“Hmph!” Blackie was slightly taken aback. As his gaze turned colder, he scoffed. “Interesting. I did not expect defiance in Buckridge Lounge. It seems like you Otters are not afraid of death.” His lips curled into a dangerous grin as he glanced at Maxine, his expression frosty and ruthless. Maxine shivered instantly. Her face paled as she shouted, “Kaze Lee! Blackie is ordering you to drink! Drink them or you will die! “You are the one who disrespects Mr. Techman! You started this! Shouldn’t you deal with the matter? Mr. Techman is merciful enough not to teach you a lesson himself, or else you will be beaten to death, if not crippled for life, before being thrown out of this place!” She was furious as she shouted, eagerly pressuring Kaze to apologize. She was afraid that Blackie might hold her family responsible. Technically speaking, Kaze was part of the Otters despite not being well-received internally, but others might not share the same opinion. “You guys talk it out
“Kaze?!” Surprised, Rose turned around and realized it was Kaze who snatched her bottle. “Don’t you even try. I don’t need a little girl to drink on my behalf just so we can walk out,” Kaze said, and then he tossed the bottle away. “Crash!” The bottle shattered and the beer splashed onto Blackie’s pants. His expression turned dark. Meeting Blackie’s frosty gaze, Kaze said, “I said, I am not drinking and no one can make me. “Blackie, was it? A piece of advice, don’t fall for the distorted facts and pressure someone you don’t even know. It will get you into trouble, and it might even drag your boss into this mess. “And, I said I didn’t know Everett Techman, not because I don’t respect him, it’s because before today, I didn't even know his name at all. “Don’t tell me everyone in Riverbank must know his name. Your boss is from the underworld and if he’s doing illegal stuff, then keep a low profile. You can't expect to profit from illegal dealings and still demand respect an
“Which asshole threw the bottle?!” Blackie scanned around the place to look for the culprit. His anger erupted as he bellowed, “Get the hell out here and kneel before me! Don’t let me find you, or else you won’t even know how you’ll meet your end!” His shouts echoed across the lobby. “Who was it?!” “How dare you do this in front of Blackie?! I am Patrick Weather and this is my party! You’re dead when I catch you!” Patrick and the others were also looking for the culprit. Patrick was infuriated. He booked the place for his party and he saw himself as the master of the event, yet someone threw a bottle at them, splashing beer all over him and his friends. “Hmph. Patrick Weather? Are you from the Weathers? The same family with Casius Weather? Bunch of losers! No wonder you have the balls to tease the woman I brought in.” Just as the atmosphere grew tense, a calm and lazy voice came from behind. Then, a group of men and women, dressed in hip-hop style, swaggered over. A f
“If you don’t give me an explanation, this won’t end well for you! “What’s the matter? Playing dumb?” The young man with the long hair grinned. “You did it but you don’t have the balls to stand up for it? “Who was it?” He glanced at the woman covering her face. The woman stepped up and pointed at Max standing in the crowd. Her expression darkened as she said, “It’s him! He teased me and slapped me twice in the face!” Everyone looked at Max with a strange look. He teased the woman and then slapped her twice? What a jerk! Maxine and Patrick’s expressions turned ashen as embarrassment rose. Max was family, so all they could do was stare at him. “Nonsense! She slapped me first!” Max flushed with emotions. He knew it was embarrassing but he did it already, so his plan was to shift the blame. “You pretended to be drunk and teased her, you should be slapped.” The young man with the long hair looked at Blackie. “So you’re Blackie, Everett Techman’s man and also th
“Smash!” The beer bottle smashed into Blackie’s jaw. With a resounding crack, his jaw split open and he let out an agonizing scream. “You fuck!” Blackie shook his head strongly to keep himself conscious. As rage took over, he extended his arms to seize the long-haired young man once more. An ordinary man would be smashed unconscious by the bottle but Blackie was still standing strong and was able to retaliate. His body was as strong as a beast. However, his towering physique did not overwhelm the long-haired young man. The long-haired young man, who looked rather scrawny, did not move or dodge. Instead, he threw punches forward to counter Blackie’s grab. “Crack!” Another loud crack sounded. Surprisingly, it was Blackie’s hand that was broken. He cried in pain once more. The long-haired young man did not even flinch. He went along with the momentum to grab Blackie’s wrist and then twisted it. “Crack!” Both Blackie’s arms were snapped just like that. The lon
“You piece of shit! How dare you tease the woman I brought here!” Smash! The long-haired young man smashed Max in the head again with another beer bottle. Max collapsed on the floor, twitching uncontrollably as life exited his body. “Patrick, save Max! That guy is beating him to death!” Maxine tugged Patrick’s arm as her face turned pale. She noticed his face was also pale and he did not respond at all. Anxious, she turned to the long-haired young man and shouted, “Stop it! My boyfriend is from the Weather family! One of the Riverbank Seven, Casius Weather, is his cousin! “Even if you are not afraid of Casius, my boyfriend’s other cousin is in charge of Tiger’s Cave office here in Riverbank! Her name is Genesis Weather! “Judging from your looks, I know you are from the upper circle too. Aren’t you afraid of the Tiger’s Cave? And, my boyfriend’s cousin is on her way here now!” She got carried away by the anxiety and spilled the beans, revealing that Genesis was on her
