Chapter 5 What A Huge Gap

• “Bring them in. Draw their blood for a DNA test.” Standing beside Bethany was the police captain, whose face was solemn.
• “How is that possible? How did this guy manage to catch two in an hour? How did he do that?” All of the police officers were stunned. They chattered while bringing the two fugitives to the police station.
• DNA testing was merely a guarantee measure. Judging from the two's appearances, one could be sure they were the men wanted by the police.
• Standing in front of the police station, Bethany was still in a daze when the group brushed past her.
• “How can this be possible?” The young officer walked out, following behind Tobias. His face turned solemn when he saw the fugitives being brought in.
• “Can it be that it's really him?” A premonition grew stronger in Tobias' heart.
• Yet, that was not the most shocking event of the day.
• After an hour, Zachary brought back another fugitive. Similar to what he had done previously, he dropped off the fugitive at the entrance before he sped off in a small truck.
• Zachary brought back a few more fugitives within the following three hours.
• By the time it was almost dusk, Zachary had brought back a total of seven fugitives.
• Even the chief was stunned by the news. He and the other police officers who were on duty decided to stay overtime to wait for Zachary to bring back other fugitives.
• There were a total of thirteen fugitives on the loose over the past ten years. Zachary had caught seven out of them within a day. It was rather a piece of heartening news.
• The chief did not know whether he should call Zachary a bounty hunter like Bethany did or address him as a genius detective.
• If there was indeed such a talent in that city, he would do anything to make Zachary stay.
• With his help, the chief believed the city's criminal case clearance rate would rise to a hundred percent from now on.
• There were still six outlaws on the loose. Perhaps they would have to wait till the next day before they were apprehended.
• Meanwhile, in a private room of a cybercafe in the city center, Zachary lit a cigarette while looking at the computer screen in front of him. Then, he shut his eyes and gently massaged his temples with his right hand.
• In front of him was a website written in the Ustranasion language.
• The website, known as The Hunter, was an online platform for bounty hunters around the world to exchange and share resources.
• There were bounty hunters all over the world, and each of them had their own respective resources. They had their own informants all over the world. No matter in what country or city, their informants would take note of the new faces and secretly investigate their identities and backgrounds. Once a bounty hunter sent them a photo of the person they were looking for, the informants would identify the person based on the information they had collected.
• That website was equivalent to an extensive surveillance system that covered almost every corner of the world.
• Bethany was right. There were two kinds of people in the world, and they received money from their clients to help the latter solve their problems. The first kind killed people, while the second kind hunted people. However, what she said was not entirely correct. There was also a third kind of people in the world—the mercenaries. As long as they were being paid, they could both kill and hunt people.
• Zachary was one of the Top Four Elite Warriors. Naturally, he possessed an account on The Hunter. Moreover, he had actually made a name for himself on the website. Hence, when he sent out the information about the thirteen wanted fugitives he was looking for, the bounty hunters sprang into action and asked their informants to dig up the information. Soon, they located the thirteen wanted fugitives who were hiding in different places in Chanaea.
• Seven of them were currently hiding in the city, while the other six were scattered around the country.
• Zachary knew he would not need to worry, as the six outlaws would be sent to the city by the next morning.
• Oh no!
• Zachary suddenly snapped open his eyes as a thought crossed his mind.
• It seemed that he had forgotten to pick up Cecilia from school, nor had he informed Natalie about his negligence. He had not been home for the whole day. He wondered if Natalie would misunderstand the situation and think that he had run away from home again.
• At the thought of that, he quickly put on his coat and walked out of the cybercafe. He got into his small truck and dashed over to Cecilia's kindergarten.
• The first fugitive he had caught that day had used to disguise himself as a truck driver. Since the fugitive had been apprehended and would be sentenced to death the next day, he would no longer make use of the small truck. Hence, Zachary decided to use the small truck as his temporary means of transportation. In addition to the fugitive's small truck, Zachary had also looted the other fugitives' money and had even seized a pistol for himself.
• He had around seventy thousand with him at the moment.
• When Zachary finally arrived at the kindergarten after a furious ride, his heart dropped when he saw the scene before his eyes. The gate of the kindergarten was closed, and the interior was dark. Although he had scolded Cecilia before, he still cared about her. Cecilia was Natalie's beloved. He wondered how he should explain to Natalie if he had lost Cecilia.
• “You're here.” Right then, a cold yet melodious voice sounded from behind Zachary.
