588: Tell me what to do.

Tell me what to do.

"Oh, god…" Ivy muttered, looking at the dent in the window. "How can I…"  2

Ivy held her breath, wide-eyed. Her eyes veered to the corner, catching a big rock on the grass where her car was parked. Since a green landscape surrounds this venue, even the VIP parking space has some trees, bushes, and different sizes of rocks. 

Ivy didn't hesitate to march in its direction, not caring if she got bumped by the crowd. As she bent down, someone accidentally stepped on her fingers, earning her scream. However, she couldn't blame them for not noticing her. She chirped her long nails as she tried to pick up the big rock with both her hands. After some time of struggle, she carried it with great difficulty and stood in front of the driver's seat. 

"Ahh!!!" Using all her strength, she lifted the rock with both of her hands and threw it toward the window, causing it to shatter. Her loud scream also earned the attention of those around her. When they saw what she did to gain access to her car, it gave them an idea of how to get out of this place much faster. After all, everyone already assumed they would have to walk because their keys and phones were confiscated. 

What they didn't know was that Ivy didn't try to get into her car to leave this place. She did so to get her spare phone.

After she had gone through the compartment, a slight hope turned up on her face. The corner of her lips curled up as a short laugh escaped her mouth. But alas, when she gazed up at the signal, all hopes died. 

"There's no reception," she mumbled, feeling her heart sink. Her initial plan was once she got her spare phone, she would call for help. But now that there was still no reception, even when she was outside the establishment, there was only one way to call for help. 

Ivy slowly turned her head to the steering wheel, but her eyes landed on the key button. Even though there was just a button to start the car, her slight paranoia created a hobby of double-locking her car. In other words, without her keys, no one else could start the car.

"Hah…" she huffed as her face crumpled, almost the little hope she had in this situation.

What would she do now? 

Ivy could easily solve a difficult math problem or give a resolution to salvage a dying company. She could do many things and had a lot of useful hobbies. However, going through the wires and starting an engine was not one of them. 

She didn't aspire to steal a car all her life, after all. 

"What should I do now?" she asked herself, knowing the only way she got now was to walk. Hitching a ride seemed a little impossible because surely, those who could start their cars already had passengers with them. 

Feeling helpless with the situation, Ivy's lips quivered. 

"Ha ha ha!"

She flinched when she heard a creepy wave of laughter near her. When she moved her head to where the sound was coming from, her brows furrowed at the logo on the screen of her spare phone. 

"A clown?" she whispered, staring at the moving clown tilting from one side to the other. She didn't recall saving such a photo to put in her contacts. Gazing at the number of the caller, all she saw was a colorful, customized font written: Joker. 

For sure, she didn't save this number. But how come her phone recognized the caller if the number wasn't saved?

Ivy shook her head as she realized all the thoughts going in her head weren't important at the moment. It wasn't important who this person was and how he could call her, even though her phone didn't have reception.

What was important right now was that she had to know what this call's purpose was and what this man named Joker wanted.

Ivy could only stare at the screen for some time, wondering whether she should answer the call of a stranger or ignore it. Who knew what sort of trap it was? It wasn't in her nature to answer strangers' calls. That practice had already been taught to her since she was a child. 

Don't talk to strangers, don't go with someone you don't know, and so on. The usual reminders the adults would give to children. 

"But alas…" she took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. When she reopened her eyes, she said under her breath. "What else could go wrong?"

The entire situation was already a disaster. Would it get worse just because she answered the only call her phone could receive, even without reception? Going against all the teachings she received as a child, which she applied even in her adulthood, Ivy swallowed down her fright just to tap the only button on the screen. There was only an answer button, after all, and the end call button was missing. 

"He — Hello?" Ivy stuttered as she nervously put her phone in front of her ears. She only heard silence as a response, making her look at her phone for a second. "Who's calling?" she asked as she put her phone back in front of her ears once again. 

When she put her phone back in front of her ears, Ivy instinctively put it away at the sharp ring from the other end of the line. The voice on the other end of the line sounded choppy as if he was having a hard time with his reception as well. 

"Another… place…"

She looked at her phone once again, brows furrowed. Even though it wasn't on loudspeaker, she could still faintly hear the static voice from it. 

"Another what?" she whispered.

"Mo — move… place…"

Ivy simply gazed at her phone in confusion. She repeated the words she could make up from the choppy line.

"I'll move to another palace?"

"Ye — ye — ss."

"Right." For some reason even Ivy couldn't understand, she followed the person's instruction and got out of her car. She ran out a bit — only three steps from her car to get a better signal. She took the courage to put the phone on her ear despite the ear-splitting noise, and when she took another step back, the noise disappeared, replaced with the clear voice of a man. 

"Can you hear me now, Miss Wei?"

"Huh?" Her already knitted brows creased even more. "How did you know my name?"

"Doesn't matter," said the person on the other end of the line. "I want you to do something for me since you're the only person outside that place who holds the phone."

"But —"

"If you want to help your childhood friend, Dominic Zhu, then listen to me." Ivy's breath hitched at the remarks the man uttered. "Do me a favor."

Ivy pressed her lips into a thin line, looking around cautiously. "What do you want me to do to help Dominic?"

"First, find a place where you're safe. If they see you using a phone, they'll kill you."

Ivy didn't even think twice about questioning the man's remarks. She immediately went to the bush nearby, squatting down in hopes this was enough.

"I'm hiding now," she murmured. "Now, tell me what to do."

The person on the other end of the line didn't answer immediately. However, his fingers gliding across the keyboard stopped. He took a deep breath as his eyes sharpened. When his lips parted, Ivy's eyes slowly widened in surprise. 

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