Chapter 332: Chapter 332: NYPC (8)

    (Imma take a break after this season.)

    [General POV]

    "Hmm..." Sage hummed as she sipped her drink, then said to Henderson, "He did pull his punch, but just a little bit."

    Henderson''s eyes flickered for a moment before returning to their usual stony expression. With a poker face, she commented, "He may get brain damage." There was no trace of concern in her tone; it was merely an observation.

    "That would be quite bad," Sage remarked nonchalantly. "It''ll be troublesome for Edward, and for me too. I''m counting on him to make money so I can buy things. I''m quitting teaching, so I need that income."

    Unlike Henderson, who found fulfillment in teaching, Sage viewed it as a nuisance. It was hellish for her since she disliked meeting other people. With Edward no longer around, she had submitted her resignation and wouldn''t be returning this year.

    The reason she had acted as a teacher was to create a logical excuse for her proximity to Edward. But now that Edward had given her another identity to work with—being his godsister—she could resign smoothly without facing reprimands from upper management.

    "Maybe he can hire me as a nurse? Or a medical assistant?" Sage pondered before standing up, slightly shaky from having had too much to drink. "I''m going to the powder room for a bit." She left Henderson alone at the table and made her way to the mansion.

    As she passed through the bodyguards surrounding the room where the victim was, Sage was stopped by Randall at the door.

    "Um, Miss Anna. You cannot be here," Randall said, his voice tinged with distress.

    Mickey suddenly interjected, "It''s okay. She can go anywhere she wants."

    "Huh?" Both Randall and Sage looked confused. Sage turned to Mickey and repeated, "I can go anywhere I want?"

    Mickey smiled, "Yeah. Mr. Newgate told us not to bother you for any reason and gave you free access to anywhere, including this room filled with our detainees."

    He opened the door for Sage, allowing her to enter. Inside, a few of Edward''s security were present, ensuring her safety. Sage noticed an emergency aid nurse wrapping bandages around the self-proclaimed manager''s face.

    "Hmm, this is doable," Sage muttered before asserting, "Everyone leave the room, except for that guy." She pointed at the injured man.

    Meanwhile, at the outdoor party, Mrs. Henderson suddenly spoke to the empty table. "Are you not going to interfere?"

    Gong Shin appeared out of thin air, a Pina Colada in hand. "I''m on a break. Do whatever you guys want." He walked over to the waitress, smiled, and said, "I need more of this."

    "Sir, that is your 49th cup of drink today. How are you still alive?" the waitress asked, shocked.

    Mrs. Henderson suddenly took out her phone and dialed 911. "Hello, I''d like to report something," she muttered.

    ...

    "There''s pretty privilege, so your fans won''t really hold it against you. Plus, there''s the defense of him trying to hurt your cat," Vanessa tried to comfort Edward, noticing he seemed a little out of it.

    Backstage, Edward, Max, and Vanessa stood together, with Vader jumping onto Edward''s shoulder. Vader nuzzled her face against Edward''s cheek to show her gratitude while Edward looked something up on his phone.

    "Huh? No, I''m not bothered by the punch at all," Edward said, snapping out of his thoughts as he heard Vanessa''s concerned voice. What he cared about was his eyes.

    Using his phone, he searched for Naruto fandom pages, hoping to find a detailed record of jutsu. He wanted to try it out, to see if it really worked. So far, he had only used 5% of his chakra reserve. The reserve wasn''t regenerating, which made him hesitant to play around with it, but right now, he changed his mind.

    Max tearfully said, "This is all my fault. I can''t even handle being a cat-sitter. This wouldn''t have happened if I hadn''t lost her." Her nose was reddened, and she felt responsible for the incident.

    "Nah, it''s no one''s fault other than that guy," Edward said casually, taking some cat treats from his pocket to feed Vader.

    "I''m already disgusted by what they were doing, so the punch made me feel much better." He smiled slightly to comfort Max before giving Vader back to her. "Don''t lose her this time. And Vader, don''t run away alone in strange places."

    "Meow (Aye!)" Vader nuzzled Max''s face, trying to cheer her up. Edward laughed and then walked to the stage as Maggie called his name.

    "It has been a really fun night. For the last act, the main character is returning to close the concert. Give it up for Edward!" Maggie announced cheerfully as Edward stepped onto the stage.

    The crowd, unaware of what had just happened backstage, cheered thunderously upon seeing Edward. Many of them already had hoarse voices from the concert.

    It was a rare experience to see this number of artists all in one event. The uniqueness of the experience made the employees even more excited. The guests were having the time of their lives.

    Edward stood in front of the microphone, searching the crowd with his eyes. There were a few familiar faces, but they weren''t what he was hoping for.

    The crowd laughed and smiled as they waited for him to speak into the microphone. They waited for a moment and turned confused when Edward didn''t move.

    Ted noticed it and muttered to himself, "Edward? Is he okay? I knew it was too soon for him to get up there."

    Pepper was also confused. "Alright. We can stop the concert now—" People were clamoring, whispering about the situation.

    "Hold on. I''m just thinking." Edward suddenly said into the microphone, making everyone alert. "I wanted to sing songs from my album—the fan favorites—but I just experienced something that makes me want to sing something else. You guys have never heard it before—"

    The crowd cheered in excitement at the prospect of hearing a new song. Edward laughed slightly and said, "But the song isn''t really made for parties, so that''s why I''m hesitating a bit. Do you guys even care about the genre?"

    "We do not!" many people shouted laughingly, which made Edward smile in satisfaction. "Alright then. I''ll talk with the band for a bit."

