No one thought that the Lilyrose Strategic Department, who rarely attended local events, sent a representative over to attend the ceremony. Shin was a well-known figure among the citizens of Lilyrose. His Tiger Fangs even arrested Dan and his men who caused problems at the construction site two days ago during their routine practice. It made the headlines for days and became the hottest topic. As for Koga, he was lesser known but he too was a powerful figure—the commander of the special operation team, ranked the same as Brigadier General Shin, and only one more rank away from general. The two powerful figures came to the ceremony of the Construction and Material Society. The Hilfinger family was well-connected! Even Roger was overwhelmed by their presence. He invited the mayor and the chief of police, but he did not invite the two brigadier generals. He did not expect that they would pay him a surprise visit. The ceremony was full of surprises! When the news got ou
Compared to Koga, Andrew and Liv were more afraid of Kaze. Andrew said in a trembling muffled voice, “Liv, Commander Atlas went to the back because he doesn’t want to sit in front of that great one. If we continue to sit here at the front, we will suffer again when they notice us!” “Yeah!” Liv nodded. The two top celebrities stood up. “Mr. Chairman, can you change our seats? We want to sit there as well.” Their requests immediately attracted all the attention. They pointed to the back of the hall, where Koga and the others were seated. “Oh, alright. I’ll make some space for you two.” Roger was stunned. In fact, not only him, but all the other guests were stunned. The hierarchy of status was messed up completely. Two brigadier generals, the mayor, the chief of police, and two top celebrities abandoned their front-row seats and went to the back. The closer the seats were to the stage, the higher one’s status would be. However, the people with the highest status in
A strange scene happened. Every row in front of Kaze swiftly got empty. Only him, Gold Tooth, Dan, and their men remained seated at the same place. There was no one left in front of him but it was extremely crowded behind him. Kaze came under the spotlight as the crowd moved behind him. Jessica followed everyone to the back. When she noticed Kaze was still sitting at the same spot, she scoffed. “Kaze, all the VVIPs had gone to the back but you are still sitting there. Are you trying to embarrass them?!” She was loud with her sneers. Kelly, Haiden, and the others were busy arranging the seats for the guests and they too laughed when they heard Jessica. “What’s the problem with me sitting here? Who said I can’t sit here?” Kaze leaned back and sat comfortably on the chair. He was not moving. Haiden bellowed, “You stupid idiot! How dare you sit in front of the mayor and the other VVIPs? Who do you think you are? Get the hell back there!” He and Wayne wanted to drag
Kaze did not want to waste time on the woman. He was more interested in Roger’s performance. The emcee was on stage with the mic. The rebuilding ceremony of the Construction and Material Society had officially begun. “Ladies and gentlemen, today is the big day that the Construction and Material Society will be rebuilt. Welcome…” The emcee gave an uplifting speech. There were almost two thousand people on the floor, applauding like rumbling thunder. Next, as the chief secretary of the new Construction and Material Society, Kelly was invited on stage to read the new system and projects. They were just some beautiful but empty words. After the standard speech, Kelly smiled and said, “Now, let me introduce you to the fifteen board members of the new Construction and Material Society!” Then, many people stood up from their seats. As a matter of fact, the list of board members was not a secret. They were all the gangster bosses of the underworld. Fifteen of them joined
Amid the thunderous applause, Roger strutted up on stage and stood in front of everyone. All fifteen gangster bosses became the supporting characters that set him off. “Mr. Hilfinger, why don’t you give a speech?” Kelly took the mic from the emcee and gave it to him. It was the emcee’s job but she snatched it just like that. She was the chief secretary of the Construction and Material Society, she should be the woman of the event. With all the limelight on her, it would propel her life to the next level. Soon, she would become the daughter-in-law of the Hilfinger family. In the future, she might even be the missus of the top family in Lilyrose. Kelly had high hopes for her future. Roger looked at the guests on the floor. Some of them were CEOs of local and foreign companies, some of them were heads of top families, and some were in charge of various government departments. There was also the mayor, the chief of police, and the two brigadier generals from the milit
Following Roger’s order, the massive LED screen embedded on the wall behind him lit up. Something started to appear on the screen. The first scene that appeared was a huge construction site. “That's the Golden Edge construction site!” Someone immediately recognized the site project. Golden Edge was a new mall in the city, currently undergoing construction. It had a total investment of over a billion. The scene then cut to the front gate of the site. A red banner was being pulled up. “Golden Edge Project Department Congratulates the NEW Construction and Material Society on the Rebuilding Ceremony!” Below were the workers at the site, lining up neatly and clapping their hands. Judging from the time frame displayed on the screen, it was live. The scene reminded everyone of an incident that happened recently. It was said that Bob sent his men to cause trouble at the Golden Edge construction site. The person in charge of the site ultimately submitted and agreed to st
This time, everyone looked at Kaze as if he was a corpse. They believed Kaze would not continue to be stubborn after witnessing the power of the Construction and Material Society, but they were wrong. “Roger Hilfinger, you are not worthy of judging me.” Kaze remained seated with a scornful look. He stared at Roger, finding it amusing for all that he had done just to display his power. Roger said coldly, “A stubborn one I see. Your support, Perfect World Group, is going down. Ray Forrester is just a coward and he’s not even here at the ceremony! “Gold Tooth and Dan Niners are useless. I can kill them if I want to. What else do you think you have against me? Your status as the son-in-law of the Quint family? Hahaha…” He cackled. “The Quint family is just a second-tier family. I just need to send one board member there and even Master Quint would kneel before me, let alone your wife who has no power in the family. No one can protect you now. I can kill you with just one pinch!
