Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

Andrew stayed calm as ever and said, "Mrs. Rhodes, take it easy. Since I dared to call Chantelle over, I obviously already considered whatever it is you're worried about."

Tiana chuckled. "You little brat, you're way too steady for someone your age. Honestly, I'm starting to really like you."

Andrew quickly raised a hand to stop her. "We're in public, Mrs. Rhodes. Please don't show your craziness."

Tiana snorted. "Get lost, you're the crazy one. If it were someone else, I wouldn't even give them the time of day."

Logan arrived with two skilled fighters from the Keller family, but no one else came along.noveldrama

"As soon as the treasure site is uncovered, our full force will arrive right away," he privately passed along this information to Andrew.

Andrew nodded subtly. Logan traveling light was definitely the right approach.

Chantelle wore a casual athletic outfit with a sun hat. She looked like a college student heading out on a trip, nothing like an official spokesperson.

"I thought you weren't planning to go after all!" Andrew said, looking at her with a smile.

Chantelle's expression turned serious. "Governor McCormick is taking a hands-off approach to this whole thing, but he also made it clear that we can't cause any major disturbances. Otherwise, official forces will definitely step in!"

Andrew nodded. "That's fair enough. By the way, I see you brought some people with you."

Chantelle confirmed with a nod and waved her hand. Two men immediately stepped forward.

"These two are senior specialists from an exploration company in Blumedale. They have extensive experience in wilderness exploration and treasure hunting."

As her introduction concluded, the muscular young man among the two looked at Andrew arrogantly. He said, "You're Mr. Lloyd, right? I'm Ralph Sutton, and I'm a retired Special Forces. If anything goes south, you can count on me to save your life."

The guy was clearly full of himself. He only gave Andrew a quick once-over before shifting his attention to ogle Chantelle's curves under her tracksuit, his gaze practically drooling.

"Mr. Lloyd, I'm Magnus Veyne, and you can call me Mr. Veyne. I'm a geomancy specialist."

The older man seemed more polite toward Andrew. However, those shifty eyes and that twitchy gaze gave Andrew instant warning signs-this guy was definitely a con artist.

Geomancy might have been a technical skill, sure, but more often than not, con artists and geomancy specialists were indistinguishable from each other.

Clearly, this old fool was just a scammer here for the money. Therefore, Andrew responded bluntly, "Mr. Veyne, we're going treasure hunting, not running cons. So you can leave now!"

Magnus clasped his hands behind his back with a disdainful expression. "Mr. Lloyd, what do you mean by that? Are you looking down on me? Do you know that I once did a geomancy reading for Ouisia's richest man? His entire mansion was built on a plot I personally located."

Andrew sneered coldly. "Is that so? What a coincidence-the last con artist I met said exactly the same thing."

Magnus snorted and turned to Chantelle. "Ms. Garcia, you went through great effort to request my services. But Mr. Lloyd clearly lacks vision. In that case, I'll take my leave!"

Chantelle quickly called after him. "Mr. Veyne, please wait! Head to the car and get some rest first. I'll handle the rest."

Only then did Magnus storm off with his nose in the air, but not before shooting Andrew one last contemptuous glare.

Chantelle turned serious again. "Mr. Lloyd, I admit Mr. Veyne talks a big game, but his geomancy skills are legit. I really believe bringing him along won't be a mistake."

Andrew responded flatly. "Chantelle, we're not playing make-believe here—we're hunting real treasure. That guy's clearly just a lazy, greasy conman with no real skills."