Megan got herself thinking the moment she decided to invite Kaze to her birthday celebration. She wanted to humiliate Kaze tonight to release the pent-up anger of the last two years. Now, she finally had her chance. Despite being ignored, Kaze managed to draw attention to himself like a walking target. It was only right that she did him the favor by putting him back in his place. “Who do you think you are? Megan is extending the courtesy by inviting you, but you have been rude to her. You should ask yourself whether you have the skills to match before jumping the gun.” “If the loser can afford any car at all, he wouldn’t have taken his wife’s family name. He has no dignity.” The senior executives around Megan commented in disdain. “Took his wife’s family name?” Sophie glanced at Kaze in surprise. She was skeptical. Kaze’s grace left a strong impact. Sophie could tell from the brief chat with him that he was a man of depth and taste. How could he possibly marry i
“What? A Ferrari 488? Did I hear that right?”“Um… Can the loser even afford a sports car? Are pigs flying?” “The server probably got the wrong guy.” Gasps erupted in the room. People looked at Kaze in surprise, distress, and envy. However, most of them were doubtful. They refused to believe that Kaze would drive a Ferrari 488 to the party. Kaze had outdone all of them. Megan stood there, utterly embarrassed. It took a while before she said curtly, “What’s great about a Ferrari 488? Sure, it’s a multimillion-dollar car, but it only costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to give any scratch a fresh coat of paint. I can still afford that.” That was the truth, but anybody could read the aggression in her tone. Put in the spot, the server could not say anything without risking offending either party. Kaze was not unreasonable like Megan. To end the server’s dilemma, he fished out the car key from his pocket and handed it over. The car key bearing the Ferrari log
Everybody in the room except Sophie taunted Kaze. Even when Kaze drove a Ferrari 488 to attend the party, the group interpreted it as Kaze showing off. It slipped their minds that Kaze made no mention of it the whole time. That was not their concern anyway. They wanted to humiliate him to ease their awkwardness. Faced with harsh criticisms, Kaze remained unfazed. He kept a smile on his face. Kaze watched them like they were clowns in a circus. They were oblivious that Kaze could not be bothered to stoop to their level. The group took Kaze’s silence as a sign that he was overwhelmed by the mockery and had nothing to say for himself. They believed he was a loser. “Don’t forget that we have gathered here today to celebrate Megan’s birthday. We got a cake for her. Come and enjoy it,” one senior executive said. Soon, he and another friend pushed a cart over with a candle-lit three-tier cake on it. Megan made a wish and blew out the candles as everybody watched on.
Kaze wiped the cream and cake bits off his face in silence. He was not the type to take the humiliation lying down. It had crossed Kaze’s mind to retaliate against Megan and the other executives. None of the close to twenty in the room would survive the blow. Nevertheless, he put down his hand when Megan explained the motivation behind the humiliation. Megan and the others were making him pay for ruining Shangrila Group. They were acting out on the anger and resentment that gnawed for two years. If that was the sole reason, Kaze could consider a lighter punishment for these people tomorrow. It would still be a consequence that Megan and others could not bear though.“You got your payback. I should get going.” Kaze walked out. “Hold it right there. Who said you could leave?” Gino and another male associate stood in his way, staring him down. Megan scoffed. “You’re naïve to think that this is over.” “What else do you want?” Kaze stopped in his tracks and tur
“Ms. Pamela, when Mr. White moved the company back to Lilyrose, you were just a fresh grad looking for a job. He took you in even when you didn’t have related work experience and he helped you a lot in your career. How can you just forget about that? “When Mr. White’s wife, Winnie, was pregnant, you tried to seduce Mr. White but got turned down. Mr. White showed you mercy because you were still young and transferred you to another branch so that his wife wouldn’t suspect anything. He saved your career as well! How could you forget that?!” Megan’s expression turned grim as she glared at Sophie who fired shots like a machine gun. Her dark past was displayed on the table, exposed for everyone to see and hear, yet she had no words to argue back. Sophie then switched her attention to Gino. “Mr. Hebrew, you were one of the pioneers of the company but we all know you were not capable enough to keep up with the company’s expansion, yet you still embezzled money from the company. “M
Sophie was no one and she could not possibly threaten Megan and the other executives. Megan and the other executives focused their firepower on Kaze after they got rid of Sophie. “Kaze Lee, you piece of useless garbage! Listen up! If you dare to set foot in our company, I’ll ask security to throw you out!” “If you get an arm or a leg broken in the process, don’t blame me.” Even the security chief, Carlos, who barely had any power in the company, joined the rest in threatening Kaze. Insulting Kaze and preventing him from entering the company was the main objective of Megan and the other executives. There were only so many executive positions in the company. If Kaze became the COO, he would hinder more than one person’s career. Kaze was quiet as Megan and the rest ganged up on him. They took his silence as their victory. “That’s what we have to say and you better take our words seriously. Or else, we are business elites who have multiple powerful resources and we have m