• Zachary turned around and saw Natalie holding Cecilia's hand, and they were standing on the street while looking at him coldly from behind. Meanwhile, Cecilia was carrying a schoolbag with an aggrieved look on her face.
• I'm doomed.
• Zachary's heart dropped again.
• “Let's go.” Natalie looked at Zachary with her cold, bright eyes. Her gaze swept across Zachary with disdain.
• “All right.” Zachary was dejected. He got into the small truck and drove home, following Natalie's Volkswagen Passat.
• Natalie did not speak a single word to Zachary even after they had arrived home. After taking Cecilia for a shower, Natalie took Cecilia to the dining table and started eating quietly. Cecilia secretly watched him with her dark eyes. Zachary pondered for a brief moment before sitting beside them. He then said softly, “I had something to do today. That's why I forgot to pick Cecilia up. I'm so sorry.”
• “Luckily, I never counted on you.” Natalie stuffed a mouthful of food into her mouth, her face void of expression.
• “I see...” Zachary's voice trailed off as he saw Natalie's hardened expression. He knew she probably had no interest in talking to him at the moment, so he sat quietly beside her.
• Natalie had changed her clothes. She was wearing a loose white cotton T-shirt with a pair of loose shorts, revealing the fair skin of her long, slender legs. Zachary took a peek at Natalie's legs and delicate feet, thinking that he had done something wrong to piss off Natalie and so it would be impossible for him to be intimate with her that night.
• Zachary had been single for twenty-five years. Ever since he touched Natalie for the first time, the sensation had seemed to rile up something in his heart. His feelings grew wild as a certain idea gradually occupied his mind.
• As for why Zachary had a car or how he knew to drive, Natalie did not bother to find out the answers to those questions. Ever since she was taken advantage of by Zachary, she had always been inexplicably irritable and felt humiliated. Her hatred toward the man in front of her grew stronger and had even bypassed the disgust she had harbored toward him before. Sometimes, she even hoped that Zachary would run away from home again and never appear in front of her.
• Right then, Natalie's phone rang.
• “Nat, I want to share with you something big, something shocking!” Bethany said.
• “What is it?” Natalie asked nonchalantly.
• “Earlier today, didn't I tell you that a man named Zachary Larson came to the police station and asked for the information about the wanted fugitives in the recent ten years? He really did it. Although he did not arrest all the thirteen wanted fugitives, he arrested seven of them in just one afternoon. Oh my God! Don't you think he's unbelievable?” Bethany shouted excitedly.
• “What?” Natalie was stunned.
• “They are outlaws that have been on the run for ten years. There are thirteen of them, and he arrested seven of them. The captain was rather unconvinced. However, after the DNA test, it is confirmed that these seven people are indeed the wanted fugitives who have been on the loose for ten years. Among these seven people, four are murderers, one is a rapist, and the other two are robbers. Some of them were even equipped with guns when they were on the run. Nat, this Zachary is very handsome too.” As she spoke, Bethany became more and more excited to the point that her eyes were glistening with tears.
• “Haha. I'm not so interested in Zachary's good looks, but I'm quite curious about his abilities.” Natalie chuckled.
• “Yeah. He's awesome. He doesn't look old, probably only twenty-five years old. Nat, I need to go now. The captain is staring at me. Everyone in the police station is as busy as a beaver. Zachary has caught seven wanted fugitives in a row, and now we have a lot of transcripts and closing documents to write.” Bethany hung up the phone after saying that.
• “Zachary Larson?” Natalie whispered the name and put down the phone.
• Zachary instantly jolted up and started a coughing fit.
• He had made up his mind. Since Natalie was his wife, he would have to win her over and be her husband. He had been single for twenty-five years. Natalie was a nice girl. He was determined to end his bachelorship with her.
• Right then, Natalie's colleague was showering him with compliments. He could not be happier about that.
• If Natalie knew that he was Zachary Larson, she would probably go into the bedroom with him for some amorous activities immediately.
• “What are you shouting for?” Natalie suddenly shot a cold glare at Zachary.
• “Nothing.” Zachary's face was flushed with joy. He grinned at Natalie.
• Natalie sneered.
• She ignored him, grabbed the cutlery, and continued indulging in her food. After a few minutes, Natalie frowned slightly and said with a look of disgust, “You are also a Larson and a man. I have to say, there's indeed a huge gap between you and the other man.”
• Zachary was rendered speechless by Natalie's words.