Did Kaze say to Holfman that he would not get it? Once again, the room fell silent. Everybody looked at Kaze as if he had lost his mind. Kaze just challenged Holfman’s comprehension in the field he excelled in. It was ridiculous and funny coming from Kaze who knew nothing about medicine. Even Holfman grimaced and said grimly, “Don’t be cocky, young man. You should know that there will always be someone better out there.” “Don’t try all preachy with me. Even if there is someone better, that person won’t be you,” Kaze said nonchalantly.He paused and said, “Here’s a word of advice to you, Dr. Wright. Just give it up. “You can’t help Faith.“But without my help, she’s destined to remain unconscious forever. “You’re only risking your reputation, your life, and upsetting Faith further by insisting that you can help her.”Kaze was not trying to get on Holfman’s nerve, but Faith’s condition was a result of overtraining in ancient martial arts. She needed the expertise of a
June looked at Kaze defiantly. She believed there was more to Kaze since he knew what was wrong with Faith. Even Holfman wanted to get Kaze’s opinion. Nevertheless, June doubted that Kaze could win her in a game of poison. “No! It’s not happening.” The Otters made faces. Even Caster said curtly, “You caused this, Kaze. Don’t get my family involved. “Just get down on your knees and beg for mercy.” As if Kaze stood a chance against Holfman’s student. The family’s young generation lost to Sebastian. June had a higher attainment in medicine than Sebastian. The Otters were not at an advantage. Sure, June said that everybody in the Otter family could help Kaze in the match. However, there was no way Caster, a man pushing eighty, would compete with a young woman. Even if Caster was able to put his ego aside, he would risk being the laughingstock once the word got out. No one thought Kaze was qualified to have a match with June. They believed June proposed the match t
June’s expression was one of sheer defiance. Kaze said indifferently, “If you’re afraid of dying, we can add a condition where no one will risk their life. “Before we administer the poison, we should have the formula of the antidote ready. When one party loses, the other party should administer the antidote right away. “If the lethal dose ends up taking a life, that person has to go to jail.” Kaze chose to go through with it. Even Holfman was skeptical. Kaze could be a skilled doctor for all he knew. “Alright. Let’s go with it.” June said grimly, “You’re going to bow down to me, Lee.” She turned to Caster. “Please let us use your family’s laboratory.” The Otters, a family of medicine practitioners, had their own laboratory and supply of medicinal ingredients. The room was also available to the family’s young generations to study medicine. At this point, Caster could say nothing but nod. “Fine.” “Hang on.” Kaze said, “You only mentioned what you expect me to d
Still, June was not going to give Kaze an edge. She went straight to the medicine cabinets. Each tiny drawer was labeled with the ingredients, but June did not even have to look at these labels. She grabbed the ingredients without thinking twice. Though the arrangement of herbs may vary from one to another laboratory, there was a certain system in place. June was familiar with these herbs. Soon, she pulled out over a dozen ingredients and combined them in several different ways. It was all about efficiency in creating poisons. There was no time to prepare the cure in many unexpected circumstances. Hence, it was best to make do with whatever material that was available on hand. The process of formulating the poison was straightforward. The herbs were crushed and mixed in water. There was no brewing involved. The method was ideal for matches. The poison was potent enough to be effective but not as strong to cause death, making a good compromise between efficacy and saf
Raising a brow, June looked at Kaze in disbelief. “How did you get the answer by smell?” The crowd was surprised by June’s reaction. They thought Kaze was taking a stab in the dark, but he was right on the money. The Otters looked at Kaze as if they had seen a ghost. “He was just lucky!” Max and Maxine were not having it. Jealousy reared its ugly head. Kaze outshined them in the medical field, and it did a number on their egos. “How did I get it? Just smell it. “It’s no big deal,” Kaze said nonchalantly as if he was talking about the weather. June nearly choked on his words. Of course, she knew that it was by smell. Brushing June off, Kaze walked toward the medicine cabinets and took out several ingredients. He ground them together, added water, and created poison. The color of the concoction was brownish red like black tea. The potency of Kaze’s poison was yet to be determined, but at least it looked good. “Hm… It tastes good.” Kaze took a sip of his po
