Shesen was silent for a moment, then opened the door and let Meyer in. The two sat on the sofa, snuggling onto Shesen's shoulders, staring at the stranger opposite them.
Shesen's mind raced, trying to figure out what to do. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Had the parking lot surveillance cameras really not been destroyed? If they hadn't been destroyed, there was no reason why Soria wouldn't use them to accuse Maine! He knew all too well how much Soria hated Maine.
A polite smile played on his lips. "Lieutenant General Keith, I think you've misunderstood. Maine and I sympathize with Rilo's plight and understand your desire to find the killer, but this has nothing to do with Maine."
"You're just as cunning as Maine," Meyer said with a mocking look. "It seems you won't believe it until you see the facts."
Shesen replied, "Of course not. If there really were any surveillance footage, I think your wife would have shown it long ago, instead of resorting to such a crazy method of revenge."
Meyer's face darkened. Shesen's mention of Soria clearly brought back unpleasant memories. He looked at Shesen sharply. "That's because he was too stupid. He didn't even know that Saul had secretly retrieved and restored the destroyed surveillance footage."
Shesen's fingers clenched. "If that's the case, why would Saul tell you about something so secretive?"
"Of course he wants my help, just like how he specifically restored the surveillance footage. To prevent Soria from silencing him, he made preparations beforehand, and these preparations have now become his bargaining chip for asking me for help."
Meyer glanced at him as he spoke. "Alright, I've answered all your questions. Now let's look at the truth. I don't want to waste my breath explaining anymore."
He turned on his bracelet, enlarged the virtual screen, and pressed the start button.
Xie Sen looked at the screen. The screen resolution wasn't very high, probably due to some damage during the restoration. Maine and Rilo were fighting, and the battle ended quickly. In the final scene, Maine picked up the knife that Rilo had dropped and left with him.
Xie Sen stared at the knife, thinking of the photos of Rilo's murder weapon he had seen online, and his heart sank.
Seeing his tense expression, Meyer smiled with pleasure and deactivated the bracelet. "Judging from your reaction, I think you know what this knife means?"
Shesen glared at him. "I don't know. There are plenty of knives like this."
"No, this knife is different. It's a gift from Soria to Rilo. It's custom-made, and there's only one," Meyer said. "Don't hold out any longer."
Shesen looked at his triumphant expression and couldn't help but get angry. "Isn't Maine your son? You've never cared about him since he was little, and you even let Rilo bully him. Now, do you want to personally send him to prison?"
"He's not my son, he's not a member of the Kex family," Meyer frowned slightly, his tone cold and flat. "As for whether or not to send him to prison, that's your choice."
Shesen frowned: "What do you mean?"
Meyer said, "Main attacked Rilo, completely outmaneuvered the Kex family, and showed them no respect whatsoever. He deserves to be punished however he's asked. But he's lucky to have you as his boyfriend. If you agree to my request, I can let him go." A bad feeling
rose in Shesen's heart: "What are your requests?" Meyer
's eyes lit up: "Get Kumo and the Giant Lion Beast to form a bond. I know you can do that," he paused, "Originally, that was the only request, but now that I think about it, it seems too easy. I have a subordinate who is the master of the Giant Tiger Beast. I can get him to form a bond with the Giant Tiger Beast. As long as you fulfill these two requests, I will truly destroy this surveillance and let Maine go."
"No," Shesen shook his head, "I can't do that. I can arrange for Kumo and your subordinate to meet with their contracted beasts and give them the opportunity to form a bond, but I can't guarantee that the bond will be successful."
"You're lying," Meyer said sharply, his eyes piercing. "You can do it. Those contracted beasts obey you. How could you not? Or are you simply indifferent to Maine?"
Shesen glared at him angrily. "Contracted beasts have their own thoughts. They choose their own masters. No one can interfere!"
Meyer scrutinized him and sneered, "Who said you can't interfere? Since you say you can't do it, let's try another method. I'll provide you with medicine, which you can feed to the giant lion and giant tiger beasts. I have a way to make them form contracts."
Shesen gritted his teeth. "You want to force them to form contracts?"
Meyer didn't care. "So what? As long as the goal is achieved, that's fine. Even if the contracted beasts are weak for a while, the Kex family has the ability to make them recover quickly… Do you agree?" He frowned. "Don't say you can't do it again. I've watched your live stream. They completely trust you."
Shesen clenched his fists tightly, his expression conflicted. He couldn't abandon Maine! But as Meyer said, the contracted beasts completely trusted him. They were his friends. If he did this, he would lose all his contracted beast friends!
Seeing his struggle, Meyer snorted, abruptly stood up, and raised his hand: "It seems Maine isn't that important to you. Fine, I'll contact the police to arrest him and get justice for Rilo."
"Wait!" Xie Sen jumped up, instinctively shouting, and reflexively summoned watermelon vines to tightly bind Meyer's hands, preventing him from contacting the police. Meyer
looked at him in disbelief: "You dare attack me? I'm a lieutenant general in Star City, a high-ranking military officer. This is a crime!"
Xie Sen said sternly: "Don't talk nonsense. I didn't attack you; I was just stopping you."
Meyer's face darkened: "Let go, or don't blame me for being impolite." As he finished speaking, a lion's roar resounded throughout the hall, and a huge golden lion appeared beside Meyer.
It was enormous; the sofa wasn't big enough for it to stand on. Most of its body was outside the sofa, its paws resting on the sofa, its mouth agape towards Xie Sen.
"Chirp!!!" Tuan Tuan cried out sharply, its voice shrill and piercing. The white down on its head stood on end, and it flapped its wings to fly in front of Xie Sen, spreading them in a protective stance.
