Everyone waited for Hank to punch Kaze but he left in a hurry after a phone call. No one understood what kind of selection was more important than avenging Yume. “Selection? I heard the Lilyrose Strategic Department is selecting soldiers to be sent to foreign battlefields. All the ace soldiers from different strategic departments wanted to join, but there were only so many slots.” “My cousin who served the Spec Ops Team for many years didn’t even get a slot, but Hank got it?!” Harry looked at Hank in surprise. Hank said proudly without looking back, “How hard is it to get a slot in the preliminaries? Your cousin is useless.” Harry grunted but he did not argue. Hank served the main Spec Ops Team of the South River Strategic Department. He served directly under the highest command. Those who were given a slot in the preliminaries were all ace soldiers. Hank was able to secure his position among the elites and he even became a team leader, not just a common soldier. He
Hank looked proud. He was confident about the preliminaries. “Are you sure you can get through the preliminaries?” Kaze asked with a soft grin. Judging from the young masters’ words, there seemed to be a lot of misunderstanding regarding the preliminaries. They thought getting a slot would mean a bright future. He decided to correct their assumptions, which he needed an example. Coincidentally, Hank turned out to be the best choice to make an example out of. “I am the ace in our team and with my family’s support, I have the power and the background. If not me, who else?” Hank was confident. His family had everything laid out for him. As long as he performed well, he could easily pass the preliminaries. As for the next round, his family would also invest a lot to make sure he got in. “Great. Then you will soon understand that reality is harsh.” Kaze ignored him and called Draco directly. “The preliminaries haven't started, right? I’m coming to have a look.” “Boss,
Harry and the others were surprised. “You are still being stubborn at times like this? We don’t want to waste time on you now. We’ll come after you after the preliminaries are over. We will surely crush you by today!” They then called their drivers to pick them up. Rose was upset by the young masters’ frivolous attitude. “Stop being arrogant! You people are laughing at Kaze because he can’t go? I’ll make it happen!” Rose pulled her phone out and called her father. She said she wanted to attend the preliminaries but she did not mention Kaze. “You want to go have a look? Sure, I’ll ask around.” Nelson was punished together with his direct superior for drinking on duty, but he was released for good behavior. Soon, he secured a way to get Rose in. “Thank you, Dad!” Rose then waved her phone at Harry. “I can also attend the preliminaries with just one call. What’s so great about that?” “Hmph. Quite capable, little girl.” The young masters were embarrassed but they
“That depends on what he did wrong.” Nelson said confidently, “If it’s a heavy crime, even if he’s not from the military, he would be punished. If it’s something light, he would still be lectured. “Besides, the idiot is arrogant. I bet he’s going to be taught a lesson, or even beaten up. The discipline division isn’t the friendliest. Even if he’s a stubborn one, they have a way to crack him.” Rose’s face turned pale when she heard her father. “Kaze, don’t argue with them! Just cooperate!” Sky was worried as well. “Hahaha! He’s taken away by the discipline division the moment he arrived? Did he just turn himself in?” “Do you think he’ll call the soldiers from the discipline division useless? If he did, they would beat the shit out of him!” “Kaze, the idiot! He made my day!” Harry and the others continued to laugh at him. “Since when did we allow public viewing for the soldiers’ selection? This is not by the rules. Find out who allowed it and deal with it.” Kaze was
The young masters were taken down from the platform that they were standing on. Harry tried to resist but was taken down as well. Agitated and flushed, he shouted, “What are you doing? Show some respect! I am Harry Lokeman of the Lokeman family!” Slap! The soldier slapped him in the face for being irritating and uncooperative. “I don’t care what family you are from. This is a restricted zone and no civilians are allowed in here… What are you holding? Give it to me!” Harry’s binoculars were confiscated. “Military binoculars? You’re a spy?!” The soldiers immediately surrounded Harry and the young masters to search them. “I’m not a spy! I just want to see what the God of War looks like! Don’t accuse me!” Harry shouted. He was called a spy just because he held a pair of binoculars. “Trying to see the God of War’s true face is spy activity. The God of War’s schedule is classified, not even we know about it, yet you are here with military binoculars. You are not a spy? I
