"How much?" Logan's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me? I don't have that much money!"A billion dollars! They had quite the guts to state that amount. Did they think that Logan had come from among the wealthiest families in the world?"As the scion of the Sullivan family and an important figure in the Business Association, don't you have that little bit of money?"The man swayed the army knife in his hand and threatened, saying, "Sullivan, I'd advise you to get the situation clear in your head—don't cling onto your wealth and give up your life instead.""It's true that my family is rich, but more than 90 percent are assets, and we barely have liquid funds. Have you met a businessman who would keep all their money in the bank instead of making investments?" Logan answered.The man replied, "That's your problem. If you're unwilling to pay up, then I'm sorry, but you'll have to experience what it feels like to lose everything. "I'll start with her first, then.""My dear, you can
"But I have a request—you have to guarantee our safety. Or else, you won't get anything."A look of delight flashed across Jim's face. After making such a big deal so effortlessly, he could no longer hide the excitement in his heart. He said, "Don't worry, we are men of our word. As soon as we receive the money, we'll release all of you." Logan tried to compose himself and said, "This is a huge amount of money, so it can only be done using my personal computer. Let me go back to the hotel, and I'll immediately transfer it to you."The smile on Jim's face disappeared, and he snorted with a frown. "Will you still pay up after we let you go? Once you return, I'm afraid that the first thing you'll do is call the police to get us!"If I guessed correctly, the person standing outside the door who refused to come in is a high-ranking police officer."Hurriedly, Logan explained, "I don't have the guts to not pay because my fianceé's and Mr. Manuel's lives are in your hands. "I won't
Logan doubted Jim's promise that he would release them. After all, Black Cobra was a group of fearless outlaws. It was as good as a doomed deal to trust their credibility.But now, Logan could only pin his hopes on Joanna, praying that she could safely return to the hotel and transfer the ransom. It was destined to be a long wait, and he could barely keep his patience in check.But in comparison to Manuel, he considered himself to be in a better situation. Next to him, Manuel was gritting his teeth in pain. The open wound on his shoulder was still bleeding and nobody from Black Cobra wanted to treat his injury.For a new upstart like Manuel, an international terrorist organization of Black Cobra's level wouldn't consider him worthy of their time even if they had some financial benefit to gain from him.And since they didn't care for his money, they wouldn't care for his life either.…A few minutes later, the door of an SUV swung open. Then, Joanna, whose head was covered in a
But unexpectedly, the opportunity presented itself very quickly. And not to mention, Joanna had even found out that an encrypted chip was needed in addition to Logan's personal laptop and password.That was three security hurdles to get through, and she had to admit that Logan was indeed a cautious person. But while the kidnapping today was a disaster for Logan, it was a fortunate event for her.With trembling hands, Joanna inserted the chip into the mainframe. After a few maneuvers, the amount in the bank account was displayed on the screen."F-Four billion dollars!" Joanna stared at the string of numbers, her heart nearly skipping out of her ribcage. This money was the fund that the Business Association had allocated for the investment in Tiusto, and it was entirely up to Logan's disposal.Even Logan wasn't sure why the higher-ups were so interested in a small town like Tiusto. Without any precursor, they'd allocated four billion dollars, and it seemed like a last minut
"Who did you ask me to kill?" Jim's eyes were wide, and he thought that his ears were playing tricks on him.Meanwhile, Logan was utterly shocked at Joanna's words. Even Manuel, who was observing with interest, was taken aback.Joanna began again, "I'll repeat myself, so you better listen carefully. "Kill Logan Sullivan." Joanna's cold and emotionless voice echoed once more as she uttered each word clearly, "Kill him, and I'll pay you right away. "By the way, don't leave out that Dakota guy as well, if it's not too much of a hassle. I believe that you won't want to leave any witnesses and potentially reveal your identities, do you?"Blood drained from Logan's and Manuel's faces. His fianceé wanted him dead! If Logan hadn't heard it with his own ears, he would've never believed it.Suddenly, Logan recalled the four billion dollars in his account and connected all the dots. "Are you bloody out of your mind, Joanna Rowland? How could you gang up with the kidnappers for money
The helicopter in the sky continued searching, but they hadn't found anything as well. Regretful, Samuel berated himself for not listening to Woody's words. Instead of holding his ground, he had conceded to Joanna.And going by the speed that they were searching through the mountains with now, they might not find Logan even after dark.…"Who are you?" the officer keeping watch shouted and raised his gun."Don't shoot! I'm Logan Sullivan's fianceé, Joanna Rowland!" Helter-skelter, Joanna stood in the road ditch, her expensive, branded clothes covered in mud and weed. Meanwhile, her stockings were ripped with holes, her hair was in complete disarray, and she was also missing a shoe.After confirming her identity, the search team was overjoyed and immediately reported their findings. "Mr. Hills, we found Ms. Joanna Rowland. She's fine, but she's just a little unnerved and emotionally unstable."According to Ms. Rowland, she jumped out of the car and hid in the ditch while the
