“Because the fact of the matter is—you pissed me off, and that wiped out any hopes they had of surviving.” Darius took slow and controlled steps toward the man, his presence exuding an oppressive aura that quickened everyone’s breaths.Eventually, one of the many men on the enemy team could not hold back any longer. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at the person who lied to Bridget earlier, thundering, “That’s enough, Waylon! This Darius guy has spoken a lot, but his words aren’t entirely wrong—you’re the sole reason we’re all going to suffer now! That little piece of shit that left us earlier didn’t think twice before giving that woman insider information. He doesn’t even care if the rest of us live! We don’t get access to much of the company’s secrets, but you and that shithead know everything. That’s clearly unfair to us! And now, for some unknown reason, you’ve decided not to tell Darius what you know. Are you having fun challenging them, knowing our lives are at risk? I don’t
“Sadly, that’s the truth. You’re all cruel people, so I know I’ll end up miserably if I lie to you. That’s an outcome I can’t bear, nor do I have to experience it because I’ve already revealed everything I know to you.” With that, Waylon shut his eyes and peacefully waited for his end. What shocked him more was that Darius continued interrogating him instead, which meant he was 100% likely to make it out alive. His eyes shot open while he cast an emotional and grateful look at Darius. “Y-You believe me?”“Yes.” Darius nodded. “I believe you. So, from now onward, you just have to decide whether you want to continue answering my questions.”This time, Waylon did not hesitate or pause; he nodded determinedly. “I’ll do it. You’ve chosen to believe me, despite how crazy my words were. That can only mean you trust me, so I promise to answer all your questions with the utmost seriousness and to the best of my abilities.”Lips curving upward, Darius responded, “I’d like to know how you surv
“I could tell the man lifted his legs high when walking because the distance between each footprint was wide but still within an average person’s walking range. Thus, I stopped feeling scared. I no longer saw him as a superhuman and figured he was likely just skilled in ancient martial arts.” Waylon locked eyes with Darius before continuing, “That’s all I know. As for the man’s third time attacking me, I don’t think there’s much to say. He thought he’d killed me, but I lay still on the ground for the longest time until I gradually regained consciousness. During that third time, I had no clue how he abducted me or how I survived. All I know is my body hasn’t been functioning well since that encounter.”Following that, his gaze shifted into the space around him, giving him a dull and forlorn expression.Unlike him, Darius frowned, feeling displeased with that information. Some time passed before he curtly waved in dismissal, saying, “Get out of here. You’re a free man starting today.”T
Ancipation and excitement radiated from Darius’ eyes just then. He could not wait to meet his arch-enemy.That did not go unnoticed by Bridget, who immediately eyed Darius with a curious gaze. While she wondered the reason behind his eager expression, Alicia, who stood beside her, suddenly spoke and clarified things for her. “He’s finally showing himself!” Alicia exclaimed, her fists coiling tautly. “Although I’ve just recently worked for you, Sir, I’ve heard about him countless times. That guy really bugs me! He’s like a creepy guy, manipulating others like they’re puppets and chess pieces. He makes them do his bidding while he hides comfortably in his fortress! Despite his cowardly nature, he keeps sending his minions to cause trouble to others’ lives!”Bridget looked at Alicia in shock, as the latter had effortlessly understood Darius’ sentiments—something she could not do.Meanwhile, Alicia blinked innocently before turning to meet Bridget’s gaze. Sincerity, fear, and confusion f
Even so, his sloppy appearance did not take away from his robust build, nor did it make his tightly clenched fist look any less intimidating. His fist swung in the air, igniting a gust of wind that blew throughout the yard, eventually spreading all over Umbrite Hotel’s main entrance.That was all Bridget heard—the wind. For the first time, she had an idea to gather her internal energy and form them into ear plugs, blocking off any sounds around her. That was what Bridget did. Because of that, she sat in the hotel’s backyard and could not hear Darius calling her name from the second floor.Not receiving a response, Darius let out a weak sigh before focusing on Bridget. Only then did he understand what she was doing. It also shocked him to learn about her actions; Although Darius had not paid much attention to Bridget’s cultivation of her internal energy and martial arts skills, Darius could still tell she had improved significantly. That was because he could see the state of Bridget’s
Darius raised an eyebrow and smiled. It was mean of him, but his mood soared at their anger. They’d caused him far too much trouble. He crossed his legs at the knee and listened as their protests rose to a clamor.“Oh, my God. I know Darius is powerful, but does he know what he’s saying? Is he implying he’s stronger than three people combined? What a braggart. I want to be the first to challenge him! I’ll show him who’s boss!”“Fuck off and wait your turn! Don’t you know how many people got here before you? I should be the one to handle this! In the past, I’ve always dealt with those new joiners.”Bridget walked to Darius and stood beside him. When she heard what the people were saying, she frowned and looked at Darius. Then, she bent down and leaned close to him. “Mr. Reid?” He nodded and held a finger up. Bridget nodded and backed away, only turning to face the people outside when she was at the entrance. Her eyes were frosty as she said, “You two are the ones who were yapping aro
Then, he felt a burning energy pour out of Darius’ palm. The energy smothered him as it washed over him, making him come to an abrupt stop. His eyes bulged in terror—he’d never experienced something like this before. The same thing happened to the two other men. The sloppy-looking man paled, knowing he was destined to lose. Still, he refused to give in. He didn’t want to believe there was such a powerful person on this earth!The stubborn look in his eyes morphed into despair as he scrutinized Darius. He could already feel his strength leaving him just by looking at Darius, and he shut his eyes. He regretted talking shit earlier; perhaps he would’ve met a better end without it. After a few seconds, he opened his eyes and looked at Darius pleadingly.“Mr. Reid, I know I’ve made a huge mistake.” Before he could continue, he received a punch to the gut. In that instant, he felt like his organs had been rearranged, and he crashed to the floor. He was sure his eyes were open, but all he s
He gave Darius a wary look. “What’s with that look on your face? Haven’t I been kind enough to you?”Darius raised an eyebrow, not wanting to waste his breath. He turned his palms outward, channeled his life force into his palms, then shot it at the muscular man’s chest. The muscular man paled; he thought Darius wouldn’t do anything to him, and he’d definitely make it out of this alive. He didn’t expect Darius to suddenly launch an attack on him. As he instinctively shielded his chest with his arms, he clearly felt the life force stab into his arms and shoulders like sharp blades. The crisp sound of bones breaking rang out, and the muscular man gaped at Darius with bloodshot eyes. Indeed, he’d imagined being seriously injured or getting killed here, but he hadn’t expected it to happen in this manner.Darius raised an eyebrow, looking condescending. “You sounded so determined and confident earlier that I almost wanted to applaud. It’s good that I didn’t—look at how fragile and superf
"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