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
Albert’s eyes burned with rage. “Trivial?” To him, protecting Kaze was not just his duty, it was his priority. If not for Kaze, his instructor who guided him on the battlefield and allowed him to seize all the war achievements, his family’s resources alone would not have been enough to make him the chief commander at such a young age. Yet Master Agar made it sound like something unimportant. Though he knew Master Agar served the madam, which also meant his words reflected the madam’s will. “Is it not?” Master Agar asked righteously. Losing his patience, Albert stepped forward and bellowed, “Go back and tell her…” “Albert!” Finally, Kaze intervened by calling Albert, stopping him. “You can leave now. Go back to the strategic department.” Kaze could tell that the madam that Master Agar referred to had absolute power in the Hiden family. Kaze did not want Albert to oppose the madam because of him, and he did not want Albert’s family to punish him either. “But I…”
Without Albert’s support, what would Kaze do against Magnus, the branch leader of Viper’s Den? Everyone could already picture Kaze’s funeral. Sirius got up from the floor and grinned viciously. “Kaze Lee, you had Albert Hiden on your side before this and you disrespected us all. “What about now? Come on, keep it up! Or else you won’t get the chance anymore!” Sirius resented Kaze to his core. His arm was cut off and his bones were crushed. It was not possible to recover from such an injury. Even though Magnus sent him here to lure Albert into the trap, possibly injuring him severely so that Viper’s Den would have a reason to arrest the chief commander, he agreed in a heartbeat. He was willing to risk being beaten up by Albert so he could take revenge against Kaze. Unfortunately, Albert did not take the bait. Sirius was just kicked to the floor and slapped twice. The hits were not enough for Viper’s Den to arrest him, hence Master Agar’s arrival. Now Albert had been
Magnus’ eyes were burning with anger. He had never hated a person this much. It was not his first time meeting an arrogant young man; Albert was a great example. However, Albert was from a prestigious family, so his background justified his arrogance. What about Kaze? He was a useless guy who took his wife’s family name. Yet Kaze had the nerve to talk to Magnus like they were equals, bluffing without considering the consequences. What a fool! Kaze was unfazed by Magnus’ growls. He clasped his hands behind his back and said, “If you don’t want to reason with words, then skip the chatters. Let’s talk with our fists. Are you going to fight me one-on-one or with your team of vipers?” Kaze started to roll his sleeves. “Uh…” Magnus was left speechless. His words were stuck in his throat. Sirius bellowed, “Branch Leader, do it! Kaze Lee is not just challenging you, he’s challenging the entire Viper’s Den. He disregarded our authority, disregarded the law—even if you ki
“Ugh…” Sirius groaned in pain. He stared at Kaze in fear. As Kaze exerted more strength through his foot, Sirius’ chest started to cave in. His organs felt pressured and his rib cage started to break. He was scared. He finally realized Kaze was ready to kill him on the spot. He expected Kaze to attack him. His provocation was intended to lure Kaze into attacking him, thus giving Magnus a valid reason to strike. Yet he did not want to die. “Branch Leader!” As though a drowning victim, Sirius started screaming for help. His scream for help not only surprised Magnus but also woke the others from their blank state. As the people regained their senses, they were shocked. How could Kaze attack Sirius in front of Magnus? His actions were challenging death itself! Even Magnus was stunned for a moment before he reacted with a grim look. He did not understand why Kaze had the nerve to attack Sirius at this point. Without Albert’s support, Kaze was just some guy with s
Magnus was familiar with the voice, yet even with his status and position, he had only heard it a few times. The voice made a strong impression on him from the first time he heard it; it was seared into his soul. He could never forget the voice. Magnus’ mind went blank all of a sudden. He stiffly looked at Kaze, unable to believe what just happened. How did Kaze get this person’s number? Why would this person answer Kaze’s call? Ignoring Magnus’ inconceivable gaze, Kaze spoke into the phone, “It’s me, Kaze Lee.” “Kaze Lee?” The woman’s voice on the line sounded frosty, somewhat angry. It was as though she did not know who Kaze was and was annoyed by the anonymous phone call. Kaze smiled and explained, “Viper Queen, you must be too busy lately. I just received a huge gift from one of your people.” He was referring to the woman who gave him the Dallas Black Card after winning the auction. “It was you?” The woman paused for a moment before she asked, “I wonder if
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