Meanwhile at Helenova Ventures, it happened to be one of those rare days where Woody actually showed up at work, which Javier thought was odd.Since he had repeatedly hit a snag in front of Woody before, Javier tried to assign him some work. Because he wasn't completely confident, he only let Woody handle a few documents.In the end, Woody didn't object and gladly accepted the work. Upon seeing this, Javier was filled with regret. If he had known that Woody would be so compliant, he would've given him a more complicated task.Just then, Woody's phone started ringing. After taking a look, he got up and headed out.Immediately, Javier stopped him from leaving. "What are you doing? Did you finish your work?""No," Woody replied curtly."Since you've started on your task, you should see it to its completion. How can you be so irresponsible? I'm telling you, don't think that you can do whatever you please just because you have Ms. Kaiser's support."Then, Javier angrily burst out
"It's you again, you con artist! How could you say that my husband went down the doomed path?"What are you doing here? Are you here to laugh at us because you made a lucky guess? They're trying to save my husband inside there. If anything happens to him, I won't let you off!" Joanna shouted.Hurriedly, Samuel jumped in to explain, "Ms. Rowland, Mr. Henderson is an amazing person. If Mr. Sullivan had listened to him, he would've been fine. But he's also a miracle doctor. With his intervention, Mr. Sullivan will live!""He's a miracle doctor?" Joanna's eyes widened in disbelief.Just then, an angry voice said, "That's bullshit! There's no way he's a miracle doctor. He's just an ex-con, and here he is in the hospital trying to be a con artist again now. The man who shouted was none other than Javier. He continued, "People already hate con artists enough, but on top of that, you're also an ex-con."Then, Javier turned to Samuel and said, "Samuel Hills, what are you planning to d
Solomon didn't dare to resist and could only comply.By the time everyone arrived at the back of the mountain, the sky was already starting to lighten.Directly ahead lied a deep canyon with steep cliffs.Woody tied one end of the rope to the bridge pillar, slung the coil of rope over his shoulder, and nodded to the people around him."Is there something wrong?" Woody asked the battered elder.The elder quickly responded, "No problem!"Woody pushed off with one foot, launching himself into the air toward the other side of the cliff.While Woody was halfway through the flight, his body began to plummet downward.From this angle, he didn't stand a chance of making it across.At that moment, a giant eagle swooped in from the side.The elder stood at the edge of the cliff and blew the eagle whistle.The giant eagle spread its wings, and with Woody stepping onto its back, they instantly shifted from falling to ascending.In the next moment, he landed steadily at the edge of the
Woody's bold statements echoed throughout the entire Martial Arts Union Headquarters.In the past, if anyone dared to speak to their union president like that, Solomon wouldn't even need to say anything–the followers alone would leave the person questioning their life choices!In front of the Headquarters, how could he be allowed to speak recklessly?The current situation was that Woody not only said something, but also tore down their gate and injured dozens of their people.Of course, this number wasn't set in stone.If anyone else dared to step up, Woody certainly wouldn't hold back and was more than willing to help the Martial Arts Union continue increasing the number of casualties."You... have quite the attitude!"Solomon, being the union president of the alliance, held a certain standing and position, so it was unlikely for him to just back down easily.In reality, he had been feeling extremely anxious for quite some time.The eight seasoned elders teamed up and still c
He didn't want anyone to mention it, especially in public."Where are the eight elders?" Solomon's eyes were filled with rage as he shouted loudly."Here!" The eight elders spoke in unison, giving their response."That person destroyed our place and harmed our followers; he should be struck down on the spot to serve as a warning to others," Solomon said through gritted teeth.The eight elders responded in unison, "Yes, sir!""Attack!"The eight of them were all masters of martial arts who had reached the Peak level.They had impressive performance!At the headquarters, in terms of both status and strength, they were second only to Solomon.Even the legendary Martial God wouldn't stand a chance against the combined strength of these eight individuals.They coordinated seamlessly, surrounding Woody and launching a flurry of fierce attacks from all directions.If it were someone else, they would have been torn apart by them.Woody remained calm, letting his mind wander for a m
