The reporters quickly took photos and sent them to their editors for a quick release. After the news got out, it spread like wildfire on the internet, especially in the finance sector. When most of the individual investors learned of the news, they quickly re-entered the share market and invested even more in Rove’s stocks. The whole share market shifted greatly. The price that plummeted, which also shattered people’s dreams, surged once more and rose faster than ever. Soon, the share price surged to almost a hundred gils from its original price of 55 gils. Judging from the exponential speed, it would be a matter of time before it hit one hundred. No one would have thought the share price would surge after the Quint family invested billions to short-sell it. Quite the opposite, as soon as the professor arrived, the share price skyrocketed. Mason and his men looked gloomy. Nothing was more embarrassing than this. They invested billions to take down Rove, yet their
The Quints and the Lyfes would become the butt of many jokes among the most prominent families if they were to cancel Sam. To gain favor with Sam, these families were happy to backstab the Quints and the Lyfes when it came down to it. The crowd was stunned by Sam’s arrival. Another fleet of cars pulled up outside Perfect World Group. The cars kept coming, and everybody was numb to it by now. They could not be bothered to observe. The crowd took their guesses, wondering if the incoming group would take Kaze’s or the Quints’ and the Lyfes’ corner. “A00001 with South River State registered number plate.” The car plate number, when announced, sent a shockwave across the hall. Everybody was aware of the significance behind the car plate number. Only one individual would use that specific number in the entire South River State. It was Loid, the governor of the South River State. Word circulated about Loid’s transfer to Ridgesouth. Still, Loid was the leader of the S
People quickly figured out who Jared was. Upon learning that Jared was in the running to become Lilyrose’s mayor, many made faces. They thought it was a done deal for Mason to become the mayor. Things were getting interesting as Jared showed up, brought by the governor’s son. Reading the room, Mason came right out to quash any speculations. To his surprise, Jared said nothing about his purpose there and brought up his wife, Fanny, instead. Mason studied his competitors well, so he knew about Fanny. He had a sinking feeling in his gut. Nevertheless, Mason was quick to pick himself up again. Going along with the same strategy, Mason took the proactive role and cut to the chase. He looked at Fanny and said with a smile, “You must be Fanny Hiden from Harrowdale. I have heard great things about you in the South. I didn’t expect to see you here.” Mason spoke graciously. However, his words revealed a surprising piece of information about Fanny. She was of the Harr
Miru understood Fanny’s reason for not representing the Harrowdale Hidens. However, Fanny must have resorted to many ways to pool together several hundred million dollars to support Kaze. Fanny may be associated with the Harrowdale Hidens, but due to Jared’s career, they did not make much money. “Thank you, Aunt Fanny.” Miru took the card without another word. With a balance of 300 million dollars in the black card, Miru made an investment in Rove’s shares.Compared to the billions Mason invested, the 300 million dollars was just a drop in the bucket. Heck, the money would not make a splash in Rove’s shares. However, the black card was linked to a corporate account under the Harrowdale Hidens. Hence, once the funds entered the market, the Harrowdale Hidens would acquire Rove’s shares, sending the established financial institutions into a frenzy. Sam, a national powerhouse, had influence over individual investors. On the other hand, a wealthy family like the Harrowda
“As a show of support, the governor of the South River State invites Perfect World Group to expand to Riverbank City. Of course, Perfect World Group will operate with the full backing and protection of the governor’s office.“The governor’s office would also introduce tax reduction policies to Perfect World Group.” “Woah!” Zephyr’s announcement caused a stir. Kaze had the full support of the governor’s office in the South River State.The governor had made his stance known. Now, even powerful families like the Quints and the Lyfes would have to think twice before crushing Perfect World Group in the South River State. Zephyr’s words quickly spread. Together with the Harrowdale Hidens’ support, Rove’s shares soared. Mason and the others made sour faces. They wondered if no one could stop Rove. By the looks of things, their investment would not make a splash in the stock market. “I don’t get it. What’s with Kaze? Why did the governor of the South River State support h
The Lyfes’ cries of surprise caught everybody’s attention. The top eligible bachelors of Geranium City were the cream of the crop, handpicked by the city’s elites to be the next generation of tycoons. Though young, these bachelors ranked higher in status than Mason and Fanny. While Mason and Fanny were born into privilege, they were no core members with access to full resources. It was a different story with the top bachelors. Their influence extended throughout Geranium City elites, allowing them to mobilize resources at will.Even a fraction of these resources could unleash a formidable amount of power.Even Mason perked up. He did not expect Sieg to show up. Mason had invited Sieg to attend the event together, but the latter declined. Assuming that Sieg did not see Kaze as a threat enough to attend, Mason did not push on the matter. Now it seemed that Kaze’s supporters finally alarmed the ever-unruffled young man. Anyway, Sieg’s presence would determine their v
Sieg’s gaze finally fell on Kaze, and he said with a smile, “I intend to pay Professor Whiteman a visit, Mr. Lee. You don’t have to take things far.“Are you scared to let me meet with them?” Knowing it was one of Sieg’s mind games, Kaze replied indifferently, “Hit me with your best shot, Sieg. I can do this all day long.“Let him through.” Though reluctant, the staff of Perfect World Group abided by Kaze’s words and stepped aside. “We shall see.” Sieg uttered before stepping into the lounge. Many followed Sieg. Kaze entered the lounge with Perfect World Group staff, intrigued to see what Sieg was up to. It was quiet in the lounge area. Sam rushed to the event right after surgery, so he needed rest. Hence, Fanny, Zephyr, and many more knew better than to bother Sam. They observed the stock market on the LED screen mounted to the wall. “I am Sieg of the Geranium Lyfes, Professor Whiteman.” Sieg went straight to Sam and introduced himself the moment he entered the l
Sam scoffed. “Since Mr. Bridge doesn’t know what’s going on, I have no reason to accept the invitation. I’m here to stay. I’ll explain to Mr. Bridge when I have a chance to travel to Geranium City.“A great man like Mr. Bridge wouldn’t take such a trivial matter to heart.” Sieg frowned at Sam’s little fit. It did not occur to him that despite the mention of Terry, Sam still stood firm on Kaze’s side. Sieg was taken aback by Sam and Kaze’s close ties. Kaze said, “You’ve been operating all night, and the long journey here must have taken a toll on you. Why don’t you go back and have a rest? “I’ll handle things here. “Snow, take Sam to rest.” Sam had done his part. Besides, Terry posed a challenge to Sam. Kaze did not want to put Sam in the spot over a tiny issue. He was also curious to see what Sieg had up his sleeve. “Alright then.” After much hesitation, Sam got up and took off. Subsequently, Sieg turned to Zephyr. “You must be Mr. Farland.” “Yes?” Zephyr s
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