Casius was eager to disassociate herself from Madison. He was afraid that Hannah would use Madison’s assassination attempt against him. It was no secret that Hannah was strong. However, the extent of her strength caught him off guard. Hannah detected Madison’s little stunt and killed her with the throw of her sword. Madison had a gun in her hand but no time to pull the trigger.Hannah was terrifying. Casius was at a loss. First came Leron. Then came Hannah. All Casius wanted was to kill Kaze. Yet, it had proved a difficult feat. It was not a coincidence that Hannah showed up at the Gwakes’. Any fool could tell that she was on Kaze’s side. Casius was in distress. Yet, his tone was pressing. “But Ms. Delmore, your fight with Mr. Gwake is around the corner. “I doubt it’s appropriate for you to barge into Mr. Gwake’s home while he isn’t around.” The fight to become the leader of the South River State Branch had caused quite a stir in Riverbank. The fair and open
Hannah was powerful. However, Casius was not without resources. He was backed by the Weathers and the Ryokanians. Unless necessary, Casius did not want to expose his ties with the Ryokanians. “Back him up?” Taken aback at first, Hannah quickly burst into laughter. “You are highly mistaken, Mr. Weather. I’m not here to back Kaze up. I doubt I’m qualified.” “What do you mean?” Casius was shocked. Hank and the others were confused. They would rejoice over the fact Hannah did not come to support Kaze. However, she claimed that she did not deserve to back Kaze up. The most promising member of the Viper’s Den West State Branch, also the deputy chief of the South River State Branch, was not qualified to stand her ground for Kaze. “If I have to answer your question…” Hannah said indifferently, “Kaze is my backer. He’s the one to back me up.” What? Casius and the others widened their eyes skeptically. Hannah frowned and approached Kaze. She got down on one knee a
Casius’ eyes were filled with fear. He understood the meaning behind Kaze’s words. Kaze only took the time to humor Casius while waiting for the confirmation of Buffy’s safety. Now that Buffy was fine, Kaze could proceed to put an end between him and Casius. Buffy was now safe with Kaze, and Kaze was revealed to be the branch leader of the Viper’s Den West State Branch. So was Kaze planning to kill Casius now? Casius, being who he was, could not accept the notion of surrender even though he and his family could not possibly stand against Kaze. He took a deep breath and said, “Kaze, I mean, Mr. Lee. I was blind. It’s all my fault.“But I don’t see a reason why we can’t work our differences. “You have attacked me today, and boy, you went hard on me. “I crossed my boundaries with Buffy today, but I haven’t caused her any harm. “You have made your point across now. “Why are you harping on this? “You and I have reputations to live up to. “As people of our standing
Kaze narrowed his eyes. “Are you threatening me, Mr. Weather?” “No. I’m just stating a fact.” Casius shook his head and said with a smile, “So this is the reason why you have been secretive about who you are. “Power isn’t something you can claim just by having a title. It’s something you have to seize through your own efforts. Otherwise, the little title there will be nothing but trouble.“I think you are trying to gain this power by controlling the South River State Branch from behind the scenes. “By doing so, you will get an edge to compete with your rivals of the Viper’s Den West State Branch and become the real branch leader. “You still have a long way to go, though.” Casius spoke confidently, thinking that he had it all figured out. With that in mind, the tightness in his chest lifted. Kaze had bigger problems to worry about. He was just a branch leader by name. He had many eyes on him. There were a lot of people eager to take his place. Casius felt light
“I’ll cut to the chase then.” Casius asked, “Between Ms. Delmore and Mr. Gwake, who do you think has a higher chance of winning?” “Are you trying to say that Jude has a better chance of becoming the next branch chief?” Kaze replied nonchalantly. Casius nodded. “That’s right. Mr. Gwake’s chances are better because I’m helping him.” With Kaze keeping to himself, Casius said with a smile, “You might think I’m bluffing, but I’m not the type to say things I’m unsure of. “Like you, I am more than meets the eye. “I’m not just backed by the Weathers. I’m friends with a powerful force that can alter the fate of Riverbank. “With this entity’s help, I have the confidence to make this promise. “My support will decide who gets the win.” Casius spoke with a swagger, “I wonder if you know much about this entity that I’m talking about.” Kaze looked at Casius in contemplation. “Are you talking about Sanwell Finances?” The city council and most elite families would not be able to h
“Haha, that’s ridiculous, Mr. Lee. You’re the branch leader. You represent the Viper’s Den. With the Viper Queen around, no one will hurt you.” Casius brushed the whole thing off and said, “Like I said, we’re just working together. No one is anybody’s accessory. “It’s a win-win. There’s no need to fight. “Am I right?” Kaze smiled offhandedly. “Even if you have a point, I have a question to ask you.” “Hit me. I will tell you everything I know.” Casius waved his arm generously. Kaze said indifferently, “I ran into Mayor Synder and saved his life on my way to Riverbank. “I’ve gotten to know that the multiple assassinations on the mayor as well as the hex on him and his daughter are closely linked to Ryokan.“Since you represent Sanwell Finances, here’s my question to you.” Kaze looked Casius in the eye and asked aloofly, “Were you aware of these events?” Casius grimaced. Kaze just threw him a fatal question. Casius forced a smile. “You’re paranoid, Mr. Lee. I’m no
Tension ran high in the Gwakes’ living room once more. Casius fixed on Kaze, his gaze intense. He thought his clash with Kaze was a result of jealousy over Buffy. Now it appeared that there was more to the feud between them. Casius read Kaze’s bloodthirst from his tone. It seemed important to Kaze whether Casius was working for Sanwell Finances. The moment Casius was confirmed to be the traitor to the nation, Kaze would go for his kill. “Hahaha…” Casius burst out laughing, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Is it funny?” Kaze asked aloofly. “Hehe…” Casius stopped laughing and wiped a single teardrop from his eyes. “I was laughing because I didn’t expect you and Mr. Gwake to be patriotic. “The great deputy chief was hesitant to turn his back on the country by working with the Ryokanians.“When I told him I could make him the branch chief, tsk, tsk… “You're more precarious than Mr. Gwake.“At least he’s a long-standing deputy. The only thing he stands to lose is
Casius was dumbstruck. Kaze and the Powells kept the information from the public as the identity of the God of War was exposed, and the Glowmoss Powells had a reputation to protect. Hence, the upper crust of Riverbank had heard about the Powells’ operation in Lilyrose. However, barely anybody knew the details. Casius was now aware that Kaze was involved. He had heard about the Glowmoss Powells. Casius understood that the family held authority in the Glowmoss military and the family extensions all across Arcadia. It was said that Neegan, who was going to be the governor of the South River State, was one of the Powells. Kaze made the Glowmoss Powells grovel at his feet back in Lilyrose, and Casius could not believe it. Casius got an idea why Kaze had become the Viper’s Den West State Branch leader. “Go on,” Casius stared at Kaze and uttered.He could tell that Kaze had more to say. Kaze said, “Before getting to Riverbank, I happened to be in charge of Lilyrose’s priv
“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