Right after Sirius’ words subsided, everyone looked at Kaze. They heard it was Kaze who cut off Sirius’ arm with the Nether Viper Sword. Now that the rumor had been validated, it explained Sirius’ resentment toward Kaze. He was willing to spend a fortune to bid for the Nether Viper Sword just so he could use it to kill Kaze for revenge. The brief confrontation pressured even Conan, yet Kaze remained nonchalant. He smiled at Sirius and said, “Then it’s going to be costly. You are spending a few billions just to kill me.” Sirius scoffed and said, “I can get it back when I take you and your wife’s company. Their combined assets would be enough to buy a few Nether Viper Swords.” The meaning of his words was self-explanatory. After killing Kaze, Sirius planned to take Kaze and Darcy’s companies to cover the cost of the sword. “We’ll see if you can win the sword,” Kaze said with a hint of fierceness in his eyes. Sirius sat down and then said, “Auctioneer, you may continue
The trustor Honey referred to was Kaze. Sirius glanced at Kaze and scoffed. “Don’t worry about that. It’s just five billion. The Glitters still can afford it. It’s just a matter of cash flow. The money I used today will come back ten folds or even a hundred folds!” His gaze turned fierce. He thought he had won the bid for the Nether Viper Sword. No matter how resourceful or wealthy the other three organizations were, they would never spend a hefty five billion to purchase the Nether Viper Sword. They attended the auction and raised the price because they wanted to make the Viper’s Den look like a fool. They were not here for the sword because it would put them in the opposite position against the entire Viper’s Den. Therefore, the Glitters spending five billion for the Nether Viper Sword was considered a decent deal. They were not losing anything. Sirius wanted to kill Kaze with the sword and seized his and his wife’s assets. The combined value of the companies and as
Even though Sirius could claim ten billion from Kaze and his assets, he could not fork out that much money to get the Nether Viper Sword. Frustrated, he sat down and stared at the woman, saying, “Ten billion? Fine, the sword is yours. But do you even have that much money?” The woman did not care about Sirius’ sarcastic remark. She shot a frosty glance at him and said, “Shut up. Don’t speak if you are poor, you useless trash! The Nether Viper Sword is the sacred weapon of the Viper’s Den. Is ten billion really that much?” The moment Sol, Ruth, and the others heard the woman, they almost burst out in laughter. Sirius flushed, drowning in his own embarrassment and frustration. As a member of the Glitters, he was called useless trash by a nameless woman in public! Kaze did not laugh at him. He focused on the woman instead as thoughts ran through his mind. “Ten billion once.” “Ten billion twice.” “Sold! To the lady in the back!” Following the smack of the mallet, the Net
“My master said he will meet with you in person when you are done with your matters.” The woman then took the sword and left. “‘Hold it right there!” Before the woman could leave, two of Sirius’ men went up to her and blocked her exit. “You pretentious hag, hand over the sword!” One of them tried to snatch the sword away. Upon seeing the situation, many disdainful glances were shot at Sirius. He failed to reclaim the sword through the auction, so he decided to reclaim it through force. How shameless! Sirius stared at the exit nonchalantly as if he was not a part of it. The Dallas Black Card surprised him for a moment but he was not sure if it was still part of Kaze’s plan with Dallas Moneylender to trick him. After all, bringing someone with the Dallas Black Card into the fray might scare the Viper’s Den and Kaze could escape the punishments. Therefore, Sirius wanted to test if the woman was the real deal. The woman frowned. “Move,” she said. “Know your pl
The woman put the Nether Viper Sword away and said, “Fool. A gun is not the most lethal within a short distance. Your gun is meaningless in front of a true expert.” After berating Sirius, the woman shot a meaningful glance at Kaze before she left. Sirius stared at the exit blankly, speechless. Kaze curled his lips into a meaningful grin. It was an interesting exchange. The woman was not mocking Sirius. It would seem more appropriate that she was lecturing him. Kaze had an extra glance at Sirius, whose face was gloomy. He wondered if the fool could grasp the wisdom. After the woman left, all the guests in the auction hall regained their senses. What happened in that brief moment overwhelmed them. Sirius also slowly regained his composure and his mind cleared up. He wiped the blood off his forehead and then looked at Kaze coldly. “Mr. Lee, I don’t care what master she serves, you are going to die today!” The mysterious woman might have shocked everyone at the auct
Albert frowned. Suddenly, a frosty chuckle came from the entrance. The chuckle was not loud but it sounded like thunder, clapping right beside everyone’s ear. Many of the guests were frightened. Everyone turned to the entrance once again. A middle-aged man with a wrinkled face appeared at the entrance. He exuded an aura of authority without even speaking. His bearing, hands clasped behind his back, conveyed a sense of towering grandeur and deep unshakable presence, characteristics of someone in a position of power. No one dared to take him lightly. He scanned across the hall and ultimately landed his frosty gaze on Albert. “Chief Commander Hiden of the State Strategic Department. You have quite the nerve to act like a gangster without your uniform. You beat someone up in front of a crowd. “You said you are not in uniform and you are here as your own entity. Does it mean the Viper’s Den can arrest you?” “Hahaha! Branch Leader, you are just in time! Arrest Chief Com
“Chief Commander Hiden, without the uniform, you are just a common citizen. I, as the branch leader of Viper’s Den, do not need a warrant to arrest suspects or criminals. “You hit someone in the open and you question my authority to arrest you?” Albert scoffed. “Even without my uniform, or my title, you and your little den can’t arrest me!” “Young man, don’t speak too soon.” Magnus clasped his hand behind his back and shook his head. He said with a smile, “I know you come from a reputable noble family, the Harrowdale Hidens, whose history dates back a thousand years. “You are what they call a noble. Young masters from other wealthy families are like kids to you. Common authorities might not have the nerve to arrest you because of your privileged background.“But have you heard? Even the king must be punished according to the law when he commits a crime. Others might not dare to arrest you, but not the Viper’s Den!” The king would be punished according to the law when he co
