Chapter 1710: I might not actually meet you

"Petty, but confident. Zoren, leave my Penny alone. She’s mine after this, and you? Six feet under. If not, behind bars."

Mint.

Had Zoren known those were the last time he would see Mint or the last words he would hear from her, he would’ve asked her to stay longer. Perhaps, he would’ve said something regarding what she had said to keep the conversation going.

She was, after all, not a friend, but a good ally.

She was almost corrupted, as she always bordered on abusing her power. One example was knowing what Zoren was doing and not doing anything about it. It wasn’t that she condoned it, but she simply knew that sometimes, to fight for justice, someone had to sully their hands.

This world had made it clear to them that playing nice couldn’t take you far. Especially not in this case.

---

Zoren sat on a couch, all the lights in his home off. His arms rested on his legs, eyes down. His clothes still drenched from the rain during Mint’s funeral.

Standing in the dark, just close to where Zoren was, was Mark.

Mark gazed at Zoren’s side with grim worry. It had been a while now since they started this case about Penelope Bennet. Blood had been spilled, and lives had been lost.

Zoren had already taken down quite a few powerful figures in power and exposed them. He had sullied his hands with those who deserved it, particularly gang members and members of an underground organization.

Above all, Zoren had taken down the entire Pierson Corporation by tying their company and many of his family members into the exposure of some powerful figures. That included Jonathan, while William’s involvement was still in question. After all, one way or another, William had some participation in it, even if he wasn’t aware. On top of that, Penny’s case was reopened, and even when she was dead, her name was cleared of all the accusations pointed at her.

But not everything was a victory.

Zoren might’ve achieved all these feats, but he lost quite a lot of people as well. Finn was shot dead right under his nose. Penelope was executed just before her case could reopen. And there was Mint—and now Benjamin. Benjamin might not have died, but with Mint’s loss, it was all the same.

Yet, this war was far from over, and they both knew that.

Mark opened his mouth, but in the end, what he wanted to say rolled back into his throat. He lowered his head and sighed heavily.

Zoren, on the other hand, kept his gaze down to the floor. His expression remained the same, his eyes blank. He sat in silence, his mind drifting, not on his losses anymore.

He was done—fed up.

At one point, he started questioning if this was even worth it.

Penny was already dead, after all. Mint was now dead. Many of his men were dead. His grandmother had also passed.

Was there a point to this anymore?

Zoren wondered about that question in his head over and over, like a broken record.

After what felt like forever, he finally spoke.

"Mark." His voice was quiet and low. "Make preparations. I’m going to take down every single one of them."

Mark looked at Zoren’s back, brows knitted. "Sir..."

"Fighting the system and considering everything by the book already proved that it’s not the right way," Zoren continued in the same quiet voice. "They killed Mint, and the next will be me. And I am not going to die without taking every single one of them with me."

"..." Mark kept his mouth drawn into a thin line, staring at Zoren’s back with concern.

"Tell our men to prepare," Zoren continued. "Those who aren’t ready to die stay behind. But those who are willing to walk with me in that place... tell them we’re leaving tomorrow at dawn."

Mark gulped, but despite his reluctance, he lowered his head. "Yes, sir."

With that, Mark quietly walked away to send out the word. Even though Zoren said to leave behind those who weren’t ready to die with him, he knew that wasn’t impossible. Zoren wasn’t the only one who lost someone.

Every single one of them also lost someone precious to them. In this quest, they lost comrades, partners, friends, and people they considered family. This was no longer just about orders, but something even more personal to each of them.

Meanwhile, Zoren remained quiet even when Mark’s light footsteps disappeared.

He kept his eyes down, his eyelids drooping.

"Penelope," he whispered, a name he subconsciously called and spoke to even though the only time he met her was when she was dead. "I... I might not actually meet you, even in the afterlife, after all."

Because he was certain that after this, Zoren was not headed to where she was. He was going somewhere else, somewhere deeper than hell.

And perhaps, he was fine with that.

She was better off not knowing that her husband... was someone like him.

---

[In reality]

Penny kept seated in the wooden chair, her elbow propped on the armrest. Her jaw rested on her knuckles, and her eyes never left Zoren—not even for a second.

Zoren’s breathing was calm until...

Beep... beep...

Her brows twitched up as the heart monitor began beeping loudly and erratically. She pushed herself up, sitting on the edge of the bed. She first checked his pulse monitor and then the heart monitor.

His heartbeat was growing frantic.

"No, no, no—" She panicked and gazed down at him, wide-eyed. "Renren? Renren!?"

Penny clasped his shoulders and shook him a bit. "Renren, you need to wake up now!"

The sound of the heart monitor rang louder with short intervals, making her grip on his shoulders tighten.

"Renren!" she yelled, adrenaline surging through every fiber of her body. She shook his shoulder more aggressively, but nothing.

"Shit!" She clenched her teeth and was about to push herself away to get another piece of equipment to force him awake—a more reckless method, but she couldn’t just let her husband have a heart attack during hypnosis.

But then—

GASP!