Hank did not want the God of War to see him, yet he already stood out from the others. Kaze saw him lowering his head among the other uplifted and energetic soldiers. It was difficult not to notice him. Hank was in uniform, so Kaze did not recognize him at first glance. He frowned and asked, “Soldier, why is your head down? Look up!” Countless gazes landed on Hank instantly. Hank wanted to die on the spot to escape the attention. He nervously squeezed the words out of his clenched teeth, saying, “S-Sir! G-God of War! I-I am afraid…” He answered instinctively without realizing he violated a taboo in the army. Kaze looked rather angry. “What is there to be afraid of? Look up!” His voice was as loud as the rumbling thunder. Hank was so frightened that he fell on his butt, and even his hat fell off. He looked at Kaze blankly. Kaze finally saw Hank’s face. He smiled and then wore a frosty look. “Am I that scary?” “I…” Hank could not spell a full word. Kaze grun
All the soldiers on the scene fell silent. It was brutal out there on the foreign battlefield, and Draco had the battle scars to prove it. “Get dressed.” Kaze waved his arm and said, “You saw it. Your chief commander is single to this day for fear of scaring the women when he takes his clothes off.” It sounded like teasing. However, it was no laughing matter. “The battlefield is not a place for easy fame or fortune. It’s a dangerous and challenging place where you must be prepared to risk your life.“Let me put it out there now. If you’re looking for a career that will make you rich and famous, this isn’t the place for you. The door is right there if hard work and danger scare you.” Kaze said his piece and walked away. Back on the training grounds, the soldiers stood at attention for a long time. The silence lingered. “That’s so uncool, Boss. Now the kids have seen me naked. There goes my reputation.” Draco put on his clothes and caught up to Kaze. He removed
“Come on. I’ll give you a tour of the military base. I made a formal request, so you won’t be arrested over it.” Draco patted Sky’s head. He warmed up to Sky because of the latter’s relationship with Kaze. Sky was now a younger brother to Draco. “Thank you, Draco, for saving us.” Sky was relieved, but a wave of anxiety quickly washed over him. “What about Kaze, Draco? Did he commit a serious offense?” “I doubt he has done anything,” Draco replied peevishly. Rose asked, “Why did the disciplinary commission approach him?” “They just want to get an understanding of the situation,” Draco murmured randomly. “So Kaze blew the whistle on all of us. That’s why we were arrested!” Landon’s eyes bulged. Draco glared at him. “Show some respect to Kaze or I’ll hit you.” Out of the three kids, Landon was the most annoying. Landon turned pale and kept to himself. Sky said, “Oh, I get it. Kaze reported those people from affluent families to get them arrested, so they can’
Kaze watched as the senior citizens took off. The place was quiet as usual, and many things in the unit were left uncollected. “Mr. Lee, does this arrangement work?” Arthur awaited Kaze’s orders. “It will do for now.” After being out for the day, Kaze had seen some stuff. Business was all about making money, but some lines should not be crossed. As long as things remained within reason, there would not be scrutiny or blame. It was astounding the lengths Jet would go to. “The area will be demolished after a while. I want all of the Frosts’ projects on hold. Don’t approve any of them.” One word from Kaze could shake the very foundation of the Frosts’ business. “Alright. My team is on it. “But the Frosts will ask questions and find out who is behind this.” Arthur looked at Kaze worriedly. “They can’t find anything.” No one would know who Kaze was without his permission. It probably never crossed Jet’s mind that Snow had a powerful friend. Otherwise, he woul
