Violet invited Kaze to Golden Scale Plaza to show him the life of an upper-class person. She hoped that he would understand the difference and feel embarrassed. She wanted him to understand that no matter how hard he worked, he would never reach their level in life. The best outcome would be him leaving Riverbank and returning to where he came from. She originally thought that taking the elevator up a hundred floors was already astonishing enough for a person from a small city. Standing in the upscale restaurant, she imagined, would leave him so nervous and pressured that he would be unable to speak. To her surprise, Kaze sat down nonchalantly in front of her and her friend and even asked her what she wanted to show him. Kaze looked extremely calm and composed, which somehow annoyed Violet. “Look around you, isn’t this enough? This is a totally different world than yours.” Jill scoffed and added, “Do you know how much it cost to sit at the best view in the restaurant? Ten t
“Come on, Kaze! Order something! I bet you never had dinner at a place like this.” Jill sneered. Bjorn Dining was a pricey place to eat. An ala carte dish would cost at least three thousand. It was not just about the food, it was a display of status and experience. The two ladies believed Kaze could not even afford a glass of water. Kaze glanced at the menu and waved at the waiter. “I don’t need the menu now.” After the waiter left, Jill smirked and scoffed. “What’s the matter? I thought this is just a place for you to eat but you can’t even afford to order a dish here?” Kaze said, “The dishes on the menu don't fit my palette.” “Hmph! You simply can’t afford it! Stop trying to act cool!” Violet had nothing but contempt for Kaze. Everything that he said sounded like an excuse to her. To Jill, the menu in Bjorn was considered one of the best in the city. As for it not fitting Kaze’s palette, he was just giving excuses because if he could afford it, he would order someth
“Then, this is…” Violet looked rather disappointed knowing that the bracelet in front of her was not the one blessed by Pastor Angelo. However, she quickly accepted it. Only less than ten pieces of holy artifacts were produced in a year, so whenever one was released, the rich and powerful would have seized it before it even got into the market. There was no chance for her to even get in line. Kane said, “This bracelet is also from St. John Church. It’s custom-made and can only be purchased in Golden Scale Plaza. “It cost at least two hundred thousand. But I asked a favor from one of the vice chiefs and only spent ten thousand on it.” Violet was similarly delighted. Lock would be happy to receive a custom-made bracelet from St. John Church. Jill looked at Kane with jealousy and said, “Kane, you’re awesome! You can even ask favors from the vice chief of Golden Scale Corporation. I heard the company belongs to the West State Viper’s Den and the top brass are all powerful peo
“Kaze, Kane is giving you a piece of advice because of me. Not only did you waste his effort but you also talked back to him. Who do you think you are?” Violet strongly believed her boyfriend had a much higher status and position than Kaze. Kaze should be grateful for the advice from Kane. Jill scoffed. “Kaze, a man should know his limits. You can’t just simply go around and offend people. “Look at Vi’s boyfriend. She said she wanted to prepare a gift for her uncle and he used his connection with the vice chief of the Golden Scale Corporation to get a bracelet worth ten thousand. “You on the other hand, can’t even afford an ala carte meal of three thousand. Can you see the difference between you and Kane?” Violet grunted contemptuously and said, “He knows jackshit! He said he respects my uncle but not only did he try to freeload, but he didn’t even prepare a gift and scared all the guests away! “My uncle’s birthday is around the corner and as his student, you didn’t even
Jill added, “Vi’s boyfriend is a government official, working for Riverbank City Council. Not even he has a way to get a blessed artifact from St. John Church, and you said you can? “Why don’t you look at yourself in the mirror and listen to what you are saying?” Kane shook his head and chuckled. “Kaze, if you can really get a blessed artifact from Pastor Angelo, I will get on my knees and slap myself as I apologize to you.” Violet and Jill continued to laugh. Kane kneeling on the ground, slapping himself, and apologizing? Impossible. Kaze would be more likely to do that. Violet covered her mouth and said softly, “Kane, you think too highly of him. You should know what he can do, it’s impossible…” “Then you can get down on your knees already,” Kaze said, interrupting Violet before she could finish. The atmosphere grew awkward. Kane widened his eyes in disbelief. He was triggered. “Are you asking for it?” Just as he was about to throw a punch, Violet pulled him bac
Jill obviously did not believe Kaze had a way to get a blessed artifact by Pastor Angelo. She simply assumed Hamlin was a paid actor that Kaze hired just to make him look good. The bracelet in the box must be some gift from a tourist trap spot. Everything made sense. It was easy to get a souvenir gift from a tourist spot as there were at least ten to twenty stores around. Violet shook her head and laughed. She lectured, “Kaze, as my uncle’s student, not only are you useless and unambitious, but how can you do this just to save face? This is a fraud, do you understand? “My uncle wouldn’t want his student to lie to him. You have to be humble and honest. You might be poor now but you lied just to fulfill your vanity, it will destroy your whole life.” She sounded like she felt bad for Kaze and cared about his future. The two ladies continued to lecture Kaze about what they saw. Standing on the moral high ground made them feel superior. “Why are you guys still talking to
Violet held Kane’s arm and said anxiously, “Kane, what are you doing? Is this some kind of mistake? He’s not whatever chief, he’s just a paid actor hired by Kaze.” Slap! Kane got anxious and slapped Violet in the face, silencing her. “What the hell are you talking about? This is Mayor Synder’s driver, Chief Hamlin!” With just a brief interaction with Hamlin, Kane already knew what was going on. He might not know about the relationship between Kaze and Hamlin but he was certain that Hamlin got the blessed artifact by Pastor Angelo from St. John Church and came all the way here just to deliver it. Then, his stupid girlfriend and her friend mistook Hamlin for a paid actor and mocked him. Thinking about the stupid things his girlfriend and her friend said to Hamlin while he was away, he really wanted to slap their mouths off their faces. “What? Mayor Synder’s driver?” Violet covered her face and stared at Hamlin blankly; Jill did the same with a pale look. The mayor of Ri
“I…” Kane flushed with embarrassment, his eyes burning with fury. He served as a government personnel at the city council and was considered one of the better-known figures in Riverbank. Yet he had to kneel and apologize to someone he looked down on before. His grievance piled up. Thump! Just as he was contemplating, Kaze kicked him in the stomach. The heavy thud caused Kane to fall to his knees. Slap! Kaze smacked him on the face, causing one cheek to swell up instantly. “If you can’t do it, then don’t even talk about it,” Kaze said as he held the bracelet in his hand to feel the carvings. Had Kane not mocked him earlier, he would not have slapped the man. Kane practically asked for it. Looking at Kane’s aggrieved look and eyes with vengeful intent, Hamlin said indifferently, “Kane Jango, I will inform the mayor about what you have done here.” “No!” Kane was horrified. If Hamlin reported this to the mayor, his future would be ruined. He quickly prostrat
“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