"Clement?" a middle-aged man with a huge belly stepped out and called out when he spotted Clement."Oh, Vernon. Are you having dinner here, too?" Clement forced a smile and kept his tone polite, though he actually could not stand the sight of the man. Vernon Parker had been one of his company's veterans. After he took over when his father passed, he quickly discovered Vernon's shady dealings behind the scenes. If left unchecked, those schemes would have eventually bankrupted the company. So, Clement had fired him without hesitation. Life had a twisted sense of humor, though. Vernon's nephew had struck it rich, which meant Vernon was now doing quite well himself. He would use his new power to undermine Clement's company whenever possible. As Vernon walked over, his smile dripped with contempt. "Drop the act. We both know where we stand." Clement maintained his composure. "Whatever happened, you were still one of our first employees. It's only right that I show you proper respec
In the other private room, Felix had already arrived and was sitting with Clement. "Don't worry. Someone has hit the back of his car. That's what's holding him up." Felix was telling the truth. When he had come up in the elevator, Dorian had called to apologize. He even sent a WhatsApp video of the accident scene as he was worried Felix might be angry. That was how driving was. No matter how good he could be behind the wheel, he could not control other drivers. Given Felix's status at the bank, Dorian would not dare stand him up even if his life depended on it. "No problem at all. Guests can be late, and it's perfectly normal. I really can't thank you enough for all this trouble, Felix." Clement was socially smart enough to show the right attitude when asking for help. If he could not even tolerate someone being late, what was the point of further discussion? "How big is your company's funding gap? How much are you looking to borrow?" Hearing this, Clement thought Felix was w
Before Douglas could respond, Vernon jumped in, saying, "Oh, Clement, look at the company you're keeping! If this gets back to Mr. Yardley, you won't be able to survive anywhere in Gray City. You know the consequences." Clement was dumbfounded. He even started to wonder if Felix was just dropping names. After all, Dorian's status was on a completely different level.Douglas went even further by turning to Clement and saying, "Either you slap him twice, or you're blacklisted at Concord Bank after tonight. Your choice."He had been looking for an excuse to put this arrogant brat in his place. How dare someone try to get a loan while bypassing him, the lending director? Felix had just handed him the perfect opportunity. "Whew! Dr. Zeller, I'm so sorry that I'm late!" Just as Clement was about to throw them both out, heavy breathing came from the doorway. A man appeared, bent over and red-faced, clearly having run quite a distance. Before Felix could speak, Douglas and Vernon tur
In the private room, Clement was incredibly nervous. He never imagined Felix's contact from Concord Bank would be Dorian Yardley, the prestigious branch manager himself. "Dr. Zeller, I wasn't trying to keep secrets from you." After sitting down, Dorian smiled. He would have been in hot water if he had messed up this encounter. "It's fine. Status isn't important to me since you're all my patients." Dorian's smile widened. "No wonder your medical skills are so extraordinary at such a young age, Dr. Zeller! Few people could maintain such principles these days." Felix waved it off and turned to Clement. "Let me introduce my friend, Clement Parson. He's the one I mentioned earlier who's facing some troubles. I'd appreciate it if you could help, Dorian." Clement rushed over to shake hands as Dorian spoke, "That's a small matter. Dr. Zeller saved my life, after all. I'd look like an ungrateful person if I couldn't help with something this simple." By this point, Clement was too ha
"Why are you so fired up this early in the morning?" Felix asked.Melissa was still fuming. "Boss, haven't you seen what happened to the shop next door? It turned into a floral wreath boutique overnight!" A floral wreath boutique? Felix hadn't noticed earlier. He only remembered there being a beauty salon next door that was not doing well and was looking to sell. How did it become a floral wreath boutique? "Here's to good business! Looking forward to being neighbors." Billy walked in with a grin, which sent Melissa storming to the back room with one last comment, "That stupid fatso is the one who opened the boutique!" No wonder Melissa was so angry. No business would want a funeral flower shop next door. "Billy, what's your deal here?"Billy grinned and said, "Nothing. I quit my job at Sixview Peak and need to make a living somehow. Since this is all I know, I figured I'd scrape by with a funeral shop. You know better than anyone how effective my merchandise is against spir