“Mom, stop it!” Darcy shouted to stop her mother from berating Kaze. “You stupid girl! I scolded him for your sake and you shouted at me? Look at how cowardly he is in the video! He’s nothing like a man!” Agnes yelled back with widened eyes. Darcy said, “Kaze had gotten himself in a lot of trouble because of me. If he fought back and hurt someone, like what happened to Liben Radar, you would scold him for causing trouble for our family. No matter what he does, you just have a reason to scold him!” She had an epiphany.Kaze did not fight or talk back because they were bullying him, not her. If she was the target, Kaze would have fought back. She did not see Kaze as a coward. He simply did not want to cause trouble for the family. Kaze’s tolerance of the bullies and her mother’s scolding made Darcy feel bad. “You! How dare you talk back to me!” Agnes was furious. “Mother, Darcy isn’t trying to blame you. I know you are scolding me for my own good. You just don’t want to
“She’s not married. What’s wrong with sleeping with a man? It's a private affair. The company can’t meddle with her personal life.” “But that guy is someone with a mental disability and spent a few years in a psych ward. He’s the son-in-law of the Quint family!” “No way. Sophie has that kind of fetish? She’s into a retard?” “Sophie is here! Shhh!” Sophie heard her colleagues talking about her when she entered the HR department. They zipped it when she arrived but continued to look at her strangely. Some looked at her coldly while some with contempt, but most of them gloated at her. Sophie felt anxious, surrounded by unfriendly looks that fueled her anger. She did not expect Megan to fabricate a story to slander her and Kaze. The fake story had already started to circulate in the office. Megan wanted to tarnish Sophie’s reputation even after she was fired. Sophie was fuming. Her lips were shaking as she tried to argue but she suppressed the urge. The more she exp
No one cared about the thoughts in Collier’s head. Rory looked at Hannah and said heavily, “I wonder what you mean by that, Chief Delmore.” Hannah nodded at Kaze and then said coldly, “Cut the crap. Take your men and leave!” Rory furrowed his brows, his lips still curled. “Chief Delmore, that doesn’t sound right. I am here on legal Execution Hall’s business. Even if you are the chief of the South River Branch, you have no right to stop me. Or is the South River Branch no longer under the West State Viper’s Den jurisdiction?” Hannah did not even flinch when Rory tried to accuse her. She said, “I said, cut the crap. Come on, show me what you got. I’ll let you go first.” Rory’s lips twitched helplessly. He knew Hannah was known for her quick sword stance in the West State Viper’s Den. According to the agents who once went on a mission with her, many experienced fighters and experts could not even see her moves before they were killed on the spot. Now that Hannah had recove
“Swoosh!” The knife hit Collier in the shoulder, pushing him back against the wall. He tried to move his body but when he felt the pain in his shoulder, his face paled. He was shocked that the knife perforated his shoulder and pinned him onto the wall, like how Kaze pinned the Execution Hall’s agent to the wall earlier. Rory did it as payback to Kaze for what he had done earlier. Collier did not want to look bad in front of Kaze. He steeled himself up as he held the knife. With his teeth clenched, he pulled it out from his shoulder, drawing an arch of blood in the air. “Deputy Chief!” It was only then Collier’s men reacted to the situation and drew their weapons. “Hmph!” Collier grunted without looking at his men. “Clank!” The agents from the Execution Hall armed themselves as well and dashed forward. “Thump! Thud! Sheen!” The two groups of agents engaged in a fight with cries and clanks sounding ceaseless. Amid the painful cries, Collier’s men were struck
Once again, Rory looked at Kaze with surprise. “Young Man, I must admit that I’ve underestimated you again.” The deputy chief of the Viper’s Den South River Branch was certainly an officer with a higher rank than him. However, Rory was merely surprised, not deterred or scared as if he was not afraid of Kaze who brought Collier into the conflict. Kaze smiled. “You’ve underestimated a whole bunch as well.” Rory grunted heavily and then turned to Collier and his men walking into the lobby. Without even standing up, he curled his lips into a fake smile and said, “Mr. Ettinger, of what do I owe the visit? You and your men are here to see the doctor? Too bad. You are one step late. Scorpion and his men had already thrashed the…” Scorpion simply smiled awkwardly, afraid to make a noise. He could not afford to mess with the deputy chief. ‘I’ll thrash your skull if I can!’—if it was some other time, Collier would certainly argue with Rory and scold him in the face. However, his
