Paid To Care, Destined To Conquer Novel

Chapter 455 Big Ben Is Back People started screaming everywhere. The reporters just stared, speechless. They took a deep breath. They were about to hurl, totally forgetting about their cameras. Scared of getting splattered with bird poop, they scattered like panicked critters in a melon patch about to get skewered. Everything was total chaos. The Nova Group executives just stared, speechless. Seriously, one'd never see something like this in a hundred years. The little peregrine falcon tilted its head, babbling nonstop like a little gossip.

"Allan," Stella said without even blinking, reaching out to pinch the little chubby ball's beak to quiet it down." Mrs. Reed never left her mansion," she reminded him lazily. Allan thought, 'She's fine.' Allan finally felt his heart settle. "Stella, I..." Allan started. Stella stayed cool, casually clipping a pen to Allan's suit pocket. "Karma always catches up. You made this mess, so it's on you to clean it up." With that, she gave his chest a light pat. Allan was silent. 'Ow, Stella's grip is no joke!' But still Allan thought, a little stunned.

Beep, beep, the military jeep honked, reminding Stella that time was up. They said, "Let's go." As she spoke, Stella threw a loaded glance at Tallulah, but Tallulah was too busy freaking out over her hands covered in bird poop to even notice. "You're staying at a hotel tonight," Stella said. "Huh?" Allan, who hadn't slept all night, was still a bit slow on the uptake. He actually owned an apartment in Jaffina. "You're staying at a hotel tonight. Matthias will reach out, and when he does, just say yes," Stella said.

She turned to leave, then stopped like she remembered something, and tossed in, "And don't forget to put on some decent clothes." Allan was silent. Before Allan could even answer, there was a heavy thud from the trunk of his Cayenne. The little peregrine falcon tilted its head. Allan took a deep breath. "What the hell is that?" The next second! Bang, the trunk of the Cayenne was blasted open with a kick. The moment the lid hit the ground, a fluffy white blob bounced out.

It struck a one-legged pose, then landed solidly on both feet, stuck out its stubby little arms, and pulled off a full 360-degree Thomas spin like a gymnast. "Ta-da!" Big Ben said. It whipped its head around. Big Ben felt silent. 1/4 Successfully unlocked! Chapter 455 Big Ben Is Back Big Ben cocked its head. Stella froze. Allan was silent. Everyone fell into silence. It was so awkward. Big Ben, who'd had to let out half its air just to squeeze into the trunk, suddenly had eyes that went all runny and egg-shaped, about to burst into tears.

"Stella..." Fake tears started pouring out, splashing everywhere. "Boo-hoo, Stella!" Big Ben said. Big Ben, all squished and sniffling, shuffled over to Stella on its stubby legs, still crying. But then, like a laggy slow-motion video, every step Big Ben took was glitching out, skipping frames like a bad internet stream, and even its voice started buffering and breaking up. "St... St... Stella..." Big Ben shouted. Stella froze. So Stella just stared as Big Ben got stuck in a running pose right in front of her. He just sat there, completely motionless. "Big Ben?!" Allan's jaw dropped.

He was totally gobsmacked. This was straight-up supernatural. 'Since when did it crawl into my trunk?' Allan was still in shock. Big Ben's air valve was still hissing, leaking air everywhere. Stella just stared, her face blank. Her temple was pounding. Allan was silent. After a couple of seconds of silence, Allan quickly plugged Big Ben's air valve and pressed a button on its back. With a bang, "Ha... ha... I... Big... Ben... Am... Back...!" Big Ben, with barely any backup power left, suddenly blurted out. Big Bén dragged out every word, pausing dramatically between each one.

And then, Big Ben just powered down, out cold, totally out of juice. Stella froze. Allan was silent. ***** 4 An hour later, it was at the training base in the Jaffina Suburbs. Inside the office, Hudson and Murray stood there, speechless. Big Ben was plugged in, still frozen in Its running pose. Murray said, "Stella, what is this thing?" He reached out and gave it a poke. It was all soft and squishy. It was just like a big, fluffy steamed bun. "Training equipment," Stella replied, her face totally blank. Fabian was just standing there. 2/4 Chapter 455 Big Ben Is Back He kept his mouth shut.

Murray blurted out, "Wait, isn't this your Big Ben?" Stella gave him a cold stare. "You know the answer, so why ask?" Murray just stood there, not saying a word. He shrank back. 'Man, Stella's in a mood today, Murray thought. "Stella, you didn't bring any luggage?" Hudson was about to hand her the dorm access card when she just drawled, "Brought it." Hudson was at a loss for words. Hudson glanced at Stella, hands shoved in her pockets, not a single bag in sight. Hudson's thought 'So... where's her stuff?' Stella said, "Sebastian's got it." Hudson was at a loss for words.

Murray just stood there, not saying a word. Oh, almost forgot, Sebastian and Lucas showed up earlier this morning. Someone was knocking on the door. A deep voice came from outside, "Report!" He sounded urgent. "There's a commotion downstairs!" Downstairs, the two groups looked ready to throw down any second, eyes locked and tempers flaring. On one side were some grizzled, battle-tested vets, on the other, a bunch of hot-blooded newbies who'd just got dumped here for boot camp. The tension was so thick, it felt like the place could blow any second. "This ain't the spot for you greenhorns.

Go chill somewhere else, newbies!" one of the veterans snapped. "Think you vets are all that? Come on, let's go, let's see who's tougher!" one of the newbies shot back. The shouting match heated up, both sides yelling over each other. Up on the second-floor terrace, just as things were about to get physical, Hudson was about to step in, but Stella held up a hand to stop him. These veterans were the same ones Fabian had picked out from the list of a hundred earlier. Stella sized up each face, matching them to the dossiers. She made sure every face lined up with the files.

"Who are these guys?" Stella asked. Stella nodded at the newbies, and to her surprise, spotted a familiar, shifty-looking face hiding in the crowd. Murray flipped through his stack of files. "These are the top picks from each division this year... Well, except for that one." He jerked his chin at a sketchy figure lurking in the corner. Stella raised an eyebrow in anger. "Uh, he got shoved in, his folks wanted him to toughen up," Murray said as he closed the file. The next second, all hell broke loose.

The newbies and vets were brawling, the vets clearly pissed off and going straight for the newbies' faces. The newbies were all over the place, and in no time, they were getting slammed to the ground. The whole thing was over in less than five seconds. 3/4 Chapter 455 Big Ben Is Back The veterans flattened the newbies in seconds, barely breaking a sweat. "Not bad," Stella said lazily, a cryptic little smirk playing on her lips. 'These rookies actually hung in there a bit longer than I expected, she thought. Hudson was at a loss for words. Murray just stood there, not saying a word.

For some reason, both of them felt a chill run down their spines, like trouble was brewing. But before they could say a word, Stella just shoved her hands in her pockets and strolled downstairs like she didn't have a care in the world. Downstairs was a total mess. The veterans were still fuming, looking for someone to take it out on. They thought, 'The Blaze International Special Forces Competition! 'It's held once every four years! 'For us, the Blaze badge is the highest honor there is. And now, this year, we're supposed to be trained by some girl who looks like she hasn't even grown up yet?

'And they are saying Mike himself sent the challenge? 'Who are they trying to fool?' Suddenly, someone started clapping at the top of the stairs. The guy who'd been throwing the hardest punches snapped his head up and found himself staring right at a gorgeous girl's face. 4/4 Subscribed Editorial Board Editorial Board Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.