Chapter 624: For Truth, I Am Willing to Sacrifice My Youth

Chapter 624: Chapter 624: For Truth, I Am Willing to Sacrifice My Youth

When Claire Sinclair got home that day, she had just finished with dinner when she received an ecstatic phone call from Theo Rhodes.

"Master, I plied Uncle Hartwell with a few drinks, and he agreed to let me go! I’ll send you the recording in a bit. I’m heading out tomorrow."

Claire Sinclair nearly jumped to her feet. "What did you say?"

Theo Rhodes said smugly, "Master, I also recorded the promise you made to me in the office today. You agreed to this first, so you can’t go back on your word. I’m sending you the recordings now. Let’s talk on WeChat."

CLICK. The line went dead.

Claire Sinclair immediately opened WeChat. Sure enough, she had received a recording from the kid.

Claire Sinclair played the recording and heard the old Director’s slurred voice: "You punk. If you want to go, then go. But first, finish this drink with me!"

"Uncle Hartwell, you really agree to let me go?"

"I already said you could go. Now drink. No more nonsense."

"You got it, Uncle Hartwell! Cheers to that."

The recording was short and ended there, but its implication was perfectly clear.

Claire was exasperated. She replied on WeChat: You got him drunk and he agreed. Let’s see what he says when he sobers up.

Theo Rhodes: Master, come on, don’t be like that. You never said I *couldn’t* get the old Director drunk.

Claire: Just call him Uncle Hartwell!

Theo Rhodes: Oh. Uncle Hartwell is very reasonable.

Claire: You’re going to a place like that. What if you go missing, too?

Theo Rhodes immediately sent over a long analysis: Master, I’ve thought this through. There’s no such thing as ghosts. The haunting at Woodforest Community has to be man-made. The people behind it are just trying to cover up some kind of secret, and that secret is hidden in the community itself. The only way to find out what’s really going on is to get in there and investigate.

Theo Rhodes: So, for the sake of truth, I am willing to sacrifice my youth!

Claire: Cut the act.

Theo Rhodes: Master, please, just let me go. It’s to find the missing people.

Claire Sinclair sighed. She knew she couldn’t talk the kid out of it, so she had no choice but to let him do it.

However, he was a rookie, after all. Going to a place like that under the banner of the Astoria Daily, just like when she had entered The Bitter Sea, would almost certainly get him targeted.

So, she had to pave the way for him.

Claire: When you get to the paper tomorrow, find an excuse for me to fire you. Then, you go on Weibo and start trashing me, creating the illusion that you’ll never set foot in the Astoria Daily again. I’ll also tear into you publicly on Weibo. After that, stay home for a few days and don’t go out. Your only job is to keep smearing me and the Astoria Daily on Weibo. Once your reputation is ruined, then you can go to Woodforest Community.

Theo Rhodes: Master, it’s like we’re on the same wavelength!

Claire calmly continued her analysis: Woodforest Community has been supposedly haunted for so many years, scaring off countless developers. It’s impossible for so many people to have had accidents in there unless there’s a powerful force manipulating things from behind the scenes. And besides, that’s a huge piece of land to be left abandoned for this long. The owner behind the scenes can’t sell it, but they’re not willing to return it to the state, either. Don’t you find that strange?

Theo Rhodes: That’s exactly what I was thinking. My dad told me that old bastard from the Linden Family is a real piece of work—he never makes a losing deal and would do anything for money. There’s no way he’d just sit on a prime piece of land like that and do nothing.

Claire Sinclair smiled. She hadn’t expected the kid’s mind to work the same way as hers. It looked like they would have excellent chemistry at the paper from now on.

Theo Rhodes then added: Master, let me apologize in advance. When the time comes, don’t take it to heart if my insults get too nasty.