Chapter 570: I’m... home?

Minutes earlier...

"Ahh! I can’t do this anymore!" Nathaniel wept as he slumped in the pit, gazing up at the surface. "Miss Penny! I mean, Mrs. Penny—no, goddess! Have mercy on me, please! Don’t make me dig my own grave!"

Nathaniel lamented on and on, almost using all his energy crying rather than doing the work. He had been digging since afternoon, and night was already falling.

"I’m tired! Okay! I’m not going to complain! But can we continue this tomorrow?! I swear I’ll dig very deep—deeper than six feet! I promise!"

Again, all he got was silence.

"Miss Penny!! I’m hungry! All workers need to take a break from time to time—I might get dehydrated!" he added. "Please. Let me have some snacks! Even those on death row get to eat their last meal!"

Penny drew a deep breath and rolled her eyes, glancing at one of the bodyguards near her. She tilted her head, and the bodyguard quickly nodded in understanding. He approached the pit and tossed a wrapped sandwich and a bottled water.

"That’s your last meal," he said coldly before walking away, having already finished his job.

Nathaniel gazed down at the packed sandwich and then at the bottled water on the ground. His face twisted, but his hunger took over. He quickly crawled to pick them up. Without any care for the dirt clinging to him, he opened the sandwich and took a large bite. His body shook in horror, but he still ate, gobbling down the sandwich in the blink of an eye. Even how he drank the water was in huge gulps.

"Hah...!" Nathaniel hissed in satisfaction, but that wasn’t enough to quench his hunger and thirst. It was only enough to give him the energy to cry more. "Miss Penny! I want a pizza—a whole pizza as my last meal! Also, some seafood—how about a king crab?!"

The bodyguards near the pit walked closer and gazed down at him. "Keep digging first."

"What?!" Nathaniel gasped. "Isn’t this six feet already?! I can’t even get up there now!"

"Keep digging," repeated the bodyguard, then glanced at Penny. "Just to be sure you wouldn’t stink."

"Huhuhu!" Nathaniel cried out loud, looking at the bodyguard pitifully. "Cruel! All of you are heartless! Don’t you have a brother? A nephew?! Aren’t you all afraid of the heavens?!"

Yet, no matter how he shouted, whatever he said fell on deaf ears. All he could do was grab the shovel to keep digging. This was the most exhausting job Nathaniel had ever had—the scariest one, at that.

Meanwhile, the bodyguards, who stuck around to ensure Nathaniel wouldn’t try to run away, glanced at Penny. Nathaniel had attempted to escape a few times, only to be dragged back to the pit he had to finish. Even so, they couldn’t help but pity him.

Nathaniel might not be the best person, and he was annoying, but they couldn’t imagine digging a pit, knowing it was for them. This alone was already torture for the mind.

’Just how deep does she need him to dig?’ one of the guards wondered, casting his colleague a look. The latter shrugged, then glanced at Penny and back at the pit.

’If he keeps digging, he might hit the Earth’s inner core.’

’Does she want him to dig his way to hell?’

’Miss Penny is also cruel when sober. I don’t want to rub her the wrong way.’

’What time is it? How come the master hasn’t returned yet? If he were here, he would...’ one of the guards trailed off, thinking of Zoren. ’Never mind. Having the boss here wouldn’t help. I’m sure he’d just ask him to keep digging overnight.’

The bodyguards shook their heads, all of them shifting their eyes to where Penny was. She had been here since afternoon. While Nathaniel was digging, she even managed to get some work done in her seat. She even had snacks!

As for Mark, who stood near Penny, he gazed down at her. His lips were drawn into a tight line as he glanced at the pit where dirt still flew out of it alongside Nathaniel’s pleading.

’She barely said a word since we all came here,’

Naturally, Penny should’ve questioned Mark about why he had lied to her. He had prepared himself to explain the situation. Mark also prepared a speech, which meant passing the explanation to Zoren. After all, Mark believed it should be Zoren who would explain things to her. If it were Mark, he would just lie again, knowing he wasn’t in a position to disclose any information to her.

’Is that it?’ he wondered, snapping his eyes back to Penny. ’Is that the reason she hasn’t asked me or anyone about it? Because she knew she wouldn’t get a proper answer from us?’

Mark let out a deep exhale. ’Angel is right. I should’ve listened to him more.’

Surely, Penny was sharp enough to know when someone was lying to her. She was also smart enough to avoid wasting her energy and making herself angry.

As Mark was lost in thought, he caught sight of three figures approaching the area. The moment he saw Zoren and Hugo, he pressed his lips tighter. His colleagues also turned their heads when they sensed the incoming presence, their eyes shining with hope and helplessness as if they were all asking for Hugo and Zoren’s help.

"What’s going on here?" Zoren asked as he approached cautiously, gazing into the pit as he caught sight of dirt flying out of it.

Hugo, on the other hand, furrowed his brows. He glanced at everyone and caught the pitiful looks plastered on their faces. When his eyes landed on Penny, she just shrugged at them indifferently. Before Hugo could ask, they heard a cry from the pit.

"Master—boss! Please help me! She’s going crazy! Please help me! Please!"

Hugo intuitively walked over to the pit along with Zoren. When they gazed down, they furrowed their brows. Although Hugo was confused, Zoren felt a little nervous.

"Penny," Zoren called, turning his head in her direction. Everyone who heard him, including Nathaniel, held their breath, hoping to hear Zoren stop Penny. Much to their dismay, what came out of his mouth was something else.

"I’m... home?"

Everyone: "..."

Hugo glanced at his brother-in-law and shook his head. ’Something tells me he’s in trouble. That’s what Dad’s like when he knows Mom is angry.’