The executives got into their respective cars and made their way to Yamato Hotel. In the VIP room of Yamato Hotel were the four men who had met with Cosmo earlier, dressed in suits and sitting like gangsters. Their lustful eyes were scrutinizing the waitress’ tight shirt. The leader of the group was Glang and his phone just rang. When he saw the caller ID, his expression shifted. He gestured for the waitress to leave before answering the phone respectfully. “Young Master Cosmo, we have already arrived at Yamato Hotel. Darcy Quint is on her way. “Don’t worry. We will carry out the task you’ve assigned us. All four of us can drink and we are the God of Alcohol in our circle. We have never lost a drinking game.” Glang nodded and bowed repeatedly even though he was on the phone. Cosmo’s voice was heard saying, “Stay focused. After that woman was abducted a few times, she got bodyguards around her. That’s why I want you to pretend as businessmen from Sunrise City to approach
Darcy shot a glance at Kaze, warning him to mind his choice of words. She then smiled and said, “Mr. Sox, I’m Darcy Quint. They are my team from the company. This one here is my husband, Kaze Lee.” When Glang and his men heard Kaze’s name, their expressions shifted. This might be their first meeting, but they instinctively feared Kaze for some reason. Glang reacted quickly and regained his composure. He feigned a calm look and said, “Ms. Quint, you didn’t mention anything about bringing your husband. Isn’t this a little inappropriate? “We are talking business here and you bring your husband along. Are you scared of us?” Glang was trying to get rid of Kaze, or their hands would be tied. Kaze’s presence alone scared them even though they had no reason to be afraid of Kaze because they worked for Cosmo. Darcy expected the question. She continued smiling and said, “Mr. Sox, it’s not like that. Trust is the basis for a healthy working partnership. Why would I do anything to ruin
Technically, the requirement by Vista Education Group was not totally unreasonable. After all, they were professionals in the field of education, especially in private schools, so no one in Sunrise City was more experienced than them. The only problem was that their demands for the shares exceeded Darcy’s expectations. Therefore, Darcy tried to negotiate with them at the table. The executives of Sky Ocean Group joined the discussion as well. Both sides were engaged in a heated negotiation but Glang and company refused to take a step back. Despite the heated discussion, Darcy and company began to show more trust in Glang and his men. She even forgot about the suspicions Kaze had about them. It was a sign of Glang’s sincerity in working together. Glang then noticed it was almost time to move on to the next phase. He stopped the argument and said with a satisfying smile, “Ms. Quint, it seems like you and your company are sincere in working with us in education as well. “Si
In short, both Darcy and the executives believed Kaze was acting recklessly and impulsively. Glang and his men were prepared but Darcy and company were not. There was no way they could win. Kaze’s impulsive act might cost the company up to a hundred million. Seeing Darcy intended to stop Kaze, Glang stepped up and said, “Ms. Quint, your husband has agreed. Since both of you are together, I believe his words represent your idea as well, right? “Or does it mean Mr. Lee here can’t make any decisions?” Glang intentionally ridiculed Kaze’s status as a live-in son-in-law. He got a basic understanding of Kaze and Darcy’s relationship and knew how to use it to his advantage. He did it on purpose to bait Kaze and Darcy into his trap. A hint of anger flashed in Darcy’s eyes. Before she could speak, Kaze said, “I can make decisions just fine. How about we go four to one instead of four on four?” Pft! The moment Kaze’s words escaped his mouth, Glang and his men were stunned a
Kaze did not know what Glang and company were aiming for but he knew they were up to no good. He was only certain they were after Darcy, which made his gaze cold. He said, “Let’s skip the nonsense and begin.” Glang and his men grinned. If Kaze was that eager to send his wife to Cosmo’s bed, then they were obliged to grant his wish. A case of whiskey was brought in by the waiter and the drinking game officially began. “Kaze, let’s start the first round. Let me pour for you!” Glang filled Kaze’s glass with whiskey. Kaze raised his glass without even flinching and said, “You are the guests and we are the hosts. This is to you. Cheers!” He cocked his head back and drained the glass of whiskey to the last drop in a single gulp. He then turned his glass upside down and smiled. “Mr. Sox, your turn.” “Kaze, slow down!” Darcy knew Kaze could drink but the way he drank worried her. She could not help but remind him to slow down. Glang noticed Kaze did not even flinch wh
On the other hand, Glang and his men were not doing too well. Their eyes were bloodshot, their faces crimson. They might be experienced drinkers and they could still go on, but they were in awe of Kaze’s alcohol tolerance. No one could be fine after drinking around five bottles of whiskey, yet Kaze looked like he had not drunk a single drop. Had they not drunk together with Kaze, they would have suspected Kaze was drinking water instead of whiskey. The case of whiskey was finished. “Bro, Kaze, d-do you want to take a break? We’ll wait for you,” Glang stuttered as he propped his hand against the table. He was barely holding on but his ego prevented him from falling. He started to get competitive after seeing Kaze drink. He forgot about his mission of getting Darcy drunk and solely wanted to look good in front of Kaze. Kaze smiled and shook his head. “I’m fine. It seems like you guys can still drink. I thought you guys were done for.” “Don’t look down on us!” Glang an
Glang and company must hold on no matter what. What if Kaze was already on his last straw? Their only way out of this was to keep drinking. “That’s good to know. Let’s continue, Mr. Sox.” Kaze filled Glang’s glass once more. “Cheers!” Gland gulped and said, “Hold on, hold on! We are not in a sprint, this is a marathon. Can we take it slow?” His stomach was turning upside down. He worried that if he drank another glass, he would explode in whiskey. “Mr. Sox, you’re tired already? No problem. Let me help you with it.” Kaze smiled as he picked up the glass. He then grabbed Glang by the jaw and squeezed his cheeks. “W-What ugh mhmmmm…” Glang tried to resist but could not break free. It was like Kaze’s hand was welded to his jaw. As Kaze exerted more strength, Glang’s mouth slowly opened up. He then poured the whole glass into Glang’s mouth. It was no longer whiskey to Glang, it felt like a stream of lava pouring into his throat. “Ugh…” As Kaze released his j
Two minutes later, Glang and his men were forced to kneel before Kaze. They were barely conscious. If not for Conan’s men holding them by the hair, they could not even kneel upright. “K-Kaze, w-we are sorry, s-spare us…” Glang managed to open one of his eyes and begged for mercy. His eyelids were fluttering throughout his muffled speech. “What did you do wrong?” Kaze asked emotionlessly as he had a cup of yogurt to counter the alcohol. “I… We should not challenge Ms. Quint, w-we should not drink with you,” Glang said feebly. Kaze shot a glance at Conan. Conan then swung a slap at Glang’s face. “You better come clean if you don’t want to die!” Glang’s face was swollen and numb. He could not even feel the slap, but the fierce look on Conan scared him. “It’s Cosmo, Cosmo Lee!” Conan instinctively looked at Kaze. Kaze raised his brow and asked, “What did he tell you to do? I want the details.” “Cosmo Lee wants us to disguise ourselves as executives of Vista Educatio
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