Chapter 285 - War Room (1/2)
”Stop squirming, baby. You'll end up giving me a boner,” Maxen hissed.
Scrunching her nose, Olivia wiggled on her spot one more time to find that perfect angle to face Maxen.
She ignored his protests moments ago, and went on to narrate what she saw last night.
”So I was saying…” she trailed off, hooking her arms on Maxen's neck. ”I didn't notice it at first, and I don't know how I even got into that data. I was just bored and I kept scrolling, and checking, and then scrolling again.”
”Okay?”
”Okay. And theeen, you know how I would see patterns in numbers—the highs, the lows, and where the stream flows.” Olivia took a sharp inhale when a swirl of green, red, and blue flashed before her eyes.
It was the same image she accidentally saw last night. The image alone was enough to send a shiver down her spine, dotting her skin with goosebumps.
”Just get on with what you saw, baby.”
”I need to explain how I saw what I saw and what I saw.”
By the time Olivia punctuated her sentence, Maxen was scratching the skin above his eyebrow. ”So how and what did you see again? Are we there yet?” Maxen asked like an impatient child strapped in the backseat of a car.
”Okay. Wait for it… Are you ready?”
Maxen nodded his head.
”I think... I just found out where the Huks are hiding.”
Maxen held his breath. He felt air sawed through his lungs when he exhaled through his nose.
How on Earth was she able to pin the Huks' location when they've been scouring the place for years?
”And how did you come into such a conclusion, O Sui?”
A blush krept up Olivia's face, and she had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling.
”Oh, someone likes it when I call her O Sui,” Maxen teased, rubbing the tip of his nose with Olivia's.
”Say it again, then I'll tell you the whole story.”
”Nah.”
”Maxen!” Olivia fumed. ”Okay, then. Just so you know, marriage laws in Nisia let wives keep their maiden name. Might as well keep mine.”
”Or I could have your name legally changed to Mrs. Maxen Sui if you dare keep that maiden name.” Maxen threatened. He squeezed Olivia's waist but his brows furrowed at her reaction.
”Whatever,” she uttered the first word that popped up in her mind. Completely brushing their argument under the rug. ”So I was saying, I chanced upon the geological map scans of Nisia, boring stuff.” She waived it off.
Maxen bobbed his head, agreeing with Olivia.
”But then, I noticed in a span of months, the green color in the scans were slowly fading as if those minerals dissolved or…”
”Someone is mining them.”
Olivia snapped her fingers. ”Exactly.”
”Is it concentrated in one place?” Maxen probed. If Olivia said she found a location, it only meant the Huks concentrated mining at a certain place in the map.
”No, but there is a pattern of three months before they move to the next place. According to my calculations, thank me very much,” she thanked herself, and the smug look on her face naturally elicited a scoff from Maxen.
”Thank you, O Sui.”
”Mrs. Maxen Sui,” she corrected.
”Are you serious? Olivia, focus on your story, please.”
”I have all day to tell you everything that I found. Remember? I had an early retirement,” Olivia pouted. She fiddled with Maxen's lapel while her foot swayed in the air.