“Speaking of this, who’s the remaining shareholder of this hotel?” Darius asked, thinking he understood Umbrite Hotel’s division of shares well since he had previously scanned through the information of each shareholder. Even so, he could not help second-guessing the identities of the hotel’s shareholders.“Huh? Has Mr. Reid recently unearthed new information? Or is there another reason he’s asking me this?” The cogs in Edward’s brain spun faster just then. He was so immersed in his thoughts that he froze the entire time. Eventually, he parted his lips to voice his curiosity but got interrupted by Alicia’s bright voice. “Don’t worry, Mr. Reid. We’ll ensure that the final shareholder shows up for tomorrow’s banquet. I’ll personally bring him over from his residence if otherwise.”That garnered a satisfied nod from Darius, who then waved to dismiss the two.A sigh of relief escaped Alicia immediately after. Her arm shot forward to grab Edward’s wrist as she speedily led him away. Befo
Shelvin straightened his back at once, adding, “One more thing—they now consider my existence a serious issue because I’ve located their newly developed medicinal substance and successfully injected it into my body in front of them.”Darius’ eyes had fallen shut some time ago, and his breathing remained steady.Unsure whether Darius was awake, Shelvin got onto his approached the former to find out. Yet, as he stepped one foot forward, Darius’ eyes shot open as if shooting a dark warning at him. Before Shelvin could process what was happening, his feet stumbled backward out of instinct, causing him to almost fall out of fear. Before he could stabilize himself, his gaze darted past the room and noticed Darius’ expression had returned to neutral. That was enough to relieve the weight off his shoulders. Following that, Shelvin recomposed himself and calmly stated, “I know you have your reservations toward me, but please don’t worry. You’ll see I’ve been telling the truth this entire tim
“I-I’m sorry, but I-I should leave now. I just realized I have some matters that require only me to attend to, so I have to go,” Shelvin muttered hoarsely while looking at Darius. He then turned to leave but failed to take one step ahead as the latter grabbed his wrist. Simultaneously, Darius’ grip caused the flames beneath his skin to spread, making the pain even more unbearable. It was so intense that Shelvin bellowed in agony. His cries ripped through the air and startled everyone at the scene, fear crawling into their hearts. What shocked Shelvin was that Darius remained unbothered. He had noticed it while he was screaming earlier, so once the pain soothed, he gazed confusedly at Darius.Knowing what Shelvin’s inquisitive gaze meant, Darius immediately explained, “I’ve seen this before. Dream Investment Group must’ve intentionally left that guidebook behind for you and your fellow apprentices. That way, if any of you harbored plans to betray them, the book would mislead you into
“But that’s not how Darius should be,” Shelvin immediately rebuked himself in his mind. After dissecting the situation more, he shook his head and thought, “Then again, regardless of whatever Darius is plotting against me, his willingness to save me is touching.”That was when Darius cast a questioning look at Shelvin. He could tell the latter’s shoulders trembled harder once he placed his hand on them earlier. Darius did not know why Shelvin reacted that way, nor could Darius figure out a logical reason behind it. So, he took his hand off Shevin’s shoulder before folding both hands behind his back. He then narrowed his eyes and said, “Don’t get too excited, though. There’s something else I have to tell you.”Shelvin instantly fell silent upon hearing that. Still, he could not hide how anxious he felt, his gaze hardening while his muscles tensed. Darius stared more intensely and dubiously at the former, not knowing why Shelvin’s every reaction thus far seemed so dramatic. Nonethele
Shelvin could not accept that. As his face turned bright red from humiliation, Darius abruptly spoke. “There’s no need to feel ashamed. Your excessive drooling is merely a result of the bugs tampering with the nerves in your body. Also, if you don’t come over now, I can assure you those bugs will devour your entire nervous system. Although they can only chew off a small portion each, those pesky vermin can move quickly. Plus, there are many of them in your body, and they can attack your nervous system from every angle. You’re only drooling now, but you’ll randomly start giggling and excreting all foods or liquids you’ve recently eaten.”While saying those things, Darius shrugged stoically.Standing opposite was Shelvin, whose face had darkened like coal when he heard the graphic description. His mind started visualizing himself losing control as he stripped naked before everyone. Then, his entire body quivered as he walked ahead to sit before Darius, ignoring the sharp burn that happ
What Shelvin could not stand was that the very superiors he served had stolen the powers he had worked hard to cultivate. The thought made his breathing quicken as his body trembled with fury. “So, If I come across the person who stole some of my powers, I can detect the presence of said powers in their body?”Lips curving, Darius nodded and said, “Of course. It originally belonged to you, so it’s only fair that you can sense its presence. On top of that, I can tell you very responsibly that once you achieve a certain level of strength, you can master total control over your enlightened martial arts skills. That’ll allow you to radiate it beyond your body and do many more things. The cultivated energy, also known as aura, that got stolen from you can do the same. After all, those and your current auras share the same properties—they’re the type of power one releases from their body. Thus, with proper cultivation and training, you can control your stolen auras from a distance and make
