Since it was raining outside, Anindya decided to stay at Julian's house until it stopped. After they ate, they decided to watch TV together.

"Let's just watch something romantic, okay?" Anindya asked, sitting on the sofa and putting her arm around Julian's right arm.

"No, Let's horror, okay?" Julian asked back, sitting to Anindya's left.

"No!" Anindya replied.

"Eh? Why? Isn't that perfect for a rainy day like this?," Julian asked.

"Or are you afraid?" Julian continued with a mischievous expression.

Anindya gave Julian an annoyed look.

"Nooo~! I don't like it, because it's not romantic" Anindya replied with an annoyed expression and a cute tone.

"Ah, so you're the type who likes the romantic genre, huh?" Julian asked.

Anindya nodded with a smile.

"But there are horror movies with a romantic twist" Julian said.

"What movie?" Anindya asked.

"A zombie-themed movie," Julian replied.

Anindya wasn't too surprised, as she hadn't heard of a movie with that theme either.

"Hmm... Alright, if that's what you want, I'll watch it with you" Anindya said.

"Okay" Julian said.

Julian picked up the remote control from the table, opened the Netflix app, and selected a popular zombie movie. It was quiet, as they both watched intently. But after a while, Julian began to feel uneasy because of the silence. Finally, he decided to speak to Anindya—who seemed focused on the TV.

"Anindya" Julian called.

Anindya turned to Julian.

"Yes?" Anindya asked.

"I want to ask you something else," Julian replied.

"Go ahead, ask whatever you want~" Anindya said with a cheerful expression and tone.

"As for the kids who were rescued—where are they now?" Julian asked.

"They're in a dormitory" Anindya replied.

"Dormitory? Where?" Julian asked, his eyebrows raised.

"In Pontianak...Papa built three dormitories—each with three floors," Anindya replied.

"In the dormitories, they began to live like normal children—playing and studying together" Anindya continued.

"Wow, your parents are really amazing, aren't they?" Julian said, his expression filled with admiration.

Anindya felt proud at the compliment. She raised her head and said,

"Hmph! Of course!" Anindya said.

"Haha, yes, of course," Julian said, his voice flat and his body slightly hunched.

Julian straightened up again.

"Then what happened to the parents who sold them?" Julian asked.

Anindya returned to her normal state and looked back at Julian.

"Of course they were arrested, although not all of them" Anindya replied.

"Not all? What do you mean?" Julian asked.

"Some of the kids are brainwashed into forgetting their families" Anindya replied.

Julian was immediately shocked to hear that.

"Eh? Seriously?" Julian asked.

"Yeah, like Sagara" Anindya replied.

"Hmm, I see..." Julian said, his expression still looking shocked.

Julian paused for a moment, then released Anindya's embrace, turned to face her, and began to hold her shoulders.

"Eh? Sagara? Sagara, the one who's your bodyguard?" Julian asked, with a surprised expression and doubtful tone.

Anindya nodded her head. Julian removed his hands from her shoulders.

"Anindya..." Julian said, sounding shocked.

"What?" Anindya asked with a confused expression.

"The kids your family saved... Could they all be... your bodyguards?" Julian asked.

"Yes!" Anindya replied with a cheerful smile.

Julian's expression was one of utter disbelief—his mouth even dropped open slightly.

"Eh, not all of them, just some" Anindya said.

"Some?" Julian asked.

"Yes, so those who want to work for my family, we'll take them, and the rest can choose the life they want," Anindya replied.

"But when asked like that, everyone wants to join my family, ehehehe" Anindya continued, smiling amusedly.

Julian couldn't help but laugh, then Anindya stopped laughing.

"So papa selected them—those with useful skills will join our family, but those with ordinary skills will have to study and develop in the dormitory," Anindya said.

"Hmm, I didn't expect them to willingly join your family" Julian said, starting to understand.

"Yes, they said they wanted to repay the favor" Anindya said.

"So they're willing to die too?" Julian asked.

"Yes, the point is, they already knew the consequences, and papa never forced them—they were even allowed to stop halfway" Anindya replied.

"Wow, your father is very kind" Julian said, admiringly.

"That's what I'm proud of about papa~" Anindya said with a sweet smile.

Julian smiled back.

"So your family is now chasing the mastermind?" Julian asked.

"Yes, on 1 January 2071, Papa and Mama—along with a team of Papa's friends—found the human traffickers' hideout, but—" Anindya replied.