“So what if I want to push it? You think I won’t slap you because of the Weather family, because of Casius Weather, and because of Genesis Weather? “I’m telling you, now and here! I won’t let this go so easily! Not you, not Genesis, not anyone can tell me otherwise! “I am in charge here!” The long-haired young man slapped Patrick in the face again and again, landing red slap marks on both cheeks. Patrick was pushed back by the force and his face quickly swelled up. He covered his face but could not cover his anger. He bellowed, “Hey, my cousin is almost here! Show some respect!” Slap! The long-haired young man slapped him once more, sending him to the floor. “Respect? Fine. I’ll wait for your cousin and see what respect she can get.” Spat! The long-haired young man spat on Patrick before he wiped his hands with a wet towel. “Where’s Kaze Lee?! Get the hell out here!” Suddenly, a woman’s sharp voice sounded from outside the establishment. A ferocious-looking wo
“Madam, there he is!” One of Genesis’ men pointed at Kaze with an ashened look. Genesis looked in the direction he pointed and immediately spotted Kaze standing among the crowd, looking at hers indifferently. She grinned and walked over to him. “Kaze Lee, you’re still here even though you know I’m coming? I have to give it to your boldness. Today, no Kent Synder or Ryken Santigo is here to support you. Do you think you can walk out of here alive?” Her words silenced the entire hall, even the air felt like it stood still. It was a surprise that the daughter of the Weather family acted even more ferociously than the long-haired young man, who beat up and crippled Blackie in Buckridge Lounge and that was already terrifying. Now with Genesis, she claimed that she wanted Kaze dead. Many of the guests stared at Kaze in shock, puzzled over what he could have done to provoke such intense hatred from her. Could the live-in husband wronged her somewhat and they were romanticall
Kaze watched as the senior citizens took off. The place was quiet as usual, and many things in the unit were left uncollected. “Mr. Lee, does this arrangement work?” Arthur awaited Kaze’s orders. “It will do for now.” After being out for the day, Kaze had seen some stuff. Business was all about making money, but some lines should not be crossed. As long as things remained within reason, there would not be scrutiny or blame. It was astounding the lengths Jet would go to. “The area will be demolished after a while. I want all of the Frosts’ projects on hold. Don’t approve any of them.” One word from Kaze could shake the very foundation of the Frosts’ business. “Alright. My team is on it. “But the Frosts will ask questions and find out who is behind this.” Arthur looked at Kaze worriedly. “They can’t find anything.” No one would know who Kaze was without his permission. It probably never crossed Jet’s mind that Snow had a powerful friend. Otherwise, he woul
Kaze was confused. Surely, the authorities would not disregard human lives and demolish the place by force. “Well, we tried to relocate them, but they refused our services. If they are still not on board, they will be sent to the retirement home tonight.” That was all Pax knew. The retirement home was just another place for the senior citizens to await death. “Is there nothing else you can do? So you signed the contract without thinking about the consequences? Karma will get back at you.” Pax’s shamelessness shocked Arthur. Pax mentioned that he would put the demolition on hold. It had not been long, and now the rights to the land were handed over. “It’s out of my hands. Jet went to my superiors to seal the deal. We are not allowed to intervene. “We had been figuring out ways to reach reconciliation for these senior citizens, but Jet was determined to make them pay.” It was the best Pax could do. He was just an employee, working to make a living. He did not have a say
“I want to see the person in charge of the demolition project now.” It was not a matter of time before the area was bulldozed, but Kaze hoped to delay it. Generally, it would take a large amount of capital to launch a project. Any delay would cause massive losses. Jet had several projects that had been put on hold, and it was a heavy blow to him. If Jet could not fix things quickly enough, all his money tied to the projects would be gone. He would be forced to ditch some projects to cut his losses. “I’ll get him here right now.” Arthur went out to make phone calls. He believed Kaze did the right thing as the senior citizens had nowhere to turn to. The senior citizens could only survive with some help. “Thank you, young man. Why are you helping us?” The senior citizens were old, but they could tell that Kaze genuinely wanted them to be okay. “I don’t think it’s right to bully you.” Kaze looked at the senior citizens earnestly, feeling sorry for them. Jet lack
