The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress - Chapter 343

Chapter 343: Chapter 343 Who’s Taking Care Of Who?
If only Hera knew the magnitude of what she had accomplished without having to exert all her mental effort, she would likely be celebrating with unrestrained enthusiasm. This was an achievement that even Alice never managed to attain. Perhaps it was due to Hera’s shared fate with the female lead, or the influence of the ‘female lead halo’ from that shared fate, but whatever the reason, it was undeniably effective.

Luke didn’t attempt to pry Hera away from Rafael’s embrace. Instead, after calming down, he chose to respond to Hera’s earlier remark. “Yes, that person has been quite helpful and is well-versed in the underground world. I believe he’ll be able to handle the investigation,” he said. Although he didn’t explicitly state it, Luke felt that dropping subtle hints for Hera to understand could be considered a form of confession.

He decided to be upfront with Hera as part of his commitment to change. Though he knew this transformation would be challenging, he took his first step by dropping a hint. Admitting everything would take time due to his lingering fears, but he hoped that by giving her a glimpse now, she would be less upset when he eventually revealed the full truth.

Luke winced at the thought of that day approaching. To dispel the negative emotions consuming him, he turned to Gerald and said, “I’ll need a soft copy of the report you showed me. I want to send it to my contact to expedite the process of identifying the specific factions involved.”

“Factions? How many factions are there in the underground world? In this city or country?” Gerald asked, not giving much thought to his question. He figured that since Luke had an insider, he must have a better understanding of the underworld’s structure and thought it best to ask him for this information.

Luke glanced briefly at Hera before maintaining his composure and addressing Gerald’s question. “There are at least four major factions in the underworld within our country. They’ve divided their territories into North, South, East, and West. The bosses have established a truce to avoid interfering in each other’s affairs, as long as it doesn’t impact their own interests.”

“The West and South factions are the most ruthless, prioritizing profit over human life. They are heavily involved in human trafficking, money laundering, drug dealing, smuggling of valuables, and any other lucrative illegal activities. In contrast, the North and East factions are milder. The North is the most mysterious and dominant faction, leading the four in power, followed by the East. The South ranks third, while the West, though technically the weakest, has amassed significant power over the decades and shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“These factions each lead smaller groups. From what I know, only the West and South factions have assassination squads or hitmen for hire. The North is too secretive for me to confirm, but they are known to avoid activities directly involving human lives. The East, while milder compared to the West and South, still engages in human trafficking, drug dealing, and other illicit activities.”

“The only difference with the East faction compared to the West and South is that the people they traffic are typically those who are deeply in debt and voluntarily become slaves in other countries. They also deal in less harmful drugs and sell cheap herbs,” Luke explained, but why he was explaining? It was because he was the boss of the East faction, the second in the rankings in the whole country who was leading the underground world and his strength was only a little behind the North faction.

As Luke explained, he could feel his heart pounding so hard it seemed as if it might burst from his chest. He turned to Hera, his gaze steady and intense, as if he were confessing his deepest secrets to her. Hera, taken aback by the depth of Luke’s revelations, felt her heart skip a beat. She hadn’t anticipated him disclosing so much about the underground world.

Hera pondered whether Luke’s detailed disclosure was a tactic to deflect suspicion or if he genuinely wanted to come clean. She decided not to jump to conclusions and instead focused on listening to his conversation with Gerald. While she was aware that Luke was the boss of the East Faction, the specifics of his operations were not detailed in the novel, which had only mentioned that he was involved in various illegal activities with little regard for human lives.

The boss of the North Faction is none other than the novel’s primary antagonist, the villain who initially targeted Minerva and Alexi. He eventually set his sights on Alice and the male leads who devoured the Avery family after their downfall.

Luke was a mess, his thoughts a tangled jumble, which was why his behavior seemed contradictory. Earlier, he had shown hostility, but now he was practically rolling over, seeking approval from Hera as if wanting a belly rub. He didn’t even realize this shift himself. Despite not being someone easily swayed by emotions or fear, his reaction underscored the significant influence Hera had on him.

After Gerald sent Luke the file, Luke wasted no time forwarding it to his subordinate, who immediately confirmed receipt and began working on the task. With the issue now in the hands of Luke’s investigation, and both Hera and Gerald agreeing to hold off on involving the police for the moment, there was nothing more to address. Rafael, though worried and flustered, had no additional input to offer. Consequently, Gerald called in the staff to start serving the food, signaling the end of their discussion.

Only then did Rafael reluctantly release Hera from his embrace and begin serving her food. He had always wanted to do this for Hera, feeling a pang of jealousy and envy whenever he saw Leo and the others interacting with her so intimately. Witnessing their close bond and their care for her had always intrigued him, evoking a sense of fun and warmth that he hadn’t fully understood until now.

Since Rafael had never taken care of anyone before, he was quite clumsy. As he tried to peel the shrimp, it slipped from his grasp and flew across the table, landing near Gerald. The unexpected mishap lightened the mood and brought laughter to everyone, easing the remaining tension in the room. Even Luke, momentarily forgetting his worries, was the first to chuckle as he looked at Rafael with a teasing smile. Rafael, blushing with embarrassment, couldn’t help but join in the laughter.

“Hey, Rafael, why are you so clumsy? Haven’t you ever helped your sister with this little task before?” Luke teased playfully as he watched Rafael, still flustered, attempt to peel another shrimp.

“Shut up. I never had to take care of my sister—my parents and the servants always did. Besides, I’m used to being taken care of myself.” Rafael’s voice softened, almost to a whisper, as he reached the end of his sentence, revealing his embarrassment at admitting his own need for care and his struggle to help Hera.

Hera chuckled as she watched the shrimp fly across the table and land near Gerald, followed by another one. She was baffled by how Rafael managed to make the shrimp fly so far; they didn’t even seem that slippery. Her laughter grew as she saw Rafael’s awkward expression. Giving up on the shrimp, Rafael switched to serving Hera vegetables and meat instead. “Try this,” he said, trying to hide his embarrassment. “It’s more delicious than the shrimp.”