Unholy Player-Chapter 184: Connections

Dalin was on the verge of turning back and forgetting the whole thing when Selina’s words reminded her of the file in her hands.

"Yeah, right." She crossed the distance and held it out. "Adyr sent this, with his regards."

She handed it over, then turned to leave, certain that another second in this conversation would be hazardous to her mental health. But before she could take a step, Selina’s voice stopped her.

"Wait." Her tone was different this time, almost surprised.

"What now? I really don’t have the energy or time to waste on you," Dalin growled through clenched teeth.

"Adyr’s the one who sent you here to join our team?" Selina asked. Her surprise was genuine this time.

"Why else would I come and ask you for something like this?" Dalin shot back.

If Adyr had accepted her offer earlier, she would never have been forced to approach her childhood rival.

Selina fixed her with a careful gaze, dark violet eyes studying her as though searching for a weakness. "What exactly do you have with him?" she asked, her voice sharp with an edge that bordered on a threat.

Dalin caught the jealous undertone and smiled. "Oh? Why do you care? Jealous?"

Seeing her like this was rare. It took the edge off the frustration she’d been carrying.

Selina held her gaze a moment longer, lips pressed into a tight line, then finally exhaled. A trembling smile broke across her face as she said, "Why didn’t you tell me Adyr was the one who sent you? Of course, you can join our team."

Her expression and tone felt forced, as though she was wrestling to keep herself under control, but Dalin hardly cared. She had gotten what she came for.

And seeing Selina so obviously unsettled only made it better.

Looks like this stone-faced woman really has feelings for him, Dalin thought.

As one of the few people who’d known Selina since childhood, Dalin had never been fooled by her warm, easygoing act. Underneath was someone cold and calculating. That was why seeing her show even a hint of real affection felt almost ridiculous.

"Well," Dalin muttered under her breath as she started after her down the long corridor, "can’t blame her. The guy really does have a mysterious charm."

"What did you say?" Selina asked sharply over her shoulder.

"Nothing," Dalin replied with a shrug. She wasn’t about to make a scene over Adyr.

They continued down the corridor together and stopped in front of Selina’s door. Selina scanned her hand over the panel, and the door beeped open.

From inside came two strained, breathless voices.

"Is that all you’ve got?" Victor panted. "Come on, pick up the pace."

"You sure you can keep up?" Eren shot back, equally winded.

"What the hell...?" Dalin frowned, brow knitting as she tried to make sense of what they’d walked into.

"I’m starting to wonder myself," Selina muttered, stepping into the short hallway and into the spacious room. Relief washed over her face as she took in the sight. "What are you two doing?"

Eren and Victor were both on the floor in the middle of an intense push-up contest, sweat pouring down their faces as they struggled to outdo one another.

"Oh, you’re here?" Victor grunted without looking up, counting as he kept going. "455... 456... 457..."

"Don’t get cocky," Eren growled back, speeding up to match him. "458... 459... 460..."

Selina and Dalin stood there for a moment, watching the two soaked and stubborn idiots locked in their ridiculous competition, neither showing any sign of stopping.

"Alright, enough," Selina finally sighed. "We have a new team member." It didn’t look like either of them was going to quit anytime soon.

"New team member?" Victor asked, lifting his head to look at Dalin. He was still going, barely pausing for breath as he kept counting under his breath.

"Victor, why don’t you get up and greet our new teammate?" Eren said without breaking his rhythm. Nearly two and a half meters tall and built like a mountain, his muscle mass was at least four times Victor’s, and watching him power through each push-up, it was hard to believe his arms could support that much weight.

"Nice try," Victor sneered. "If you want to stop, just say you give up."

"Are they really your teammates?" Dalin couldn’t help but ask, already questioning whether joining this team had been a good idea.

Selina took a deep breath, her tone deceptively calm. "If you two don’t stop right now, I’ll throw you both out."

They’d agreed to hold their daily meeting at this hour in her room, but seeing these two treating it like a joke was testing her patience.

"Alright, alright. We’re done anyway," Victor muttered as they both stopped and pushed themselves to their feet.

If there was one thing they’d learned about Selina, it was that she always followed through on her words.

"Oh, isn’t this Dalin Ravencourt?" Victor grabbed one of the two water bottles on the table and tossed the other to Eren. "You’re the one joining us?"

"I’m Victor," he added casually. "Though you probably know that already, even if we never actually spoke face-to-face."

"I’m Eren," the other said simply, downing the water in one go.

"Nice to meet you," Dalin replied, studying them both.

As the son of the city’s defense minister, Victor was impossible not to recognize. But seeing Eren up close was a surprise.

His imposing height, sheer muscle, and bronzed skin gave him a threatening, almost beast-like presence. Dalin had seen him before, but this was her first time seeing him after his evolution. The change had only made him look larger, darker, and even more dangerous.

"Don’t let his appearance fool you," Victor said with a grin, giving Eren a playful slap on the arm. "He probably has the softest heart in this whole building."

"I see," Dalin replied, though she didn’t sound convinced. Still, one thing was obvious: everyone in this room, including Selina, was far from ordinary. Each had their own strengths, and it was easy to tell they’d all grow into serious figures in the future.

"She came here on Adyr’s recommendation," Selina said as she crossed the room at an easy pace and settled into an armchair in the corner. "So take it seriously."

"Adyr?" Victor picked a seat for himself and sat down, his curiosity piqued. "And what’s your story with him?"

Eren took a seat too, clearly interested in Dalin’s answer.

"My story?" Dalin echoed as she lowered herself into a chair, not quite sure what they meant.

"You know," Victor replied matter-of-factly. "Your connection. Everyone here has one thing in common—Adyr. For example, he saved my life ten years ago, and we’ve been close friends ever since."

That gave Dalin pause. "Ten years ago? You mean the big shopping mall incident? Weren’t you just eight at the time?" freeweɓnovel~cѳm

As the Defense Minister’s only son, Victor’s abduction had been all over the news. Dalin remembered the reports saying the STF had handled the rescue.

"Exactly," Victor laughed. "But what you heard was the public version. No one was going to print that the STF failed and an eight-year-old pulled it off. That would’ve been too much for the headlines."

Dalin was taken aback. For a moment, she tried to remember what she had been doing at eight years old—what achievements she could possibly compare—but it quickly hit her that she wasn’t even in the same league as this mysterious man.

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