Its size contrasted sharply with the giant lion beast. Xie Sen, who had initially been startled by the lion beast, suddenly calmed down upon seeing Tuan Tuan's appearance, feeling both touched and amused.
A hint of surprise flashed in Meyer's eyes, then he scoffed, "An S-rank white-headed eagle beast? So what? It's just a fledgling now… However, this also shows that you have a good relationship with your contracted beast. If you agree to my request now, you still have a chance," he paused, his voice turning serious, "Release me immediately!"
Xie Sen was still hesitating when the door was suddenly pushed open forcefully, the door slamming against the wall with a loud thud.
Xie Sen turned his head and, seeing Maine, exclaimed in surprise, "Why are you back so soon?" Training couldn't have resumed so quickly.
Seeing the scene inside, Maine's face frosted over. He strode to Shessen, put his arm around him, and looked coldly at Meyer, his tone dripping with sarcasm: "No wonder you're Lieutenant General Keith, you're disgusting."
Meyer's expression changed drastically, but Maine ignored him and said to Shessen, "Let him go."
Shessen grabbed his hand: "Let him go, he'll have someone arrest you. He has the parking lot surveillance footage!"
"Is that so?" Maine said, "So what if he has that kind of thing?"
Shessen stared at him wide-eyed. He couldn't possibly not know that he killed Rilo with the knife she had picked up!
Maine said, "Let him go." Shessen was completely bewildered and recalled the watermelon vine.
Meyer, his face grim, recalled the giant lion beast and sneered, "So what? This is evidence of your murder of Rilo!"
Maine said, "I don't understand what you're talking about."
Meyer glanced at him with pity: "You're just as stubborn as him, like a pathetic wretch unwilling to face the truth." He activated his bracelet and played the surveillance footage again.
Maine stared intently at the video. Seeing this, Meyer asked, "Scared?" He looked at Shesen, "Have you considered my demands?"
Shesen looked at Maine, who gently pinched his chin, lowered his head, and kissed him on the lips, whispering, "He deserves to die, doesn't he, putting you in this dilemma?" Shesen
was startled. Maine harbored murderous intent towards Meyer! His eyes widened in shock: "You can't..." Meyer, in his current position, was definitely not as incompetent as Rilo, and besides, he had a contracted beast!
Maine gently stroked his cheek with his fingers: "I won't act impulsively, don't worry, nothing will happen."
He released Shessen, looked at Meyer, and said coldly, "Refuse. Whatever your demands, refuse them all. If you want me arrested, you can contact them now."
Shessen hurriedly grabbed his hand, and before he could speak, Maine reassured him, "It's alright, just get me a reliable lawyer."
Meyer frowned and looked him over: "The evidence is conclusive, no lawyer can save you."
Maine said calmly, "I don't accept this as evidence, I don't admit that I killed Rilo."
Meyer laughed in anger: "You think the law is a game for kids? You think you can't be punished just because you don't admit it?" he mocked. "You're pathetic. In your boyfriend's eyes, you're not even worth two contracted beasts."
Xie Sen finally couldn't hold back and shouted, "Stop talking nonsense! Are you out of your mind? You're the most pathetic person in the world—your son is dead, your wife is insane, and you're a lunatic yourself!"
Meyer's face instantly turned extremely ugly. He swung his hand to hit Xie Sen, but Maine raised her hand and grabbed his hand, her gaze icy: "You want to hit him?"
Meyer tightened his grip, but Maine held him firmly, preventing him from continuing. A look of surprise flashed in Meyer's eyes, along with an inexplicable jealousy.
Is this the power of an S-class beast master? Even though he's only just come of age, he can already contend with him.
He withdrew his hand, losing all patience for any attempt at negotiation, and contacted the police directly. After hanging up, he looked at Maine with a mocking smile: "I hope you'll still be this tough when you're convicted."
Xie Sen nervously grabbed Maine, who hugged him back and whispered in his ear, "Trust me, I'll be fine. Ask Uncle Long for help, hire a capable lawyer, and get him to come to the police station to meet me as soon as possible."
Xie Sen tried to remain calm and nodded.
The police arrived quickly and took Maine away. Meyer left with a grim face.
"Chirp~" Xie Sen stood at the door, and Tuan Tuan chirped softly, nuzzling his neck.
Xie Sen patted Tuan Tuan's head: "I'm fine, thank you." He looked away and immediately contacted Long Teng to explain the situation. Long Teng happened to be with Long Yu and put the phone on speakerphone.
After hearing what had happened, Long Yu immediately said, "Don't worry, I'll have a lawyer go to the police station right away."
Xie Sen said gratefully, "Thank you, Uncle Long."
Long Yu smiled and said, "It's nothing. You're Ateng's friend, he's very grateful for your care."
After hanging up, Xie Sen thought for a moment and, still feeling uneasy, contacted Jie, Zhao Hao, Yan Qi, Qiao Shao... everyone he knew from the non-Kes family military. He contacted them all, with only one purpose: to prevent Maine from being bullied at the police station.
The moment Maine entered the police station, the station was bombarded with messages of concern. The officers exchanged bewildered glances, one of them muttering, "He was born into the Kex family, so why is the Kex family demanding severe punishment, while other powerful families are asking for preferential treatment?"
"Boss," an officer rushed in, his voice a mix of excitement and tension, "The Flying Eagle Beast! The Flying Eagle Beast is lurking near the station! Has it set its sights on some beast lord?"
"Dream on!" the chief, addressed as "Boss," roared at him. "We don't have any S-rank beast lords in our department!"
The officers who had taken Maine away exchanged glances and said in unison, "Xie Sen!