An influencer donated one billion dollars. That was way more than the megarich corporations. It was totally unheard of. The news rocked the online community. Many Internet users, who loved drama, examined the list to check how much the rich and famous donated since they always advocated helping charities. Then came the problem. Lilyrose Commerce Guild was nowhere to be found on the list. Not a single local business had donated. The public was not having it. “Donations are coming from all over the country in the wake of a disaster, but none of the local businesses donated. Is there no decent soul in Lilyrose?” “No way. Lil Dee signed onto Lilyrose’s Lee Investment. He’s not from that city, and yet he donated one billion dollars. I guess none of the locals think it’s worth giving money to their community.” “Aren’t there major corporations there? Sky Ocean Corporation and Shangrila Group were established there. They got Professor Whiteman as a spokesperson and poured a
“That’s right. She was only running a small business a month ago, and now she’s the chairwoman of both Quartet Group and Sky Ocean Corporation. That’s a lot of wealth in a short amount of time, don’t you think?” “I read online that her husband is the biggest mob boss in the city. Mr. Vikram, Mr. Logman, Mr. Joestar, is that why you’re afraid of him?” “Maybe the Vikrams, Logmans, and Joestars are in on it with Darcy. I bet they are aiming to be the next top three families. Even the former top three families weren’t as bad as you people.” “A-Are you trying to rebel?” Bernard and his friends shook with rage. They rushed to put out the fire, but they got burnt instead. In fact, the fallen top three families were deemed better than them. “Lilyrose Commerce Guild is for everybody. You don’t decide everything for us. What do you mean by rebelling?” “That’s right. We demand an answer.” Strength in numbers, the members gathered around Darcy demanding that she did right by the
“Hold up!” Greg cut Darcy off from speaking. “Why are you making such a big deal out of things, Ms. Quint? “I’ll tell you what. I’ll talk to the staff member about the tiny mistake.“This is to show that I’m taking the matter seriously,” Greg said with a chuckle, his tone unhurried. Enraged, Darcy blurted, “Are you still asleep, Mr. Nanas? The online community is attacking Lilyrose Commerce Guild over this. “Over a hundred of our members’ businesses are currently facing boycotts, and distributors are returning their stock.“If we don’t address the issue promptly, things will only get worse. The trade industry in Lilyrose will falter. “Businesses will close down, people will lose jobs, they won’t be able to afford their mortgages, and we can see an increase in social unrest. “Are you going to be responsible for the chain reaction?” The members clenched their fists in rage. Darcy was not practicing scaremongering. The incident could very well happen. The consequenc
Kaze spoke callously. Greg had pissed him off for the last time. “Haha. Are you talking to me, Kaze? “It has only been a night. Did you forget that your wife pleaded for your release when I tried to straighten you out?“Fine. Come and find me. “I read online that you’re the biggest mob boss in Lilyrose. Come here, and I’ll validate that you’re no more than a criminal to the public. “I’ll make sure you and your wife will never live in this town again.” Greg hung up. He did not take Kaze seriously. The Red Foundation dominated the narrative in public opinion. They ran the show. The disconnected tone ensued. Kaze put down the phone emotionlessly. The sparkle in Darcy’s eyes dimmed. Greg was hell-bent on destroying them. “Tsk, tsk. Lilyrose Commerce Guild has lost its reputation, but you still find time to get together.” A group swaggered into the place. The three individuals acted haughty. The leader, a bespectacled woman, was proud. Disregarding the bu
“I heard that you are trying to get new investors for Rove, Kaze.“Let me put this out there. It’s pointless. “Lil Dee’s fans will attack Rove’s live stream by flooding and crashing it on command. It’s just a few thousand views anyway.” Kaze remained unfazed in the face of Emma’s threats. Standing in the crowd, Hart, who arrived not too long ago with another group of members, became upset. He had checked Desmond’s live stream out before. Fans swarmed into the live stream the moment it started. It was a struggle to keep up with the flooding comments, and soon, the live stream crashed. The engineers had to work around the clock to fix the bug. The major corporations, including Hart, were jealous of Desmond’s huge following. Rove did not have many followers to sell products to. If Desmond’s fans were to crash Rove’s live stream, the business could really go down. Kaze smiled faintly. “Sure. Desmond can tell his fans to do that. “I was thinking how to get the tractio
Greg, Faye, and Lilian only fell asleep late into the night. In between, they talked about ways to ruin Kaze and Darcy. Concerned about the donors’ list, Faye arrived early at the office and instructed the staff to remove Lilyrose Commerce Guild from the list. Greg and Lilian were still in bed at that point. “Save me the small talk. Change into your uniform and form a line. “I received notice from the mayor’s office that the mayor will be coming for an inspection.” Greg pulled Faye away and waved his arm. Although they were intimate the night before, Faye did not mean anything to him. His career took precedence over any woman. Faye pouted. She knew Greg too well to express any displeasure. “Don’t just stand there. Didn’t you hear Mr. Nanas? Get out there and line up for the VIP.” Faye turned around and yelled at the other staff. Minutes later, dozens of people formed a line outside the building. Greg stood in the middle while Faye stayed by his side. They were
