“The medium, if I’m not mistaken, is none other than the Ryokan-influenced residential compound provided to families of the mayor’s office,” Kaze told Kent. “Is there a problem with the family compound?” Kent was in distress. Kaze asked, “Do you have a blueprint of the compound? I want to take a look.”Kent looked at Hamlin. Due to Kent’s cautious nature, Hamlin consulted an expert to ensure the accommodation was safe before moving in. Hamlin said, “The family compound dates back over a century. I’d need to find the blueprint in the archive section. I’ll get to it right now.” “Alright. It can wait. I can only be sure about what is wrong once you get the blueprint.”Kaze nodded. Feeling relaxed, Kent said, “It’s noon. Come join me for lunch.” Jane watched over Myra as she slept. Kent took Kaze to a restaurant. He even hosted lunch for several employees of the mayor’s office. It was an enjoyable lunch. Kent took out a box of premium tea. “Nothing I say or do can pay y
“Now that I recruited Josiah’s clique, the South River State branch is split into two sides. One group is led by me and Collier while the other supports Jude. “Jude’s group consists of senior key players in the organization. It will take a long time to unify forces.”Hannah texted Kaze with respect. She did not act high and mighty just because she held sway in Riverbank City for seizing control over half of the South River State branch. Hannah knew that Kaze was the only reason for her changed destiny. Kaze could put her back into her misery any time. “How is Jude reacting to this?” Kaze texted back. “Jude made a public announcement, accusing me of playing dirty, backstabbing colleagues, and harming Josiah. He said I was unworthy of being the branch chief. He wanted to fight me to the end and called upon those who had pledged allegiance to me to return to his side.“No news from Camden yet.” Jude believed he had the South River State branch in the bag. No one could tak
Lock’s family looked at Kaze in surprise as this was the last place they expected to see him. Wyomspring was Riverbank City’s affluent area. Commoners would have trouble affording the space for a toilet there. Kaze did not expect to run into the Yemens. He turned around and went over to say hello with a smile. “Mr. and Mrs. Yemen, have you had lunch yet?” “Yes.” Lock nodded. “You would know whether we had lunch or not.” Ryna scoffed in disdain. She believed Kaze tailed them to Wyomspring and pretended to run into them. Ryna had warned Kaze not to get any ideas about Cyan. The only thing on Ryna’s mind was ways to get rid of Kaze. She had asked her niece, Violet, to sort Kaze out, but Violet went radio silent. When Ryna asked about Kaze, Violent would keep a tight lip, insisting that nothing happened. Cyan pouted and refused to give Kaze any attention. Kaze was getting on her nerves for creeping on her. Unconcerned about Ryna and Cyan’s attitude, Kaze asked i
“10 million dollars is money Kaze can never make. “Your bragging will only make him feel bad. “Cyan had to help him find a job. This sort of wealth is unreachable to him. We can talk about it among ourselves but not in front of him.” Ryna would show off to others like her neighbors. Kaze was a different story. He was a stalker, shadowing the family around to get close to Cyan. It would be bad if Kaze would not leave them alone upon learning of their wealth. Dread washed over Ryna at the thought of Kaze clinging to them. Since Kaze was Lock’s student, he could very well approach them in the name of visiting his mentor. It was pointless to call the cops. Considering the potential issues, Ryna changed the subject. “I’m sorry, Kaze. Lock and Cyan were not considerate of your feelings when bragging. Don’t take it to heart. “We were only bragging. We don’t have money to get a villa. “That reminds me. Why are you here? “You seem to be heading to Villa No. 1. “I sho
“I just realized that you’re full of hot air, Kaze.“Do you know who Villa No. 1 belongs to? I can’t believe you claimed it as your own.”Lock scowled and said solemnly, “I’m disappointed in you, Kaze. “Do you have any idea that Villa No. 1 belongs to Mayor Synder? “When Mayor Synder first took office, he was involved in a high-profile case. He was bribed with this villa, but he seized the property and turned it over to the government. It was quite a scandal as he made the incident public. “Later, to set an example and deter future bribes, Mayor Synder bought the villa to prove his wealth. The villa had been left vacant since.“It’s no secret in Riverbank City. “I can’t believe you would brag and say that it was a gift.“Do you think I would fall for your lies?” It never occurred to Kaze that there was a story behind Villa No. 1.He tried to explain, “Mr. Yemen, I—” “That’s enough!” Lock waved his arm and cut Kaze off in frustration. “I have always taught you to stay
“I don’t want to go on about this, Kaze.“If you still consider me your mentor, stop what you’re doing. “Just take the job at Golden Scale Corporation. Make an honest living with Cyan.“As for the villa…“I will visit you at your place the day the villa truly becomes yours.” Lock abruptly ended the tour and stormed off. “Why are you doing this, Lock? Kaze has just given you a box of premium tea from Mayor Synder. Even if you don’t want it, you can re-gift it,” Ryna remarked sarcastically. She snatched the box out of Kaze’s hands and went after Lock. “See that, Lock? Kaze is no longer the student you loved. People change. Besides, it has been years since you last met him. “Didn’t you want to give Kaze Cyan’s hand in marriage? I think you lost it,” Ryna said. “Hmph! I was only kidding.” Livid, Lock scoffed.“Some people might take your joke seriously. You just saw how shameless people can be,” Ryna said. As Ryna and Lock walked away, Kaze grinned bitterly. Lock did
High-end villa compounds like Wyomspring had a strict no-delivery policy. Like the Yemens, the manager believed Kaze snuck into the place for no good reason. Wyomspring was an affluent neighborhood, and its residents were important people. The manager might lose his job and the chance to befriend these VIPs if Kaze were to upset the residents. Furrowing his brows, Kaze said indifferently, “I’m the owner of Villa No. 1.” “You’re the owner?” The manager ran his eyes on Kaze and clicked his tongue in disdain. “You? Do you know the value of Villa No. 1? “I doubt you can ever make that kind of money.” With an exclusive clientele to serve, the manager developed a sense of superiority over ordinary people. The way he saw it, Kaze’s get-up was not even as valuable as his work uniform. Kaze was too poor to be the owner of Villa No. 1. Besides, the manager overheard the Yemens’ conversation with Kaze. He was sure Kaze was bluffing. “Let me be straight with you, boy. This
Kaze looked grim. “I said don’t—” “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t give you a choice.” Fig cut Kaze off and rubbed his swollen cheeks. He said with a smirk, “Get him! Get this bastard out of here!” He wanted to get even with Kaze. “Swoosh!” The security officers pounced on Kaze. The villa district’s security detail, composed entirely of retired special forces, was renowned for their prowess. Still, they were no match for Kaze.“Thud! Smack! Pow!” As grunts and groans filled the air, the security officers sprawled across the floor. Kaze had gone easier on them since they did not know the truth. Otherwise, the security guards would be left with broken bones. “Um…” Fig and several other staff members were dumbfounded, their jaws dropping at the unexpected resistance. “So you can fight.” The villa compound was home to many influential figures with their own hired protection. Fig had seen it all, so he quickly pulled himself together. He took a couple of steps back bef
“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