When the tranquiliser lost its effectiveness, Kaito did not wake up with a start. He did not want to alert his enemies he was awake in case they were watching. Instead, he tried to get a sense of his surroundings without opening his eyes.

He could feel that he was on a comfortable bed. There did not seem to be anyone in his vicinity, unless, of course, they were as stealthy as that man who captured him. He listened for the beeping or whirring of electronics, but there were none.

His senses expanded beyond the confines of the room. His nose twitched a little as he took in the refreshing smell of the clean ocean. When he listened harder, he could hear the usual cacophony of noises heard around beaches, from the squawking of seabirds to the gentle flow of crashing waves.

When he determined there was no immediate danger, he opened his eyes and sat up. He looked around the room, and his lips twitched. He was not a stranger to being in enemy territory. He had even allowed himself to be captured on several occasions when he could not find a way into an area when looking for a target.

But he had never had such fine accommodation as a prisoner.

The room he had been placed in was a spacious suite with large French doors that opened to a large balcony. The bedroom was not extensively furnished with anything special, but it had a quiet minimalistic elegance that used white and light wood tones to create a comfortable haven.

Kaito stepped off the bed and walked to the balcony. The French doors were not closed. He opened them and was hit by a cool, saline breeze from the ocean. As expected, he was in a house overlooking a beach, but it was built on a cliff.

The cliff was not too high. It was just about the height of the one that he and Akira had climbed on that day. His lips pursed in anger at being captured by an unknown person. He knew how much Akira feared being abandoned by people she loved.

And he had promised that he would stick to her. Unfortunately, he had no idea about his current location. Well, he was probably on Martial Island, but that meant nothing if it was a place that did not exist on known maps. He might as well be on a deserted island.

He leaned over the balustrading and looked to the open ocean.

He needed to get out of this place as soon as possible, but he could not act without thinking. He wanted to begin escaping right away, but he did not think his captors would leave things like this if there were a way to escape.

"If you are thinking of leaving, you should probably come up with a better plan than jumping out of the bedroom balcony." A cool voice spoke up.

Kaito turned and found the man from the previous night. Well, he assumed it was the previous night. Who knew if that potent drug could take him out for longer?

"I am glad to see you are doing well," Kaito said, not without sarcasm.

"Your poison was quite good. It took me quite a while to remove it. Even now, I can feel its lingering effects. You have a gift." The man replied with some approval.

"Thank you for your praise." The tone had a hostile bite.

"I see that you are still unhappy with the circumstances." The man did not show a change in expression. "As I said, this is the best solution. If I left you out there, it would only be a matter of time before someone less friendly was sent to eliminate you."

"The compound you are investigating is of great importance to Martial Island. Interfering with its production and delivery will make a lot of people unhappy. I can only alleviate your concerns a little by assuring you that the drug is being used for medical research purposes only."

The cold older man looked at Kaito for a response. He believed he had already said enough to give his nephew peace of mind.

"If you know anything about me, you should know that I have never believed in altruism. I am only looking for a justifiable reason to eliminate my uncle. If his production of a zombie drug is not enough, then I can only look for evidence of his involvement in other crimes." Kaito paused.

"And I do not also believe that there are selfless people in the world. You could not have brought me to this secret Martial Island if you did not have an agenda. I can see you are not a man without significant power in this strange place." His lips arched into a smile.

"If you deemed me worthy enough to save, you must have an important plan in play involving me. You were probably afraid that one of your rivals would find me first and kill me, thwarting your plots. So, you took me in as quickly as possible to prevent mishaps."

The cold man looked at Kaito with a hint of surprise in his eyes. Then, a glimmer of satisfaction covered his dark eyes. He was not a man of many emotions, but this nephew was something special. He could arouse the feelings he thought were long dead.

His heart, once again, felt sorrow for his sister. If she were alive, she would probably have a plan for dealing with the mess in Martial Island. She was always the smart one. If only he could have saved her…

"You are quite brilliant. You remind me of your mother. She had a sharp brain that could see everything from different angles. You have the same gift." The man responded with hidden approval.

Kaito scoffed in derision. He did not know what this man was up to or his plans. But if he was praising him, the problem involved could not be small. After all, the immensity of a request could always be gauged by the level of praise or compliment given before someone asked for the favour.

And for this man who disliked talking to go so far as to speak a few sentences of praise, the reason he brought him to Martial Island had to be something world-changing.

"If you are about to squeeze all value out of me, you should, at least, tell me your name first," Kaito said with lifted brows.