Chapter 1197: Last supper

When Zoren came down, he saw the same scene Penny and Slater had walked into earlier. For some reason, the majority of people in the room had their hands raised. Only Nina, Finn, Benjamin, and James were not raising theirs. Before he could even ask, Benjamin happily filled him in.

"Ahh..." Zoren nodded, his eyes darting across the living room to where his wife stood. He narrowed his eyes and, in the blink of an eye, disappeared from Benjamin’s side.

"And Sir—" Benjamin stopped, searching for Zoren, only to find his boss already across the room. "Is he the Flash or something? How did he get there so fast?"

Meanwhile, Zoren pinched his wife’s chin and gently guided her to look at him. Penny flinched slightly in surprise.

"Renren?"

"What happened?" he asked, scanning her face. His gaze then shifted to Slater, catching the latter looking away.

"Renren, it’s nothing." Before he could press further, Penny grabbed his hand and flashed him a smile. "Just a childish fight with my Third Brother, but we made up."

His expression remained unchanged—sharp, unbending, cold. He studied the puffiness of her eyelids, the redness of her cheeks and nose, and the dampness of her eyelashes. She had cried—a lot. However, if she wasn’t coming clean now, he knew she didn’t want to talk about it.

Respecting her decision, Zoren nodded and released her chin. He cast another glance at Slater before dropping the matter.

"Renren, aren’t you going to raise your hand?" Penny asked almost excitedly. "First Brother is looking for a volunteer to punch him."

"So I heard." Zoren glanced at her raised hand. "I see you’re volunteering."

"Hihi. I’m raising my hand not because I want to punch him, but to make him realize he’s mean."

"Ah..." He tilted his head in understanding. However, even if his wife looked enthusiastic, he didn’t want to make the same mistake. "Third Brother is also raising his hand."

Slater flinched slightly, keeping his head turned away from Zoren. "I, well, don’t care about that. I also want to let First Brother know he’s a meanie."

Zoren darted his eyes between the two before advising, "You should put your hands down before he sees. You know him—he’s vengeful. He might not pick you two, but he’ll remember every face that raised a hand."

Penny and Slater froze in place, stupefied. That thought hadn’t even crossed their minds when Lily had told them about the situation. Slowly, they turned their heads toward where Atlas was standing, their hands inching downward.

But alas, Atlas was already looking in their direction.

"Keep those hands up," he said flatly.

Penny’s and Slater’s breath hitched.

They were dead.

Zoren shook his head, feeling sorry for his wife and Slater. If it were anyone else, he might have thought of a way to save them. But he knew they’d survive... somehow. Atlas wasn’t entirely heartless—just a bit.

Meanwhile, Atlas let his little siblings off the hook for now and scanned the room. Everyone was waiting for dinner, having been kicked out of the kitchen for making a mess.

He crossed his arms. "So, all of you want to punch me?"

"Senior Atlas, don’t take it to heart! I don’t want to punch you, but if you pick me, you won’t get hurt much." Lily, as enthusiastic as ever, winked mischievously. "You could say I’m trying to save you from these hungry wolves!"

Everyone turned to Lily, their faces twitching. They didn’t buy that crap. Lily was not only known for being wild but also for finding loopholes in her favor.

"You can’t call it a desire per se... but if you need help, I would!" Ginnie shrugged, keeping her hand up. "I did boxing, so I can punch really well."

"I’m not like them," Max added. "I genuinely want to punch you at least once in this lifetime."

Atlas’s sharp gaze fell on Max, committing his words to memory. He would never forget this and would make sure to return the favor a hundredfold.

"This looks fun," Finn chuckled, earning a glare from Nina. Smiling mischievously like a fox, he winked at her. "Don’t worry. I’m not raising my hand—I know I need your family to like me."

"Finn, are you saying that if that weren’t the case, you’d raise your hand too?" she scoffed under her breath, but he only shrugged.

Atlas had said and done enough things in the past to warrant at least one punch from everyone in Star Section. He hadn’t bullied them, but he had crushed their morale more than once.

"I want to get even!" Ray announced, waving his hand. "Let me do it! Just once—then I’ll have more reasons to apologize to you."

Atlas didn’t even glance at him, treating Ray like air, just as he had throughout the trip. Instead, his eyes landed on Allen, who, to Atlas’s surprise, had raised his hand boldly.

"Allen," Atlas called. Allen felt his soul leave his body for a second. "I see you carry some grudges against me."

Allen paled, opening and closing his mouth. Seeing this, Benjamin and James exchanged worried glances.

"It’s okay," Benjamin whispered. "Don’t be scared. He’s not going to kill you."

James nodded encouragingly. "He’s going to hurt you, but you’ll live."

How was that encouraging?

Allen felt like crying, questioning if he had just made a grave mistake. But despite the fear, he had his reasons.

"Uh..." He hadn’t even spoken yet, but his back was already drenched in sweat. Clenching his fists, he suddenly yelled, "Because I want to prove that I’m not into you! And that I am a man who likes girls!"

Silence.

Everyone stared at him blankly, mouths slightly open, as imaginary birds chirped in the background.

Then, they all had the same thought:

Atlas had definitely traumatized him.

Atlas shook his head and waved dismissively. "Forget it," he said nonchalantly. "Since you all want to punch me, I won’t give you the satisfaction. Consider it my gift to you—you’re welcome."

Everyone slowly turned to Atlas, unsure whether to be speechless over Allen’s or Atlas’s remarks.

Just then, Butler Lee walked in, smiling as he surveyed the group. They were just as lively as ever, he thought.

"Dinner is ready," he announced. "Please join me for your supper—one that I hope isn’t your last in this castle."