Raised From The Wild-Chapter 414: Who Is After Amaya?

Northern Shores of Verde Island, Lireya

In the dimly lit study beneath the basement of a hidden lair, Marx reviewed the information Ren had shared. A deep crease formed on his forehead. He had believed that eliminating the Dark Phoenix would put an end to the threats against Princess Amaya’s life.

He had assumed Adolf Black was the sole mastermind targeting Amaya. Initially, Adolf sought her blood, but after finding others with a matching type, he managed to store enough to last him two lifetimes. Yet, his obsession shifted. Now, he wanted her life as a vendetta against Ibrahim Rocas, the man he despised above all else—someone who had thwarted Adolf’s plans for global dominion.

Marx’s fingers flew across the keyboard with precision, uncovering more details on his laptop screen:

"The metal XX99, displayed at the Lireyan Museum, has gone missing and been replaced with a counterfeit. The museum’s security team is still investigating how the theft was executed without raising any alarms."

Marx rose from his chair, pacing the room as he connected the dots. Could the recent attempt to capture Princess Amaya be tied to the theft of the rare metal?

Stopping abruptly, he turned to face a seemingly ordinary section of the wall. After a full-body scan, the hidden panel slid open, revealing a staircase leading downward.

He faced a certain section of the wall in his study, which opened after a full body scan. When the wall parted, a stair going down was revealed. Marx descended the stairs, and after entering a series of codes and after a scan of his biometrics, another door opened.

The room was painted black and was empty except for a painting of Miraga Island. It was Amaya’s painting which she gifted to Marx on their first Christmas after she was brought back to Lireya.

Marx traced the outline of the cabin house on the shore, then, as if following an invisible line, he moved his finger until it rested on the treehouse inside the forest.

A section of the floor to the left parted, and two big wooden chests appeared. The chest contained precious gems and a few rare metals, including the one that Ibrahim tagged as XX99.

Amaya gave it to him. She insisted it was his reward because he had taken her from the island, as her Father Ibrahim instructed.

Marx only had a few kilos of the XX99; the rest were known metals that he kept for future use. He removed the other gems and metals from the chest until he saw the rugged, black, translucent chunk of rock.

He lifted it, and it was surprisingly light. He did not pay any attention to that metal and waited for the results of the scientists who studied the samples from Ibrahim’s catalog.

But then he disappeared and forgot about the metals.

Marx reached out to pick up a small piece of XX99 from the bottom of the chest. He would send it to his team of scientists for study. He stopped when something caught his eye. The glint from the translucent rock showed a small gap at the edges of the chest.

Marx used his hand to knock on the bottom of the chest and noticed that it was hollow. He flipped the chest, causing all the contents to spill on the floor. Then, he pressed at several places in the bottom of the chest using his hand until he heard a click.

There was a hidden compartment. Marx glanced at his watch. He considered letting his AI assistant scan it, but ultimately, he decided to do it himself. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

He opened the compartment and found two blue notebooks on it. Why would Ibrahim hide two notebooks?

Marx took them out, flipped the first notebook open, and saw Ibrahim’s notes about the rare metals he came across on the island. He was curious about the black translucent rock that contained an unknown metal. He did a few experiments and recorded in his notebook that the results were disappointing. He did not have the right instrument to continue with the experiment, but he felt that the rock metal was special and was worth further study.

Marx opened the second notebook. It was Ibrahim’s letter addressed to Danaya. It was probably his way of coping with loneliness. Marx could tell that even at that time, Ibrahim was still in denial that Danaya had died.

The first entry started when Amaya turned four.

’Dear sweetheart,

Today, our little princess turned four. She looked a lot like you when you were four. Do you remember the first time we met?.

Marx closed the notebook. It should belong to Amaya; he would give it to her when he returned to Maharlika Palace that evening.

He returned the scattered rocks of different shapes and colors to the chest, keeping only a tiny piece of the XX99 for study.

He stood in front of the painting, and after pressing some of the places in the canvas, the two chests disappeared under the floor.

He was ascending the stairs when his watch sounded an alarm.

"The server at the Marharlika palace is being attacked. The hacker is about to break into the first layer of defense."

Marx hurriedly went to the control center. His people were frantically typing on their keyboards. He could see Ren on the monitor at Marharlika’s control center, typing fast and focusing on his monitor.

"What is their target? Why are they hacking into Marharlika’s system?" Marx asked no one in particular.

"The firewall is about to be breached, Sir. Do you want us to intervene?" An IT engineer looked at Marx, awaiting his instruction.

Marx studied the face of the boy at the monitor. Ren looked very pale as if he had not seen the sunshine for a long time. His slender fingers were typing codes on the keyboard at a fast pace. He seemed calm.

"No, don’t do anything. I want to know how capable he is and if he is worthy to stay with Princess Amaya."