Chapter 203 The Hidden Former Leader of the Galactic Aurora Collective
Oscar didn't waste a second. He grabbed Sophia, who was munching on cake, and they bolted out of The Windsor Mansion together.
Charles took off his glasses, his excitement palpable. "With today's stone gambling event, our family's business in the stone market is set. I've got my eye on a few places."
Richard, looking puzzled, asked, "Charles, haven't you made enough money? Why are you still into the stone gambling market? It's nothing compared to your oil business!"
"You just don't get it! In the future, Mom, Catherine, and Juniper will have all the good jewelry they want!" Charles wasn't just after the money; he wanted to secure a top-notch jade import channel for the Windsor Family. Once they had their own quarry and a slice of the jade market, Aurora, Catherine, and Juniper could have all the jewelry they desired. Charles loved making money, but he loved spending it even more.
Catherine went back to her room and found a gift from Oscar on the table. The box was made of jade, looking seamless with no obvious way to open it.
The Galactic Aurora Collective had a special way to open these boxes, using a fixed mortise and tenon structure, plus a combo of a password and fingerprint. If any part was wrong, the box wouldn't open.
In Catherine's hands, the box opened smoothly, revealing a photograph inside. The photo looked old, showing three young people. Catherine's eyes widened slightly as she saw it. It was Elodie, Timothy, and a man she didn't recognize.
There was also a note inside the box: [Catherine, I know you're looking into Elodie's matters. This is for you. Also, the maple tree sculpture you carved hides two USB drives. Find Timothy.]
'The maple tree sculpture I carved? It does have two spots for USB drives. I worried one might not be enough or could get damaged, so I made an extra space. But I never told Elodie about it!' Catherine thought as she walked to the shelf in her room and took down the maple tree sculpture.
Marcus hadn't taken it; he left it for Catherine. In his view, Catherine had been with Elodie through her past, and she needed Elodie's belongings more than he did.
Catherine gently turned the bottom of the sculpture and found the other spot for the USB drive, which should have contained another piece of the maple tree branch, but it was now empty.
'When did Elodie find out about the other USB drive in this sculpture?' Catherine wondered as she dialed Timothy's video call.
Timothy accepted Catherine's video call request and leaned in, flashing his big white teeth. "Catherine! The Thunderstrike Mercenaries have all been wiped out! Mission accomplished!"
With Timothy's influence in Ironclad Jail, taking down a second-rate mercenary group surviving on smuggling arms at the border was a piece of cake.
Catherine waved the photo in front of Timothy. "Who is this guy?"
"How did you get this photo?" Timothy's expression turned serious instantly. He took off his cool-looking sunglasses and stared intently at the photo in Catherine's hand.
"Just tell me who this guy is."
Without thinking, Timothy denied it directly. "I don't know him!"
"You guys are practically holding hands, and you say you don't know him?" she asked.
"Don't say that! I don't like men! This guy, well, he's from the Galactic Aurora Collective. If it weren't for Marcus, this guy might have been your grandfather." To Timothy, the most important thing was that Elodie was Catherine's grandmother. As for who her grandfather was, it didn't matter, since Marcus wasn't a good person anyway!
"You say he's from the Galactic Aurora Collective? How come I don't know him?" Catherine asked, her curiosity piqued.
Timothy grinned mysteriously. "The Galactic Aurora Collective isn't just made up of a few groups! Even if you know some people now, you can't assume there are no older generations. This guy is from the older generation. As for which group he belongs to, I don't know! Anyway, when Elodie joined, he was already a leader!"
Catherine's eyes widened. "My grandmother joined the Galactic Aurora Collective?"
Timothy quickly patted his mouth, spitting several times. "That's ancient history! I've got chicken stewing in the pot, so I'll go!"
Catherine frowned. "One last thing, where is this person now?"
"He and Elodie left the Galactic Aurora Collective together. Now, he's maybe a university president somewhere. If you want to find something related to Elodie, finding him would be more useful than finding Marcus," Timothy said.
"Why don't you look for him?" Catherine asked, thinking, 'Timothy also wants to get what Elodie left behind, so why hasn't he gone to find this person?'
Timothy replied confidently, "I can't leave Ironclad Jail, can I? I'm still in prison! How can a criminal leave jail?"
Catherine was silent for a moment. 'Given Timothy's influence, he is practically a kingpin in Ironclad Jail. I really can't see any signs that Timothy is actually imprisoned.'
"As for sending someone to find him, forget it! He's full of tricks, I can't outsmart him!" Timothy shook his head, afraid Catherine would ask something he couldn't say, and quickly cut off the video.
Catherine calmed down, quickly assembled her small computer, and accessed the internal network of the Galactic Aurora Collective.
Catherine: [Investigate a person, a former Galactic Aurora Collective Sirius. Use the big data system to match his face with the photo.]
Catherine sent the photo of the man to the group and soon received a message.
Alkaid: [Franklin Morales, postdoc at Evergreen University, now the president of Imperial University and professor at the department of design. This guy is from the Galactic Aurora Collective? How come we didn't know?]
'The Galactic Aurora Collective didn't comment much on Franklin's profession. Nowadays, the Galactic Aurora Collective even has an actress, so what's the big deal about being a university president? Dubhe's dream is still to set up a stall outside an elementary school!' Catherine thought.
The current Sirius: [How come I didn't know there was this Sirius? I checked his resume, and he does have a significant blank period. His published papers also have traces of the Galactic Aurora Collective. Comparing with others who look somewhat similar to the person in the photo, it's definitely him!]
[Catherine, aren't you going to Imperial University?] This Sirius piqued the collective interest of the Galactic Aurora Collective members, all eager to see what kind of person he was.
Catherine was lost in thought, with countless questions in her mind. 'It seems I have to find this Franklin and ask him! If Elodie was once a member of the Galactic Aurora Collective, why did she go to a small village? Did Elodie know I also joined the Galactic Aurora Collective? I'm sure she will never harm me!'
Catherine sighed softly and quickly replied: [Arrange it, I'll report when the semester starts next month!]
[Great! Going to school with Catherine!] Having never attended a day of school, the geniuses from the Galactic Aurora Collective were full of anticipation for university life.
Catherine put away her computer, casually placing it back on the shelf, and turned to look towards the balcony. "Alexander, are you addicted to climbing windows?"
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