Overprotected By My Tsundere CEO

Chapter 962 - 650: Living Map [05] Exposing the Impostor’s True Colors

"You people who play at being celebrities, how could you possibly understand Martial World rules."

Even though Rosie Sullivan really did feel a bit of respect and admiration for this so‑called Northwest Living Map, seeing the woman talk to Nora Scott like that still put her in a pretty foul mood.

But before Rosie could speak, Nora blocked her and cut in first: "State your rules."

As she spoke, Nora casually dragged over a chair, walked forward a couple of steps, and set it down opposite the woman.

She stepped up, sat down, and crossed her legs.

That big‑boss Martial World aura she carried completely outclassed the woman’s. In other words, under Nora’s contrast, the woman looked like some "ugly Du Fu trying to imitate Xi Shi’s frown."

The woman didn’t like Nora acting like this, and vaguely sensed a forceful arrogance and disdain from her. She frowned, but when she thought of Nora’s fame, she swallowed it down, snorted, and said, "Everything is decided by me."

The most famous rule of the Northwest Living Map—everything is decided by her.

Even if you’re the employer, if you want to achieve your final goal, you still have to listen to her.

"You call the shots, fine." Nora leaned back against the chair, the corners of her lips hooked in a careless smile. She asked, enunciating each word, "But having the say is always built on absolute strength. How are you going to prove it?"

The woman’s brows drew together; she seemed angry. "My reputation isn’t proof enough?"

"Prove to me that you are the real ’Living Map.’" Nora said lazily. "I’ll put eight figures on the table."

Hearing the first half, the woman was about to explode. But when she heard the latter half, her expression changed.

Eight figures...

Eight figures!

To her, that was an astronomical number!

The woman’s expression shifted at once. She decided to bow her head just this once to the moneybags, and didn’t push back hard. Instead, she softened. "How do you want me to prove it?"

Hooking a finger around one leg of her sunglasses, swaying them a bit, Nora gave a mocking little laugh. "You’ve already proved it."

"..."

The woman froze.

At that moment, Rosie Sullivan darted in front of Nora like an arrow. "Hall Master, she’s a fake!"

"What are you talking about!"

The woman didn’t understand what was happening. She slapped the table and shot to her feet, glaring furiously at Rosie.

Rosie punctured it straight through. "A big shot like the Living Map has always done things solely on her mood. There’s even the saying, ’tens of millions can’t buy a yes from her.’ You’re lowering yourself for a bit of money—how could you possibly be the real Living Map?!"

The woman: "..." The fuck, eight figures is what you call a bit of money?!

But with her cover blown, the woman didn’t have time to argue this point with Rosie. She lifted her head to call her backup. "Jared—"

She hadn’t even gotten the "red" sound of "Jared" out when she froze. The door was shaking, and a shadow in black flashed through the crack, vanishing at top speed—Jared Oliveira had already bolted.

The woman was dumbstruck.

"Hall Master, should we go after him?" Rosie asked.

"No need." Nora replied coolly, utterly unruffled. "He’ll be back."

As she spoke, she glanced at the fake who’d gotten her looks based on the rumors, irritation weighing down her eyes. She said to Rosie, "Tie her up first. I don’t want to see her."

Rosie nodded. "Got it."

"Don’t even think about it!"

The woman shoved up her sleeves and spoke with no lack of bravado.

Her build alone matched Nora and Rosie put together; how could she possibly be scared of them?!

However, while she looked like she had twenty‑five thousand combat power, when it actually came to blows she didn’t even have two hundred and fifty. Rosie gave her a casual once‑over, then dropped her with a single move, pulled out her trusty Nine-section Whip, and used it to truss the woman up tight as a zongzi. To stop her from screeching, Rosie grabbed an apple at random and shoved it into her mouth, gagging her.

Nora narrowed her eyes at the Nine-section Whip being used as a rope. "This Nine-section Whip..." looked kind of familiar.

"Oh, Benjamin Durant gave it to me." Rosie explained.

Nora: "..."

He’d pestered her shamelessly to get the weapon she made, saying he was going to take it home and enshrine it as a family heirloom, and in the end he’d used it as a gift for some young girl.

The little bastard really was pure scum.

*

Ten minutes later, Humphrey Jennings and Benjamin Durant hauled a bruised‑up Jared Oliveira into the room.

Seeing this, Rosie jumped in surprise. "What are you two doing here?"

Benjamin flashed her a grin. "Just passing by."

Rosie: "..."

She looked at Benjamin and Humphrey, then at Nora, and thought back to how Nora had reacted to the woman earlier... A faint suspicion crept in that the three of them had long suspected this woman was a fake and had deliberately staged this whole act.

She’d been left out of the loop?!

Right now, Nora was occupying the seat the woman had sat in before. The tabletop had been cleared. She sat with eyes lowered, casually peeling a mandarin. Only after she’d finished peeling did she deign to spare Jared a glance, her voice cool and flat. "Mr. Oliveira, we meet again."

Jared Oliveira grimaced in pain, baring his teeth. "I can’t afford that, can’t afford that."

