“You can make three phone calls. I don’t care who you call, I can crush all of them. Take note that my patience is limited. “Let me make this straight before you begin. For each call you make and if the person you called cannot overpower or suppress me anyhow, I will break one of your arms or legs. “Now, let’s begin.” Kaze kicked the phone to Duncan. Duncan looked at Kaze vengefully as he picked up the phone with shaking hands. He dialed a number. “Kaze, is this a little too much? You should have mitigated the risk instead of exacerbating the situation,” Dr. Wright said after Kaze came back. Even he was shocked by Kaze’s ruthlessness when he slapped Duncan. He was afraid of Kaze going overboard and unable to contain the situation. “Dr. Wright, I am indeed trying to mitigate future risks. If I don’t bring Everett Techman here and deal with him in person, this doesn’t bode well in the future. “I don’t mind him coming after me, but what about you guys, and Herbal Spring?
“What? There’s no such thing! Madam, if you are here on official business, please investigate properly and learn the truth before you do anything!” The employee of Herbal Spring got nervous. He was working outside in the lobby and did not know what happened in the consultation room. “Truth? What I say is the truth!” Simona grunted and said to a uniformed man beside her, “Zach, take the team inside, or else Duncan Techman will be mad at us again.” The middle-aged man in police uniform was the police chief of the Aries District Police Department—Zach Oxborn. Zach’s expression slightly shifted, showing a hint of nervousness, before he and Simona hurried in. When they arrived in the main lobby, they saw Duncan kneeling in the center. Both of them were petrified on the spot by the scene. Their expressions went from shock to disbelief. When Zach received Duncan’s call and learned that the arrogant young man had been beaten up at Herbal Spring, he quickly gathered his men, c
It was Kaze who spoke. Simona glared at Kaze and bellowed, “You little shit. Who do you think you are, using that tone on me?” The woman had the Techman family as her support, which fueled her arrogance. Even the district leader had no power over her, yet someone mocked her right to her face. She felt challenged. “It’s him! Simona, it’s him! He was the one who beat me up and made me kneel!” Duncan finally regained his senses and pointed at Kaze. He bellowed, “He’s Kaze Lee! And he’s close with that useless doctor! “I want him dead by today!” Dead? Both Simona and Zach looked afraid. Simona said with a timid smile, “Zach, we are both government officials. We can’t just kill him like that, but don’t you worry. We have ways to torture him to death!” Zach nodded in agreement. “Even if we can’t get rid of him, we’ll skin him alive!” Simona then scrutinized Kaze as she strode to him, bearing an intimidating aura. “You little bastard! Who gave you the nerve to beat up
The people at Herbal Spring looked at Kaze, wide-eyed. It was shocking enough that Duncan had to kneel, but Kaze got the chief of Aries Trade and Industry Department on her knees too. The image was too intense to watch. Everything happened so quickly, and the crowd was caught off guard. Snapping back to reality, Zach blew up. “It’s an act of defiance to assault Simona, young man!“Don’t just stand there! Arrest him! “Just open fire if he resists arrest.” At the wave of Zach’s arm, his team of police officers had Kaze surrounded. Kaze whipped out his phone and dialed a number. Before the call was connected, Kaze tossed the phone to Zach. Zach caught the phone and said angrily, “What’s the meaning of this, boy?” “I’d suggest that you take the call before you talk about an arrest, Zach,” Kaze said indifferently. Skeptically, Zach put the phone against his ear. He knew that Kaze must have his reasons to do so. Unlike Duncan and Simona, Zach was a cautious man.
Welson did not even try to hide his favoritism. Zach’s blood ran cold. “Chief Yaphet, Kaze committed an assault in public. He nearly beat Duncan to death. “If Mr. Techman finds out that his son—” “So what if Everett finds out?” Welson interrupted Zach once more and said curtly, “Do you know that Kaze is a VIP to Mayor Synder’s family? He has saved Mayor Synder and his daughter’s lives. “Do you know that Kaze captured Bengali and Caspian from the Steelclaw Guild? We, the city’s police department, should thank him. “Do you know that Mayor Synder and the Tiger’s Cave and the Flying Dragon’s team bailed Kaze out when the Tiger’s Cave members came to arrest him? “Everett means squat!” “What?” Zach’s mind went blank. Kaze was Kent’s lifesaver. He captured two of the Steelclaw Guild’s Eight Tigers. The Flying Dragon’s team even went head-to-head with the Tiger’s Cave, one of the four special institutions, to defend Kaze. Each of these incidents should have served as
Kaze took the phone and smiled pretentiously. “Do you have the full story now?” “I do.” Zach nodded heavily. “Duncan started it. You tried to stop Duncan and accidentally hurt him while trying to defend Dr. Wright.” He was a real piece of work. Zach managed to twist the story right there and then. “Fuck you, Zach!” Furious, Duncan yelled, “You’re lying through your teeth! Lee assaulted me, and I was defenseless against him.” Despite the will to fight back, Duncan never stood a chance. He was livid. Duncan had always been the one to pay Zach off and twist the facts in his favor. Yet, the joke was on Duncan today. Zach had a change of attitude after taking a phone call. It was bad enough that Zach was no longer on Duncan’s side, but Zach even turned the tables on him. Duncan could not wrap his head around it. “Since you are clear on the matter, you can leave now.” Kaze waved his arm and pointed at Simona, who was still running her mouth on the ground. “Oh, a
