Edward heard someone following him. As an enlightened martial artist, he didn't need to turn around to know it was Darius. He could even go so far as to say he could sense Darius' emotions. However, he continued marching ahead without faltering, taking a deep breath when he reached the correct spot. Then, he turned to face Darius with a grimace. "Sir, this is it." Though he was glad they were finally getting down to business, there was no changing the fact that they were in the middle of a landfill. As an enlightened martial artist, the stench was even more potent because of his enhanced senses, and he quickly bent down to start digging through the trash.Darius' lips twitched at this. He approached Edward and slowly raised a hand, making Edward stop. Edward didn't know what Darius was up to but straightened up anyway, looking confused. Darius said, "We're enlightened martial artists." Edward nodded, still looking puzzled. Darius sighed without saying anything else, merely tugging E
They're all from wealthy families, and their reputations mean everything to them," Darius said. Edward nodded, understanding what he meant. Darius didn't pay him much attention, saying, "Now, go through the trash like I'm doing it—it's much faster than digging through countless piles." The moment his words fell, his eyes lit up, and he reached out to catch a folder falling from the sky. He tucked it into his coat, then continued looking for the other one. Darius was honestly surprised to see the folder was still in pristine condition, and he smiled, feeling much more optimistic about the matter. He sped up his search.Edward smiled at this and joined him, finding the second folder shortly after that. They sighed in relief as Edward reached out to catch the folder. Then, he handed it to Darius with both hands, who skimmed through it to see whether anything was missing. Then, he smiled and tucked it together with the earlier folder.Now that they'd found the records, Darius turned to l
"Especially since you've just committed murder," Darius said flatly.Marion blew out another mouthful of smoke. At the same time, she flung the cigarette and made it land neatly in the ashtray. Then, she smiled and said, "You know, I thought you'd say you thought I was long dead."Darius nodded. "Indeed, the thought did cross my mind. But I suppose the fact that you're standing before me is all the evidence I need."Marion raised an eyebrow, and her smile widened, making her look rather fanatical. There was also…a hint of admiration in her eyes. She stood up and said, "I honestly didn't expect you to return, Darius. What should I make of this? Should I say Henry's lucky he won't have to die today, or should I lament my misfortune?"Darius tucked his hands in his pockets and looked at her calmly. "Earlier, I thought you'd chosen to join my side; I thought I could trust you. I only returned to handle the problem with my records." He held his folder up.Marion's jaw dropped as she stared
"I can make it seem like nothing ever happened to your records." She sat on the floor, her hair messy and clothes disheveled. Her eyes were determined and confident, though. Marion felt her offer was one they couldn't resist, and she was stunned to hear Darius snort contemptuously."I thought I'd made myself clear, especially since you were standing so close to me the last time I said this, but it seems I overestimated you. I'll only say this once more, so listen closely. I couldn't care less about my records and Kingston University because I have enough money to buy the university itself. The same can't be said for your mysterious backer, though." He gave her a scornful look.Marion's breathing hitched as despair washed over her. She knew she was out of bargaining chips. Her eyes turned red as she shakily asked, "I-is there nothing I can do to salvage the situation?"Darius raised an eyebrow and looked at her like she was a fool. "I have to say, it's rare to meet someone as dumb as y
Darius was gone before Pearl knew it. She stared in the direction he'd left, then stomped her foot before turning to head to her dorm. Darius probably didn't need her anymore, and she'd probably be causing more trouble for him by hanging around here. Unfortunately for her, today was destined to be a day filled with annoyances—as she made her way to her dorm, two hooligans blocked her way. She looked at them in confusion. "I don't think we've met. Why are you standing in my way?"They burst into raucous laughter. "Drop the act and stop pretending you don't know us. Now, tell us where you've taken our boss to!"At their words, Pearl's confusion cleared up. Then, her expression turned scornful. "She's dead, and I doubt you two will end up any better than her." Her eyes were frosty, which only served to agitate the two hooligans more.They pointed at her angrily and roared, "How dare you wish death upon our boss! You're the one who deserves to die!" One of them rolled his sleeves up and
Edward didn't hesitate any longer. He ran in the direction Darius' life force was coming from, knowing it would lead him to Darius. When he was sure Darius was somewhere nearby, he called, "Mr. Reid?"Darius' voice immediately rang out from a nearby path. "I'm here."Edward looked around. When he was sure there wasn't a way for him to walk to Darius, he glanced around to make sure no one was watching him, then channeled his life force to his legs and levitated himself shakily. He landed before Darius a few seconds later and asked, "Mr. Reid, what happened?"Darius' face was frosty. Edward lapsed into silence when he saw this, feeling nervous. Darius sighed when he sensed Edward's nerves; he didn't want to stress Edward out, so he tried to keep his tone neutral as he said, "Pearl's gone. I don't know whether she's in danger now."Edward's breathing hitched. He turned to look at Darius anxiously. "What should we do now?"Darius took a deep breath. "She should be safe for now; I don't th
An idea formed in Edward's mind. It was wild, but it seemed to be the only logical explanation. As the Reid family's villa came into view, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Once again, he was in awe of Darius' speed. It would've taken them a full three hours to get from Kingston University to the villa if they'd driven. Zipping through the air with Darius had taken less than twenty minutes. In fact, Edward was positive that Darius would've moved faster if not for the fact that he had Edward with him.Darius landed on the ground, his expression frosty. He released Edward, who quickly moved to stand behind Darius. Edward knew Darius' blood was boiling, and he sucked in a deep breath, not daring to make a sound lest it pissed Darius off even more. Of course, he knew Darius wouldn't take his temper out on him, but he still didn't have the nerve to provoke him. He only relaxed when Darius said, "Alright, you don't need to be so on edge. My fury has nothing to do with you." T
The old man said politely, "Excuse me, Mr. Reid. There is indeed something down there, but we can't enter from here."Darius raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him. His voice was frosty and filled with fury as he said, "Give me a reason."The old man's expression turned awkward, and he clenched his jaw, seemingly afraid of Darius. Still, he forced himself to say, "Because the entrance isn't here, sir. And I'm afraid I don't know its exact location—that's not part of my job scope."Darius' gaze bore into the old man. It looked like he was merely appraising the old man, but Darius' rage was obvious to someone like Edward, who knew Darius well enough and could look past his exterior. And so, Edward decisively moved to stand before the only entrance to the storage shed so that no one could leave or enter.The janitor didn't seem to expect such treatment. He paled and crumpled to the floor as his knees gave away. Then, he looked at Darius pleadingly and said, "Mr. Reid, please let me
"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