    Lowering his microphone, Edward walked over to the band members and whispered, "I''m going to play track number 56. Are you guys familiar with it?"

    "Demons, right?" the drummer asked for confirmation.

    "Yup," Edward replied casually.

    "We never practiced it with you, but we know the song," the pianist said.@@@@

    "We can do it," the bassist added. Edward picked up a guitar and said, "I''ll play too. Follow my lead."

    Edward smiled softly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. The crowd applauded for a solid two minutes before he could finally get a word in. Not wanting to ruin his clothes any further, Edward took off his sweater and continued his performance topless.

    Before he sang his next song, Edward noticed flashing blue and red lights in the distance. "Frankie?" he asked through his earpiece.

    "Cops came. They took the guy away. You don''t have to worry; they don''t want to talk to you," Frankie replied casually.

    "Seriously?" Edward was confused.

    "Yeah. Apparently, he''s not injured at all. You have a very soft fist."

    "Huh?" Edward blanked out for a moment before realizing the crowd was chanting his name. "That song was titled ''Demons.'' Next up, I''m going to sing the song that started everything: ''7 Years.''"

    Ignoring the situation for now, Edward continued his performance until the concert ended.

    Meanwhile, Detective Chloe arrived at the party with her partner after receiving a 911 call. She walked straight to the room where the detainees were, leaving Mickey confused.

    "Who called the cops?" he mumbled to himself, his heart racing as the detective approached.

    "We got a call about harassment and disturbance. The perps are in the room?" Chloe asked casually, reaching for the door handle. Mickey couldn''t stop her as she opened the door.

    The detained bodyguards perked up at the sight of the detective. However, the one who seemed most excited was the ''victim'' lying on the cold floor, bandages stained with blood wrapped around his face, leaving only his eyes and nostrils visible.

    "Mmph– Mphhmp!" he muffled, rushing toward the detective to report a crime.

    Chloe looked confused. "What happened here?"

    One of the bodyguards replied, "Thank goodness you''re here. These men held us in this room against our will. They even pressed blades threateningly against our necks, preventing us from protecting our asset, stashing her god knows where."

    The muffled man glared at the bodyguards, desperately trying to communicate his situation. He pointed his fingers at his own face, hinting at the guards to tell them about him.

    "Oh, yeah. He was punched, broke his nose and five of his teeth, and even lost consciousness for over ten minutes," the guards replied casually, showing no concern for the manager.

    Infuriated, the manager pulled parts of the bandages covering his mouth before spitting slightly. Then he reported everything.

    "NEWGATE PUNCHED ME! I WANT TO PRESS CHARGES! HE BROKE MY NOSE! AND MY TEETH!" he shouted.

    "Huh? Which teeth?" Chloe asked casually.

    "These teeth—wait." As the manager touched his teeth, he found that all of them were still intact. "It didn''t break? It felt like it did?" he muttered, confused.

    "It broke, right?" He turned to the bodyguard and asked. The duo nodded, equally confused.

    "D-Doesn''t matter—he also broke my nose—" He opened the bandages on his nose, revealing it to be perfectly intact.

    "Yeah, I''ve heard enough. Turn over, hands on your back," Chloe said callously as she grabbed a handcuff from her waist, cuffing the manager, who was still baffled by the situation.

    "What?!" The manager was shocked by the turn of events. "I received a call about disorderly conduct and attempts to drug an inebriated girl. The caller was very formal about her choice of words too."

    After informing him of his Miranda rights, Chloe instructed the other officers to escort the bodyguards with them. Mickey was confused but didn''t say anything, letting the situation unfold.

    "Edward, Anna... What kind of people are you guys?" He shuddered, imagining a hidden organization of medical professionals or assassins capable of hiding someone''s injuries in minutes. Mickey knew for sure that the guy was injured; he had held the guy''s teeth in his hand before.

    "No! That''s not what happened! I was just trying to give her—her medicine!" the man protested as he was led away by Chloe.

    "Oh, so you admit it. We already procured the compound you were trying to give her. You can defend yourself at the station."

    "No! Listen to me! The one you need to arrest is Edward Newgate! He punched me in the face!"

    "Why?" Chloe asked casually.

    "Because I was trying to kick his cat—"

    "Oh, so I should add animal abuse to your list of crimes." Chloe smiled in excitement as she pushed the man, urging him to walk toward her patrol car. The man felt baffled that he was tricked by the police.

    "I need to call my lawyer! Let me call my lawyer!" He shouted incessantly.

    She arranged for someone to pick up Britney and escort her to the hospital. As long as the doctors could prove that giving the compound was harmful, they would have a case to hold the manager at the station longer.

    They wouldn''t be able to keep him there for long, as he had powerful lawyers. But in another twist of fate, the car driving him back would get into a traffic accident, and his teeth, nose, and all previous injuries would reappear in the exact same condition.

    ...

    [Edward POV]

    Waving my hand at the crowd, I shouted, "That''s it from me and for the concert! I''ll hand over the stage to DJ Sasha. You''re all in great hands. Now I can finally enjoy the party. I hope you all have a wonderful year—2010 is going to be lit!"

    The crowd cheered excitedly as the DJ began spinning some tracks. With a satisfied smile on my face, I left the stage and wiped my sweaty torso with a towel.

    "I need a shower," I muttered as I made my way backstage. Vanessa''s hand moved toward my abs, her eyes dazed.

    "What are you doing?" I asked, staring at her.

    She finally snapped out of it and said, "Oh—OH! You''re back! I blanked out there for a moment."

    "Huh." I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at her. "Let''s go. I need to meet Sage and ask her for the details of what just happened."