Last night, Lilian and Faye gave Greg a night to remember. Although they were not as pretty as Darcy, they were unrestrained in bed. They knew how to please a man for sure. Greg told Faye to powder her nose, wanting her to try and hit on the mayor. He could gain the mayor’s favor if the latter was pleased with Faye’s service. Besides, Greg could earn the right to brag about sleeping with the same woman as the privileged-born mayor. “Really, Greg? You don’t mind?” Faye got the hint, and her eyes sparkled. She could secure a pampered life by becoming the mayor’s woman. Greg said with a smile, “I only want what’s best for you. It’ll help me if you get together with the mayor too.” Though many things were left unsaid, the message was clear. Greg was honest about his plan to Faye. Faye nodded. “Of course. Please put in a good word for me too.” She might work for the Red Foundation in Lilyrose, but she did not hold any important roles. Greg would have to put her o
Greg was furious. Somehow or rather, he bowed to Kaze. More infuriatingly, the loser accepted the grand gesture instead of moving away. Kaze was blind to his actions. He did not deserve a bow from them. Faye was ballistic. Stomping her heels, she clomped her way to Kaze. “Don’t you know where this is, Kaze? “This is the office of the Red Foundation. The residents around here are rich and powerful.“What’s a moocher like you doing here?” Faye pointed at Kaze with a look of disdain. Greg pulled himself together and said sternly, “I don’t care what you are here for, nor do I want to know, Kaze. I don’t have time for you. “Now get lost! “I’m warning you. Don’t make me mad, or I’ll make you pay!” The mayor was arriving any minute, so Greg did not waste his time with Kaze. Faced with the pair’s tirade of abuse, Kaze remained unfazed. He shook his head amusedly. “I knew something was up. I thought pigs were flying since you welcomed me with open arms. “Sure enou
“How dare those men hijack the plane and take Kaze. They must be punished…” Despite her grumbles, Snow grew anxious. “Given Mr. Lee’s capabilities, he won’t be hurt.” The agents around her tried to comfort her. They believed she was being too nervous. “I know, but we as subordinates have failed him by allowing this to happen. We have to do our best to make up for the mistake, and not rely on Mr. Lee to get out because he can.” Snow drowned in self-blame and regretted not being able to help. It was her negligence that allowed the hijacking to happen. “But there’s nothing you can do now. It’s late. Even the hijackers need to rest. They won’t do anything yet.” “It’s because the hijackers need to rest that we have to hurry and beat them to it. That’s the only way to solve this matter!” “But we’ve searched high and low and didn’t find anything. No one knows where they have gone. Even if they transported the passengers via buses, we didn’t see any tracks.” The agents discu
Kaze breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly went over to Miguel and pressed his hands with the gun down so that it would not misfire. “Good job.” “Thanks.” Miguel curled his lips into a nervous smile. He frequently trained in the gym and mixed martial arts but had never encountered any real-life incident before, thus being inexperienced. Fortunately, his mentality was stronger than the others and allowed him to act accordingly. “I’ll be taking the gun. This is self-defense, you won’t be charged and you won’t need to take responsibility,” Kaze said. Miguel’s pale face looked relieved. “What should we do now? Are there more of them?” Miguel dared not let go of the gun, worried there might be more enemies. “I’ve counted the numbers and this guy here should be the last one.” He then took the gun from Miguel’s hands. “Really? Gosh! That was crazy! I was so terrified!” Miguel finally loosened up and let his instinct take over. His heart was pounding so fast that it
Manson came over and saw the mercenaries lying in their own puddle of blood. The gore shocked him and made him sick. He tried his best to hold back the urge to throw up as it would attract attention. “Don’t look if you can’t take it! Don’t make things worse!” “Yeah! Professor! Grow a pair of balls!” “I have never seen dead bodies like this before!” he explained with a flush of embarrassment on his face. “Can we go out now and run away?” The hostages were eager to leave as things had settled down outside. They thought the danger was over. A dead mercenary was inside the container with them and they were still horrified. Once the others found out about this, the hostages would be shot to death. “If you want to die, be my guest. The moment you step out, you’ll be shot!” Callahan said as he looked at the others scornfully. One of the hostages had already put his hand on the handle of the door and was ready to dash out, but he quickly pulled his hand back after listening