Thus, Darius kept his cool while asking, “I see. Then, may I ask why you’re still here?”Alicia exhaled deeply, mustering whatever courage she had left to turn, raise her head, and look into Darius’ eyes. Still, she was so nervous that she blushed like a lovestruck schoolgirl. “I-I j-just thought you were planning to inspect the banquet’s setup since I mentioned it earlier.”She exhaled again before spinning on her heel to set foot beyond the door’s threshold. Then, she parted her lips to say, “My sincerest apologies, Mr. Reid. I understand I’ve overstepped my bounds, so I’ll be on my way now.”With that, she dashed down the hallway to leave without waiting for Darius’ response.A thought appeared in Darius’ mind, causing him to quirk his brow for the slightest second. However, he shook his head in the next second, thinking, “Nah. The relationship between Alicia and me is different. At least, I bet that’s what Alicia thinks. Although, such progression needs time, so it can’t be helped
“Grandpa’s number! That’s never happened before!” Darius thought, blood rushing all over his body with panic. He was so anxious that his phone kept slipping out of his hands, so he gave in; Darius placed his phone on the nightstand and accepted the call.James spoke on the other end of the line with an unprecedentedly austere tone. “Is there anything you wish to inform me about regarding our family company’s shares?”Darius’ eyes and mouth rounded in shock, and he failed to utter a word. Silence then ensued forever between him and his grandfather. It was as though all courage had vaporized from Darius’ body; he dared not lift his head, so he allowed it to lower while his gaze settled on the ground. Even his voice took on a tinge of bitter regret. “I know this is all my fault, Grandpa. All I can hope for is that things don’t affect the Reid family’s reputation because if it does, I’ve made a grave, unforgivable mistake.”That was when James’ voice rang out, sounding even more weighed
"If you hadn't picked on me, I wouldn't have ended up like this. No matter how wealthy I've become, I'll never be able to take these black robes off!" The mysterious man's voice was shaky. He was extremely agitated.James frowned at that. He said curiously, "You keep saying I've done you wrong, but everything I did to you was what you did to others. I only gave you a taste of your own medicine."The mysterious man's breathing sped up when he heard that. He barked out a laugh and sneered, "I'll be honest with you. I never thought I'd have the chance to meet someone as dumb as you again."He shook his head. "I find it hard to imagine what your grandson will do when he sees you like this." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the door was kicked open with a loud bang. The man was caught off guard. He looked at Darius as his body trembled violently.Darius frowned when he saw this. It was completely different from what he'd imagined. He narrowed his eyes at the mysterious man, his
Gabriel smiled and nodded. "Alright, then. I'll return to my workstation and prepare a proposal on what to do with Noah."Darius nodded and smiled. "Good. That's all I ever wanted." He turned to leave. "You need to get to work, and I need to return to my hotel to get some rest."Gabriel stopped. Darius' words made him hesitate. "I'm sorry to be asking this because I don't think it's my place, but it's probably better for me to ask anyway. I don't remember there being any hotels nearby."You should head home if you wanna get some rest. I don't understand why you're heading to a hotel to rest."Darius raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. He turned with his hands behind his back to look at Gabriel helplessly. "I don't know how to feel about what you've just said. You're making me think you're a little silly. Wouldn't I know how to search for a hotel?"It won't take you long to prepare a proposal, but it'll take me ages to get home from here." Darius turned and left.Gabriel's lips twitc
"Because you realized the risk was far greater than what you were comfortable with," Darius said calmly.But Noah started trembling. He looked at Darius in terror. He didn't expect Darius to see right through him after some simple back-and-forth. His eyes widened in fear.Everything that was happening now made him feel like he was dreaming. Noah had only been a step away from success, yet Darius had ruined everything.Tears filled his eyes as he gazed at Darius. "I've said everything there is to say. I'm the lowest rung on this ladder, and I only have one purpose for being here. It's to make you come under the authorities' control. Once you're here, my mission's accomplished."Someone else from the authorities will be here to deal with you, but that has nothing to do with me. They wouldn't have told me about it, anyway."Darius put his hands behind his back without saying anything. He turned to leave. Noah's eyes widened as he stared in fear at Darius' back.Darius didn't see this, bu
