“What are you saying, young man?” Kent scowled. He sought help from many renowned doctors, but none of them could help with his daughter’s case. Raph, found by Cole, was one of his very last hopes. Kaze checked Kent out before uttering indifferently, “This so-called miracle doctor is a scammer. He can’t even tell that you’re dying.” The carriage fell into a deafening silence. Even Kent was shocked. He looked up at Kaze, his gaze carrying wariness. A suited group barged out from another door in the business-class carriage and surrounded Kent. Some of them blocked Kaze’s exit. They reached their hands to their hips. That was where their guns were holstered. These individuals had been stationed between carriages to ensure Kent’s safety. Once a threat against Kent’s safety had been identified, the group made themselves known. Sure enough, Kaze had been determined a threat to Kent. Anything Kaze said could be seen as a reason to kill him. The mayor of Riverbank C
“Say one more word, and I’ll knock all your teeth out!” dismissing Cole’s hostile eyes, Kaze stood there and said indifferently. “How dare you!” With Kaze getting violent, the bodyguards furiously pulled out their weapons. “That’s enough.” Kent stopped everything. “The young man doesn’t mean me any harm. Stand down.” The hired protection hesitated for a moment but kept their weapons away and withdrew behind Kent. “Uncle, the guy wants you dead. How can you let him go?” Lying on the ground, Cole gritted his teeth and said bitterly, “Even if he isn’t a killer, what if he’s here to gather intel about you?” “Shut up!” Kent glared at Cole, and the latter closed his mouth embarrassedly for the slip of the tongue. A killer? Kaze raised his brow in contemplation. It explained why Kent had armed bodyguards with him for his trip. Kent gave a nod. “I want to apologize for my nephew’s behavior. He used to have his way.” “You’re too kind, Mayor Synder. It isn’t you wit
Kaze read Kent’s reaction and smiled without a word. He did not see a point in getting his point across. Sometimes, it was hard to persuade others until the worst happened.Raph, though a scammer, had more credibility than Kaze because he was a supposedly renowned doctor.With Kent getting suspicious of Kaze, Raph was delighted. Heck, Kaze only took a page out of Raph’s playbook. Kaze was in over his head by challenging Raph in his area of expertise. “You said that my uncle is ill, Dr. Tyson. Did I hear it right? Please help him get better,” Cole approached Raph and said respectfully. Raph stroked his long white beard, turned to Kent, and said indifferently, “You must have injured yourself during a recent assault. “Your external injuries have been treated, but you still suffer underlying issues. “I’m sure you haven’t slept well lately. You often wake up in the middle of the night in pain, and your condition hasn’t improved after seeing many doctors. “What’s worse, y
Kent was sure that Raph was a miracle doctor. Not everyone had the resources to collect such valuable herbs.“Haha. I have a small collection. I was locked up behind bars, so I told my assistant to bring my herbs from Ridgesouth to secure my release. Mr. Libra came to my rescue anyway. “These herbs would be perfect to treat you, Mayor Synder.” Raph smiled. The valuable herbs seemed to mean nothing to him. He took out a century-old fleeceflower and gave it to Cole. “Soak it in warm water before consumption. Mayor Synder should enjoy a good night’s sleep after taking the medicine. “It will take time for Mayor Synder to get better.” “Thank you, Dr. Tyson.” Cole asked the train conductor for a glass of hot water and soaked pieces of fleeceflower in the water.The water turned thick, and a refreshing aroma filled the air. It took only a whiff for everybody to feel invigorated. “Drink this, Uncle.” Cole ingratiatingly handed the glass to Kent. The latter grabbed the glass
Raph stroked his beard and said with a smile, “I told you that you’d be fine.” Cole smirked at Kaze. “See that, Lee? My uncle is alive and kicking. “Who are you to call Dr. Tyson a scammer? I think you’re the scammer! “Hmph! I ought to call the cops on you for pulling a fast one on the mayor of Riverbank—” “Cole…” Kent waved his arm to interrupt his nephew and turned to Kaze. He frowned and lectured, “Kaze, youthful enthusiasm is good, but it’s important not to lose your way. Making the wrong choices can have lifelong consequences.“Just apologize to Dr. Tyson. Hopefully, he will forgive you and move past this. “You haven’t done anything major, so I won’t hold your words against you.” Kent was fond of Kaze. Though he was not pleased with Kaze’s scaremongering, he did not plan to take things far. “You’re a good man, Mayor Synder. You still have a soft spot for the likes of him. “Fine. In this case, I won’t pursue the matter further.” Raph looked at Kaze arrogantl
Cole pushed Raph to the side and looked at Kaze with bloodshot eyes. “It was you! You did something to hurt my uncle, right?” Kaze narrowed his eyes and sneered. “This is the doctor you sought to help your uncle. What will your family do to you if he turns out to be a scammer? “If I were you, I would not be so quick to dump the responsibility on someone else. Instead, I would beg the one who could save him.” Cole looked Kaze in the eye. “Can you really help my uncle?” “I will save him if you kneel to me.” Kaze said indifferently and turned to Kent. “Better be quick. He doesn’t have much longer. One more minute, and he won’t be with us anymore.” “Thud!” Without another word, Cole fell to his knees and pleaded, “Please save my uncle!” Kaze smiled and looked at Raph. “You should kneel too.” “Thud!” Raph paused for a moment before getting on his knees. He believed Kaze was right. Either way, Kent should not die. Otherwise, the responsibility would be put on him.“A m
“Sizzle…” The dark blood, when met with fire, erupted in a soft explosion that echoed through the air.The fire started quickly, and smoke filled the air, forming the face of a menacing ghoul before disappearing. Everybody, including Raph, shuddered in fear. They had never encountered something like that before.“What was that?” Kent asked fearfully, his face pale. The thought of the mass coming out of him sent chills down his spine. “It’s a Ryokan hex.” Kaze said indifferently, “Someone is out to get you. You were planted with a Ghoul Parasite.“The Ghoul Parasite feeds on your blood. It takes two to four weeks for the parasite to fully mature. Once it’s fully grown, you will die.“You would probably have three more days to live if I hadn’t knocked the Ghoul Parasite out of you.“You’re fine now.” Those infected with the Ghoul Parasite would have black undertones under their wrinkles. Kaze had seen fellow soldiers infected with the same dark arts during his time
With his gesture met with rejection, Raph chuckled dryly, his eyes harboring malice. Kent nodded and said earnestly, “I want to apologize for earlier, Kaze. “You must be on your way to Riverbank City. Why don’t you stay over at my place? I’ll be a good host to you. “May I know why you are heading to Riverbank, Kaze? I want to help you whenever I can. I owe you my life.” Kent was certain that Kaze was a person of extraordinary abilities. He wanted to make a friend out of such talent. Kaze was fond of Kent too. He said, “I’m not some Superman. I’ve witnessed a similar situation before, so I know what to do. I just got lucky. “Don’t worry about paying me back. Just count it as a favor, Mayor Synder. “I might need your help in the future,” Kaze looked at Kent and said with a faint smile. Kaze could be sure that the Ryokan hex on Kent had something to do with Sanwell Finances. He and Kent would cross paths a lot. Kent was taken aback at first, but he quickly took out a
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