CHAPTER 106: ZOE, PLEASE ANSWER ME

When the elevator doors opened on the seventieth floor, Jason hurried over.

His anxiety spiked the moment he saw Noah, alongside Matthew, step out from the elevator.

Jason stopped directly in front of Noah, forcing him to come to a halt.

"Noah, are you alright?"

"Relax, man... You can see I’m fine. Nothing serious happened."

Noah smiled reassuringly as he patted Jason on the shoulder and guided him toward the seating area.

When Noah saw Jason finally sitting across from him—still with doubt written all over his face—he chuckled.

"Why do you act like you don’t believe anything I tell you?"

"Because I heard you got a terrible injury. That’s why they rushed you back to the capital city as soon as possible. They didn’t even let me see you..." Jason kept voicing his concern.

Last night, while waiting for the other team to arrive and clean up the crime scene at the barn, he had faintly heard a gunshot echoing in the distance.

He knew it had to be Noah, engaged in battle deep in the woods.

His worry grew as the shots intensified. He wanted to chase after him, but Noah’s stern command to stay put kept him frozen even though his mind spun with fear.

And when Seven finally arrived at the barn with the others, Jason had been ready to run into the woods.

But they stopped him, saying another team was already assisting Noah.

At first, that reassured him. However, once they wrapped things up in the barn, Seven said something that unsettled him again: "Noah already returned to the capital. He was injured..."

At the time, he was shocked to learn that his boss had an injury. He tried calling Noah, but his phone was unreachable.

That same night, he traveled back to the capital with the others, only to be told he couldn’t visit Noah.

He stayed awake the entire night, too worried to sleep.

And this morning, he nearly punched Matthew for keeping Noah’s condition a secret.

He only felt a slight sense of relief when Edgar promised that Noah would meet him soon.

But now Noah said he was fine, and that left Jason completely confused.

’Seriously? Noah is telling the truth? He’s fine?’ he wondered, staring hard at him.

His confusion deepened—Noah looked perfectly healthy, without a trace of any recent accident.

"Thank you for your concern, Jason. But I’m fine... I just fainted after fighting the young devil. He was too powerful, but thankfully, my aide arrived just in time. They helped me eliminate the devil... and after that, I blacked out."

Noah wasn’t planning to tell him the whole truth. He just wanted to stop Jason from worrying any further.

After discussing a few things with Jason, Noah shifted his focus to Matthew.

Noah hadn’t yet checked his cell phone to find out what had happened in Opal City, how Matthew had handled the chaos after he had nearly wiped out the entire gang.

"Can you update me on how you handled the news about the Black Roses Gangster?"

"Well, sir, I didn’t need to change much. I just informed the authorities and the public about what happened. Let them handle it... But of course, everything related to you was erased. No one knows you were ever there. Everything’s clean, clear as day."

Matthew smiled broadly when he saw that his boss was pleased with the report.

"The White family has been completely shattered. Their reputation, their business, and the family itself have been torn apart. You give them a devastating blow, sir..."

Matthew ended his report with a confident thumbs-up to praise Noah. His smile widened. Until... it slowly faded when he noticed the blank look on Noah’s face.

A faint wrinkle appeared on Noah’s forehead, revealing he was deep in thought, even though his gaze remained fixed on Matthew.

Before Matthew could say anything, Noah slowly turned his head and locked eyes with Edgar. He stared at him in silence, wearing the same unreadable expression he had just given Matthew.

That look alone was enough to puzzle Edgar as well.

Edgar finally asked, confused, "Sir, do you need anything from me?"

"Kinzley... why didn’t she follow me here?" Noah finally voiced his curiosity.

Since waking up from his long sleep, Noah had wanted to ask about the girl, but every time he tried, they interrupted him with something else.

"Sir, she shouldn’t have met you, but the situation forced her to come and help you. So, she can’t follow you here."

Now, Noah understood why Kinzley had only opened the portal for him but didn’t follow him through.

But something still bothers him now...

If Kinzley had appeared suddenly, it meant something dangerous must have happened when he confronted the young devil last night, right?

’Is this connected to the disappearance of Zoe’s voice from my mind?’

Hearing his own thoughts was enough to make Noah’s chest tighten. His body tensed as he imagined something terrible had happened to Zoe.

’Zoe, are you there?’ He tried calling her once more. This was the first time he had tried since returning to this place.

Nevertheless, the outcome remained unchanged.

No response from her.

And that made Noah even more worried, prompting him to rise abruptly from his chair and head toward the control room.

"You all can rest for now. Don’t disturb me... I’ll stay inside for the moment," he said, waving his hand absentmindedly.

When Noah opened the door, the lights in the room flickered on, almost as if welcoming him. He felt a flicker of relief; at least this room was still functional.

His eyes locked onto the long white marble table, his gaze tense and fixed on a particular spot.

He had only one idea for restoring Zoe’s voice: he had to reactivate her by following the exact steps he had taken the first time when he had activated her.

Noah slowly stepped forward and placed his hand on the exact place where he had first awakened her.

"Zoe... Please answer me..." His voice was steady, but inside, he was gripped with fear at the thought of losing her forever.

’Yes, sir—’