Darren frowned. "Didn't you hear what I said? Why are you still making offers?" Three years ago, Darren would have jumped at any offer and been terrified that they would change their mind. He would have sold it for even a few hundred thousand dollars, let alone millions of dollars. But back then, no one was interested. He hadn't known the value of the Nightshade Discipline or even that martial artists existed. Now that he knew, he wouldn't sell even if people were making offers. He often marveled at life's ironies. "When I say a building, I mean any building in Gray City. Name it." Any building? Darren almost laughed. Who was this guy trying to impress? "What if I said Summit Tower?" Summit Tower was a prime office building in downtown Gray City. Construction alone had cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and its value had skyrocketed since. Buying it outright would cost over a billion dollars, and that was assuming the owner would even sell. The rental income alone prov
Isabella gave an awkward laugh and put away her compact mirror. She had good principles, so she had never gotten involved with wealthy customers at the dealership. But people like Felix were truly rare. Soon after Felix arrived, he got straight to the point. "To be honest, Isabella, I need to buy something from Darren. I need your help."Having been warned by Nelly, Isabella thought for a moment before responding, "Felix, it's not that I don't want to help, but I've turned Darren down a few times already." Felix smiled. "You must have some feelings for him, right? Otherwise, you would have blocked his number by now." Isabella did not deny it. "Yes, I do. But marriage and life together need to be practical, you know? Darren's a good person and nice-looking, too, but he only has that one massage parlor. He can't even afford a decent house in Gray City, let alone anything else. "I'm not being materialistic, but there are basic living standards to consider." It was just as Felix
If this hadn't involved Gerald's orders, even someone as playful as Averill would not joke about it. Felix had almost thought she was teasing. "What do you mean, 'fiancée'?"Averill seemed to anticipate his questions. "You lucky dog! Your engagement to Xena was arranged by Mr. Hoffman, Lady Nala through the Greenes, and this fiancée I just mentioned? It's arranged by your birth mother. Get it?" Felix exploded. "What the hell? Am I some kind of commodity? Everyone's just arranging marriages for me!"Gerald was family, so that was different. But what gave the Greenes and Cordelia the right to do this?"I don't know the details. But according to Mr. Hoffman, this fiancée of yours is seriously dangerous. He kept muttering about them sending someone. He doesn't know when they'll show up, but he wanted you to be prepared."Prepared for what? Felix refused to acknowledge any engagement except to Xena, especially after seeing how Nala would do anything for power. Thank goodness she and
Bob did not say much. He kept wondering if Felix and Wendy were just being polite. He was absolutely certain he would not be exposed. The waiter would never admit to intentionally causing trouble, and no investigation could possibly reveal anything. He might as well keep things as messy as possible. Less than ten minutes passed before Angie arrived. She did not even greet Felix, immediately rushing to the Azure VIP Room with Ian. Felix remained in the main hall. It was past the lunch rush, so the restaurant was almost empty and quiet. Suddenly, Bob heard Felix's voice say, "I won't be here for more than a few days, so you really didn't need to use these tactics." "Mr. Zeller, were you speaking to me?" "You know exactly what I mean. Don't do this again." Felix was not naive. He could tell from how Bob had been helpful in the main hall but went silent in the private room. Something was definitely fishy. But Felix was totally focused on the Malevolent Phantoms now, and he
Just as Felix turned, the bathroom door opened, and a woman walked out. Seeing how the hem of her dress was wet, it was clearly from washing off spilled wine. "Mr. Zeller?" With just a glance, Felix was instantly wordless. Of all people, it was actually Wendy. "Oh, Wendy. What a coincidence!" Seeing Felix in his professional attire, Wendy was stunned. "What are you doing?" "I'm working as a front desk manager at this restaurant." Hearing this, Wendy remembered Felix was currently running important tasks nationwide. So, this made perfect sense. "Since we know each other, let's just drop this. The waiter didn't mean to cause trouble. There's no need to make such a big deal." Franz had already walked over at that moment. But he was shocked to see Wendy knew the front desk manager and was even addressing him so respectfully. "Got it, Mr. Zeller. Sorry for the trouble." Felix nodded and left. Bob followed, but a bad feeling crept into his mind. How did Felix know Franz's
