Frank informed the guild that Shangrila Group was behind the impersonation of the God of War that made the headlines for the past two days. The guild paid close attention to this incident. Soon, a notice was released by the guild. The guild demanded all the offline medical supply distributors in South River to boycott the products manufactured by Shangrila Group. Whoever disobeyed the guild would be punished severely. “Shangrila Group purchased the factory and wanted to start production, but where are they going to sell the products?” Frank grinned when he learned the news. The notice from the guild was effective immediately. Everyone knew Shangrila Group was blacklisted. “Mr. Chairman, Ms. Souffle, we just got a call from Mr. Oliver Ramos, the CEO of Cynotech Medical, South River Branch. He wanted to cancel the meeting for tomorrow.” Sophie, the chairman’s assistant, updated Winnie and Kaze when they came back from the factory. Cynotech Medical was one of the top f
They could not even get out of South River State and Kaze was talking about nationwide sales? The executives were stunned by his words. They neither expressed it with their looks nor their voices, but they thought it was ridiculous. The chairman was either too naive or a complete rookie in the business world and its ecosystem. Shangrila Group had just been rebuilt and they had yet to form their own sales channel or have their sales team. In order to deliver their products to the consumers, the products must be on the racks of different physical stores and the only way to distribute the products was through the distributors, who had the sales channel. Kaze saw through their thoughts. He said calmly, “Why must we rely on the distributors? Our product can be sold online.” “Online?” The executives were surprised by his suggestion. They had never thought about it before because they were thinking in an orthodox way. “Anthony, can the chairman’s suggestion work?” Winnie aske
“The Four Ocean Commerce Guild thought they could kill us off with just one blacklist notice. How childish!” “There are more than a dozen social media platforms online! For example, Mega Dance, the hottest short video platform currently, we can market there and reach the entire nation! We don’t have to worry about the sales anymore!” The despair from being blacklisted faded when they found the solution. The executives were energized. “Let’s call it a day for now.” Kaze waved at them and ended the meeting since it was getting late. “Mr. Chairman, I have something to talk to you about.” Winnie stayed back. She said, “The company still has shortcomings in the biomedical field. I am planning to go south for a bit after James’ death anniversary. “I am going to look for talents and specialists in the field to join us in the R&D department.” After the Taylor Swan incident, Shangrila Group was turned down by multiple famous medical research teams, despite a handsome reward.
The video was clear, unlike the blurry surveillance footage. Someone at the party must have recorded the whole thing. It did not seem like Ryan was faking it, especially when his leg was hit by the baseball bat. Kaze could confirm that it was all a misunderstanding. Winnie misunderstood Ryan as the one who betrayed James. However, Zach, Aster, and Shelly obviously turned on James. Based on the video, Frank must have threatened James using Ryan and his team. That explained why James was forced to jump off the building. He took his own life because he wanted to protect the employees that he viewed as family. He was not a coward that the world claimed! James died a bitter death. Other than Ryan, others celebrated his death. Judging by their reaction, Frank must have bought them out long ago. “The lab achieved a major breakthrough that day and hosted a barbeque party on the rooftop. Frank invited James but I didn’t go because I was not feeling well. “I didn’t know Rya
