Nelson served in the military. While he might hold power, the income was not much. Kaze flaunted his money for once just to tick Nelson off. “Thank you, Kaze.” Rose jumped for joy. Nelson grimaced and scoffed without another word. After all, Kaze was helping his daughter. He knew that Kaze was far from the loser he was before. Later, Kaze contacted the owner of Dynasty Hotel to get the best private lounge. The next day soon arrived. Rose’s family and the extended family showed up at the hotel on time. It did not take long for South River University’s admission group to arrive. The group was led by a young, beautiful, and intelligent woman in professional attire. The young woman, Mandy Yipz, was the leader of the admission teams sent by South River University. “Huh? Kaze?” Before Nelson even introduced Kaze, Mandy stared at the latter in shock. She scowled. Though she quickly covered her facial expression, her hostility was apparent. Kaze frowned. “Hell
In Mandy’s opinion, she would not be in the horrible position if Kaze had not turned the tide. Since she did not want to cross her former superiors at Sunrise News, she directed all the hatred and resentment on Kaze. Despite Mandy’s attempt to mask her feelings, everybody could still feel her hostility toward Kaze. Mandy was not friendly to Kaze. Worried about her niece’s future, Agnes smoothed things over with a smile. “You flatter him, Ms. Yipz. My son-in-law can’t beat you. He’s just here to fill a spot and lighten the mood. He was supposed to come with us. “Should I just tell him to leave, Ms. Yipz?” The group regretted letting Kaze come along. They did not know that Mandy would have a problem with Kaze. The observation was just a formality, but Kaze’s presence might just ruin Rose’s chances of getting into the university. Agnes did not care about Kaze and even told him to leave. Mandy hid the glee behind her eyes. As she had reported about Kaze, she did her
Agnes dragged Kaze to the side for a warning. “Think before you talk. I won’t forgive you if you ruin Rose’s chances of university admission.” The group told Kaze not to screw things for Rose before heading outside to wait. The private lounge, which was in fact a suite, was huge. Mandy went to the couch and sat down with her legs crossed before sizing Kaze up. She said amusedly, “I didn’t expect to meet you under such circumstances, Mr. Lee. “I hold the power to enroll Rose into the university. What do you have to say?” Kaze answered indifferently, “I have nothing much to say. Rose has always been an excellent young lady. She demonstrates strong determination in her studies and character. She has no vices.“Just handle this by the book, Ms. Yipz. No need to consider my feelings.” Kaze texted Snow to find out about Mandy during lunch. Snow had already equipped Kaze with information on Mandy. Mandy was the former ace reporter at Sunrise News. After she was fired due to h
To be fair, the male facilitators were grateful to Kaze. If Kaze had not gotten Mandy fired, they would never have her as their head of admission. Nevertheless, the gratitude did not stop the male facilitators from sucking up to Mandy and vilifying Kaze. Sure, Kaze had some power because he was a chairman. However, the male facilitators worked at a university, and Kaze’s connections could not threaten their jobs. Mandy was smug that her bootlickers tore Kaze a new one. “You were lucky to stumble upon evidence of Lil Dee’s tax evasion, Lee. Otherwise, the public would still have you on a witch hunt. “You cost me my job, and I’m supposed to consider your feelings?“I don’t know what gave you the confidence to think so. “I wouldn’t waste my time on a nobody like you. “You’re a loser. You got lucky to find a wife you could mooch on. “Otherwise, you’d be out on the streets begging for food by now.” Mandy dressed Kaze down. She wanted to strip Kaze of his dignity un
“I don’t.” Mandy nodded and glanced at her phone before asking, “I heard that the Sunrise Lees disowned you.” Kaze frowned but nodded. “That’s right.” “You ended up in Lilyrose and married into the Quint family?” “That’s right.” “The Sunrise Lees practice strict traditions. It’s said that you were kicked out because you committed an offense. “You mooched off your wife, and when you started to build power and riches, you delivered a gravestone to the Lees, demanding they apologize on their knees in Lilyrose even though they raised you.“A shameless and ungrateful man like you do not deserve our time. “South River University strives on its strict values. We don’t just accept any students. Given your situation, I think it is necessary for the school to reconsider whether to accept Rose as a student.” The harsh criticism came out of Mandy’s mouth. In the end, Mandy launched a personal attack on Kaze. Even the nearby bootlickers thought Mandy had gone overboard. They wo
“Besides, didn’t I prove that already?” Kaze looked at Mandy with a smile. His composure got on Mandy’s last nerves. With nothing getting through to Kaze, Mandy felt like her attacks were going nowhere. “Keep up with the act, Lee.“Either way, you can’t hide your insecurities. “You have money, but money can’t buy education, at least not to us. You can’t win us with your money. “You must be dreaming to think you can interfere in South River University’s affairs.” Mandy sneered and waved at one of the bootlickers. “Go and get a basin of water from the hotel staff.” The bootlicker was stunned. Though confused, the bootlicker went to fetch a basin of water. Mandy returned to the couch and removed her stilettos. The bootlickers stared at her feet fervently. The basin was to wash Mandy’s feet. “Should I help you, Ms. Yipz?” Mandy ignored him and smirked at Kaze. “Scared now, Lee?“If you want me to spare Rose, get your ass over here and give me a foot rub. You c
The group ran their mouths and instigated Mandy. Mandy waved her arm with a grimace. “I have more important things to deal with than Lee. Once this is over, I’ll get even with him.” She then left Dynasty Hotel. Mandy arrived at the mayor’s office. The business trip was not to observe students to offer them pre-admission spots. Mandy’s priority was to build a bridge with the mayor’s office. It was no secret that the mayor’s office in Lilyrose announced the development of a new city. The dean of the South River University’s School of Arts, Connor Lewis, had his eye on the project. He intended to set up a campus in Lilyrose New City. Since South River University placed in the top ten, many students would beg their families to get into the local campuses. However, Connor’s plan was just to use the South River University’s School of Arts’ name. The campus would recruit any students who could afford the tuition fees. In other words, it was a profitable project. The appe
Mandy had to go through Caleb for him to evaluate if the project was worth Kaze’s time. However, Mandy was not having it. She said indifferently, “Deputy Mayor Leed, I think you should inform the mayor right away. “I represent Mr. Connor Lewis from the South River University’s School of Arts. Mr. Lewis intends to set up a campus in Lilyrose New City. “South River University ranks in the top ten in Arcadia. There’s no doubt the school holds prestige. We have received invitations to start campuses in many cities. “The establishment of the campus would add value to the neighborhood. The price of the land and properties would only go up. “I believe the mayor wouldn’t pass up on the opportunity to develop his city.” Mandy talked confidently. It was profitable to have a campus of South River University anywhere. The campus was an appeal to Lilyrose and the city council. Caleb nodded and said, “Can I have your business card, Ms. Yipz? I’ll report back to the mayor.” Mand
“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