The Headline Queen: President Hawthorne is Her Die-Hard Fan!-Chapter 437: Surrounded

As long as they return to Veridia and Alisa is willing to talk, there’s hope to completely eliminate that underground organization and those unethical experimental data.

Therefore, throughout this journey, Alisa stays with them. They have to protect Alisa but also be wary of her, as Alisa’s words are not entirely trustworthy.

During the journey, Julian Hawthorne showed no warmth towards Alisa. It is only now, with Julian seeming to be asleep, that Alisa dares to get close to him.

Moving close to Julian, Alisa can’t help but reach out, wanting to touch Julian’s cheek.

Previously, fear of Paige Sterling made her abandon any feelings for Julian, but after this half-month of companionship and fighting side by side, her feelings for Julian have reignited.

No matter how powerful Paige Sterling is, what’s the point? During Julian’s most dangerous times, it was she, Alisa, who stood by him, not Paige.

Moreover, this danger should have been Paige’s, but Paige pushed Julian into it, letting him suffer all this. Does such a selfish person deserve Julian’s love?

And didn’t she save Julian when he was in danger? Julian’s life now belongs to her, having nothing to do with Paige Sterling.

Surely Julian will soon come to realize who the woman he should cherish really is.

The thought of such a man soon submitting to her, becoming her man, makes Alisa excited, feeling that all the hardships along the way have been worth it.

However, before Alisa’s hand could touch Julian, he suddenly opened his eyes. Those eyes were sharper than a hawk’s, cold and dark, staring directly at Alisa, like a sharp blade piercing her heart.

Alisa’s hand instantly froze, her body involuntarily shivering a little.

She awkwardly withdrew her hand, "President Hawthorne, are you okay?"

Julian quickly looked away, having no intention of dealing with Alisa; protecting her wasn’t his responsibility, after all.

As for the so-called life-saving grace, heh...

Did he not see that Alisa was doing it on purpose? Even without Alisa, under those circumstances, he wouldn’t have been injured. Alisa’s sudden rush was for reasons she knew well.

Julian wouldn’t be grateful to Alisa for this calculated life-saving grace.

Had it not been for Alisa’s utility, he wouldn’t have taken her along.

Julian stood up and walked forward in great strides.

The others, having rested enough, immediately followed suit.

Normally, Alisa was proactive about staying in the middle of the group, striving to showcase her perseverance in front of Julian, never complaining of hardship or fatigue.

So everyone thought Alisa would follow on her own and didn’t notice she was still in a daze. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

When they realized and looked for Alisa, they found she had vanished.

Their faces immediately changed, countless guesses flashing through their minds. The worst scenario was Alisa running off to inform Old K’s men, as surely that group was lurking somewhere in the jungle too, waiting for the right moment. Perhaps Alisa was bait they released from the start to ensnare them all.

Instantly, everyone became more vigilant.

But there was another possibility: Alisa wasn’t with them and had fallen into their hands because she was isolated. Given the evidence Alisa held, as long as she didn’t reveal the whereabouts of that information, Old K wouldn’t harm her too quickly.

But either way, without finding Alisa, they couldn’t feel at ease.

All eyes turned to Julian.

"Mr. Hawthorne, do you think we should rescue Alisa now?"

Before heading out, they were instructed to follow Julian’s lead on this mission.

Inwardly, Julian had no desire to rescue Alisa. Their numbers were too few, while the opposition was numerous and strong. Rescuing her would mean direct confrontation, which could mean casualties.

Through these days together, Julian and these people had been through life and death. He did not want to see anyone else die.

But not rescuing Alisa was clearly not an option. If she really had those items, and she died, their entire mission would be in vain.

As long as those documents existed, Old K could find others to continue the research at any time. Even without Old K, others would covet those documents.

Julian said, "Rescue."

They gathered to discuss a rescue plan. Since the opposition quickly abducted Alisa, it proved they weren’t far off. Running mindlessly forward wouldn’t work; they needed to first track Old K’s movements.

After two days of reconnaissance, they located Old K and confirmed Alisa was indeed in their hands. It was time to act.

However, just hundreds of meters away, in a tent, Alisa was entwined with Old K.

Old K gazed obsessively at Alisa, "Baby, you’re truly a seductress..."

Old K was very pleased with Alisa, having spent most days keeping her busy in the tent.

Alisa smiled, cooperating with Old K, but inside, she couldn’t stop feeling cold.

Why hasn’t Julian come to rescue her? How much longer must she endure this man?

Once Old K was satisfied, he began to strangle Alisa, demanding where she’d hidden that data.

Many times, Alisa nearly broke under Old K’s torment and confessed.

But she knew she couldn’t talk. Revealing it would mean she no longer had any value, and Old K could kill her at any moment.

Alisa regretted getting involved in this mess and trapping herself in this predicament, but she also believed that gaining Julian’s gratitude and becoming a hailed hero in Veridia would make it worth it.

But first, she had to survive.

If Julian really didn’t come to rescue her, she’d have to confess everything and then use Old K’s obsession with her body to keep alive.

In no time, Old K, having gotten nothing out of her, slapped her a few times before leaving.

Gradually losing strength, Alisa fell asleep.

In that moment, a shadow flashed into the tent, waking Alisa up.

"I’m here to rescue you, let’s go."

Alisa recognized the person and immediately wore a smile.

"Is President Hawthorne here?"

"Yes, President Hawthorne is outside waiting for us, let’s hurry."

They used a diversion tactic this time, drawing most of Old K’s men away, allowing him to sneak in and extract Alisa.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, but just as they were nearing their rendezvous with Julian, Alisa suddenly claimed she was scared by a snake, letting out a scream and alerting all the pursuers.

Already short-handed, having battled through the jungle while eluding enemies, they now faced many foes at once— how could they escape?

As a result, they were quickly surrounded.