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nTranslator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

nThe succession ceremony of Master Peregrine proceeded as planned.

nAll the prestigious families of Chicago had practically fought each other for a place at the ceremony.

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nIt was a flamboyant affair. After all, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.

nAt the sight of such an awe-inspiring scene, the four families of Chicago put off the idea of fighting against the Taylor family for now. ‘It seems like it isn’t time yet. We don’t have a high chance of winning the war.’

nUnder the old lady’s watchful gaze, Finn Taylor took his seat as Master Peregrine under the identity of Donovan Taylor.

nThen, each family went forward to pledge their allegiance to Finn Taylor and Peregrine Hall. Naturally, Finn Taylor took their words with a huge pinch of salt.

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nAt the end of the ceremony, Frida Cameron, Wendy Jensen, and Finn Taylor had a ‘family’ meal.

nThe old lady let out a kind smile, expressing her satisfaction with her grandson’s performance today. She even said that she would definitely treat him well in the future as long as he kept up his performance.

nFinn Taylor couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. ‘The old lady is obviously insincere with her words. Since when has she ever thought of me as her grandson ever since I was born? Her acting is terrible.’

nBut Finn Taylor felt drowsiness overwhelm him just then, and he collapsed onto the table. Before he blacked out, his gaze was exceptionally vicious.

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nThis family meal was the last chance he was giving the Taylor family, yet they had still let him down.

nThe old lady placed her finger under Finn Taylor’s nose. Realizing that he was still breathing, she exploded. “What’s going on? Didn’t I tell you to put poison in it? Why did you swap it out for a drug instead?”

nThis was an important move to the old lady, but it was one Wendy Jensen hated to see.

nThe former wanted Finn Taylor dead. Since Finn Taylor had already accepted the title of Master Peregrine in Donovan Taylor’s name, he had to die to keep this a secret. Only then would Donovan Taylor be able to live under Finn Taylor’s identity once he returned.

nAlthough she felt terrible getting Donovan Taylor to live under an assumed identity, he would still be able to live without any enemies. Besides, he would have the title of Master Peregrine in Peregrine Hall’s history—if even just for a single day.

nYet, all her plans had been ruined by Wendy Jensen.

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nThe latter fell onto the ground. “Mom, he’s my son. I can’t bear to do that. Besides, I think it’ll be more beneficial to keep him alive. Think about it, Mom. Donovan has just been crowned Master Peregrine. It’ll definitely spark suspicion if he suddenly dies. Why don’t we just lock Finn Taylor up in the dark pool for now? He must be useful to us in the future.”

nThe dark pool she spoke of was a private prison. Many who offended prominent figures in the business world would suddenly disappear.

nIt was possible that they were still alive, locked up in the dark pool.

nThere, they lived a life worse than death. They were neither fed nor clothed well.

nOne had to defeat those around them to survive—it was survival of the fittest.

nWendy Jensen’s heart ached to send Finn Taylor there too, but that was the only method she could think of to save her son.

nThe old lady was deep in thought and finally nodded in agreement after a long time.

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nWhen Finn Taylor awoke, he found himself in a small room.

nThere were dozens of people there, and every single one of them had a revolting stench from not showering for a long period of time.

nSeeing that Finn Taylor was finally awake, someone kicked him and pointed at a basin on the ground. “Drink it.”

nFinn Taylor looked in the direction that man was pointing in and saw a basin of urine.

nThis was a rule of the dark pool: Newcomers had to drink urine in front of everyone else. This was because everyone here had been humiliated.

nNobody was sure when anyone would ever leave this place or whether the person who left would talk about what the others had been subjected to while there. However, they were sure that nobody would ever talk about drinking urine.

nIf anyone dared to say that they’d ever been to the dark pool, it would be no different from admitting to drinking urine.

nThese few dozen people had their eyes glued to Finn Taylor, with ridicule in their gazes. All of them here had drunk urine before. If Finn Taylor refused to do so, they’d simply swarm up, beat him up, and pour the entire basin of urine into his mouth.

n“Scram!”

nNobody was surprised by Finn Taylor’s refusal. In fact, they grew even more exhilarated.

n“Ah…”

n“Oh…”

n“Hahaha…”

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nThey let out piercing screams as they rushed up to surround Finn Taylor. Of course, the latter wasn’t going to let them have their way. With just his fists, he beat the entire gang up into a pulp.

nWithin a minute, groans were all that could be heard in the room. The entire group was now lying on the ground.

nFinn Taylor roared, “Hurry up and drink this basin of urine.”

nAs he said that, he smashed his fist against the door.

nIt was a solid metal door, but Finn Taylor had left a deep dent in it.

nEveryone was shivering in fear. If Finn Taylor had punched them with even a fraction of that strength earlier, their organs probably would’ve ruptured.

nThey crawled up and formed a line, obediently taking a sip of urine one by one.

nWith just his fists, Finn Taylor had established his position in the dark pool.

nThe next day, the old lady came to visit her grandson.

nBulletproof glass separated the pair. The old lady didn’t spot any injuries on Finn Taylor, much less a sense of despair in him.

nThat confused the old lady. “Did you not drink any urine?”

nFinn Taylor glared at her. “I’m sorry to disappoint.”

n“Are you so used to being a matrilocal son-in-law that you kneeled down to them the moment you went in?”

n“Why don’t you come in and ask them yourself?”

nThe moment Finn Taylor said that, the old lady took a few steps back. ‘There is no way I’m heading in. The dark pool is filled with the most ruthless of criminals; these people lost all humanity a long time ago. They feel that they are free to do whatever they want since there is no chance of them getting out. Nobody cares about their statuses outside. Once they entered the dark pool, all of that meant nothing.’

n“You’d better not die in there. Otherwise, your mom would’ve begged me for nothing.”

nFinn Taylor didn’t reply. He felt conflicted when it came to Wendy Jensen. Ever since he was young, he had been ill-treated. Yet, his mother had never once come to his rescue.

nBut it was also true that she had protected and stood up for him on several important occasions.

nFinn Taylor wasn’t sure if she was indeed biased.

nAs the old lady left the dark pool and returned to the Taylor family’s residence, she spotted someone at the door.

nHer whole body was frozen, her hand trembled, and her heart thumped. She was overwhelmed with emotions.

nThe person in front of her was none other than Donovan Taylor!

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