Chapter 540

Shermaine and Joshua didn’t blame Dave. Just being back was enough. They’d find a way to get to Basterel. Right now, they mostly wanted to know where they were.

Apocalypse was in hibernation.

Joshua went to the control room and powered it up. The cabin, which had been freezing cold, suddenly warmed up. In the snowstorm-swept mountain forest, a light appeared.

Shermaine was more concerned about Gracie. She lifted Gracie out of the sleep pod. She called her name twice, and Gracie woke up.

Probably hungry, Gracie let out a loud cry. Shermaine started to soothe her, taking milk from the thermos container to feed her.

“Sheary, I’m going to check outside,” Joshua said.

As he finished, Dave opened the cabin door and darted out. Then snow hit its face, turning it into a round, fluffy snowball in an instant. Even though Dave wasn’t cold, when it flew up and saw the endless forest and ocean, it felt like whimpering. There were no signs of human habitation for miles around. So its wish of getting delicious fried chicken as soon as they got back was ruined. Dave ran back into the cabin, upset.

In the control room, Joshua asked, “Where are we?”

A female AI voice spoke up. “There’s no signal here. I need to connect to a satellite. Please wait.”

That was probably the benefit of advanced technology. The satellite was connected with no sign of intrusion at all. No one at the satellite station noticed a thing. After connecting to the satellite, Apocalypse showed them their current location. “Sir, this is Remdik Peninsula.”

Shermaine, who was feeding Gracie, laughed, thinking, ‘Remdik Peninsula, all right. Dave surely knows how to pick landing spots.’ Remdik Peninsula was a high-risk uninhabited area on Earth. Even explorers didn’t dare come there because there were so many volcanoes, and they erupted often, so accidents were very likely. Their exact location was in the center of the island, surrounded by two large mountains. It was winter, so the temperature was extremely low, with lots of snow and cold. It wouldn’t be surprising to find wild bears around, too. Any ordinary person landing there would only be able to wait for death.

Shermaine thought of something and said, “Can Apocalypse get in touch with Grandma and the others?”

The AI replied, “We can use the satellite to contact them, but there’s a high risk of being exposed.”

Shermaine raised an eyebrow. “Then forget it.” She wasn’t in a hurry to get in touch with Janice and the others, anyway. It could wait until they got back to Basterel. It would even be a nice surprise. They’d been in the Kingdom of Xyperia for almost two years. She figured the time on Earth was probably the same, but to be safe, she asked, “What date is it on Earth right now?”

The AI replied, “December 29th, 2022.”

‘Sure enough, time in the two worlds is about the same,’ she thought.

Just then, a wild bear, drawn by the noise, came out of the darkness. It wandered over to one of Apocalypse’s legs, sniffing left and right. It opened its mouth like it might even take a bite.

Apocalypse sensed it, lifted its leg, and kicked the big grizzly clear away. Dumbfounded, the grizzly climbed up from the thick snow. Suddenly, a strong wind blew. It saw the thing that had fallen from the sky rise back up. Feeling an unprecedented threat, it bared its teeth and snarled in warning.

Joshua said, “Plot a course back to Basterel, Wallington.”

Two beeps, and the AI replied, “Course plotted.”

Joshua marked Mount Hordeum and ordered, “Take off.”

They had no plans to stay there.

Apocalypse rose into the atmosphere and quickly left Remdik Peninsula. With its speed, it wouldn’t take long to cross most of the Earth and reach Basterel.

In Basterel, Ross’ rumor was all over the city. Danielle was at work and knew nothing about it, but word soon spread through the hospital. Danielle’s colleagues all knew Ross. The love story between him and Danielle had been a big topic for two years. He’d been linked to a female celebrity before, and he and Danielle had even broken up over it. But later, during the Lightspring City earthquake, Ross went to find Danielle and saved her life. Danielle had explained to her colleagues afterward that the rumor was fake. The female celebrity had made it up to get attention.

Two years later, there was another rumor. The photos in the post showed Ross having dinner with a woman at a place popular for couples. Later, he was photographed dropping her off at a hotel. The woman’s face wasn’t clearly captured, but from her profile, you could tell she was pretty. Still, compared to Danielle, she looked really plain.

This rumor was different from the one two years back. This time, he was photographed dropping her off at a hotel. And from what the paparazzi said, they had stayed inside for a good hour before coming out. A lot could happen in an hour, right?

Anyway, there was plenty of talk online, much of it critical. Danielle’s colleagues huddled together, gossiping.

One said, “Do you think Ross is really cheating?”

Another replied, “Who knows? It sure feels like he and that woman have something. I wonder if Dr. Shelly’s seen this.”

Someone else said, “Dr. Shelly likes him so much. If this turns out to be true, she’ll be devastated.”

“And if it does,” added another, “I’ll never believe in true love again.”

“Me too,” someone agreed.

They kept chattering away. Danielle was making her rounds. She noticed people giving her weird looks everywhere she went. Then a teenage patient–around 16, probably a shipper of Ross and her–hurried over with her phone. “Dr. Shelly, look at this trending topic.”

The girl had a heart condition, and getting upset was the worst thing for her. Danielle spoke softly. “Calm down. Let me see.”

Danielle looked at the screen and pressed her lips together. The photos weren’t faked. The man in them was definitely Ross. But from what she knew of him, cheating wasn’t something he’d do. What she was more curious about was who the woman he’d had dinner with was.

In one photo, the woman looked up at Ross, with a faint smile in her eyes. Danielle trusted Ross, but she couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. Ross rarely met up with other women in private, except for work. And with this woman’s identity unknown, Danielle couldn’t stop her mind from wandering to silly thoughts.

“Dr. Shelly, you should hurry and ask Mr. Jean who that woman is,” the girl said, curling her lip, looking really upset. “My heart broke when I saw this news.”

Danielle couldn’t help smiling at her words. “I’m his girlfriend and I’m not worried. Why are you so worked up?”

“I’m such a big shipper of you two,” the girl said, clutching her chest, looking miserable. “I just want to see you two all lovey-dovey every day, but this rumor today has really bummed me out.” She was terrified Ross might turn out to be a jerk who’d hurt Danielle. What was more, Jean Group still hadn’t put out a statement to clear up the rumor, even after all this time.

Danielle reassured her. “All right, go back to rest. I’ll find out what’s going on.”

“Then… do you believe Mr. Jean?” the girl asked softly.

Danielle didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

At that, the girl let out a breath of relief.

‘As their shipper, I should have more faith in Mr. Jean. Those flashy women out there are definitely not his type,’ she thought.

After calming the girl down, Danielle called Ross. But no one answered. Danielle narrowed her eyes, thinking, ‘Ross must be asking for it, ignoring my call like that.’

She had Alex’s number, so she hung up and dialed him instead. The phone rang twice before Alex picked up. “Dr. Shelly, Mr. Jean’s in a meeting. Don’t believe the rumor online. I’ve already had people take care of it.”

Danielle was about to say something when a woman in a wheelchair appeared in front of her. Danielle recognized her right away. This was the woman linked with Ross.

Chapter 541