“We agreed on relocation because we would get a place to stay. “But these people were unreasonable. We were offered only one-third of what everyone else got.” The senior citizens were going to swallow their losses. They just needed the money to live their last days, and they did not have family, to begin with. Later, the same people had their eyes on their money and tried to put them up at an old folks’ home. The senior citizens refused to relocate and finally chose to protect themselves by contacting the media. These people sure left the senior citizens to die. Kaze was sympathetic to the senior citizens. He went back with them to a unit on the ground floor. The place was bare, with several beds placed together. The senior citizens must be sleeping in the same room. There was little to eat, only some water and dry provisions.The old residents did not have much savings. It was good enough that they had something to eat. “Have a cup of water, boy. We don’t have any
“Are you one of those people from the pier? Are you trying to get us to leave?” A grizzled-haired man looked at Kaze warily. “I was just passing by when I saw you struggling with the buckets. I came to help you.” Kaze explained patiently. He could understand why their guards were up. They must have been lied to many times before. “Are you here to help?” “Yes, I am. My companion has gone to get you some water. He’ll be back soon. There’s no need for you to fetch water,” Kaze said kindly. “We’ll pay you.” The senior citizens exchanged glances before accepting Kaze’s gesture. They could not handle the weight of the heavy buckets. “The building here is about to be demolished. Why are you still living here?” Pretending to be in the dark, Kaze asked. “This is our home. Someone is trying to take this land away.” The grizzled-haired man was upset. “What? I thought no one could demolish the building unless they had the residents’ permission.” “You’re right, but there
“Jet sure is bold to ensure business. Isn’t he afraid of shooting himself in the foot?” Kaze had never met a man like Jet. “He has done a lot to get to the top. His ruthless methods got him a lot of money. A lot of people are happy to support him.” Arthur was impressed with Jet’s tactics. However, his approach was too cruel for his liking. “Let’s head to the residential building.” Kaze just wanted to check out the area. He was happy to help when needed. The flashy, red sports car was eye-catching. However, the flamboyant car was uncommon in these places. Most workers would express their amazement, but they would not ask questions. The car pulled up outside a soon-to-be abandoned building. It looked desolate. The power lines and infrastructure were not visible either. Kaze knew that was one of the Frosts’ methods. Sometimes, nothing, not even demolition, was required. The goal was to get the residents out. All Jet needed to do was cut the water and electricity.
“Just tell me what you need, Arthur. You wouldn’t be calling unless you have received orders.” Philip was surprised to get a call from Arthur. Though they were acquainted, they had only communicated because of work. “We have just left Rising Sun. Don’t approve the films for now.” Arthur was blunt. “I can do that, but can I ask why?” Philip was caught in a dilemma because he had just promised Jet to release the films. Philip needed to know if the orders to delay came from a high power who could cover his ass. “Since you got a call from me, you should know that there are eyes on Jet. “You should know what you can and cannot say. Otherwise, you never know when you’re going to lose your job.” Arthur threatened. Philip was reluctant. He accepted Jet’s payment, and now he had to go back on his word. Nevertheless, Arthur was part of the Viper’s Den, and his status was rather unique. Arthur provided services to confidential individuals. These individuals were elites among t
A balanced, profitable dynamic had been developed among the ports in Butterworth. Jet spotted his chance in the lucrative port business. He covertly took out some money to invest in a dying port. The port was situated in a more remote area. Some businesspeople favored more accessible ports. This drove shippers away from the dying port. Jet snagged the steal and improved the logistics and facilities around the area. The port was up and running again. Business at the port was decent enough. As the Frosts would run their business through the port, the local economy took off too. It was a good thing. However, Jet set his sights on several residential buildings around the area. He needed space to accommodate containers. The land was required to make business at the port more profitable. This triggered a whole new thing. Jet could spend some money to buy the residents out of their homes. However, the residents preferred to stay put in their long-time homes. No a
“I’ll keep the bank cards for now. I’ll talk to our superiors and give you a decision. Since the man said that the cards are meant for us, they won’t be going anywhere.” Knox had no idea who Kaze was, but he knew Arthur was with the Viper’s Den. Arthur must be someone from high places. Eli soon put the little incident behind him. He got a call from Aloysius yesterday and was made aware of Jet’s plans. The films had been put on hold for far too long, and the people above Eli were anxious to get things moving. Though Eli was surprised by the review board’s visit, everything was still in his control. Eli left the matter at that without reporting the incident to the higher-ups. The flashy, red car sped along the road. Arthur kept looking back at Kaze, eager to find out about the next plan. Arthur brought Kaze out today to witness how Eli and his team operated. As it happened, Eli adopted such a shallow ploy. Arthur was not surprised, though. Eli’s methods were common.