While grounding the mixture, June read out the ingredient names and their uses out loud. She was showing off to take Kaze down a peg. In a way, she was intimidating him too. However, she was in for a surprise when she cocked her head back. “What are you doing, Kaze? Do you really want to die?” June asked sternly. Kaze was not freaking out as she had anticipated. Instead of working on an antidote, he sat on the chair and trimmed his nails. In other words, Kaze was not taking the match seriously. June grimaced and said coldly, “I won’t stop you if you want to die, Lee. Don’t drag me into this and put me behind bars. “I’m telling you now. Every second you waste may be the reason you die today.“I decreased the potency in the poison, but the toxin is still a slow burn down to hell.” Darcy and the others panicked.“Don’t just sit there, Kaze. Find the cure!”“The longer you wait, the poison will catch up to you. You’re playing with your life.” Darcy and Rose urged Kaze,
“Arghhh!”Maxine could feel the excruciating pain in every inch of her skin, every piece of her bone, and her organs.June was right. “Maxine!” “Maxine!” The Otters were thrown for a loop. Adam, Max, and other family members rushed to her side in a fluster, but there was nothing they could do to help her. Caster drew close and forced the venom out with a silver needle, alleviating Maxine’s symptoms a little. However, he was not close to lifting the poison. Though Maxine stopped screaming, the toxin nearly took her life. She lay on the floor groaning, her complexion sallow. “I told you not to touch the poison. “Even a child would know not to put anything in their mouth.“See. That’s what you get from trying to prove me wrong.” Sitting on a chair, Kaze shook his head and sighed. He looked sympathetic, but really, he was laughing his head off inside. Maxine had been harsh and critical of him since he entered the Otters’ residence. Finally, she got what she deserved
“Thump!” June collapsed to the floor, her breathing labored. Even her hair turned white as if she aged in an instant. Aghast filled the room. Holfman jolted to his feet, approached June, and bent over to save the student he had so much hope for. “Dr. Wright, this is a fair match between me and your student. Surely, you won’t get involved,” Kaze said emotionlessly. Holfman paused and sighed before looking up at Kaze. “I’m throwing in the towel for my student.” “Woah!” The crowd broke out in an uproar. Holfman considered his student beneath Kaze. That was quite a bombshell to drop. Even Darcy’s family widened their eyes. “I don’t recognize him anymore,” Agnes mumbled in disbelief. Most of the people there shared the same sentiment. It was hard to link Kaze to the moocher. Ignoring everybody else, Kaze pushed June’s poison ahead and said to Holfman indifferently, “I want to hear it from her.” “Just admit defeat, June.” Holfman cocked his head back and urged J
It was Pamela’s voice. Darcy woke up instantly. She quickly tidied her shirt and then said, “Come in.” “Ms. Quint, we got bad news from the bank.” Pamela came clacking in with her heels and she looked ashen. “The banks that we worked with just called and informed us that we did not pass the verifications for the loan. Without the loan, we won’t even have ten billion.” Despite the company having a healthy cash flow, it was impossible for them to keep that much cash in the bank account without making any investments. Therefore, it was necessary to make loans to bid for the land in Seven Stars District. They had applied for the loan through multiple banks and after the procedures, they were one step away from getting the loan, yet all the banks turned on them at once. It must be Aiden. Their working partners turned on them, the banks ceased their loan applications, and all those happened within half an hour. Aiden was fierce and ruthless with his methods. Darcy did not e
Kaze did not mind Pamela’s contempt. He walked past her and went over to Darcy, asking, “I heard someone sent you a dead rabbit. Are you okay?” “It’s from the Krad family. It’s just a little child’s play, I’m not frightened.” Darcy shook her head. She glanced at the thermal flask in Kaze’s hands and asked, “What’s that?” “I asked Herbal Spring to make you some soup and they just delivered it here. It’s good for your skin, eases the stress, and energizes you.” Kaze opened the thermal flask and chuckled. “On the way back here, I touched your face and it felt dry…” “You’re asking for it!” Darcy playfully punched him. Kaze grinned as he poured the soup out into a bowl and said, “It’s Aiden Krad’s little trick right? I was thinking about how to deal with him, and now he’s after you. He’s the one asking for it.” Pft! Pamela overheard Kaze on her way out and she was deeply amused. Her scoff contained disdain and mockery. Deal with Aiden? Kaze must have lost his mind.
