The woman, who spoke in a heavy foreign accent, approached hastily. “You asked for it, bitch! No one hits my child and gets away with it,” she yelled while raising her hand to slap Brenda. Frightened, Brenda cocked her head back and hugged Winnie’s neck to cry. Smack! Winnie slapped the woman’s hand away, hugged Brenda, and consoled her, “Don’t cry, Brenda. Mommy’s here.” Her mother’s little girl, Brenda, stopped the tears and curled up in Winnie’s arms before staring at the foreign woman shyly. The foreign woman held her arm and glared at Winnie menacingly. “Ah! You’re such a savage lowlife! How dare you hit me!” The fact that Winnie hit her enraged her more than her child getting hit.“Ma’am, use your words, not violence,” Winnie said with a grimace. The foreign woman stood aside and watched the children bully Brenda. Now that her child had fallen over, she tried to strike Brenda. With Winnie’s words striking a nerve, the foreign woman uttered in rage, “Even your g
Danny demanded one million prys in compensation for the minor scrape on Danny Jr.’s arm. The payment was expected in prys, a currency with an exchange rate ten times higher than the dollar.Winnie was not the only one angry. Even Kaze smirked in rage. “Danny, right? I bet you couldn’t earn a living in your home country, so you came to Arcadia to scam us locals. “We haven’t yet determined if compensation is appropriate in this case. Even if we should, you are demanding one million prys for a minor injury. It’s daylight robbery.” “Hahaha…” The onlooking crowd was amused by Kaze’s remark. Many foreigners, who could not make a living in their homeland, were treated like kings in Arcadia. The recent increase in the number of foreign teachers at universities sparked debate and raised concerns about qualifications and necessity. Many were glad that Kaze tore into Danny, but some took things far and stood against the common enemy. “You’re right, sir. Why one million prys for
“Are you even an Arcadian?” Winnie said exasperatedly, feeling sick to her stomach by Jem’s behavior.Kaze said coldly, “You’re a traitor to our country.” “How dare you!” Jem was about to blow up. “No need to get worked up over these brutes, Jem,” Danny said. Danny soon furrowed his brows. “I’m not pleased with the staff here. My child was injured, but no one came to resolve the matter. Are the employees here condoning the attacker?” An employee of Century Fun, who was hiding in the crowd to observe the situation, turned pale. He turned on his walkie-talkie. “Manager…” Soon, a group of Century Fun’s staff members rushed over. A member approached Danny and apologized. “Hello, Mr. Tulip. I am Scott Young, the general manager of Century Fun. I apologize for arriving late. I was caught up in an emergency.” “What can be more important than the assault of Mr. Tulip’s child?” Jem scoffed disgruntledly, pointed at Kaze’s group, and said, “Mr. Tulip wanted the perpetrato
“See? You have pissed Mr. Tulip off.” Scott glared at Kaze before sucking up to Danny. “Mr. Tulip, security guards can’t make arrests or use force like the police can.” “Enough with the nonsense. Mr. Tulip is giving you authority now.” Jem, who stood beside Danny, reprimanded. “Just do as Mr. Tulip says. He has you covered. What are you afraid of? The police can’t do anything to you. “Besides, Mr. Tulip just wants to kick them out and embarrass them. “We’ll be filing a case with the police later to make them pay.” Good at reading Danny’s mind, Jem guessed what he was thinking. “You’re right, Jem. While members of my family are cultured, we will not tolerate insults from riffraff.” Danny glanced at Kaze and smirked ruthlessly. “Now I’ll show you the consequences of upsetting me.” His vile remarks drained Winnie’s face of color. She looked at Kaze and said reluctantly, “Maybe I should just apologize and pay up.” The local’s behavior toward Danny was disheartening.
The group of foreigners taunted like no one else’s business. The onlooking locals were enraged by their remarks. “What? Did we say something wrong? We only spoke of the truth. You are all lowlifes. Haha!” The foreigners only took things up a notch and mocked the offended crowd. Backed by her peers, Danny’s wife said cockily, “Hear that? A lowlife like you should apologize on your knees. I might just consider forgiving you.” She pointed at Kaze menacingly, her finger with a huge rock up his nose. Kaze side-eyed the woman and said indifferently, “One more word from you, and I’ll hit you.” The foreigners burst out laughing in amusement. “Oh, Arcadians love to make meaningless threats. It’s all talk and no action with them.” “Yeah, slavery is in their veins.” Danny’s wife crossed her arms and looked at Kaze in disdain. “Hey, lowlife! I might respect you a little if you have the guts to hit me.” With a chilling glint in his eyes, Kaze slapped her right away. Smack!
“I don’t care who you are and where you are from, Arcadian. I’m going to make you pay,” Danny said menacingly to Kaze. He cocked his head back and commanded Scott, “I change my mind. Order your security guards to break the guy’s limbs and throw him out. He can beg for his life on his knees.” Danny ordered to cripple Kaze in public. His arrogance was overwhelming. “Um…” Scott glanced at the onlooking customers hesitantly. As the general manager of Century Fun, Scott had invoked public resentment by favoring Danny over Kaze. If Scott were to break Kaze’s limbs at Danny's instruction, Century Fun might lose business and face a public boycott.“What are you afraid of? Mr. Tulip has you covered,” Jem said. Later, he changed the subject and said arrogantly, “Don’t forget. It’s a chance for you to get in Mr. Tulip’s good graces. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.” It struck Scott that Danny was a special guest from the royal family. Truth be told, even if Century
Kaze was expected to show understanding to the security officers even though they were the ones acting maliciously toward him. The logic did not make sense. Kaze furrowed his brows repulsively and said indifferently, “I can’t move. We can sort any issues here.” The head of security grimaced and glanced at the onlooking customer before waving at his men. “Close in!” The security officers hemmed in on Kaze, blocking the customers from taking videos and photos of them. The head of security grinned at Kaze, revealing his tobacco-stained teeth. “Since you can’t move, I’ll help you move then.” Following a chilling glint in his eyes, the head of security reached for Kaze’s throat. He came on Kaze with incredible speed. “You jump straight to violence. Are you an outlaw or a security officer?” Kaze turned sideways to evade the attack while keeping an eye on him the whole time. The head of security raised his eyebrow in surprise as Kaze was able to dodge his attack in a spl
Danny gritted his teeth and cocked his head to yell at Scott in hushed tones, “Loser! What are your people doing? They look strong, but they can’t even handle a scrawny guy.” “Um, Mr. Tulip. The guy just got off lucky,” Scott nodded his head and responded ingratiatingly. He had no idea what was going on either. “Bastard! I don’t care if he got off lucky. I want his limbs broken and him thrown out.” Danny shouted, “Now!” “Of course. I’ll make sure that happens right away!” Scott turned around and screamed at the remaining security officers, “You can’t even do your job, bastards! Hurry up and get him!” “Mr. Young, h-he’s strong.” The dozen security officers froze. Scott did not see what happened, but they had front-row seats to everything earlier. The young man overpowered the head of security in a single blow. “Fools! He’s just one person while you’re a whole team.” Scott lashed out. “Take him down before I send you packing!” The security guards stood still. Th
“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