“G-Grim Reaper?!” Lightning Tiger was surprised to see the man. Chills ran down his spine instantly. Jeremiah Reaper, the man who killed Gabriel Black, Cronus’ strongest fighter. Lightning Tiger was horrified. His legs turned weak and he almost fell on his knees. Jeremiah extended his broken sword to Lightning Tiger’s neck and lifted his chin. It was just the tip yet it managed to stop Lightning Tiger from kneeling. “Don’t kneel here. Go kneel at the hospital. You still have half an hour left.” Then, Jeremiah left. “I thought Frank said that guy is just some useless shit? But the Grim Reaper is here to deliver his message?!” Lightning Tiger was confused. “Boss, you still have half an hour left.” It was his man’s reminder that brought him back from his shock. “Quick! I have to go to the hospital now!” Lightning Tiger darted out of his office and drove to the hospital like a madman. He managed to reach the hospital within the time limit. “Huh! Huh! M-Master
Lighting Tiger was shocked by Kaze’s words. “But the Chapmans would never agree.” The Chapman family had more than a hundred people living in Jade Estate, yet someone they hated wanted to erect a cenotaph next to where they lived. They would never allow it. “Then make the Chapman family move. Since the Jade Estate is ready, I just need to prepare my brother’s cenotaph, and no need to waste time building another tomb for him.” James’ death anniversary was around the corner. Lightning Tiger was completely stunned by Kaze’s self-righteousness. He did not expect Kaze to be this tyrannical. Kaze planned to move the Chapmans away from the estate that they had been living in for generations so that he could use the place to erect James’ cenotaph. It would be a huge humiliation to the Chapman family! Kaze then glanced at him and said, “Bring some people over there to inspect the place and deliver my message to the top three families…” …Belarus, Edward, and Flint, the he
“Cenotaph!? You want to erect a cenotaph in Jade Estate, where hundreds of my family live?! What the hell is this, Lightning Tiger?! I dare you to say it one more time in my face and I will kill you right now!” Even with his wealth of experience, Belarus was seething with anger. If a cenotaph was erected in the estate, then the Chapman family’s ancestors would probably jump out from their graves to hold him responsible. “Master Chapman, you are right. It is exactly what that person meant. I am not going to repeat myself,” Lightning Tiger said. “Oh and since all three of you are here, that person wants me to deliver a message.” The three heads of families frowned and glared at Lightning Tiger. “The message reads: Three days later will be James White’s death anniversary. The Chapman family is to move out of the Jade Estate by then. On the day of the anniversary, all family members of the top three families, men and women, old and young, shall visit James White’s grave and kne
Edward later gave another suggestion. Their hands were tied when it came to Jesse, but they could stir problems for Shangrila Group. Conflict could start from within. Even though they could not do anything to Jesse, the least they could do was give him something to think about. “Sir, Lightning Tiger has conveyed your message to the top three families. “He has surrendered all his personal and company assets. He even volunteered to lead his men to mourn for James on the anniversary of his death.” Reeve updated Kaze at the hospital. “I see. Since he knows his place, I can spare his life for now.” Kaze waved his arm and said, “It doesn’t just stop with the top three families and Lightning Tiger. I want those who were involved in Shangrila Group’s downfall to be there for James’ death anniversary.” “Of course. I will get Shane to uncover them all.” Reeve had been with Kaze to Melrose, so he knew that Shane was one of Kaze’s minions now. It was time for the minion to do h
“It’s understood that your concert is held on the same day as the death anniversary of Mr. James White, the former chairman of Shangrila Group.“We received word that Shangrila Group will organize a remembrance for James to celebrate him. “Are you holding the concert as part of the event, Taylor?” The interview went on. Taylor responded, “My concert is unrelated to that event. It’s just a coincidence.” It was far too much of a coincidence to be written off as chance.“Can I be blunt and ask you about the alleged abuse James committed on you that rocked the community two years ago?” “I have nothing to say about that. I want to leave the past behind. It’s time I move on.” Taylor added with grace, “I have come back to the city where my nightmare first began because I have put the incident behind me.” “Shangrila Group faced public criticism two years ago and finally bankrupted, but the company has been restructured recently.” The journalist asked, “Do you have anything
“The ungrateful girl never picked us up from the airport when we were back from business trips.” Agatha criticized her daughter. Taylor? Talk about a coincidence. Kaze said, “I saw on the news that Taylor has checked into the hotel in the city.” “Rose must be off somewhere then. Just call and ask her. She can’t go missing,” Agatha responded in annoyance. She then carried on chatting with Agnes. Kaze had to go out again. He gave Rose a call when driving out of Skylar View District. “K-Kaze?” Rose mumbled over the phone. She had no qualms about addressing Kaze confidently when they met for the first time. Kaze made a favorable first impression on her family as he came across as competent. However, the incident involving Alan ensued. Although Kaze was later proven to be framed, Rose’s family looked down on Kaze because he was a good-for-nothing. Rose believed Kaze was not good enough for her outstanding cousin, Darcy. On the contrary, Kiev and Darcy were a pe
“I have my ways,” Kaze replied. He sniffed the air and frowned. The air was thick with the stench of alcohol and tobacco in the private lounge. The fan club members were young, but they were working adults with potty mouths. Coming from a strict household, Rose was a Miss Goody-Two-Shoes. She had no experience interacting with the group. Rose was oblivious to the lewd stares from the boys. “It’s time to go home, Rose. Your mom told me to pick you up,” Kaze said. The surprise quickly wore off. Rose figured Kaze found her by asking an employee where she was. She shook her head and replied, “I have something going on later. You should go back. I’ll catch my own ride. I’ll let my mom know.” By the looks of her red face, Kaze was sure that Rose had a lot to drink. She might get herself in a situation if he were to leave without her tonight. “No. You’re coming home with me now.” Kaze made a beeline to Rose and reached his hand out to pull her up. Smack! An arm cut a
Kaze remained unfazed even when the group ridiculed him, and a young woman insulted him. Terry did not think Kaze was a threat at all. “I was wondering why it was getting musty here. It must be the unwelcome visitor.” Terry pointed at the door and said with a fake smile, “Please leave us in peace. You are not welcome here.” Kaze did not want to remain in a smoky room anyway. He turned to Rose. “Are you really not leaving, Rose?” “Why are you so annoying? I told you to leave. Just stay out of my business!” Rose shouted angrily at Kaze. She blamed Kaze for embarrassing her. “Alright then.” Without another word, Kaze turned to leave. Since she had made herself clear, Kaze did not intend to interfere with her personal affairs anymore. Rose was eighteen. She was an adult. She should take responsibility for her own actions. Bang! The door to the private lounge opened with a thud. A guy backed into the lounge and fell on his bottoms with a cry. “Are you alright,
“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