Never Too Far Novel

Chapter 2012

Jasper’s phone rang while driving, and he glanced at it before answering, “Hello?”

“How dare you fly solo again, you punk! How many times have I told you?” Antoine scolded from the other end.

“The mission is complete.”

“That still isn’t an excuse for you to leave your teammates behind. You should know that they are an extra layer of security for you. They can provide support if something happens to you.” Antoine was genuinely concerned about his safety.

“I’ve accumulated some leave days, haven’t I, Uncle?”

“Why? Do you want to take a break?”

“Can you sum up the days I’ve collected over the last five years? I want to use it all up at once.”

“What?! Over the last five years?”

“Yes, over the last five years.”

“That means you’ll be away for three months!”

“That’s it? Give me another three months. I want to take six months off!” Jasper insisted.

“You rascal… Fine! Six months it is! What are you planning to do during your break?”

“I won’t report anything from my personal time.” With that, he ended the call, leaving Antoine frothing at the mouth.

By the time Jasper returned to the safe house, Aimee had already been notified to report back. Of course, she had also received arrangements from the organization as well. As Jasper’s leave had become effective immediately, he didn’t need to return with her. Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Her heart felt torn, aching, unwilling, and helpless, for everything but the heart could be controlled in this world.

Falling in love with someone was like being intoxicated. If the love was reciprocated, there would be a cure. Contrariwise, the poison would be lethal.

“Have you decided to stay by her side, Jasper?” Aimee asked calmly, suppressing her heartache.

“Thank you for your hard work, Aimee. I have some personal things to take care of next,” answered Jasper. To him, the young woman was both his subordinate and his comrade. However, there was no romantic love.

Aimee suddenly closed her eyes, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

“Aimee, I appreciate your support in my work. You’re a good comrade and subordinate,” said Jasper as he handed her a piece of tissue.

“I don’t want to be just your comrade or subordinate. I want…” Aimee reached out, trying to embrace him.

Jasper immediately stepped back, leaving Aimee’s hand hanging in the air. She bit her lip and withdrew her hand. Then, she turned around, grabbed her bag, and quickly left the safe house. At that moment, she realized there could never be a relationship between her and Jasper that even allowed for a hug.

Jasper sighed under his breath. He was absolutely terrible at dealing with emotions.

…

While eating breakfast, Willow checked her emails only to choke when she read a certain email. “Wait, has it started already?! How come I wasn’t notified?!”

Just then, her phone rang, and she answered it. “Hello?”

International Cultural Heritage.

“Willow, what have you been busy with lately? Why haven’t you responded?” It was someone from the Bureau of International Cultural Heritage.

“I’m on break and didn’t see the email. Have you guys already departed?”

“Yeah, we’re gathering right now. You should hurry up and join us. You can’t be absent from this expedition to Elysian Island.”

Of course, Willow couldn’t afford to be absent. This was originally a cultural heritage protection battle she had initiated within the organization. It was her mission, and it all began a year ago when she found a piece of parchment inside a domestic cultural relic.

After cleaning and processing it, she discovered that it contained a documented segment of true history.

Due to this historical account being overlooked in historical records, someone had documented it in the parchment scroll. After researching it, it was indeed a well-preserved parchment that had survived for a thousand years.

The record clearly stated that a high-ranking official set sail with eighteen large ships a thousand years ago to visit another country. His ships were laden with treasures and crew members, but they disappeared at a place called Elysian Island. Since then, they have used various modern technologies

to trace the island’s whereabouts. Eventually, they pinpointed the location where the official vanished on a map.

Not only that, they also received information that artifact smugglers had set their sights on this island. As cultural heritage workers, they would be competing with multiple groups of international artifact smugglers to be the first to find the island and protect the artifacts on it. Furthermore, at Willow’s urging, they would return all the millennia-old cultural relics belonging to the country.