"Spit it out." Nora Scott peeled the whole tangerine in one go. Without looking up, she flicked the peel and sent it straight into the trash can two meters away. Her voice was cool. "You realized early on that she was a fake, yet you still worked as her assistant. What was your goal?"

She looked laid-back and unhurried, but every move she made carried a presence no one could ignore.

Jared Oliveira was stunned. "You figured it out?"

"Back at Virtue Retreat, weren’t you already trying to run?" Nora Scott sneered.

Jared Oliveira: "..."

Fuck, I was exposed that early?!

Rosie Sullivan: "..." She felt like an idiot, listening in a complete fog and having no idea what the two of them were talking about.

"I’ll confess." Jared Oliveira stopped fronting and compromised, but as soon as he said it, he turned to look at Humphrey Jennings, who was twisting his arm. Wearing a bitter face, he said, "Can this fine gentleman let go of me first?"

Nora Scott shot Humphrey Jennings a look.

Humphrey Jennings released him.

"Thanks, thanks."

Jared Oliveira lifted his aching arm and cupped his hands to Humphrey Jennings. Then he pushed his luck, pointing at a nearby chair. "Can I—"

"No."

Nora Scott cut him off impatiently.

Catching the irritation and anger in her tone, Jared Oliveira didn’t dare lay down any more conditions. He rubbed his sore jaw and said, "I don’t know if you’ve heard of a book, all about the ’Northwest Living Map’..."

"I have."

"You have?" Jared Oliveira brightened a little, smiled, and a hint of pride crept into his features. He pointed at himself. "The author of that book is yours truly."

Nora Scott: "..."

Humphrey Jennings + Benjamin Durant: "..." As long as Heavenly Immortal gave the word, they could chop this guy up any time.

"I’m a fan of the ’Northwest Living Map.’ I’ve been investigating her exploits in the Northwest. I haven’t met her in person, but I do know her deeds pretty well." Noticing something off in Nora Scott’s expression, Jared Oliveira hurried to correct his posture and continued, "Just a while ago, I heard that the long-silent ’Living Map’ had returned to the Martial World, so I rushed over..."

He glanced at that impostor and said, "At the time she was active near Lanel. She did have some guiding ability and had pulled off a few things, so word gradually spread. Plus her looks were almost exactly like how I described them in my book, so most people basically never doubted her."

"Even when I went to her, I didn’t feel anything was off. It wasn’t until we chatted and I realized she was kind of shallow... that I started suspecting her."

"I actually wasn’t sure, so I stayed at her side as her assistant. At first, seeing she wasn’t like I’d imagined, I suspected she was fake, but I also thought maybe she just wasn’t like the legend, and that was how she really was."

"I only truly confirmed it after we came to Anchel. She really didn’t have any connections, and still kept putting on airs. My idol can’t possibly be someone that superficial."

...

"Well, that’s interesting." Benjamin Durant kicked aside a nearby chair, walked up to him, and squinted at him. "Once you were sure, why’d you keep working for her?"

"I was thinking..." Jared Oliveira cleared his throat lightly. "The Living Map big-shot has such a wide network, she’d definitely hear about an impostor real fast. With her temper, she’d definitely deal with it. So I wanted to stick around and see if I could get a chance to meet her."

Speaking of this, Jared Oliveira still sounded a bit regretful. "Didn’t think the big-shot wouldn’t show, and I’d get found by you guys first."

Benjamin Durant + Humphrey Jennings + Nora Scott: "..." Nice, they hadn’t even asked yet and he’d already ruled Nora Scott out.

Nora Scott was instantly annoyed.

After a beat, she asked, "Why’d you try to run at Virtue Retreat?"

Although Jared Oliveira was kind of cowardly, he still told the truth. "I felt like you’re pretty hard to serve—"

Before he finished, Humphrey Jennings punched him in the gut.

Jared Oliveira: "..." You asked, I was just answering, ahhh!

Watching this coldly, Nora Scott didn’t even blink. "What else?"

Clutching his aching stomach, Jared Oliveira crouched down. After sucking in a sharp breath, he managed to say with difficulty, "I had a hunch she’d slip up."

"Your hunch is pretty accurate." Nora Scott sneered, leisurely finishing a wedge of tangerine before asking again, "Did you foresee how your day would end?"

In pain, Jared Oliveira looked up, feeling the hellish atmosphere around him. He didn’t dare not answer and carefully ventured, "The police station?"

Nora Scott chuckled. "Do we look like good people?"

"You do!"

Jared Oliveira hurriedly nodded, rushing to say something nice.

Nora Scott’s smile was soft, but her eyes were edged with cold. "Then I’m afraid you’ve misjudged us this time."

Nora Scott glanced at Humphrey Jennings.

Humphrey Jennings hoisted Jared Oliveira up and, under Jared Oliveira’s terrified gaze, swiftly and efficiently searched him, taking everything off him one by one.

Apart from some self-defense items, he only had a wallet and a notebook on him.

Humphrey Jennings flipped through the notebook and found it was filled with "Living Map appointment clients." He caught sight of a name, frowned, and immediately walked over to Nora Scott, holding the open notebook out in front of her.

On the first line was a very familiar name—

Stella Durant.