Chapter 369: I Call the Shots in California_2
Alas, Thor had hidden too well.
So the moment he exposed himself, Thor had his head plucked off and died miserably on the spot.
This was the fate of choosing the wrong side and exposing oneself prematurely.
The irony of this incident was not lost on anyone.
Relying on the relationships between Caroline and Susan, he could've simply stayed loyal like everyone else, and his family would have thrived without effort. Yet, he harbored thoughts he shouldn't have and gambled on taking sides—choosing poorly at that.
Yesterday, when dealing with the Abak family, more than one person suggested taking the opportunity to deal with Caroline's family as well.
Naturally, that was vetoed by Brian.
He planned to leave the matter for Susan to handle.
Seeing Susan struggling with the decision, Brian counseled her, "Actually, this is a very good outcome. At the very least, I have avenged her father, and the rest of her family hasn't been slaughtered because of her father's gamble. She should learn to be grateful and relieved, shouldn't she?"
Upon hearing this, Susan turned her head to look at Brian, "So, why didn't you stop her father from being killed yesterday?"
She hadn't had an idea of Brian's strength before.
But after Brian flew back with her directly, she understood.
Had Brian taken action himself, Thor and Rashid wouldn't have had a chance to make their move at all.
Listening to Susan's words, Brian responded indifferently, "He bore malice towards me; sparing Caroline's family was already out of consideration for you and Caroline. Yesterday was the perfect script. Caroline's father paid the price for his actions. I avenged Caroline, and your friendship with her remains unaffected. What do you think?"
His fondness for Susan didn't mean he would acquiesce to everything she wanted.
If Susan couldn't grasp this, he would be greatly disappointed.
Susan remained silent for a few moments, let out a sigh, and then turned around to cling to Brian like a little kitten, rubbing against his embrace.
This was her way of showing vulnerability.
Seeing this, Brian smiled slightly and held Susan even tighter.
...
After being consoled,
Susan released a slight knot in her heart.
She took out her phone and called Caroline.
Caroline was already aware of her father's fate; her voice was laced with sobs, weak and fragile.
Others within her family were also aware of what the clan leader had done.
They had chosen the wrong side.
Because the specific circumstances of what had happened at the Abak's side were being kept secret, no one dared to inform them at this time, resulting in them only receiving news of Caroline's father's death, which felt like a bad omen; they were now discussing ways to save themselves.
In fact, before attending the meeting, Caroline's father had arranged for a few young people in the family, along with Caroline's brothers, to silently disappear within the family.
Before, Caroline had no idea.
Only today did she learn that her missing brothers had been hidden away by their father.
He had already taken measures to prevent standing on the wrong side.
This made Caroline even more heartbroken.
It seemed she and her mother had never even been taken into consideration...
Caroline had managed to maintain a stoic facade until now, but once she received Susan's call, she cried like a bullied child seeing a parent.
Susan had no choice but to patiently comfort her friend.
Seeing Susan soothing her friend like a child, Brian left her to it and went up to the rooftop alone.
He had some spoils of war to sort out.
...
First was Thor's ring.
The ring looked ordinary.
To Brian's senses, this ring was just a regular silver alloy ring with an old design, bearing the mark of the Liki family, a sort of family token.
Many families here liked to do this.
They would even imprint their seal and family crest on dinner plates.
This habit originated partly from old European noble practices and partly as a means to foster a sense of family cohesion and honor.
On the surface, Brian could see no anomalies in the ring.
Even with his Heart Domain opened, he could see nothing unusual.
Its only abnormality was its durability.
With a slap from Brian yesterday, Thor's Thunder form had scattered, his body utterly destroyed, yet this ring remained unscathed, showing its extraordinariness.
Thor's two comrades had not waited for Brian to ask; they had voluntarily divulged what they knew yesterday.
But they didn't know much.
The only information came from what Thor had revealed to them, a way to win them over, and to give them confidence.
According to Thor, this ring could only be used by him; it was useless in anyone else's hands.
That's all there was.
Seeing Thor transform into Thunder in front of them, they had submitted to his command.
It was not as if they had a choice.
Otherwise, they would have probably been killed by Thor; they had no option but to join his "ship."
So, for the current situation, they didn't feel much.
Being under Thor or Brian—it was the same role of being underlings, only that the treatment wasn't as favorable as when they were close to Thor.
"Thor must not be dead yet..."
Brian toyed with the ring.
He hadn't received Thor's obsession.
Normally, elites like Thor had a high probability of leaving behind Obsession Little Balls.
After all, obsession was the crystallization of mental power.
Ordinary people had weak consciousnesses, so the rate of forming obsessions was very low; only those with deep-seated obsessions had a chance to form Obsession Little Balls.
But starting from First Rank.
The Beastification People and Mutants had a high rate of forming them.