Upon finding out Master Agar was from the Hiden family of Harrowdale, the guests quieted down. Many of the guests continued to scrutinize Master Agar subtly but dared not look him in the eye. Lilyrose was a small city. The local families could not even rival those in Sunrise City, let alone a noble family in Harrowdale. To Lilyroseans, a noble family was something from fairytales. If not for Albert or Master Agar, no one would have the chance to encounter a noble throughout their entire life. They were all human beings living on the same planet, breathing the same air, but the difference in status was huge. Due to the disconnection between social status, the commoners and the nobles would never cross paths. Master Agar might be from the Hidens, but he was only a martial artist serving the noble family. Technically he was not part of the family by blood, but people still revered him. Ruth, Sol, and Vigar might not be as surprised as the commoners but they too dared not t
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
“Can you make him stop? If the man comes back, we’ll be done for,” someone said. The kid’s crying made everyone anxious. “What can I do? He’s crying because he’s scared. I can’t just stop him.” The mother was afraid as well, and she did not want her son to be taken advantage of. “Calm down. Just don’t alert the men and we’ll be fine,” Miguel said, hoping to ease the situation. “I’ll fight him if he comes in. I believe I can make it,” someone said. Those with an impulsive nature grew restless from being kept on the bus for too long, feeling like livestock being kept in cages. “Shut it. They are coming,” Barney said after a glance outside the window. The other passengers fell silent, sat back down, lowered their heads, and tried their best not to look out the window. The mother quickly hugged her son and covered his mouth to prevent him from crying. Kaze felt peace and quiet once more, even the air felt smoother. He knew the passengers were merely ordinary people and
Unfortunately, Leah knew she would not get an answer out of Snow since she was refusing to help. Everything seemed to have changed following her mother’s disappearance. She tried to stay for answers but when security came in, she could not resist them anymore. It was the first time she was escorted out by security guards and it impacted her. She used to be the daughter of the CEO of Northborn Group—everyone respected her. She used to enjoy a privileged status. No matter where she went, she was the star of the event. Yet when her mother disappeared, everything changed. She wanted to look for Kaze but she had just lost the chance. Snow turned her down and gazed at her with contempt and irritation. Leah could not accept the changes but some things felt like they were destined to change. She was forced to leave the branch office but then had no idea where else to go. She felt abandoned by the world. Before this, she could still hope for Kaze’s help, but now she had no
Leah went to her mother’s company but did not find her anywhere. Joey was busy working in the CEO’s office. Leah went over and asked, “Joey, where’s my mother? I can’t reach her.” She wanted to know what happened to her mother. “I don’t know about your mother either. We went out together earlier in the day but I don’t know where she went. I can’t get in touch with her.” Joey was so busy that she could not even free herself from the desk to explain to the girl. “Where did she go? How am I supposed to find her?” Leah panicked. If even Joey did not know where her mother went, then something must have happened. A bad feeling rose from her heart. Things just got serious. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask someone else?” Joey did not have time to deal with the girl. Leah was unfamiliar with Joey’s coldness. Joey had always treated her with kindness and flattery, so the sudden coldness caught her off guard. She felt like something had changed. “Who should I be looking f
“No! My daughter is still in the hospital!” Katie refused to accept her punishment. She started to regret her decision but it was too late. “Now only you think about your daughter? I guess you are not that foolish, but have you thought about her when you betrayed Chairman Lee? “Don’t worry. Leah knew Chairman Lee personally and we won’t hurt her, but she might not live a good life anymore,” Snow said coldly. She did not want to put the girl in a difficult situation but her life as a princess would come to an end. “You can’t do that!” Katie could not believe Snow would do that. “I bet you never thought of the consequences when you leaked the information. Too bad. You’ve lost.” Snow revealed the truth because she wanted Katie to suffer for the decision she made. Katie would now regret every decision she made because she knew she had jeopardized her daughter’s life. She would feel like a fool. She devoted her life to climbing higher to gain more power but she ignored the
“I went to a bar to have a drink and I bumped into an informant of the Viper’s Den.” Katie looked helpless as she explained as if everything that had happened was planned out for her, pushing her to the edge step by step. It was a lively night at the bar. The atmosphere was pleasant and most of the guests were having a good time. Katie was a single woman. She needed care and love at times. She was alone when she visited the bar. She started off by ordering some drinks at the counter, waiting for a chance to meet a man who shared the same ideals. A drink or two later, maybe she could get herself a company for the night. As a grown-up woman, she had her desires. It was a way to release her stress. Katie entered the bar in a casual outfit but it did not diminish her elegant demeanor. When she sat down at the counter, a few young men approached her but she was not interested in immature boys. She continued drinking. She looked at the dance floor occasionally, searching for a
“Who do you think will believe you?” Arthur frowned. There were too many coincidences that it felt like a giant setup. “I’ve explained what I need to. Don’t interrogate me like I’m a criminal. I am the CEO of the Northborn Group.” Katie left them speechless. She had said the necessary and it was up to them whether they wanted to believe it or not. They did not have the evidence to charge her anyway. “You really think we can’t hold you responsible?” Snow was not really looking for a definite answer. The moment she suspected Katie, whether or not she was truly the traitor, Snow already had the right to hold her accountable. It was necessary to make things clear and it was to find out who Katie leaked Kaze’s information to. “It has come down to this. No matter how you deny it, it’s useless. We already know what you have done and you can’t escape. Even if you don’t want to confess, we can continue the investigation, and we’ll eventually find out the truth. “If you come clean