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
Winnie sensed something amiss because it sounded like the person on the other end of the line was brushing her off. She asked with a frown, “By a later date, how long are you referring to?” “The earliest we can do is three months, but I can’t give you a definitive deadline. It can be a year or more,” the company representative replied nonchalantly. Winnie grew furious. “But the contract states that the shipment would be dispatched within ten days. Don’t tell me Key High Tech can’t keep up with production.” “Don’t put that on us, Ms. Souffle.” The representative said unhappily, “We have received a lot of orders, and you are in the back of the line. What choice do we have?” Winnie saw red. Key High Tech only received such a large order because Shangrila Group was trying to set up a laboratory. A procurement order of tens of millions of dollars was considered a substantial order to Key High Tech. Besides, some equipment was worth millions of dollars individually. Even
Everyone looked at where Jiro was pointing and saw Kaze. Wesley and the others immediately curled their lips into a gloating grin. Kaze’s words must have infuriated Jiro. He allowed others to leave except for Kaze, which he wanted to take away. One could only imagine what would happen to Kaze if Jiro took him back. However, before Wesley and the others could savor the moment, their smirks froze. Miru shook her head and said sternly, “Bronze Sparrow is open for business and we will not interfere with our customer’s private affairs, except this time. “I am making an exception for Kaze. I don’t care what you do to the others after you walk out of my place but with Kaze, it’s not happening.” “What the…” Miru’s words put everyone in shock, even Cyan and her friends widened their eyes in disbelief. Miru was defending Kaze?! Kaze knew Miru personally as well? Draig started to feel jealous about Kaze’s luck with women. Snow listened to him while the owner of Bronze Sp
“Nonsense!” Infuriated, Jiro shouted, “Woman, Bronze Sparrow thrives because of us Ryokanians! How dare you say that to us? “Who the hell are you? Not even Zoro, the previous manager, spoke to me like that!” “That’s why Zoro is dead.” Miru pursed her lips and raised her hand at the men behind her. “Let’s show Mr. Sakamoto what Bronze Sparrow is capable of.” “Alright, Boss!” Wolf, with an ever-smiley face, stepped up and walked toward Jiro and his men. Aside from the three Ryokanians Kaze had already taken down, eighteen remained. Seeing Wolf's bloated figure and cheerful smile as he approached them by himself, the Ryokanians burst into mocking laughter. “What is this fat guy trying to do? Is he trying to take us all at once?” “Look at his size. Was he a sumo wrestler before?” “Go get him. Teach him a lesson! Remind him that sumo wrestlers are no match for us!” One of them went up to Wolf with a ferocious smile. Bang! Wolf punched the man in the face, sending
“Huh?” Jiro frowned but then quickly smiled. He took the glass of whiskey from Cyan and said, “I’m always happy to give a beautiful woman some space.” Cyan breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around to face Kaze with a different look and said, “Kaze, what have you done? “Can you stop causing trouble? Stop bragging and stop with your nonsense! This is no time for that! Kneel before Mr. Sakamoto and ask for forgiveness! If he’s happy, your punishment might be lighter!” The look on her face screamed resentment for Kaze. “Now! If you waste this chance, I won’t care about your life and death anymore!” She did not want to get involved in his nonsense. Yet she was the one who organized the gathering and if something happened to Kaze, injured or dead, her father would scold her to death. It explained why she steeled herself up and tried to save Kaze, or so she assumed she was saving him.Kaze said, “Cyan, you should worry about yourself first. And, if you don’t want to be thei
Kaze was quiet during the entire confrontation, so no one noticed him until now. Wesley and the others finally thought of him. Kaze did not kneel! Wesley and the others were aggrieved. Kaze remained seated as he said, “Why should I kneel?” “You think you don’t need to kneel because you knocked out one of my men?” Jiro narrowed his eyes and said, “Only Brother Draig doesn’t need to kneel here. All the other men have no right to speak to me on their feet! It’s decided by strength!” He spoke in a deep and intimidating voice, expressing his displeasure. Everyone sensed the anger in his tone. With his intimidating presence, he would not allow an unruly person to disrupt the situation he had under control. He deliberately held back from the first strike because he wanted the overwhelming presence that he had created to force Kaze down on his knees. Such a way that targeted one’s mentality was smarter and more effective. “Kaze, you idiot! Why aren’t you down on your kn
