“Kaze, are you free to talk right now? If you can wake up early tomorrow, come to my place and have breakfast.” Kaze instinctively declined the invite. “Mr. Yemen, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to disturb you or your family in the morning.” “It’s no problem at all. You came all the way to Riverbank to visit me and gave us tens of millions worth of herbs, but we wasted them all. I feel like I have wasted your kindness. “Ryna said she wants to make it up to you as a token of apology. You can come over tomorrow morning, we are still staying in the same place. I’ll see you tomorrow.” After the call, Kaze put down his phone and shook his head helplessly. The herbs might be wasted but they seemed to work magically. …On the second morning, Kaze woke up early. This time, he went to Lock’s place without bringing Conan. Lock’s place was located in a residential area and arriving at the entrance brought back some memories for Kaze. He knew the place far too well. Man
“He can give us that much and he doesn’t have any more? Sounds a little too ridiculous.” Ryna rolled her eyes at Lock and then smiled widely at Kaze. “Am I right, Kaze? You must have more of those herbs, right? Can you give us more? You know how weak Lock has always been.” She could not sleep last night due to the frustration. In the end, she and Cyan believed that if Kaze could give them tens of millions worth of herbs in a single meeting, then he must have more of them. She refused to believe that Kaze gave everything to them on the first meeting. Therefore, after a discussion with her daughter last night, she decided to invite Kaze over for breakfast and tried to persuade him to give them more expensive herbs. If they could get the herbs and then give them to prominent figures, they could earn a lot of resources and connections. Kaze looked at the enthusiasm on Ryna’s face and finally knew why her attitude was completely different from yesterday. He said, “I’m sorry,
Lock could not expose his wife in front of Kaze because she would use his in-laws against him. His in-laws used to be government officials and served at a rather high-ranking position, which explained their strictness and temper. If they found out that he wanted to marry their favorite granddaughter to Kaze, they would turn the house upside down and probably skin him alive. “Kaze, I…” Lock looked at Kaze and had a difficult time explaining himself. Kaze gave him tens of millions worth of herbs yesterday. He just invited Kaze to his house and offered a room for him to say but then he had to ask him to leave because of his wife. It was embarrassing for him to spew the words. Kaze smiled and said, “Mr. Yemen, you don’t need to arrange anything for me. I got a place to stay yesterday.” Lock glanced at Kaze’s clothes and they were the same as yesterday. He believed Kaze was just trying to make him feel less guilty. He felt bad for his student. Little did he know that it
Cyan then said with a sigh, “What can I do? I have been going live for two months and I don’t see any growth in my account, or my followers. “People like me who only have looks and no talents must rely on follower’s gifts to be popular. “Money doesn’t grow on trees. Beautiful girls have to sleep with people only then they can get boosted by real money, but I just can’t sacrifice my body.” The girl might have the tendency to be vain but she still had a bottom line. Wesley said, “You don’t need to worry. Don’t forget that the platform that you go live on belongs to Golden Scale Corporation. I, as an insider, have discounts to spend on it. “When you go live later, I will throw in a few million worth of gifts to boost your popularity. People will flock to your live stream.” Cyan’s eyes widened brightly. She sat straight up and asked, “Really? Can you really boost me?” “Of course! It might be a little hard for me to boost you into one of the top influencers but I can guarantee
From the main recommendation page, Kaze could already identify SnapTok’s target audience. Most of the live streamers were beautiful girls who danced and played games. Their main objective was to attract a following. From there, they could earn gifts and rewards from their loyal followers. The Viper’s Den South River Branch operated in the gray area, so they were involved in many different fields, as long as they could make money. It was completely normal for Golden Scale Corporation to develop an app like this. At least the company had the connections and resources to scout beautiful women to stream on their platform. A quick thought later, Kaze texted Hannah. Hannah took over Magnus’ position in Golden Scale Corporation and became the largest shareholder. A while later, Hannah asked her men to upgrade Kaze’s account to a King-level account, only for internal use. The internal King-level account was the most prestigious administration account, used only by the developers
After Wesley typed in his comment and before the others could reply to him, he gifted Cyan ten Supercars as a gift, filling up the entire screen with futuristic effects. A Supercar, or a type of virtual gift, cost 999; ten of them cost around ten thousand. Kaze knew ten thousand was nothing to Wesley given his status. Cyan was just another live streamer with no popularity. Whenever someone gifted her a virtual gift that was only worth around ten bucks, she usually thanked the top giver repeatedly and even gave the person some fan service. Now that Wesley threw in ten thousand at one go, the entire live stream went crazy. “Woah! Rich guy!” “GOAT!” “Go on! More Supercars!” The viewers were displeased by Wesley’s arrogant tone at first but now they sided with him and instigated him to send more gifts. His gifts quickly attracted more viewers from across the platform. Many viewers surged into the live stream. As the chat praised him for being generous, Wesley felt over