“Kaze.” The call got through and Collier’s voice came from the phone. “Herbal Spring. Rory Conroy of the Viper’s Den West State Branch Execution Hall is here.” Kaze then hung up the phone. He was discussing with Collier about the support from the Viper’s Den West State Branch behind Rhys earlier. He just did not expect Rhys to call for help so quickly, seemingly trying to seize the advantage. However, Kaze was not afraid. He put his phone away after the call and sat down on the couch. “How dare you sit in front of the captain?! You’re dead!” An agent held the sword at his waist and wanted to draw the blade. Kaze narrowed his eyes and slid his foot forward. “Clank!” The sword that was tossed in front of him earlier was kicked forward. “Thump!” Before the agent could draw his sword, his hand was perforated by the flying sword. Blood splattered upon impact and the momentum of the sword dragged the agent backward, ultimately pinning his wrist on the wall. Kaze
“Arrogant?” Rory gestured at his men behind him. His gaze was as sharp as a blade, scrutinizing Kaze. “You’re damn right. The Viper’s Den West State Branch Execution Hall is that arrogant. We have the right to be! We also have the right to execute first and ask questions later. Why wouldn’t we be arrogant with it?” The agents of the Viper’s Den West State Branch Execution Hall looked at Kaze as if he was a clown, wondering where the rural bumpkin was from and where did he get the confidence to question them. They found his ignorance laughable. Kaze said, “Even if you have the right, it is for you to execute your official business, not for you to use it on ordinary people.” “Hahaha!” Rory laughed hysterically, cocking his head back as if he heard the funniest joke. “Young Man, I don’t know where you are from but you are stupidly naїve and childish.” As he spoke, he glanced at Scorpion and asked, “Is it him who beat up Rhys?” “Yes! It’s him!” Scorpion glared at Kaze a
“Mr. Road once saved someone important in the Viper’s Den West State Branch. Mr. Road asked Captain Conroy to uphold justice for Rhys after the assault he endured. “You’re blind not to know who Captain Conroy is. You have some nerve to insult him.” Scorpion made a big fuss now that the Viper’s Den West State Branch had his ass covered. Thomas was going down. “What?“The Viper’s Den West State Branch Execution Hall?”Thomas turned pale. Fear washed over the other police officers. The Viper’s Den West State Branch’s reputation was enough to intimidate the police. The Execution Hall was basically the police’s worst nightmare. Even the members of the organization trembled at the mention of the Execution Hall. The Viper’s Den’s Execution Hall and the Tiger’s Cave’s prison gate were places of terror. Those who were unfortunate enough to be taken there rarely walked out alive. Even the rare survivors would not escape in one piece. A deputy chief of the South River S
Thomas glared at the two police officers and waved his arm curtly. “Don’t just stand there. Make the arrest!” He knew how Scorpion and his crew operated.Scorpion was not the type to give up on a fight easily. Thomas was the security captain of the Southgate Police Department. The supposed Captain Conroy would only rank slightly higher than him. Members of the criminal underworld often associate with people on the police force to seek favors in time of need. However, these favors should not be used lightly. It was common knowledge not to enlist the help of someone high up in the command chain right away. It would be a waste of resources. In a typical situation, Thomas might have trouble making the arrest. However, Thomas was taking Kaze’s side, so he had nothing to fear. With that in mind, Thomas said icily, “Captain Conroy? How many more captains are you going to call upon?“Even if you summon someone working for the state, you’re still coming with us.” “You’re ju
All these incidents put together suggested that Kaze was more than he seemed. Thomas focused the most on Kaze and the mayor’s relationship. The power of a local authority outweighed someone from out of state. Though the officials working in the state government were more powerful, they would have no bearing on the locals’ situation. Kent was the mayor of Riverbank, and his decision would change the course of the locals’ fate. Thomas understood his place in the matter. Boris may be badass, but Thomas could get nothing out of him. Thomas had to deal with Boris’ men frequently. These men would give the police gifts during the holidays as payment for turning a blind eye to certain things. He could fall out with Scorpion and his crew, but he could not cross Kaze when Scorpion’s people were clearly at fault. Kent could possibly intervene, and Thomas’ connections would not be able to bail him out.Thomas turned stern and said coldly, “It’s outrageous of you to trash a plac
Scorpion sat sprawled across the couch, his legs crossed. He lit a cigarette, took a drag, and said, “Oh, an old friend. It’s Captain Blunick from the Southgate Police Department.“I’m handling business today. I’d appreciate it if you could look the other way.” The person in charge was Thomas Blunick, security captain of the Southgate Police Department. Thomas frowned and said icily, “Is this your way of handling business, Scorpion? “Don’t you push it.” Scorpion grinned and said without any reservation, “Mr. Road’s son, Rhys, was beaten up by some riff-raff. Mr. Road sent me here for some unfinished business. “You should know that Mr. Road dotes on Rhys, and Rhys now suffers two broken legs. “This is not over until the culprit pays.” Thomas scoffed. “You can’t trash a medical center in broad daylight.” He asked curiously, “Who is Rhys’ attacker?” Even the other police officers were intrigued. To think someone would hurt Boris’ son in Riverbank. It was a death wis