In the darkness, countless shadows darted back and forth.When they clearly saw that the gateway, which symbolized the Martial Arts Union, had been destroyed and was now nothing more than a pile of rubble, they were immediately filled with rage."Who dared to be so bold and fearless!""How dare you tear down the Martial Arts Union's gate? You're asking for trouble.""Whoever it is, they're definitely not a good person. Let's deal with them thoroughly first and ask questions later!"A crowd filled with anger saw what appeared to be a figure standing in front of the ruins."Hey kid, did you see who did it?"A sharp-eyed person noticed that the figure was a young man and immediately started questioning him."I'm warning you, this situation is serious. You need to tell everything you've seen, or else you'll face the consequences."Woody stood calmly and said, "I saw it.""Come on, who is it?" a group of people demanded in unison.Woody said calmly, "That's me!""What?!"The gr
Rudolf immediately became anxious. He shielded his granddaughter, Penny, while loudly rebuking, "Mr. Edwards, is this really how your Martial Arts Union treats guests? If word gets out, we won't be afraid of becoming the laughingstock of our peers in the martial arts community!"Solomon was completely unfazed. "You think you're worthy of being called guests?"Faced with a large group of people who were eyeing them aggressively, the three of them were no match at all.It was quickly dealt with!"Solomon, aren't you worried that Mr. Snider's disciple, Woody, will come looking for trouble if you do this?" Rudolf shouted loudly while struggling.Solomon couldn’t care less. “If he dares to come, I will make sure he gets a taste of being a prisoner! The person you were taught by is no good, so it's likely you won't be any better. It's fitting that you pay off your teacher's debt. Let both the old man and you face the consequences together!"What's all the fuss about Woody? He's just a
Solomon was using very offensive language.Miranda had a cold look on her face, but since she was on someone else's turf, she couldn't act out.Jaycee was actually Solomon's sister, and there was an age difference of over twenty years between them.After Jaycee was born, her parents passed away due to illness. Before their death, they entrusted her, still an infant, to the care of Solomon.Solomon had a hard time raising his younger sister by himself. Now, as he watched her grow into a beautiful and talented young woman, she was becoming increasingly admired by people in the martial arts community.There were so many people trying to arrange marriages with the Edwards family that they practically wore down the doorstep from their frequent visits.Solomon was overwhelmed with options, dreaming of his sister marrying into a wealthy family and securing a beautiful marriage.Dreams shattered!Jaycee, who was as fresh and naive, ended up being paired with someone considered old and
To be honest, Woody was quite intrigued.Every time he got into a scuffle with the underlings, he couldn't help but deeply miss Alexia.The esteemed Princess of the Epochal Realm was clearly being used by him as a henchman.The key point is that Alexia wasn't upset at all; instead, she was quite happy to help."No way."Reason overcame impulse, and Woody frowned as he said, "You have to stay at home. Only then can I be at ease."Alexia's expression fell. "Alright then!"Woody laughed and said, "You're being so obedient, I must reward you for that.""What kind of reward?" Her ears perked up with excitement, and her eyes were sparkling.Woody pulled a serpent's core of his pocket and said, "I promised you a gift earlier, and now I'm making good on that promise."Alexia's eyes lit up with excitement again. "The serpent's inner core!"In the past, she would not have paid any attention to the inner core of this quality.Every extra look is an insult to the title "Princess of the
Edwin was, of course, unconvinced! As the teacher, he had failed, but the student had succeeded on the first try. If it wasn't sheer luck, then what was it? Woody didn't respond and picked up a second heavenly crystal. Moments later, he succeeded again! Edwin's eyes widened in amazement, as though he witnessed something truly extraordinary. Meanwhile, the admiration on Alexia's face skyrocketed. "Try it again!" Edwin was still unwilling to accept it. This time, Woody didn't humor him and directly put away the remaining heavenly crystals. "What's the meaning of this?" Edwin widened his eyes. Woody stood up to leave and without looking back, he said, "Thanks!""Wait, are you sure you've fully mastered it?"Edwin hurried after him and said, "What if something goes wrong? I can help you figure it out!""No need. If my master believes he's fine, then he's definitely going to be fine," Alexia said, blocking the old man and speaking with solemn assurance. At that moment, Edwin's
Edwin stiffened his neck, trying to maintain a normal expression to cover up his embarrassment as his earlier demonstration had ended in failure. Although he knew the method, his lack of practice over the years had led to a mistake, which was understandable.""Ha..." Alexia let out a big yawn, her eyelids feeling as though they were weighed down by a thousand pounds; she was getting sleepy!Edwin's lengthy lecture had successfully bored her into a drowsy state. As for the later parts of the lesson, it didn't register in her mind at all; everything he said went in one ear and out the other, leaving no trace behind. "Carry on…"Alexia stretched lazily signaling for the two of them to continue without being affected by her. This left Edwin feeling utterly defeated! He felt as though he had been slapped in the face! Putting a student to sleep was already embarrassing enough, but to make matters worse, his demonstration had also failed. "It's fine, let me try." Woody volunteered.