The woman was Ryan’s wife, Rei. She scolded Ryan when she saw him talking to others. Ryan shrugged and said, “Rei, this is Winnie Souffle from Shangrila Group…” “I don’t care what souffle or pancake! If they are not here to see a doctor or buy medicine, tell them to… Wait, what? What did you say?” Rei widened her eyes at Winnie. “Winnie White you mean? James White’s wife?” Winnie smiled. “It’s Souffle now. Hi, Rei. I’m here on behalf of Shangrila Group to invite Ryan back to the company as the technical supervisor for the lab…” “Oh no you don’t!” Rei shouted and stopped Winnie before she could finish. “You just want the patent that Ryan has!” Rei’s arms akimbo as she glared at Winnie. “Don’t even think about it!” Winnie frowned. “Rei, the patents belonged to Ryan. Even if we were to use it, we would pay him accordingly, but a part of it belongs to our lab and it’s only natural for us to take it back.” “Winnie is right.” Ryan nodded. “What did you say?!” Rei slap
“He’s the chairman of Shangrila Group?” Upon hearing Winnie, not only Zach, Aster, and Shelly were shocked, but even Ryan looked at Kaze in surprise. No one expected that the young man who kept a low profile behind Winnie was the chairman who single-handedly brought Shangrila Group back to life. “Ryan, the chairman is here to welcome you back,” Winnie said. She wanted to use this chance to persuade Ryan back to oversee the lab. “Hmph! Chairman? So what? We are now working for the top three families!” “The top three families are kings in Lilyrose! They even got rid of Shangrila Group two years ago, and they can do it again now!” “As a matter of fact, Frank alone was more than enough to destroy you and your little chairman, let alone the top three families combined!” Zach, Aster, and Shelly mocked Winnie and Kaze after the initial surprise. The three of them were recruited by the top three families but they were never part of the core team. They had no idea that durin
“Get him!” Zach ordered Aster and Shelly. The three of them jumped on Ryan, punching and kicking him for the patents. Being crippled, Ryan was not capable of fighting back. He hugged his head and curled up his body on the ground, grunting in pain. The three of them were his students once, yet they turned on him. “Good one! Beat him to death! Useless piece of shit! If you gave the patents to the top three families, I would have lived a better life for the past two years, not being poor!” What devastated Ryan even more was his wife, Rei, cheering on his assaulters instead of helping him. “Hand it over!” “No!” Ryan refused to loosen his lips even though he was beaten up. Shelly was infuriated. She lifted her foot wearing the heel and aimed at Ryan’s crotch. Slap! Suddenly, a slap landed on her face and sent her to the ground. “What the fuck? You slapped me?!” She screamed as she covered her face. Slap! Slap! Kaze ignored the woman and slapped Zach and Aster t
“Really?” Ryan picked his chin up and looked at Kaze with a twinkle in his eyes. “As if! You’re just a good-for-nothing handicap. I will never regret my decision.“Hmph! Shangrila Group was no match for the top three families two years ago. I doubt that has changed even now. Ryan, you will only be in a worse situation if you go with him.“Mr. Golding said that it will be the end of Shangrila Group in the next few days.” Zach and the others expressed their disdain. Noticing Ryan’s hesitance, Winnie persuaded. “Trust in the chairman, Ryan. I wasn’t in a better circumstance than you before, but look at me now.” “Alright, I’ll go with you to Shangrila Group.” Ryan trusted Winnie more than anything. He rose to his feet. Rei panicked because Ryan had not handed over the technology. She blew a fuse and threatened him. “If you walked out on me, I’m filing for divorce, Ryan.” “Fine by me.” Ryan no longer cherished his wife who had betrayed their sacred vows. Nevertheless
“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.