“Smack!”“Shut up!” Zach silenced Simona with a slap and waved at his subordinates. “Take this idiot away. We’re leaving now.” The Trade and Industry Department and the police were in and out of the place in no time. As they left with their tails tucked between their legs, the crowd at Herbal Spring could not believe their eyes. They were curious about the individual who Kaze had called. Zach ditched Duncan at the risk of upsetting the Techmans. The crowd found it unbelievable that Zach would get on the nerves of the rich and powerful. Another ten minutes passed. The wooden door to Herbal Spring burst open with a kick. “Here I come, Duncan.“The nerve of the guy to pick on you on my turf. That’s disrespecting me.“I’m going to make him pay, whoever he is. I’m here for you, Duncan!” A deep, menacing voice boomed as a group of thugs kicked open the wooden door and strutted into the room.A bald man with buckteeth walked ahead. He was Buck Bob, the Aries undergr
“K-Kaze, I-I can explain! “I-I didn’t know it was you. I owe Duncan’s father one, so I answered his call. I have not betrayed Miru!“I didn’t think it was you! “Otherwise, I’d never show my face to you.” Bob kneeled at Kaze’s feet and explained in tears. He went to the Otters’ together with Miya. As a result, Kaze made a phone call, and Miru seized control of Bob’s territory.Since then, Bob, a big man in Aries, was forced to do Miru’s bidding. That was not the reason why Bob was afraid of Kaze. Bob was terrified to learn from working for Miru that Kaze seized Bronze Sparrow and killed Casius’ confidante, Zoro. Rumors had it that Kaze, implicated in the death of Joel, Jude’s fighter, was ordered to go on a suicide mission at Bronze Sparrow. Miru attacked Bronze Sparrow with Sven and Wolf, and Kaze was lucky to be alive thanks to Miru. This was far from the truth. Miru should be the one to thank Kaze for her success. This was the reason why Bob feared Kaze. K
“Whoosh!” The swift swing of the dagger left a huge cut on Kaze’s shirt at the abdomen. The old man had switched his stance to kneeling on one knee. The pain in his eyes had been replaced by frosty murderous intent, with a hint of shock and resentment as if he did not expect Kaze to dodge the lethal blow. “Old man, you’re a wicked one.” Kaze was also shocked. He looked down at his collar T-shirt and the wide opening at his stomach. The chilling wind on his skin sent chills down his spine. A split second later he would be gutted on the spot. “Swoosh!” After missing the ambush, the old man jumped like a nimble fox for a follow-up attack. This time, he switched his target from Kaze to Darcy. The dagger in his hand glared coldly as it thrusted toward Kaze’s chest. He was shocked that Kaze was able to dodge his lethal blow. He also realized Kaze was a tough opponent, so he switched to an easier one—Darcy. He acted like a gambler who had lost everything. With nothing
“Huh?” Phoenix narrowed her eyes and shot a sharp gaze at Joan. “Thump!” Joan fell on her knees immediately, looking horrified. “I-Impossible! My family spent tens of millions to make this walking cane, how can it…” Her family members were also similarly horrified, all falling onto their knees after her and even prostrating on the ground. If they were charged with attempted murder on Phoenix’s life, she and her entire family would be uprooted completely. Phoenix’s expression darkened. With gritted teeth, she said, “Take all of them away and investigate what really happened!” Her men who followed her from Ridgesouth came up, dragging Joan and her family away despite them crying for help. Those who resisted were slapped and knocked out before being shoved into the car. “Kaze, how did you know about the walking cane?” Agnes asked, her voice trembling. She felt grateful for escaping what seemed to be a disaster. Kaze’s offensive behavior shocked her, but it was to expos
“Huh?! Y-You hit me?!” Joan screamed as she covered her face. “Madam Quint, do something about this monkey! He’s disrespecting you and slapped me in front of everyone!” “You wretched boy, on your knees!” Phoenix’s expression darkened, her eyes on Kaze resentful. “If your family failed to teach you manners, I’ll do it for them!” “Greedy, self-righteous, ignorant, use your age to pressure others…” Kaze was determined to teach Phoenix a lesson about shame and humility today, so there was no way he would show her any respect. “People like you don’t even know what you are doing even with age, what gives you the right to lecture me?” “Kaze, shut it! Are you trying to get yourself into more trouble?!” Agnes bellowed, almost passing out due to the anger. Kaze had offended Phoenix. “Me? Ignorant?!” Phoenix scoffed due to disbelief. Her eyes were burning with the flames of anger as she said, “You disrespectful little bastard, I will show you what ignorance is!” As the words
