciously kicked the chair Melody was sitting on, sending both her and the chair crashing to the floor!

A sharp pain flared in her right shoulder, and Melody sucked in a sharp breath. She heard Hayden Jennings roar maniacally, "Don’t you dare mention Paige Walsh in front of me! She’s a hack! A mediocre talent! When my research is complete, she’ll be nothing but dirt under my feet!"

"The greatest achievement of her life is just a bunch of money-grubbing pharmaceuticals! But what I’m creating is a magnificent breakthrough that can control the human nervous system—enabling people to work continuously without the need for food or sleep, unleashing the body’s ultimate potential!"

Melody Summers: "..."

Melody was a little stunned. She couldn’t help but say to Albus in her mind, ’...White... did you hear that...? I feel like his description sounds a little familiar...’

Albus also fell silent in her mind. A moment later, he replied meekly:

’It does... seem a little familiar...’

Hayden Jennings continued his rant. "Once my magnificent breakthrough is released, we can implement a 24-hour workday! We can make every employee perform at their maximum potential! Everyone will work themselves to the bone to create a brighter future!"

Hearing this, Melody’s heart sank. The dreadful realization hit her—the thing Hayden Jennings was trying to create was none other than the "Work Secret Medicine"!!