Eli dined offhandedly as if he had taken hold of the group. His words were layered with threat. “What? Are you trying to replace us?” Knox asked in disbelief. “I don’t have that power, but the investor does. I heard that he enjoyed dinner with your superiors. I’m sure the project will get the green light in no time. “Even if you didn’t approach me today, my team and I would have invited you out for a get-together.” Eli knew when to back down, easing the tension in the air. It was another type of reconciliation. Eli needed to go through the review board to get the rights to air the films. The carrot-and-stick approach was the best way forward. Kaze was surprised by the sophistication of Eli’s tactics. Still, he believed he had come to the right place. Sure enough, Jet would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Surely, he was bound to leave loose ends. Nevertheless, he probably did not care. Arthur cocked his head back to look at Kaze. Kaze grinned, unbothered
The purpose of the visit was to inform Rising Sun that the films did not make the cut. Since Rising Sun would not make the necessary amendments, the project would come to a halt. “Please, don’t. Since we are all here, we should talk it out.” It took Eli quite some effort to get the group to the hotel. Eli had plans to please the crowd, so he could not let them leave just yet. This went beyond getting the green light for the films. Eli needed to make the group happy. “There is nothing more to talk about. We can’t proceed unless you make the changes.” There was no way around it. Since Rising Sun refused to make the right amendments, and Knox had orders about putting a hold on Rising Sun’s films, that was one less problem for Knox to deal with. Eli could not let the group walk out on him. Hence, he quickly sent people in. Several thinly clad women entered, each holding a small bag. Despite the weightlessness, the bag appeared to be carrying something of substance. “You
For that reason, Rising Sun’s film productions were not cleared to be aired. “I told you the reason. The investor supplied us with the scripts, and we were told to base our productions on the scripts. Our hands are tied.”Eli would have made the amendments if he could. He knew where the problem lay. However, the company had to take the investor’s perspective into consideration. In the end, the films were yet to be approved for release. “I guess you won’t get the permission to air them then.” Knox was surprised that Rising Sun would not budge on the matter. Nevertheless, Knox and his team were not there to give the all-clear or talk some sense into Rising Sun. Knox and his team could care less about what Eli had to say. “We’re serious about getting the approval. “I’m sorry that we aren’t a better host for your visit today. Why don’t we move to the nearby hotel for a talk?” With the review board making an appearance, Eli knew there was still hope. If Eli did not grab
Arthur chuckled, his smile carrying a touch of sleaziness. “Oh, I see.” A realization dawned on Kaze. “Are you with quality control?” Several individuals in dark blue suits approached. The men and women carried files and documents. Kaze nodded without a word. “We are just here to announce the results. We shouldn’t be long.” Arthur came forward to engage with them. The group was likely given the heads-up as they had the right number of people. They swaggered into Rising Sun’s building. The general manager straightened up his tie in a fluster and walked out. None of the film productions made the cut yet, and the delay was costing the company money by the day. At this rate, the project would go down under. Eli, the general manager, rushed to the entrance upon learning the news. The review team was there to do one final check. The films would get the green light if the board found that everything was up to par. The head office would stop putting pressure on
Given Kaze’s status, Alfonso knew better than to have him waiting under the hot sun. Of course, he would send his people to be on standby for Kaze’s arrival. Peter only came to the rescue when Kaze was pestered by some street gang. Alfonso’s omission of Kaze’s identity led to this hiccup. Kaze did not care one bit about the incident. Heck, he did not even bring it up. Arthur straightened his back nervously, becoming even more cautious behind the wheel. “You knew, but why didn’t you say anything, Mr. Lee? You didn’t even tell on us.” Arthur could not understand why. However, he had more respect for the man. “I didn’t see a point. You’ll learn what happens when you displease me, so I won’t bother telling you now.” Kaze was mild-mannered as ever. He spoke softly without a hint of anger. All the more Arthur revered him. “Mr. Lee, we didn’t do our jobs right. We didn’t know who you were.“But my duty is to protect you in the dark. “We saw you getting out of the train
“Rising Sun is a media company. Several of their films are about to be released. They are trying to get them approved to air due to some censorship issues.” Arthur took out a document. “Are there any issues with the films? Why aren’t they approved yet?” Kaze asked curiously. Kaze had no idea. “There are some issues. They aren’t fit to be aired. “Typically, there aren’t a lot of restrictions for film productions so long as the themes aren’t sensitive topics. “But these films featured altered history. The company has been asked multiple times to make revisions, but the films still don’t make the cut.” The Viper’s Den’s members were not privy to the information. The Frosts were insignificant. Kaze was after the Frosts. Otherwise, the Viper’s Den would not waste its resources on a mere film production company. Jet’s investment of nearly ten million bucks in Rising Sun caught the Viper’s Den’s attention. The delayed approval of the films would be catastrophic to the in