“You looked down on my ten thousand? I spend real money to give Cyan gifts, unlike you, you stupid keyboard warrior! You can’t even spit out a penny!” Wesley sent a sticker with the platform mascot digging its nose to mock Kaze. Kaze chuckled. “I know you seek importance in online space but just ten thousand?” Wesley fell for it. He quickly replied, “Useless piece of trash! Bring it on! If you have the money, make it rain for Cyan! We’ll have a competition and see who sends her the most gifts! Whoever stops will have to call the other Daddy before leaving the stream!” “Then you should call me Daddy now because you already lost.” Kaze even gave a friendly reminder. It was also the truth. His account was upgraded to a King-level account, which allowed him to use all the money of Golden Scale Corporation. Wesley might be related to the company and he got a discount in topping up, but there was no way he could beat Kaze. Therefore, the gift war already ended before it even
“Live-in Jerk, I’ve underestimated you, but you shouldn’t be a show-off in front of me with just one hundred thousand. You are full of yourself.” Wesley sent another provocative sticker. “Indeed. Two hundred thousand and one hundred thousand aren’t much different.” Kaze typed as he smiled. Wesley huffed and typed. “Come on, send more gifts, don’t just type…” Before he could finish, the screen was filled with more futuristic effects and ten Spaceships appeared. One virtual Spaceship cost one hundred thousand. Ten of them cost a million. Live-in Jerk spent a million in one go. “A-A million?” The chat was silenced and left speechless by Kaze’s generous spending. Then, comments poured in like a reverse waterfall. Everyone lost their calm. They had seen people who spent a million on gifts before but only on the live streams of popular celebrities. Many of the viewers knew that the so-called gift system was a tactic used by the celebrity agency to boost their populari
Thomas glared at the two police officers and waved his arm curtly. “Don’t just stand there. Make the arrest!” He knew how Scorpion and his crew operated.Scorpion was not the type to give up on a fight easily. Thomas was the security captain of the Southgate Police Department. The supposed Captain Conroy would only rank slightly higher than him. Members of the criminal underworld often associate with people on the police force to seek favors in time of need. However, these favors should not be used lightly. It was common knowledge not to enlist the help of someone high up in the command chain right away. It would be a waste of resources. In a typical situation, Thomas might have trouble making the arrest. However, Thomas was taking Kaze’s side, so he had nothing to fear. With that in mind, Thomas said icily, “Captain Conroy? How many more captains are you going to call upon?“Even if you summon someone working for the state, you’re still coming with us.” “You’re ju
All these incidents put together suggested that Kaze was more than he seemed. Thomas focused the most on Kaze and the mayor’s relationship. The power of a local authority outweighed someone from out of state. Though the officials working in the state government were more powerful, they would have no bearing on the locals’ situation. Kent was the mayor of Riverbank, and his decision would change the course of the locals’ fate. Thomas understood his place in the matter. Boris may be badass, but Thomas could get nothing out of him. Thomas had to deal with Boris’ men frequently. These men would give the police gifts during the holidays as payment for turning a blind eye to certain things. He could fall out with Scorpion and his crew, but he could not cross Kaze when Scorpion’s people were clearly at fault. Kent could possibly intervene, and Thomas’ connections would not be able to bail him out.Thomas turned stern and said coldly, “It’s outrageous of you to trash a plac
Scorpion sat sprawled across the couch, his legs crossed. He lit a cigarette, took a drag, and said, “Oh, an old friend. It’s Captain Blunick from the Southgate Police Department.“I’m handling business today. I’d appreciate it if you could look the other way.” The person in charge was Thomas Blunick, security captain of the Southgate Police Department. Thomas frowned and said icily, “Is this your way of handling business, Scorpion? “Don’t you push it.” Scorpion grinned and said without any reservation, “Mr. Road’s son, Rhys, was beaten up by some riff-raff. Mr. Road sent me here for some unfinished business. “You should know that Mr. Road dotes on Rhys, and Rhys now suffers two broken legs. “This is not over until the culprit pays.” Thomas scoffed. “You can’t trash a medical center in broad daylight.” He asked curiously, “Who is Rhys’ attacker?” Even the other police officers were intrigued. To think someone would hurt Boris’ son in Riverbank. It was a death wis
