At last, Joel finished letting out his anger and collapsed onto the sofa as his chest heaved.A long while later, he seemed to calm down enough as he lit a cigarette and fell deep into thought.Eventually, he called out, "Jar!"Jar Wattmen, Joel's secretary, hurried inside from where he had been hiding, trembling from head to toe. "Yes, Mister William? What can I do for you?""Call Borghetti. Tell him I need to see him. It's urgent," said Joel.Jar immediately whipped out his phone and did as he was told.Joel's expression was ashen then as he fumed, "How dare you do this to me, Maniac. Well, I won't be playing nice either. Don't fault me for that."Just then, over at a random building.A crowd of property owners was gathered in front of the sales department, protesting at the top of their lungs and waving flags demanding that their properties be handed over to them on time and their losses be compensated.It had been three years overdue, and none of the property owners had re
Soon enough, tens of thousands of workers stormed into the control room. They immediately displaced the guards and the supervisor was beaten to a pulp and almost thrown off the top floor.This happened at every single factory and company owned by Viewspring Corp, to the point they were almost in complete disarray.…That evening.An Audi A6 was parked by a lake on the outskirts of town.A Bentley S500 drove over to it, and out emerged Joel William. He walked up to the Audi, bowing to the back window.The window of the Audi lowered by half.Joel immediately spoke up, "Mister Borghetti, I'm sure you know about everything that's been happening to the company lately.""I'm not too clear on the details.""It's that bastard, Maniac. He hired some people to screw us over. My company's in shambles right now.""Screw you over? How?""He's been digging up certain matters. They're asking for the units they've paid for, my workers are on a strike, insisting they get a pay raise and comp
Maniac cast a look of disdain at Joel. "They're someone you can't afford to mess with. This isn't something you can pay your way out of, so forget about it."Joel flew to his feet when he heard that. His tone was sharp as he said, "I'm not scared of you, Maniac! I could hold you down back then and I still can.""It's true that you used to be able to hold me down." Maniac got to his feet, staring right at Joel. "But you're dead this time and you're paying in your own blood. Got it?"Joel paused for a while before saying, "This is about Ethan Osborn, isn't it?""No comment." Maniac leaned back in his chair, taking another sip of whiskey.Joel sneered. "Don't you forget about Mister Taft, Maniac. You're an idiot if you think you can run Anya City with him around."Joel turned to leave after that. Maniac's expression shifted slightly.After Joel was gone, Haley asked softly, "Who's Mister Taft? Is he really powerful?"Maniac got to his feet, pacing to and fro in the office before s
However, Wilbur merely smiled. "It doesn't matter who he is. Anyone who stands in the way of me taking Joel William down and avenging my brother will have to pay the price. Perhaps it might even be with their life."Maniac nodded. "I'll do my best. Don't worry.""You can go now. And don't worry about it. You're working for me now, so no one's going to hurt you.""Thank you, Sir."Maniac bowed and left the hotel. He stood at the curb, his expression dark. "I'm putting my life on the line for this. Guess that's fate."At the same time, Joel's car arrived at the foot of a mountain far on the outskirts of Anya City.There was a moderately-sized villa there, with the name of the place written on the door."Pureheart Villa."Joel got out of his car and promptly fell to his knees in front of the villa as he shouted, "Mister Taft! It's Joel William. I need to see you, Sir."Not long after, a man in his forties walked out with a frown. "Do you know where you are? It's the middle of the
Mister Taft fell silent for a while before saying, "What's the matter?""Mister Taft, the company my father founded is on the brink of collapse. Please, Mister Taft. I need your help.""I don't know how to run a business.""Let me explain, Mister Taft. It's Maniac. He's been taking over Anya City and doing whatever he wants to ever since you went into solitude to cultivate. My son was just beaten to death, so I sent his killer to prison. However, Maniac's been using that as an excuse to attack me, and I'm now on the verge of bankruptcy. Please help me, Mister Taft. I've been incredibly wronged.""Is that so?""Yes, it is. There wasn't much Maniac could do to me before, but I think he's got someone supporting him in secret this time. Even the authorities are staying out of this. Maniac's been wreaking havoc everywhere he goes and taking advantage of his power as an Aura level cultivator. I don't know what else I can do.""Aura level? Ha ha ha ha!" Mister Taft barked out a laugh, s
"Sanctuary level, huh? Well, that doesn't matter to me. Anyone who stands in my way of revenge is going down all the same," said Wilbur.Maniac was clearly a lot less confident now, even appearing a little cowardly as he frowned. "Sir, are you sure you can win over Mister Taft?""What, are you scared?" Wilbur chuckled.Maniac sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, Sir. A Sanctuary level cultivator is powerful enough to crush a mere Aura level like me to death.""Well, Maniac, I'll give you one last choice. You can either keep working for me or turn to Mister Taft. You're bearing the consequences of that though," said Wilbur.Maniac fell silent as he thought about it. A while later, he bowed to Wilbur. "Sir, I've got nowhere else to go. I chose to work for you from the start and am going to stick with it. No more doubts.""The choices you make determine the life you lead. You'll do well if you make the right choices, and fail if you make the wrong ones. You've made your choice,
'There will no longer be a place for him in Anya City when Mister Taff gets involved, right?' Joel wondered. Joel felt like he had the upper hand. Perhaps he could kill Maniac on the spot. Everyone ignored the young man behind Maniac, and they thought he was only a sidekick. Joel immediately took on a cold and menacing gaze upon seeing Maniac. Maniac would die countless times if looks could kill. However, Maniac was audacious. He went in and glanced around before sitting with his sidekick. They could not believe he was not afraid at all. Everyone sneered internally and thought, 'Maniac is forcing himself to look calm.' Maniac was the ruler of Anya City, and he had a conflict with Joel, so Mister Taft would not suffer his existence in Anya City. They wondered how he was brave enough to show up. Zachary stood up at that moment. He looked at everyone and said, "It looks like everyone is here, so let's welcome Mister Taft." Everyone stood up and greeted synchronously, "We
Maniac stood up and replied slowly, "It's true, Mister Taft." "Why?" asked Chance coldly. Maniac stepped toward Chance and bowed. He said, "It wasn't consensual, Mister Taft. Someone forced me to do so." The people who did not know the truth were instantly shocked. 'Is that so?' Wilbur sighed slightly. "It's him." Maniac pointed at Wilbur and declared loudly, "A few days ago, this guy named Wilbur Penn found me. He almost killed me because he's an Ambience level cultivator. He threatened me to attack Joel. I had no choice but to comply. Thankfully, you're back, Mister Taft. Please seek justice for me, and I'm willing to be your adopted son too." Then, he knelt on the floor without showing any signs of getting up. Everyone was stunned. No one expected Maniac to do that. 'Could it be true?' They thought. Everyone looked toward Wilbur at that moment. The young man looked ordinary. Was he really an Ambience level cultivator?' Chance looked at Wilbur and asked slowly,