Aiden did not want to spend billions on that piece of land but it did not mean he did not have the money. Moreover, he had the support of the Ryokanians. Even if Aiden did not play dirty and waited until Darcy attended the auction, Pamela worried that the pressure would still crush Darcy in the end. If the worst-case scenario happened, then Sky Ocean Corporation would have offended the Krad family and the Ryokanians together with no benefits to reap. It would be a total loss. Pamela leaned toward withdrawing from the auction after carefully weighing the pros and cons. “The auction hasn’t started yet. I won’t give up.” Darcy did not want to surrender. She said calmly, “We’ll do our best and let fate decide. Even if we lost in the end, they would have to pay billions for the land. I’d take that as a consolation prize. “If we give up like that, then we won’t be able to achieve anything in the future.” She was not driven by her emotions and decided to go against the current
“Aiden Krad is too quick…” Darcy frowned, slightly taken aback by the news. The working partners bailing on her company all at once was anything but normal. She knew it must be Aiden pulling the strings. However, it was too quick. The call ended mere minutes ago and the working partners had already withdrawn from the projects. Darcy noticed that Aiden was more than met the eye. He might have called and sent a threatening gift, both seemingly child’s play, but he must have prepared a lot of things in the back. As long as Darcy insisted on her decision, Aiden would keep coming at her. Aiden was raised like a noble prince. Even if he was nothing stellar in his circle, he was one of the best compared to the ordinary. Not one of them in the upper circle was kind people. Pamela saw the exhaustion on Darcy’s face. She poured a glass of water for Darcy and grumbled, “Aiden Krad is cheap. He’s nothing like a noble young master from a big family. This should have been a fair
“Haven’t I explained enough, Ms. Quint?” Aiden chuckled softly and added, “I think you should really consider my words. Having an ally is better than having another enemy. “It’s up to you whether you want to see me as an ally or an enemy. I know you’ve just joined the Ridgesouth Quints and haven’t been able to secure your position there. I heard they are sending an elder here to inspect your work. “I believe you need an ally more than you need an enemy. An ally might not be able to assist you but an enemy can surely ruin your plans.” He was well informed. Darcy was just notified about the upcoming inspection, yet Aiden already knew about it. He also made it clear that even though he might not be able to help, he was capable of ruining things, big time. “If that’s your answer, then we’ll see about it.” Darcy was angered. Her expression turned cold as she said, “I can tell you I have twenty billion ready for the upcoming auction. If you have more money than I do, then a c
At Sky Ocean Corporation back at Lilyrose, documents or parcels sent by business partners or working contractors must be checked and verified by reception first and foremost. Then, it would be sent to the chairwoman’s office for another round of checking before reaching Darcy’s hands. It was impossible for a parcel from an unknown sender to reach Darcy’s hands directly. However, the office in Riverbank was still new and the employees and receptionists were locally hired, hence they had never received proper training from the security department of the company. It explained the mistake they made. However, it was not entirely the receptionist’s fault since no sane person would send such a gory gift to the company. Darcy quickly regained her composure. She stared at the dead rabbit with the knife in it and anger brewed in her. After a few deep breaths, she said, “It’s okay. I want to see the surveillance camera, and call the police…” Ring! Before she could finish, her phone
The switch to business talk allowed Darcy to forget the little conflict from earlier. She said, “But the resistance we see this time isn’t from the city council but from our competitor. “Other than us, the Krads of Westeros are also interested in getting that land. Back at Lilyrose, they contacted me and hinted they were determined to get the land. They even asked me to surrender it.” The Krads? Kaze frowned. Now it seemed like Aiden’s trip to Riverbank was not just about targeting him and Snow together with the Ryokanians. It was understandable since the Krads were expanding. It was unlikely for their family to make such a grand entrance to Riverbank just to work as lap dogs for the Ryokanians; expanding the business and acquiring profits for the family was the true purpose of Aiden’s trip. The fact that the land Sky Ocean Corporation intended to purchase and Snow’s predicament both intertwined with Kaze was purely coincidental. “Hmph. Those so-called big families are
With the order given, Daniela’s men charged at Kaze and Darcy. Even though Patrick had more men, the difference in physique was obvious. Daniela’s men were properly trained, buffed and tall. Patrick’s men came in all forms and sizes, some even looked like they had anorexia. “Patrick, where did you get all those goofballs? They looked like women, how can you bring them around?” Daniela scoffed. Patrick scoffed without answering. He raised his hand. “Get them.” “Bang!” Two groups of men clashed. Feeling Darcy’s hand trembling, Kaze held her tightly and said, “Just ignore them. Let’s go.” “Stop them!” Daniela shouted as she pointed at them. However, her men who charged at them were knocked down one after another with agonizing cries. Not a single one of her men could stop them. She could not do anything but watch Kaze and Darcy walk out of the corridor without the slightest hindrance. A while later, all of Daniela’s men lay sprawled on the ground, defeated. Blood poo
“Break his arms and legs! Let him know what the consequences of messing with the Weathers are!” Daniela seized the chance and got up from the floor, shouting at her men as she covered her face. “Daniela, you are the one with the least power in the family, how can you represent the Weathers?” Right before the suited men could attack Kaze, a sarcastic voice came from the end of the corridor. “Thud. Thud. Thud.” A series of hurried footsteps sounded, followed by a group of suited men swarming into the corridor. The number of suited men was twice as many as Daniela’s. The moment they swarmed in, they blocked the exit. The arrival of another group of suited men scared Daniela’s men. Their expressions turned heavy, paused what they were doing, and looked at their counterpart in confusion. Daniela’s expression shifted as well and quickly calmed down. When she saw the leader of the new group of men, she was shocked. “Patrick? Were you not taken by the Ryokanians?! Why are you