Chapter 479 Drink Up To Continue

Jasmine was upset at being told what to do. “Why are you ordering me around?”

Following the instructions he had received from Craig, the bodyguard assumed a firm and unwavering stance, saying, “Ms. Jasmine, I’m just giving you a friendly reminder that your mission is to ensure Ms.

Jennifer’s safety.”

“Who do you think you are to tell me what to do?”

Lowering his head, the bodyguard replied with a veiled threat, “It’s true that we have no right to do so, but we’re under Mr. Newton’s orders to protect you. It’s our duty to report to him everything you said and did upon our return.”

His words outraged Jasmine. “Are you threatening me?”

The bodyguard lowered his head further.

“I wouldn’t dare.”

In spite of his words, his attitude remained just as defiant.

Although she had never been disrespected to this extent before, Jasmine had no choice but to swallow her pride in the face of Craig’s authority. Thereafter, she walked begrudgingly toward Elven, who was standing at the door of Harrick Villa.

“In that case, Elven, how is Jennifer doing? Is she in the villa? Can you give Gwendolyn a call and tell her that I just want to check on Jennifer? I’ll leave right after that.”

Hearing her words, the two bodyguards behind her grew vigilant. Their heads were lowered to hide the murderous intent brimming from their eyes.

After throwing Jasmine’s bodyguards a glance, Elven shook his head again and explained candidly, “There’s no one in the villa. They’ve all gone out.”

Jasmine inquired, “Do you know where they have taken Jennifer?”

Elven grinned in response. “I’m just a bodyguard who’s doing his job. My employer is not obligated to keep me informed of her affairs.”

The tone behind his gentle smile clearly conveyed his sentiments.

Jasmine subsequently turned around and gave her bodyguards the side–eye, followed by a snort of displeasure.

“Did you not hear the man? Jennifer isn’t in the villa. What else do you want me to do?”

Both the bodyguards bowed at once. “We’re sorry.”

After clicking her tongue at the bodyguards, Jasmine bid Elven farewell and left for home.

Inside the lab, Joshua ran tests on Jennifer’s body.

He returned to the ward half an hour later upon receiving the results.

“The results show that she’s largely fine. It’s just that her high level of hormones causes her to be easily stressed by her emotions.”

Treyton tightened his grip on Jennifer’s hand. “Is that all? Can you not check if Craig has injected her with some kind of drug?”

Joshua shook his head. “All the drugs researched in this lab are biochemical weapons in nature. They can harm one’s skin and organs, but none of them are designed to harm the nervous system. As a result, we can’t tell if she has been given any drugs or not. In the event she has been injected with a psychotic drug, we’ll have to know the kind of drug was used before we can treat her accordingly.”

His words plunged Treyton and Gwendolyn into silence.

Only Craig would know that information, and there’s no way he’s going to tell us.

It turned out that the matter was a lot more complicated than they thought.

In the meantime, Joshua gave Jennifer a jab to calm her nerves, as she couldn’t take any oral medication in her unconscious state. The chances of her taking it when she was awake were even slimmer due to the emotional breakdown she was suffering from. Hence, an injection was the only choice there was.

On top of that, he prescribed her a special drug for her wounds.

Overwhelmed by disappointment, Treyton held Jennifer’s hand tightly.

After all the effort he expended in extracting her and bringing her to the lab, it didn’t seem to make a difference at all.

Sighing to herself, Gwendolyn came up from behind and gently rubbed the back of his head in an attempt to console him.

“Don’t fret, Treyton. Today is just the first day. We’ll discuss more when we get back. I’m sure we’ll find a solution.”

When Treyton nodded with a gloomy look on his face. Gwendolyn continued to comfort him, “Don’t be too hard on yourself, as this isn’t your fault. It’s just a series of unfortunate incidents. Everything will be fine once we resolve it.”

“Mmm–hmm,” Treyton hummed in acknowledgment.

Cognizant that whatever she said was falling on deaf ears, Gwendolyn left the ward to give Treyton and Jennifer some privacy.

Meanwhile, at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Craig’s body was pushed to its limit.

After over five hundred push–ups, Craig maintained a squat stance for two plus hours without any rest in between.

Even then, there was no room to slack. Any attempt at taking a break would cause the books balancing on his hands and legs to fall to the ground.

The technically challenging and tortuous exercise didn’t allow him to think of anything else. All he could do was focus on enduring his punishment to its end.

Ring…

Taking a deep breath, he couldn’t help but snigger to himself.

He had never imagined that the ring of a timer would ever sound so sweet, surpassing the most melodious music in the world.

“Mr. Jenson, time’s up.”

Cedrick was dealing with some documents with a red ball pen in his hand when he casually grunted in acknowledgment. “Return the books to their original places.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jenson.”

The relief made Craig feel as if he had escaped from the jaws of death.

A long time had passed since he had gone through such grueling training. His physical prowess was now worse off because of that.

Thereafter, Craig put the books back onto the shelf where the entire collection was methodically categorized.

Once that was done, he returned to the empty spot in front of the desk and bowed at Cedrick to indicate his intention to leave.

Just as he turned around, Cedrick’s voice rang out. “Stop right there.”

Cedrick raised his gaze to give Craig a curious look. “Since when did I dismiss you?”

His words left Craig stunned.

Is it not over yet?

Despite his urge to put a bullet into Cedrick’s head, he had no choice but to return to his previous spot begrudgingly.

“Awaiting your orders, Mr. Jenson.”

Cedrick put down his pen before pouring Craig a cup of coffee leisurely. “There’s no hurry. Relax and have a drink first.”

The suspicious Craig threw Cedrick a glance. Did he just discover his conscience? Why is he offering me a coffee? Even though panic and distrust welled up within him, Craig forced himself to step forward and accept the drink.

The tormenting physical punishment had dehydrated him after all.

Just as he brought the coffee to his lips, Cedrick’s cruel words rang out in his ear. “Considering the exercise you’re going to perform next, you’ll definitely need a drink to survive it.”

Smash!

Craig’s quivering hand let slip the cup, allowing it to crash onto the ground and shatter into pieces. At the same time, the coffee it contained splattered across the floor.

The stunned Craig looked at the untouched coffee before turning his attention to Cedrick. In a raspy voice, he declared, “Mr. Jenson, I’ll compensate you for the cup-”

Maintaining an emotionless expression, Cedrick gave him a cold stare. “That goes without saying. That said, you don’t seem to be appreciative of the drink I personally served you.”

“Mr. Jenson, that’s not-

Cedrick interrupted him, “Forget it. Since you don’t look tired nor want any coffee, we’ll just commence with your next exercise.”

His words left Craig speechless.

Despite the latter’s darkened expression, Cedrick didn’t relent and proceeded with an indifferent look in his eyes.

“Perform a handstand near the wall for twenty minutes.”

A handstand?

With his body at its limit, Craig could barely do it for five minutes, let alone twenty.

“Mr. Jenson, can I—”

“Make it thirty then. Start right now.” While speaking, Cedrick put the timer on the table after setting it.

Stumped by the turn of events, Craig took a deep breath. His brows were tightly furrowed, yet he didn’t move a muscle.

Cedrick looked up and shot him an icy gaze. “Are you disobeying me? If you say another word or waste one more minute, I’ll make it forty.”