CHAPTER 143: PREPARING FOR THE YEAR-END PARTY!

"What, he was caught, and even had a hand chopped off?"

Leonard was so stunned by his subordinate’s report over the phone that he couldn’t help repeating it.

He glanced over at Luther, raising a brow. "Your people are that fast? But that was a bit too reckless."

Luther frowned and shook his head. "Not my people."

Both of them simultaneously turned to look at Henry, who was still busy cooking in the kitchen.

Leonard immediately shook his head. "Not Henry. If it were Henry, that guy wouldn’t have been caught by the police."

Silence fell between them. If none of them had done it, then who exactly was responsible?

Earlier, when the man screamed, a few people nearby heard it. They called the police almost immediately. When officers arrived, all they found was a bloody mess. They quickly sent the man for emergency treatment before interrogating him, but they couldn’t get anything out of him. Even with his mind muddled, he couldn’t form a single coherent word.

At that moment, another officer walked in and reported the details from the scene.

They discovered a large bloodstained blade and speculated that the man might have tripped and severed his own hand. But that explanation sounded absurd, no matter how they phrased it. Why would such a massive blade suddenly appear there? Everything about it screamed impossibility...

"Wait until he stabilizes, then continue the questioning."

That evening, Henry went in to check on Joshua. Joshua was still asleep, while Justin muttered beside him, "He’ll probably sleep through the whole day."

Usually, Joshua already loved sleeping, and today he had lost a lot of blood. They didn’t wake him and quietly left the room.

The incident even made the front page of major news sites, partly to criticize the excessive obsession of today’s youth, and partly because Joshua’s blood-soaked appearance was shockingly gruesome.

People condemned the crazed fan who had crossed the line, and at the same time felt sympathy for Joshua.

Inside a spacious office...

Arthur skimmed through the online articles while signing documents. He chuckled softly. "Joshua, maybe you really were born to be famous. You go through something like this and end up completely fine, and somehow you even gain more fans. Haha."

He laughed under his breath, lightly brushing his fingers across the screen, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the dazed, blood-covered Joshua. His gaze lingered on Joshua’s shimmering blue eyes.

It was a pity he couldn’t see the anguished expression Joshua had worn, but even like this, the image was beautiful.

Arthur had only asked someone to spread news about Joshua and Nine, planning to help Joshua out a bit. After all, it had been a long time since they last contacted each other. But he never expected someone would actually hire a man to harm Joshua.

Those who disliked Joshua in the entertainment industry were starting to multiply.

He chuckled, his expression as gentle as ever. "Joshua, I told you before, you should come with me."

Joshua would have to face many more things in the future, and sooner or later, Arthur would have the chance to make him understand what the right choice truly was.

...

They were friends, they were more than friends — to be precise, Joshua depended on Arthur. But Arthur knew that reliance wasn’t because Arthur was Arthur. It was because Arthur carried the shadow of someone Joshua once cherished and leaned on.

Arthur looked at Joshua.

Joshua always stared at him, dazed, as if Arthur were the most beautiful thing in the world — even though Arthur knew he was now nothing more than an ordinary, utterly unremarkable man.

Arthur knew that Joshua wasn’t truly looking at him. Joshua only looked at his eyes. His gaze always drifted to the corner of Arthur’s left eye, puzzled, as if something important was missing there.

Joshua’s soft fingertips would gently touch that spot, rubbing it lightly, as though it was an instinct engraved deep in his bones. Even though Arthur had frozen Joshua’s Sea of Consciousness, he couldn’t erase the physical instincts Joshua had developed.

Arthur swallowed hard, unsure whether the taste in his mouth was bitter or sweet.

He suddenly took Joshua’s hand and smiled. "What is it?"

Joshua blinked, then suddenly leaned forward to kiss the corner of Arthur’s left eye. He rubbed his soft cheek against Arthur’s face, happily saying, "Nothing, just... I’m fortunate to have you by my side."

Arthur had no idea where Joshua learned this habit of rubbing his face on people — it was just like a cat.

He gently patted Joshua’s head. Even though he knew this closeness was something he had stolen, he still couldn’t stop his own heart from trembling.

Meanwhile, the members of Mantis on the other side quietly leaned toward one another and snickered. One of them grumbled, "But why does Joshua like the president? I don’t think I’m that bad..."

The group burst into soft laughter, teasing each other back and forth.

The road Mantis traveled had grown long. They were getting closer and closer to City A, a place known as the promised land of the apocalypse. Not only did it have a transparent, stable population structure, but it also possessed the strongest fortress, the strongest survivors, and laboratories constantly working for humanity’s future.

Someone whispered, "Our future will be better."

Yes. Their future would become better — surely.

...

The consequence of Joshua’s injury was that he had been eating nothing but porridge for almost a week, his body looking a little gaunt. Luther spent every day holding him, crying and fretting.

Fortunately, the wound didn’t leave any visible scars. The swelling subsided quickly, and although there was still a faint bruise, everything was fine. It only looked a little frightening because Joshua’s skin was so pale.

Joshua’s break lasted until the year-end awards ceremony, with the group occasionally livestreaming to maintain their connection with fans.

Fans sighed in relief as they saw Joshua’s injuries gradually heal.

Joshua had already regained his spirit. In fact, after that day of crying, everything had been fine. Now, Joshua’s world was full of sunlight and wind, tinged with pink.

Before attending the year-end awards, ShineOn had another schedule to handle...

"This is a large-scale party, not only bringing together investors but also famous directors and actors. Of course, there will also be other idols. You are newly debuted idols, but there’s no denying your appeal. Perform well — a director might take notice of your image, or an investor or a famous brand might see potential in you. Do your best."

Elly spoke clearly and directly. Though it sounded as if she were reading from a script, everyone understood perfectly.

Joshua immediately nodded. "We understand."

Elly glanced at Joshua for a moment. In this group, only Joshua and Justin seemed at least reasonably obedient.

The others... if they weren’t obedient, Elly couldn’t control them anyway.

She sighed and, after giving all her instructions, left.

The year-end party, hosted by the Atius Corporation, was now ready to begin!