Kaze was confused. Surely, the authorities would not disregard human lives and demolish the place by force. “Well, we tried to relocate them, but they refused our services. If they are still not on board, they will be sent to the retirement home tonight.” That was all Pax knew. The retirement home was just another place for the senior citizens to await death. “Is there nothing else you can do? So you signed the contract without thinking about the consequences? Karma will get back at you.” Pax’s shamelessness shocked Arthur. Pax mentioned that he would put the demolition on hold. It had not been long, and now the rights to the land were handed over. “It’s out of my hands. Jet went to my superiors to seal the deal. We are not allowed to intervene. “We had been figuring out ways to reach reconciliation for these senior citizens, but Jet was determined to make them pay.” It was the best Pax could do. He was just an employee, working to make a living. He did not have a say
“I want to see the person in charge of the demolition project now.” It was not a matter of time before the area was bulldozed, but Kaze hoped to delay it. Generally, it would take a large amount of capital to launch a project. Any delay would cause massive losses. Jet had several projects that had been put on hold, and it was a heavy blow to him. If Jet could not fix things quickly enough, all his money tied to the projects would be gone. He would be forced to ditch some projects to cut his losses. “I’ll get him here right now.” Arthur went out to make phone calls. He believed Kaze did the right thing as the senior citizens had nowhere to turn to. The senior citizens could only survive with some help. “Thank you, young man. Why are you helping us?” The senior citizens were old, but they could tell that Kaze genuinely wanted them to be okay. “I don’t think it’s right to bully you.” Kaze looked at the senior citizens earnestly, feeling sorry for them. Jet lack
“We agreed on relocation because we would get a place to stay. “But these people were unreasonable. We were offered only one-third of what everyone else got.” The senior citizens were going to swallow their losses. They just needed the money to live their last days, and they did not have family, to begin with. Later, the same people had their eyes on their money and tried to put them up at an old folks’ home. The senior citizens refused to relocate and finally chose to protect themselves by contacting the media. These people sure left the senior citizens to die. Kaze was sympathetic to the senior citizens. He went back with them to a unit on the ground floor. The place was bare, with several beds placed together. The senior citizens must be sleeping in the same room. There was little to eat, only some water and dry provisions.The old residents did not have much savings. It was good enough that they had something to eat. “Have a cup of water, boy. We don’t have any
“Are you one of those people from the pier? Are you trying to get us to leave?” A grizzled-haired man looked at Kaze warily. “I was just passing by when I saw you struggling with the buckets. I came to help you.” Kaze explained patiently. He could understand why their guards were up. They must have been lied to many times before. “Are you here to help?” “Yes, I am. My companion has gone to get you some water. He’ll be back soon. There’s no need for you to fetch water,” Kaze said kindly. “We’ll pay you.” The senior citizens exchanged glances before accepting Kaze’s gesture. They could not handle the weight of the heavy buckets. “The building here is about to be demolished. Why are you still living here?” Pretending to be in the dark, Kaze asked. “This is our home. Someone is trying to take this land away.” The grizzled-haired man was upset. “What? I thought no one could demolish the building unless they had the residents’ permission.” “You’re right, but there
“Jet sure is bold to ensure business. Isn’t he afraid of shooting himself in the foot?” Kaze had never met a man like Jet. “He has done a lot to get to the top. His ruthless methods got him a lot of money. A lot of people are happy to support him.” Arthur was impressed with Jet’s tactics. However, his approach was too cruel for his liking. “Let’s head to the residential building.” Kaze just wanted to check out the area. He was happy to help when needed. The flashy, red sports car was eye-catching. However, the flamboyant car was uncommon in these places. Most workers would express their amazement, but they would not ask questions. The car pulled up outside a soon-to-be abandoned building. It looked desolate. The power lines and infrastructure were not visible either. Kaze knew that was one of the Frosts’ methods. Sometimes, nothing, not even demolition, was required. The goal was to get the residents out. All Jet needed to do was cut the water and electricity.
“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.