Chapter 25: Grat.i.tude, the Family That Can’t Be Lost
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Not far away, Robert was already running out of their home while yelling, “Luke, how are you?”
Luke shouted back, “I’m fine. Both criminals are dead.”
As he said that, he stood up and gave Granny Lucy a thumbs up. “Lucy, you should join the Olympics. With your skills, you can get a gold medal.”
A wide smile bloomed on Granny Lucy’s wrinkly face as she said, “Haha, of course. I was bear hunting with my grandpa by the time I was five. In fact, I inherited this gun from him.”
Luke thought, s.h.i.+t, no wonder this gun is so powerful. So, it was used to hunt bears a couple of decades ago?
Back then, smaller caliber firearms weren’t as popular, and all sorts of firearms were used for hunting.
There was even a so-called lion-hunting gun with an excessively large caliber which might even dislocate someone’s arm when it was fired.
In comparison, Granny Lucy’s bear-hunting gun was completely normal… no, not really. Her gun was still excessively scary no matter how one looked at it.
It was at that moment that Luke vowed to allocate even more stat points to his dexterity.
When facing a scary gun like that, a nimble body that could quickly hide was much more useful than a strong body.
When Robert arrived, Luke gave him a simple explanation. Robert started calling more people over to deal with it.
Although Luke was a police officer who had been directly involved in the incident, Robert wanted to let him rest instead of continuing to work on the case after that life-threatening situation.
After Robert told Luke to go back home, Luke went over to the side of the road and gave Granny Lucy a big hug. “Lucy, thank you. Thanks to you, Claire is safe and sound.”
Lucy smiled and patted Luke’s back.
As Lucy had a pet.i.te build of about 160 centimeters, she could only pat Luke’s back.
“I’ve known Claire since she was a baby – I’ll kill anyone who dares lay a hand on her,” Granny Lucy declared.
Luke nodded and smiled. “That’s right. But still, thank you. In the future, feel free to look for me if you need anything.”
Granny Lucy smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Um, just remember to help carry Mickey home whenever he climbs someplace high again.”
Luke smiled and gave her another hug. “Alright. No problem. Mickey, you heard her.”
The cat sitting behind the granny merely shot Luke a glance and didn’t bother making a sound.
Lucy then said, “Go back home. You just left work, only to have this happen right after. Go back and get a good rest.”
Luke nodded. “You rest well too, Lucy.”
When Luke took his leave, Robert had just finished his work at the scene as well. He came over and patted Luke’s shoulder before saying, “Let’s go home.”
Luke asked, “You’re not saying anything to Lucy?”
Robert replied, “I’ll come visit her with Catherine tomorrow. We’ll come with gifts as well. Don’t worry about it.”
Luke nodded. Even if Robert forgot, Catherine wouldn’t.
But inwardly, Robert grumbled to himself, Back when I was a little boy, I went to a camp with Lucy. Right before my eyes, she fired four times in ten seconds and killed four wild boars charging at her. After seeing that, how would I dare forget to thank her for her help?
She was simply a super a.s.sa.s.sin enc.u.mbered by her ident.i.ty as a housewife.
As for Claire, Catherine had already brought her home. They were currently sitting on the sofa, and Claire didn’t seem frightened at all. Instead, she was talking excitedly about her experience while Catherine listened attentively.
Even when Robert and Luke returned, the two didn’t notice them. Luke smiled at the sight.
Claire, the naughty girl, was busy telling the story of Luke’s heroic exploit earlier.
But, what was up with her description of him flying over 20 meters like Superman before cras.h.i.+ng straight into the bad guy? If he really could fly, would he need to run so hard until he was drenched in sweat?
Luke grumbled inwardly, but kept the smile on his face, which calmed Claire down.
Luke didn’t want to lose even one member of this family.
That was how he felt even if he wasn’t Robert and Catherine’s biological son.
When he woke up at five, he learned that his biological parents had pa.s.sed away a year before. Child Protective Services thus sent him to Catherine.
Catherine was his biological father’s sister, Luke’s paternal aunt.
Claire wasn’t Robert’s biological child either. She was the child of Catherine and her former husband.
Claire was only three years old when Luke started living with them. Thus, the two grew up together and their relations.h.i.+p was no different than between regular siblings.
Of the three children in this house, only five-year-old Joseph was the biological son of both Catherine and Robert.
In fact, Robert had deliberately waited for Claire and Luke to reach a certain age before deciding to have a baby.
It was obvious that Robert was a good man.
He wasn’t Luke’s nor Claire’s biological father, but he a.s.sumed the role of one very well.
Robert stepped forward and interrupted Claire’s storytelling, telling her to go wash up and sleep. She still had school tomorrow.
Claire’s face fell in despair. “Huh? Do I need to go to school even after this?”
Catherine slapped her head with a smile. “Look at how you’re behaving. You look completely fine. Alright, go shower and sleep.”
In truth, Claire herself was the reason she couldn’t skip school. After that incident, she was still as lively as ever. Thus, she would have to attend school as usual.
Catherine was a biology teacher and Claire couldn’t fool her even if she wanted to.
After Claire went upstairs, Catherine walked over and hugged Luke tightly without saying anything.
The force of the hug shocked Luke and he quickly said, “Don’t worry. It’s all fine now, Catherine. We’re all fine.”
Only after more than ten seconds did Catherine release him. She said solemnly, “Promise me, never take such a risk again in the future.”
Luke answered, “Ok, I promise.”
Catherine stared at him for a bit before she shook her head and sighed. “Forget it. You won’t listen. Just remember to stay safe.”
Luke nodded. “I understand, Catherine.”
Both of them understood that if Luke had decided to do nothing in that situation, Catherine would have been disappointed in him.
After all, Claire was her daughter, the person who had grown up together with Luke.
If Luke could choose to do nothing even when Claire was in danger, it would only prove that Catherine had raised Luke for nothing.
Robert’s reaction was less extreme. He only patted Luke’s shoulder and said, “Go to bed earlier. We’ll know what the situation is at work tomorrow.”
Luke nodded and went upstairs to take a shower as well.
Of course, there was only one bathroom upstairs. Claire was still inside.
Thus, Luke stood outside waiting with his clothes. Both his eyes went blank as his consciousness sank into the system.
Mission: Rescue the kidnapped victim, Claire.
Completion of the mission is worth a total of 250 experience and 250 credit.
Since the host’s contribution to the mission was 50 percent, 125 experience and 125 credit points have been awarded to the host.