“Heh. Scared?”Scorpion laughed maniacally. “Ask around. I’ve been working in this line for twenty years. Nothing scares me. “I don’t know what fear is.” Kaze said indifferently, “Cut the crap. You and your crew can come at me all at once, or you can fight on your own. “I want to crush you and be on my way.” “Thud!” Scorpion smacked the table, splintering the wood. “Hear that, my men? “Get him! Kill him!”“Get him!”A dozen minions pounced on Kaze. “Bang!” One subordinate tried to whack Kaze with a steel pipe, but Kaze grabbed the pipe from his hands and kicked him away. Kaze strode toward the street gang and swung the pipe. “Clank! Bang!” Sparks flew from the clashes of metal. The street gang felt their hands go numb as their pipes were knocked out of their hands. Only one steel pipe remained firmly in Kaze’s grasp. Kaze made his next move. “Argh!” The steel pipe struck the gangsters one after another, fracturing their bones. In less than a minute, t
Scorpion stood there, watching brutally as his people trashed the place. “Smack!” He raised his hand and hit the owner of Herbal Spring. The owner folded like a cheap suit, and his head was busted. “You don’t know why we’re upset? “Well, why are we here then?” Scorpion stomped on the owner’s belly, and the latter shrieked in pain. Scorpion nodded in glee. “Tell Kaze Lee to get his ass here right now! “I know he’s in there. He injured my boss’ son. I’ll kill him today, or my name isn’t Scorpion,” Scorpion puffed out and said menacingly.His grim gaze scanned the room, and no one at Herbal Spring had the guts to meet his gaze. “You have one minute. If I don’t see Kaze in one minute, my people will trash the place.”Scorpion walked to the black couch in the hall and sat down while smoking away. Scared stiff, the owner of Herbal Spring cried, “Quick! Get Mr. Lee here now.” Kaze emerged from the back with a grimace. “It’s him, Scorpion!” A thug took a photo out for
As fear took over, Agnes sobbed.“Kaze is the death of us!“Sob, sob. I’m telling you. I’m not your mother unless you divorce him!” Hector held Agnes and persuaded her, “Just stop it. Darcy is upset enough as it is.” “Smack!” Agnes raised her hand at Hector. “You’re one to talk. You’re just a loser! If you had made something of yourself, we wouldn’t have to rely on our daughter for everything. “Do you think I don’t know you’ve been protecting the bastard? “I’m telling you, Hector. If you continue to defend him instead of standing with me, I’ll dump your sorry ass!” “Can’t this wait until we get home?” Hector covered his face, wishing that he could just sink into a hole. Joan’s family snickered. “Just separate already. You’re just in your fifties. I’m sure you can find another at your age.” “You should just file for divorce now, Darcy. Otherwise, you’d be widowed instead of divorced.” “He broke Rhys’ legs. Boris, the underground kingpin, will make him pay.” “The
Phoenix nodded with a fake smile and said grimacingly, “But it looks like your employees hold you in high regard. “They didn’t budge even when their legs were broken.” “Bang!” Shadow kicked an executive to the wall. Darcy looked at the executives and said coldly, “Before I step down, I am instructing all of you to accept Joan as the new chairwoman.” “Ms. Quint!” Many executives grimaced while others cried out in tears. They knew that Darcy agreed to resign because she could not stand them to take the abuse.“I want to apologize for failing to protect you.” Darcy hung her head low in the presence of her management team as tears streamed down her face. She had never been so devastated. Sadly, Kaze would not be with her. Kaze started it too. “I approve of Joan as the chairwoman.” “Me too.” “I concur.” The executives spoke up. They could not change the situation. With Darcy giving in, they knew further resistance would only be met with brutality. As the
Shadow did not show any signs of stopping. She continued kicking the female executive. “Stop, bitch!” Two male executives tried to stop Shadow. Shadow had eyes on the back of her head. Without looking back, she swept a kick at the two big men and slammed them against the wall. She approached the two men and stomped on them. “Crack!” “Crack!”With two sickening cracks, the legs of the two male executives were brutally snapped. Their harrowing cries echoed through the ward. “Stop!” Darcy’s eyes turned bloodshot as her right-hand men endured the brutality. She got up right in Shadow’s face. “Smack!” Shadow slapped Darcy to the ground.She approached Darcy with a blank face and raised her foot. “No!” Hector and Agnes’ breath hitched in their throats. “Shadow.” Phoenix, who watched the violence callously, said, “You can stop now.” She unleashed Shadow on these executives to show them who the boss was. Phoenix had gotten what she wanted. The plan would
Agnes scowled in distress. Sky mumbled under his breath, “You have no right to anyone, though. Darcy doesn’t answer to anybody. The executives approve of her. You can’t run the company without Darcy anyway—” “Shut up!” Phoenix yelled furiously, “The executives approve of her? Well, I can make sure that doesn’t happen. “I doubt they would say anything if I wanted to fire her.” Phoenix said curtly, “Let them in.” Amid her confusion, Darcy watched as Sky Ocean Corporation’s high management entered the room. “Ms. Quint!” The executives greeted Darcy respectfully. They had a lot of respect for Darcy. Though they were a lot older than Darcy, these executives still held Darcy in high regard. Phoenix kept a straight face throughout. She slammed her cane to the ground and yelled at the executives, “I want to sack Darcy and make Joan the chairwoman. Show of hands if you’re on board with the idea.” Silence befell. Two dozen executives exchanged glances. It never occurr