Following the scream, two thousand people in the hall switched their attention to the big screen on stage. The screen was switched back to the Golden Edge construction site. It was still live but the workers with the congratulatory banner were gone. Loud sirens could be heard from the site. Then police cruisers entered the frame, followed by multiple green armored cars. Common police officers and riot police officers came down from the cruisers. The green armored vehicles unloaded a battalion of fully-armed soldiers. They were equipped with live rounds and were ready to take out their targets. “Arrest them all!” The captain of the operation gave the signal. The police officers and soldiers charged into the construction site. In less than a minute, more than a hundred gangsters were arrested. Some gangsters were bleeding and bruised, and they were dragged across the ground like ragdolls. They were thrown into the armored vehicles mercilessly. Bob, one of the boar
“Just tell me what you need, Arthur. You wouldn’t be calling unless you have received orders.” Philip was surprised to get a call from Arthur. Though they were acquainted, they had only communicated because of work. “We have just left Rising Sun. Don’t approve the films for now.” Arthur was blunt. “I can do that, but can I ask why?” Philip was caught in a dilemma because he had just promised Jet to release the films. Philip needed to know if the orders to delay came from a high power who could cover his ass. “Since you got a call from me, you should know that there are eyes on Jet. “You should know what you can and cannot say. Otherwise, you never know when you’re going to lose your job.” Arthur threatened. Philip was reluctant. He accepted Jet’s payment, and now he had to go back on his word. Nevertheless, Arthur was part of the Viper’s Den, and his status was rather unique. Arthur provided services to confidential individuals. These individuals were elites among t
A balanced, profitable dynamic had been developed among the ports in Butterworth. Jet spotted his chance in the lucrative port business. He covertly took out some money to invest in a dying port. The port was situated in a more remote area. Some businesspeople favored more accessible ports. This drove shippers away from the dying port. Jet snagged the steal and improved the logistics and facilities around the area. The port was up and running again. Business at the port was decent enough. As the Frosts would run their business through the port, the local economy took off too. It was a good thing. However, Jet set his sights on several residential buildings around the area. He needed space to accommodate containers. The land was required to make business at the port more profitable. This triggered a whole new thing. Jet could spend some money to buy the residents out of their homes. However, the residents preferred to stay put in their long-time homes. No a
“I’ll keep the bank cards for now. I’ll talk to our superiors and give you a decision. Since the man said that the cards are meant for us, they won’t be going anywhere.” Knox had no idea who Kaze was, but he knew Arthur was with the Viper’s Den. Arthur must be someone from high places. Eli soon put the little incident behind him. He got a call from Aloysius yesterday and was made aware of Jet’s plans. The films had been put on hold for far too long, and the people above Eli were anxious to get things moving. Though Eli was surprised by the review board’s visit, everything was still in his control. Eli left the matter at that without reporting the incident to the higher-ups. The flashy, red car sped along the road. Arthur kept looking back at Kaze, eager to find out about the next plan. Arthur brought Kaze out today to witness how Eli and his team operated. As it happened, Eli adopted such a shallow ploy. Arthur was not surprised, though. Eli’s methods were common.
