The Place You're Looking For

Ainsley was only watching from the side. He didn't see the expression on the woman's eyes earlier because he was busy eating. He only slowed down when the staff dealt with the spill. After they left, the best friend finally reacted: "Pfft, since when did you become so understanding? Gosh, that lady looked like she's been working for fifteen hours already."

"I wasn't. I barely held back." Sinclair only snorted. "It's too much trouble. Not to mention that it will reach the press, and they will work their way to find out who I was eating with. Are you willing to let them report on your full-course meal for five people?"

"You!" At that ridiculing tone at the end, Ainsley gritted his teeth in an edge-to-edge bite. He had already dropped the sulking from early, and now, he was picking it up again. This time, with Sinclair directly. He then huffed and busied his mouth with his lobster. "Hmph!"

Sinclair only glanced at him and made a victorious smile. However, when he looked down at his phone, his deep frown returned. It's just that… he locked the screen and pocketed the phone. He needed to eat first before feeling with these matters again. Now that the nightmare was hitting closer and closer to home, he found the need to act on it himself.

…

Back at the office, Stuart was standing next to his office desk in the inner room of the CEO's office. Sinclair didn't even bother to sit down on his chair before picking up a folder on the table. He opened it and took a quick scan of a resume and a report about the server from earlier. There were also photos of her in some dark alley, dressed in a hoodie and baggy denim jeans.

Pushing up his glasses, Stuart cleared his throat before starting his report. "It seemed that this disease is not what it presented itself to us. The other families are also slowly catching up to the truth. Should we interrogate the woman about the store? It was not found in the same place as she did weeks ago."

"Weeks ago?" Sinclair brought the folder down and opened the others. Each had a file about the other members of the company that had been hit by the strange disease. However, his attention was on the conclusion that Stuart had given. It was strange; why would it be weeks ago? "She hasn't gone there days ago?"

"No, master," Stuart spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, even if his points were quite vague, "The restaurant had four servers who were already sent to the mental ward for isolation. It seems that she knew that whatever it was could be bad for her. What we're seeing is more of a withdrawal symptom. Soon, the need will kick in, and she will begin attacking people."

"Hm. Tell them to report again in the next three days. We have to be sure." He then took out the file for Stephen Abbott and read the findings. It seemed that he had stopped a week ago instead. "Is there a demographic report about the samples?"

"Nothing distinguishable. It definitely relied on the victim's willpower." Stuart's tone softened. "Master, this couldn't be connected to what is happening up there, is it?"

Sinclair shook his head. "I doubt it. Almost every city in the world is being affected by this; some places with denser cases than others. We just happened to be one of the denser populations." He dropped the closed folder on his desk. "Get them to investigate everyone else. Give me a list of possible victims. We need to control the situation before it starts affecting the productivity of the company. Also, get Tammy to make a report about the stocks of all affected companies."

At the multiple orders, Stuart bowed before walking out and disseminating them. Sinclair collated the reports and placed them in a drawer that he kept locked.

Upon detecting another person with him in the room, he took a look over his shoulder. "Why are you here? It's still daytime."

"We're not vampires. I can walk under the sun if I want to." Roth sat down on the couch for visitors. He helped himself with the bottles of wine on the table before placing his leg up. With a sip, he only made an ugly expression. "How could you even attempt to eat human food?"

"Roth, I'm busy. Go find a brothel in the red-light district and don't bother me." Sinclair waved his hand at his brother who started appearing around him more and more.

"Tch, first, you shared your heart to a mortal; now, you'd rather play with those terrorists than speak to me. Hmph, what did I even do to you?" Roth was visibly displeased. He finished the glass and then drank the whole bottle like it was water. However, the redness on his face surfaced more evidently, causing Sinclair to massage his head.

This brother of his was drunk again. Roth hated human food, but he continued to consume alcohol nonetheless. How stupid and troublesome. Look at him, spilling alcohol on the couch again.

It's just that Sinclair just let this young dragon do what he liked. As long as he didn't hinder Sinclair or any of his people, he didn't mind what Roth does. "Just leave when you're done."

"The place you're looking for. It's like a pop-up store of some kind. They're making money here in the city." Roth gurgled his laughter, his drunkenness making his dragon features show. His teeth bared, while his eyes' third eyelid swiping in and out. "I can buy some for you if you wanted? But they only sell to humans… pure humans."

"…if I ask you to do it for me, what are you looking to gain?" Sinclair lifted his brows. He then sat at the edge of his desk, facing Roth. His arms rested on the sides, entertaining this drunken little brother. It was easier to talk to this version than the sober one.

"Gain? Money. I lost all my money to gambling last night." With roaring laughter, Roth even felt a little proud. This dragon loved money, but he couldn't hoard it. He was more fascinated by the sights of gambling and people losing and gaining tons of money. He gambled for the sight of other gamblers, it seemed.

Just nice, money was what Sinclair had the most. Patience, not so much. "Alright. Get me whatever is causing this. I'll give you ten million in return."