“Tsk. Hold on.” Vexed, the man clicked his tongue and then waved at his colleague. “Come here. Someone fainted. Help me get him out.” The man wanted to take the professor out of the container. Manson’s heart pounded as he listened to the man. He was afraid he might be exposed, but there was no turning back now—he had to play along. Kaze stood behind the door, calming his breath down to lower his presence. “Get back. Stay away from the door. If anyone gets close, don’t blame me for being rough,” said the man as he unlocked the container. He opened the door and saw a number of hostages still sleeping. He then looked at the professor on the floor. He went closer to nudge him but did not get a response. It seemed like the professor needed medical attention. “Come on. Help me get him out.” The other man outside the container was on edge, looking as if he would pull the trigger at the slightest movement. “Why don’t we do it?” Callahan and Miguel volunteered. “You two
“It’s freaking troublesome.” “Boss, don’t worry about it. We’ll get an update tomorrow.” “Yeah. It’s late. Get some rest.” Tiguan’s men told him to get some rest and not worry so much. A few of them were already snoring on the chair. Tiguan sighed and killed the cigarette. He then closed his eyes to get some rest, too. The container that Kaze was in fell into silence once more. No one dared to make any noise but they all looked at Kaze, hoping to find out about his plans. Kaze’s eyes remained fixed on the window and showed no intention of revealing his thoughts. Miguel and Callahan were annoyed by the other hostages. “If you people want to get out of here alive, you better cooperate or come up with your own idea. No one is responsible for saving you.”“Yeah. I don’t want you guys to turn on us after we do all the heavy lifting. It will cost us our lives and you people won’t even be grateful.” Miguel’s tone was sarcastic because he disliked how the others looked at t
Kaze read the hostages’ minds and refused to be used. He wanted to leave but not under such circumstances. “That’s not true. We just don’t have the skills for this kind of situation. You guys are stronger, of course, you should be in the front,” said the man in glasses and a suit. A hint of sharpness gleamed in his eyes. Miguel knew what the man was planning, either. “That’s some plan you have there. You are just trying to use us to escape this place and no matter what happens, you’ll win.” “That’s not it! I just want everyone to stand together and get out of this place. I’ve never thought of using anyone!” the man argued, trying to look innocent. Even a monkey knew what he was planning, yet no one dared to speak up because they would benefit from it too. “Why don’t you guys think of something? If you need our help, we’ll help,” said another middle-aged gentleman who looked more just and fair, as if he could lead the group. “Then what is your plan?” Kaze suddenly wante
The hostages were locked up in the containers. Some of them were elites in their own field while some were ordinary people with average income, yet all of them got into trouble when they boarded the plane. Most of them could not accept their fate. Yet they dared not defy or resist the mercenaries. When things started to calm down, they broke down in tears, weeping in silence as resentment consumed them. Kaze sat down at a clean corner that allowed him to look outside the window. The window was dirty but at least he could see outside. The space inside the container was filled with people sitting closely, offering comfort to one another. They were aware they were just temporarily safe in this container. No one knew what the mercenaries would do to them at the next moment. “My parents must be worried. I said I would call them when I land but now I can’t even get in touch,” Barney muttered as he sat beside Kaze. He too looked outside the window, his feelings mixed. He watc
Kaze thought of what he had overheard in the toilet. If he told the hostages about that, they would probably panic. “It’s nothing. They are just going to separate us into different rooms or containers. They said the buses would be disposed of,” he said. He did not want to reveal too much because it would cause panic. Once the hostages knew their lives were on the line, things might spiral out of control. The mercenaries could kill a few of them to make an example, and none of the hostages would dare to cause problems anymore. Kaze kept it a secret because he wanted to protect the people. “That’s it?” “Is there anything else? How many men are there? What is their plan? Who are they looking for?” “We want to know because we want to survive. This isn't our problem—we just got caught up in it.” The hostages looked at Kaze, their eyes filled with worry. They felt aggrieved because they should not be caught in such a huge problem. “I don’t know either.” No matter how m
“There’s a room there. Get in.” The mercenary pointed his gun at the mother and son, which led them to look at Kaze nervously, seemingly asking for help. “What do you want?” The mother was nervous. She clutched her son’s hand tightly, nearly making him cry, but she reacted quickly enough to cover her son’s mouth to prevent him from doing so. “All women must go into that room. You go in now,” the mercenary explained. He did not want the woman to get the wrong idea. “You people won’t hurt me, right?” the mother asked, worried that she might be ravaged. “We are not into MILF,” said the other mercenary who was escorting Kaze, indirectly assuring the mother. Kaze shot a glance at the mother and nodded at her. “They told us they were going to separate us, so there’s nothing to worry about,” he said, worried that the mother and son would not cooperate. The mother then carried her son and followed the other mercenary into the room. It was called a room but it was actually ju