Eli dined offhandedly as if he had taken hold of the group. His words were layered with threat. “What? Are you trying to replace us?” Knox asked in disbelief. “I don’t have that power, but the investor does. I heard that he enjoyed dinner with your superiors. I’m sure the project will get the green light in no time. “Even if you didn’t approach me today, my team and I would have invited you out for a get-together.” Eli knew when to back down, easing the tension in the air. It was another type of reconciliation. Eli needed to go through the review board to get the rights to air the films. The carrot-and-stick approach was the best way forward. Kaze was surprised by the sophistication of Eli’s tactics. Still, he believed he had come to the right place. Sure enough, Jet would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Surely, he was bound to leave loose ends. Nevertheless, he probably did not care. Arthur cocked his head back to look at Kaze. Kaze grinned, unbothered
The purpose of the visit was to inform Rising Sun that the films did not make the cut. Since Rising Sun would not make the necessary amendments, the project would come to a halt. “Please, don’t. Since we are all here, we should talk it out.” It took Eli quite some effort to get the group to the hotel. Eli had plans to please the crowd, so he could not let them leave just yet. This went beyond getting the green light for the films. Eli needed to make the group happy. “There is nothing more to talk about. We can’t proceed unless you make the changes.” There was no way around it. Since Rising Sun refused to make the right amendments, and Knox had orders about putting a hold on Rising Sun’s films, that was one less problem for Knox to deal with. Eli could not let the group walk out on him. Hence, he quickly sent people in. Several thinly clad women entered, each holding a small bag. Despite the weightlessness, the bag appeared to be carrying something of substance. “You
For that reason, Rising Sun’s film productions were not cleared to be aired. “I told you the reason. The investor supplied us with the scripts, and we were told to base our productions on the scripts. Our hands are tied.”Eli would have made the amendments if he could. He knew where the problem lay. However, the company had to take the investor’s perspective into consideration. In the end, the films were yet to be approved for release. “I guess you won’t get the permission to air them then.” Knox was surprised that Rising Sun would not budge on the matter. Nevertheless, Knox and his team were not there to give the all-clear or talk some sense into Rising Sun. Knox and his team could care less about what Eli had to say. “We’re serious about getting the approval. “I’m sorry that we aren’t a better host for your visit today. Why don’t we move to the nearby hotel for a talk?” With the review board making an appearance, Eli knew there was still hope. If Eli did not grab
Arthur chuckled, his smile carrying a touch of sleaziness. “Oh, I see.” A realization dawned on Kaze. “Are you with quality control?” Several individuals in dark blue suits approached. The men and women carried files and documents. Kaze nodded without a word. “We are just here to announce the results. We shouldn’t be long.” Arthur came forward to engage with them. The group was likely given the heads-up as they had the right number of people. They swaggered into Rising Sun’s building. The general manager straightened up his tie in a fluster and walked out. None of the film productions made the cut yet, and the delay was costing the company money by the day. At this rate, the project would go down under. Eli, the general manager, rushed to the entrance upon learning the news. The review team was there to do one final check. The films would get the green light if the board found that everything was up to par. The head office would stop putting pressure on
Given Kaze’s status, Alfonso knew better than to have him waiting under the hot sun. Of course, he would send his people to be on standby for Kaze’s arrival. Peter only came to the rescue when Kaze was pestered by some street gang. Alfonso’s omission of Kaze’s identity led to this hiccup. Kaze did not care one bit about the incident. Heck, he did not even bring it up. Arthur straightened his back nervously, becoming even more cautious behind the wheel. “You knew, but why didn’t you say anything, Mr. Lee? You didn’t even tell on us.” Arthur could not understand why. However, he had more respect for the man. “I didn’t see a point. You’ll learn what happens when you displease me, so I won’t bother telling you now.” Kaze was mild-mannered as ever. He spoke softly without a hint of anger. All the more Arthur revered him. “Mr. Lee, we didn’t do our jobs right. We didn’t know who you were.“But my duty is to protect you in the dark. “We saw you getting out of the train
“Rising Sun is a media company. Several of their films are about to be released. They are trying to get them approved to air due to some censorship issues.” Arthur took out a document. “Are there any issues with the films? Why aren’t they approved yet?” Kaze asked curiously. Kaze had no idea. “There are some issues. They aren’t fit to be aired. “Typically, there aren’t a lot of restrictions for film productions so long as the themes aren’t sensitive topics. “But these films featured altered history. The company has been asked multiple times to make revisions, but the films still don’t make the cut.” The Viper’s Den’s members were not privy to the information. The Frosts were insignificant. Kaze was after the Frosts. Otherwise, the Viper’s Den would not waste its resources on a mere film production company. Jet’s investment of nearly ten million bucks in Rising Sun caught the Viper’s Den’s attention. The delayed approval of the films would be catastrophic to the in