“Go, open another bottle of wine.” Jiro tapped Cyan’s face, causing her cheeks to turn pale. She turned to Draig with begging eyes. Draig said, “Brother Jiro, Cyan is my friend…” “Is she your woman?” Jiro interrupted him once more. Draig was taken aback by the question. He had an instinctive glance at Snow and shook his head. “No.” Jiro did not even look at him. He pointed at Cyan and said, “Go. Open a bottle of wine and wait for me. I like an obedient woman. I don’t like to be rough on a woman.” Cyan was horrified. She teared up as she reluctantly went off to get the bottle of wine. Jiro and the men behind him then hopped onto the couch, taking up the places that belonged to Wesley and his friends. They were ungentlemanly. The moment they sat down, they grabbed the pretty girls into their arms and molested them, treating them like mere playthings for pleasure. The ladies lost their smiles and looked horrified. They tried to break free but no matter how hard the
The arrogance that Draig brought back to Arcadia had finally been blunted. He nodded and said, “I’m Draig Tenby, the heir of the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists from Uleania. You are?” The Tenby family was the creator of the well-known Tenby Eight Extreme Fists technique. His father practiced the set of fists since he was young and his grandfather was publicly known as the grandmaster of the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists. Whenever a Tenby had to reveal his or her background, they would naturally reveal that they practiced the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists. In addition, the family and the technique were famous in Uleania and Arcadia. Once they revealed their background, even the fiercest enemy would be deterred. “The heir of the Tenby Eight Extreme Fists? Pardon me for not recognizing you earlier.” Jiro stood straight up and put on a strict face. He bowed and said, “Jiro Sakamoto, Refined Blade Clan.” “Jiro Sakamoto?!” Many others recognized the name and were shocked when they heard
Jiro pointed at the corner, indicating that the men could kneel there. His men behind him laughed in agreement. They then started to scrutinize the women as if they were picking one for themselves. The way they browsed through the women as if they were products left the women feeling sick and disgusted. Cyan’s face paled. She tried to shake off Jiro’s hand but could not even break free. She turned to Draig with eyes begging for help. “Let go of her!” Draig stepped up and stared down at Jiro. Jiro glanced at Draig and then raised his brows. He curled his lips up and said, “Hmph. And here I thought I found someone that I like.” “I said, let go of her!” Draig said, stepping closer to Jiro. Jiro tightened his clutch over Cyan’s jaw, making her tear up. He chuckled and said, “Beat me and I’ll let her go.” “You bastard!” Draig cursed. Cyan did everything she could to set him up with Snow, but he had to return the favor. Even though Draig feared Jiro, he steeled himsel
Everyone on the couch gasped in shock. A moment ago, the influencers, who were giggling and chuckling, waiting for Wesley to show off his strength, instinctively shrank in fear. “How dare you beat Wesley! You guys are asking for it!” Wesley’s followers failed to realize the severity of the situation. They bolted up, grabbed the nearest beer bottles, and jumped at the enemies. Jiro raised his hand to signal his men, indicating he would handle this challenge himself. Then, he stepped forward. Punches and kicks were dished out in a flurry. In less than thirty seconds, Wesley’s men were all beaten up to the ground, twirling around in painful groans. Like Wesley, they, too, suffered broken arms and legs. Everyone thought Wesley would be able to teach the Ryokanians another lesson they could not forget but it turned out the other way around. Other than Kaze and a few more, most of them on the couch were horrified. Cyan instinctively glanced at Kaze. She started to regret
Kaze frowned. He tapped on Snow’s shoulder, gesturing to her to sit down as they could no longer walk away. Since they were not part of this, Kaze wanted to leave the matter to Wesley and let them deal with it. The men were not towering but all of them were buff and bulky. Their muscles were obvious even through their uniforms. Their necks had the same tattoo of a sword, amplifying their ferocity. One of the men's heads was bleeding. He was the Ryokanian whom Wesley had hit with a bottle of beer. Wesley wiped the beer and snacks off himself and then shouted at the men, “Who the fuck are you pieces of shit? Do you know who the hell am I? How dare you hit my friend with the bottle?!” The leader of the Ryokanians was a young man in a black karate uniform. He was around 180 cm tall, which was considered tall among Ryokanians. He had a buzz cut that amplified his stern and stoic expression; his presence felt sharp and strong. He had a glass of whiskey in his hand as he loo