When Darius straightened up, his face became devoid of emotion. He said calmly, "I've wasted too much time on you. Now, I only want frank answers. Otherwise, I'll punish you for every lie that you tell me. I don't see any hope in your eyes, but let's see whether you prove me wrong."Darius paused, then continued, "I've already said something similar once. That was a chance I gave you. From this moment onward, I want you to know that I won't repeat myself because I believe you've had enough time to prepare yourself."Gabriel stood beside him and put his hands behind his back as his lips twitched. He'd thought about the various reasons for Darius repeating himself. But the one thing that hadn't occurred to him was that Darius had done it to give Noah time to prepare.Gabriel felt like applauding Darius, but the rational side of him stopped him from doing so. His rationality told him he'd be in for trouble if he were to do that, so he only looked at Darius with a smile.Darius sensed Ga
Darius raised an eyebrow and smiled. Then, he said, "You're too nervous, Gabriel. It makes it seem like you don't trust me. In truth, there's nothing for you to worry about."He stretched his neck and continued, "I know very well how bad the consequences of destroying this building will be. Aside from those silly regulations, I'll also need to pay for it. I might be wealthy, but that doesn't mean I'll enjoy forking out a huge sum of money as compensation."Darius spread his hands and shrugged. At the same time, he pointed at the window and turned to look at Gabriel. Then, he said, "Look. The windows are perfectly fine. They're not even scratched. That shows my life force is non-destructive."That's why you have nothing to worry about. You can put your heart back into your chest."Gabriel straightened up and sighed in relief. Then, he gave Darius an embarrassed smile.Darius grinned but didn't say anything in response. He put his hands behind his back and turned to look at Noah. He sai
"We're classmates from the same major, too! We were interns at Dream Investment Group, remember? And we got kicked out on our first day. You broke my legs because of a tiny argument we had outside the building! The surveillance cameras captured all of this!" Noah cried.Darius tucked his hands into his pockets and rolled his eyes. Then, he said mockingly, "You're the biggest fool I've ever met. Do you think you're the only one who can tamper with the surveillance footage? Any footage that can be tampered with can also be restored."Noah's eyes widened in shock. He gulped and tried to think of a way to explain away the injuries Darius had inflicted on him. Still, he couldn't think of anything. Before he had the chance to think any further, Darius spoke.He said, "There's one thing you got right, though. Gabriel is on my side, so he'll stand up for me no matter what you say."Gabriel's lips twitched at that. He subconsciously opened his mouth to say something in return, but Darius bea
"And I don't think it's my job to make you see sense," Gabriel continued. He put his hands behind his back. He gave Noah a look that was an odd mixture of gentle iciness. "I've given you more than enough time and chances."Gabriel sighed. "It's obvious that you don't care for that, though. And so I think it's time for me to treat you as an officer should." He sat down on the other side of the desk again.Noah's face was white with fear. Gabriel acted like he didn't see this, though. He smiled. "As I mentioned, I gave you plenty of time and chances, but you didn't appreciate them."His gaze turned frosty. "If that's the case, I'm sure you won't object to me doing this per our guidelines."Noah cried, "No, wait! I don't know what Darius has promised you to make you side with him unconditionally, but there's no way I'll let you two get away with this. You have to make sure you do everything by the book. It's a reasonable request, and you have no right to turn me down!"He trembled viole
Gabriel put his hands behind his back as he looked at Noah with a smile. "Now, you've piqued my interest."Noah looked up at Gabriel. His voice was deep and hoarse as he said, "If you help me, I'll give you half of the Reid Consortium's assets once I get my hands on them. You should know that without me, there's no way you'll get a dime from the Reid Consortium."Gabriel snorted with laughter when he heard that. He straightened up and slowly circled Noah. He sounded mocking as he said, "You've lost me there. I tried to puzzle it out, but it doesn't make sense at all."Why would I want to get my hands on the Reid Consortium's fortune? Even without it, I'm perfectly independent. I don't need it to survive."Gabriel crossed his arms and looked at Noah mockingly. "Or maybe you're different from the rest of us. Maybe you'll die without the Reid Consortium's wealth." He smirked and gave Noah a sharp gaze.Noah raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're the one making me laugh now. I don't know
Gabriel sounded gentle, but everyone knew that was far from the truth. This was especially true for Noah, who sat across from him. He felt incredibly nervous. He shut his eyes and breathed rapidly.Noah never would've expected to still be in danger after being taken in by the authorities. He frowned and looked up at Gabriel. "So, are you determined to help Darius now?" His voice was shaky, and his eyes were wide because of his nerves.His emotions were clear as he looked at Gabriel. Gabriel bit his lip, feeling like he was about to laugh. To stop Noah from noticing, he quickly exhaled and sat down with one leg over the other. At the same time, he leaned forward to place his hands on the desk.He tapped his fingers on the desk quickly but rhythmically. Gabriel's eyes were devoid of emotion as he looked at Noah. "Tell me, Noah. What happened between you and Darius? Earlier, you said he was the one who injured you. Do you have any proof?"Because we checked the surveillance footage, a