"Oh! They're finally caught?" Julian asked, interrupting.

"No, Julian, if they were found sooner, why would my family still be hunting them!" Anindya said, annoyed at the sudden interruption.

"Th-that's right, sorry, I forgot," Julian said with an awkward smile.

Anindya sighed.

"Haa... okay, I'll continue the story" Anindya said.

"Okay" Julian said.

"But, unfortunately, it turns out they weren't the masterminds—but rather Root Hair, whose function was to gather information and collaborate with several individuals to escape," Anindya replied.

"So, if the informant group is caught, it will be easier to find the mastermind?" asked Julian.

"Exactly, that's why we started digging into the roots so we could find the center" Anindya replied.

"So how many people have you arrested?" Julian asked.

"1,557,465" Anindya replied.

"WTF! That's a lot!" Julian said with a shocked expression.

"Yes, but unfortunately, of the 1,557,465, only a small portion are actually connected to human trafficking," said Anindya.

"A small portion?" asked Julian.

"Well, let's just say the mastermind is a Taproot, then the Taproot grows Lateral roots, then the Lateral roots also grow Root hairs" Anindya replied.

Hearing Anindya's answer, Julian thought hard.

"So you're saying the mastermind creates a large gang, and that large gang also grows smaller gangs?" Julian asked.

"Yes, Root hairs are usually tasked with searching for sellers and buyers, gathering information, negotiating, and finding safe escape routes. Meanwhile, Lateral roots are responsible for production, and Taproot only provide knowledge and receive profits" Anindya replied.

"I never thought that's how criminals work. No wonder masterminds are so hard to catch..." Julian said, his expression looking shocked.

"Oh yes, remember, the numbers I mentioned are the number of gang members my family members have defeated—not the entire gangs!" Anindya said with a stern expression, raising her right index finger at Julian.

Julian was silent for a few seconds. Then he said:

"O-okay, so just the members, right?" Julian asked.

Anindya immediately smiled.

"Yes, that's right~" Anindya replied.

"Are all those gangs located throughout Indonesia?" Julian asked.

Anindya stepped back and reassured him, then replied.

"No, some managed to escape abroad too" Anindya replied.

"So, that means your family is also working with foreign governments?" Julian asked.

"Right, we can't act directly in other countries without prior permission" Anindya replied.

"I see, then continue the story—about your father's team capturing the informants" Julian said.

"Okay!" Anindya said with a cheerful smile.

"So, when papa team caught them, most of them were loyal—so it was very difficult to interrogate them, but with Lia's seductive skills—they finally confessed," Anindya continued.

"They claimed they were just workers who had already signed contracts. Initially, they promised to work as couriers with a salary of Rp 50,000,000 a month" Anindya continued.

"But it turned out the contract paper had been altered after the workers had already signed—by scanning their signatures and then editing them in editor software" Anindya continued.

"Those who learned the truth were immediately shocked and chose to resign, but unfortunately, they were threatened that their identities would be misused and their families would be in danger" Anindya continued.

Julian lowered his head, then held his forehead with his right hand.

"Haaaah... How cruel!" Julian muttered with a tone angrily.

Seeing Julian's expression, Anindya could only put on a sad expression. Julian raised his head again.

"So what happened to them after leaking this information?" Julian asked.

"It's clear they and their families are protected by the Indonesian National Police" Julian replied.

"That's it!, There were police officers there, why didn't they report it to the local police?" Julian asked.

"Julian, at that time, they couldn't report it. The area where they were working was already controlled by the Lateral Roots—and some local police officers were in league with the gang" Anindya replied.

"Huh? Seriously?" Julian asked with a surprised expression and a low voice.

"Yes, plus their phones were confiscated and they couldn't see their families. Even trying to escape was futile because they were also easy to find. That's why the police and those who were in league with Lateral Root were immediately arrested by the Indonesian National Police" Anindya replied.

"Then why didn't their families suspect anything or report it? Julian asked.

Anindya was silent for a moment before answering.

"Because their families were given money regularly. It wasn't a large amount, but it was enough to cover their daily needs and make them think their family members were okay" Anindya replied softly.

"Money to keep them quiet, huh..." Julian muttered softly, lowering his head.

There was silence for a few seconds. Julian's expression looked sad, while Anindya could only stare at Julian with a worried expression.

~To be continued~

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