The Ridgesouth Quints may be a prominent family, but their influence did not extend as far as the South River State. If that were not the case, the Ridgesouth Quints would not have waited until now to appoint Darcy as a proxy to expand their influence in the South River State. Kent came from a wealthy family, and he was the mayor of Riverbank. He had no reason to curry favor with the Quints by giving them a villa. The Ridgesouth Quints should be the ones showering Kent with gifts to do business in Riverbank. “What? How dare you say that we are unworthy!”“If we are unworthy, what about you? You’re just a moocher.”“Insolence!” Joan and the others flipped out. “Bam.” Phoenix slammed her cane to the floor and said chillingly, “You said that the Quints are unworthy, boy. What about you? Why would the mayor give you a villa? “You better give a convincing answer. If you don’t, ha!” “It’s none of your business,” Kaze replied bluntly.Silence hung heavy in the air. E
“Gone too far?” Phoenix said furiously, “Do you want to get it too, boy?” “Shut up, Kaze!” Not wanting the situation to escalate, Agnes charged over and said ingratiatingly, “I’m sorry, Madam Quint. We didn’t do a good job raising Sky. He simply didn’t think straight in the heat of the moment.”“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry!” Darcy apologized as well. “I’ll wipe the blood off you, Madam Quint. We don’t want to get your hands dirty.” Joan pulled out a tissue and cleaned Phoenix’s hands fawningly while uttering sarcastically, “You have no idea, Madam Quint. Some people have the money. They just don’t want to spend it.“As far as I know, our little leader is living in a villa worth several hundred million dollars in Riverbank. The villa was a gift from Mayor Synder too.“They didn’t give a bracelet that was only worth half a million because they have no money. They simply do not care enough for you, Madam Quint. “They’re just trying to fob you off since you’re only an old
“We from Chrysant City have given Madam Quint a bullet-proof Lincoln stretch from Uleania. The Lincoln will be Madam Quint’s ride in Riverbank,” a middle-aged man with glasses said smugly.Kaze glanced at the Lincoln stretch not too far away, understanding the value of the car. “Madam Quint can’t be staying in the hotel throughout her trip. We, the branch in Takeno City, are a family in politics, so we lack funding. Still, we borrowed a villa from a major corporation to accommodate Madam Quint,” a representative of the Takeno Quints said with a chuckle. The Takeno Quints talked about borrowing. Their primary focus was on politics, so they could not be honest about their net worth. However, every branch of the Quints presented Phoenix with expensive gifts. Each gift was worth at least five million dollars. The five-hundred-thousand-dollar bracelet from Darcy’s family seemed modest in comparison. Sure enough, Phoenix grew upset and raised her free arm to slap the gift box
Even Darcy did not think Phoenix would deny her. It was true that Darcy was supposed to gather all family branches in Riverbank. She would have to discipline the unruly and unite the rest. Her goal was to consolidate the family’s power and resources under her control. It was a clear and comprehensive strategy. Darcy had not anticipated such a response from her first meeting with Phoenix. It was harsh. Phoenix completely dismissed her. Darcy, though accepting fault, felt hurt. Agnes felt like her world was crumbling down. If Darcy was stripped of her leadership role, the family would go back to when things were bad. Ever since Darcy became the family head in the South River State, Agnes was treated like royalty everywhere she went. She was addicted to the privileges. Agnes never wanted to go back to those days when people would look down on her.“Darcy, where’s the gift you got for Madam Quint? Hurry up and apologize to her.” Agnes grabbed Darcy hastily. A
“You should know that Madam Quint loves flowers, and you came empty-handed. No flowers, no gifts.” “You talk about respect for Madam Quint. It’s all talk. What have you done for her?” “You are hicks from a small place like Lilyrose. Where are your manners? You’re lucky to become the head of the South River Quints, but you will always lack refinement.” “I’m starting to worry about this leader taking us to new heights. I guess we can consider ourselves lucky if she doesn’t bring us down.” “Yeah! She was late and came empty-handed. This tells us all we need to know about this family.” Taking Joan’s lead, the other family members lay into Darcy’s family thick and hard. “That’s enough!” Before Kaze said anything, Sky had a go at these people. “You tried to set my sister up, and now you’re putting the blame on us!“Only you had information of Madam Quint’s flight. You only let us know half an hour before the plane touched down. “Why didn’t we come earlier to wait in the airp
Kaze narrowed his eyes at the woman and drew close. “You’re a member of the South River Quints. Should you stand by your leader instead of stirring the pot and causing the scene? “Does family even mean anything to you? “Are you defying the family? “Who are you to disrespect Madam Quint and the family?” The woman staggered back with each question, her face draining of color.“I… You…” Flustered, she glared at Kaze. Still, she was at a loss in the face of Kaze’s questioning. “I assure you, Madam Quint. My daughter, Joan, doesn’t mean any disrespect.” A grizzled-haired middle-aged man with glasses came forward with an ashen face. “She was just trying to defend your honor, Madam Quint. She’s upset because someone disrespected you and arrived late.” This person was manipulative. While sticking up for his daughter, he also took the opportunity to belittle Darcy. “Doesn’t mean any disrespect?” Kaze snapped back, “Madam Quint hasn’t said a thing, but a nobody came out