Lost and Found: Return of My Mysterious Fiancee

Angela handed a piece of paper to the white-haired old man, "What about Josh... the man who was extremely obsessed with plants?"

The old man steadied himself, "Since then, he has rarely come to see me. He hasn't been as cheerful as before, and his death took a heavy toll on him. Later, he chose to stay at the school and even got a very pretty girlfriend. With her help, he gradually recovered. He went back to his country a while ago and even visited me before leaving, to thank me for my care." "Then, no more news."

Later, he was imprisoned, tormented daily, never to be released!

Angela's gaze hardened as she asked, "Over the years, every time you missed him, did you visit the monument?"

The old man nodded and then shook his head, "Not really. Since his death, I've moved into his dorm room. I've kept all his belongings, thinking I could take them back to his parents, but some things couldn't be moved, so I left them untouched."

Angela's eyes lit up, "Could you take me to see it?"Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

It seemed the old man hadn't spoken of such memories in a long time, and he agreed readily, "Sure, let's go."

The dorm was a two-bedroom apartment with the old man living in the right room. The left room, facing the sun, belonged to Five Poisons.

Angela pushed the door open and entered; the room was tidy, everything arranged in a style from many years ago.

It was clear the old man held this place dear.

"May I stay alone for a while?"

Angela asked.

The old man nodded, "Of course, but may I ask, who was he to you?"

Angela pursed her lips, "He was, in a way, my father."

The old man paused, "I felt there was something of him about you; I didn't guess wrong. Child, take your time to remember your father."

Angela thanked him and then closed the door.

Remember?

Impossible.

Angela walked around the room, which wasn't large but felt comfortable due to good organization.

She approached the bed and patted the quilt.

The sunlight was good here; even the quilt, which hadn't been aired, felt warm and comfortable to touch.

Angela took a deep breath and lay down on the bed.

This was probably the first time since she had memories that she was this close to her biological father.

As a child, Angela had envied Alina bouncing on Ian's bed, calling him to wake up.

But then, fearful of upsetting her foster father by overstepping, she could only watch secretly, and later Rachel joined in with Alina.

She still watched from the sidelines.

Angela had always known she was adopted, so she never acted beyond her station.

Even though the Brookes family treated her very well, as if she were their own, she knew her place and that she couldn't take their kindness for granted.

She was determined to repay her foster family to the best of her ability.

Now, lying on Five Poisons' bed, her heart felt no different.

It didn't feel joyful like Alina or Rachel.

Angela sighed, stood up, and walked to Five Poisons' wardrobe, opening it.

A few very simple, outdated clothes and pants revealed nothing out of the ordinary.

Looking down, there was a box containing rather intimate clothing, but nothing else was found.

After closing the cupboard, Angela sat back down at the Five Poisons' desk and opened a drawer, which contained several textbooks.

The notebooks were all filled with lesson plans, with no other information.

It seemed very clean.

Angela reviewed all the records from Five Poisons, many of which contained professional jargon she did not understand, so she took photos to show to Alina after returning to her country. Suddenly, she noticed a gap between the desk and the wall. Moving the desk, she felt something stuck behind it.

Bending over, Angela discovered a dusty notebook.

Upon opening it, the first line took her by surprise: "st-0 Upgrade Notes."

The pages were densely packed with content Angela could not comprehend.

However, she knew this could be the precursor to st-1.

Angela photographed all the recorded data and sent it to Natalie.

Then, she packed the notebook and took it with her.

After bidding farewell to the old man with white hair, Angela began her journey back home.

Over the phone, Natalie asked, "Angela, did you find anything else, like syringes or reagents?"

"Nothing. So many years have passed, that old man cleans daily. Even fingerprints have vanished, and whether it's lesson plans or anything else, there's no record related to st-0. If I hadn't found the gap above the desk and discovered the notebook, I wouldn't have found anything."

"Okay, I understand. Come back first."

After hanging up, Natalie printed out everything Angela had sent.

Holding the printed papers, Tina said, "Mom, I feel like Five Poisons wasn't just trying to upgrade st-0. It seems like he was also recording the changes from injecting st-0."

Natalie nodded, "Right, I think so too. But back then, Five Poisons only had Joshua around him. Could he have been using Joshua for experiments?"

Tina, looking over the data, shook her head, "Not necessarily. There are two sets of data; another could very well be himself, judging by his records. He seems dependent on this substance. Mom, when you developed st-1, did you find any addictive substances in it?"

Natalie furrowed her brow, "No, I've also been in contact with st-0. This poison doesn't act like drugs; it doesn't contain addictive elements. Plus, if it was addictive, Joshua would have probably died of withdrawal in prison by now." "So, was Five Poisons experimenting on his own body? But what could he gain from that?"

Tina put down the data, having memorized it after one glance, no longer needing to ponder it in her hands.

Natalie frowned, "Could the drug change a person's conscience after injection?"

Tina nearly choked on her spit, "Mom, conscience is innate."

"Then why would he save people?"

Natalie's question left Tina speechless.

Indeed, why would a psychopath like Five Poisons save someone?

Inconceivable!

Tina half-lay on the couch, resting her head on Natalie's legs, her bright eyes deeply thoughtful, "Mom, could he be faking his death?"

"Even if he faked his death, after so many years, he'd be an old man like your grandfather. Even if he still had the capability to act and control GTO, his strength would not be what it once was. Running such a large organization as GTO, where could he hide?"