Sally heard the intercom call, too, and her admiration for Bob reached new heights. Everyone in the restaurant knew that for VIP rooms like the Azure Room, customer complaints could not be handled by a front desk manager. Only the general manager—like Ian—could deal with it—and if he couldn't, Angie herself would have to step in.This was clearly Bob's setup. If not, Felix would not have had to go over. Bob had taken advantage of Felix being new and clueless about the rules.But his guts were something else. He was actually sacrificing one or two waiters just to go up against the boss' daughter. Was this really just about a front desk manager position anymore? In the Azure VIP Room, there were only two people by the massive table. A waiter knelt on the floor, body shaking uncontrollably. Just this scene told Felix the guests were definitely high-profile. "Who are you?"The young man with a powerful presence immediately frowned when he saw Felix."Hello, sir. I'm the front des
In the morning, Felix visited the dental clinic where the two women had their teeth cleaned. He found nobody suspicious there. He had already reviewed the relevant videos. They only had a routine teeth cleaning with barely any interaction. Any hope of finding a lead this way was completely crushed. After leaving, he received a call from Angie and rushed to an incredibly luxurious restaurant. "Felix, how about working as a front desk manager here?" she asked.What should have been a simple job offer now felt like she was tentatively seeking his permission. "Sure. But Ms. Sinclair, I have one condition."Angie smiled and said, "Go ahead.""I have some personal matters to deal with here. So, when I need to leave to handle something, I hope I can get time off normally." Angie thought that was nothing. She glanced at the middle-aged man beside her. "No problem. This is the restaurant's general manager, Ian Goodwin. Just give him a call when you want to leave." Ian immediately
Felix raced to a repair shop in Kashmere. Upon reaching the premises, he quickly jumped the fence and entered. According to Chloe, she had been held captive here. She had barely managed to grab a phone and call for help. No one could possibly be interested in her smell, so Felix genuinely hoped the Malevolent Phantom would show up.The moment he entered the yard, all the lights blazed on, turning the place as bright as day. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry!"Chloe emerged, looking disheveled. Reeco—the man from the barbecue stand—was grabbing her hair. About 20 other guys surrounded Felix with weapons in hand, wearing menacing grins. "Did you think I'd have to visit you myself? Look at you, walking right into our trap!" Felix was utterly disappointed. He'd completely forgotten about these insignificant men, and now, they had wasted his time. "I'm here. Let her go."Surprisingly, Reeco shoved Chloe to the ground and waved his hand. "Get him!" The first man charged with a massiv
Felix nodded and said, "Exactly. Let's investigate quickly." Because of the Malevolent Phantoms, headquarters' main focus was now cases related to them. Regular cases were handed over to law enforcement so personnel could be mobilized incredibly fast. After leaving the scene, Felix went home to wait for the results. At sunset, Marley arrived. "You were right, Mr. Zeller. The young woman with the lingering fragrance definitely had body odor before her death." Felix got excited, reviewing the materials while asking, "Did you guys figure out why they were at the abandoned building?" That was the first crime scene, and Felix was sure of it. The fact that these people would go to such a remote location seemed suspicious. "Yes, we did. They would occasionally record videos about paranormal stuff. They go to scary places, then post online to gain attention and make some extra cash. "They had finished filming at the abandoned building and were probably preparing to leave when the
It had only been one day since the A-tier Malevolent Phantom had last attacked. Was it losing its mind?Felix's face darkened. He didn't say a word. He just stood up and hung up the phone. "Sorry. I've got an urgent matter to handle." Normally, Angie would have thought this was incredibly rude. He had come asking for a favor, yet he was leaving so abruptly. But after what just happened, everything had changed. "Lindsay, did you really not know Dreamscape is Felix's cousin?" Lindsay gave a bitter smile. "Do I look like I know? Even if I did, I'm not the type to go begging for help." Her frustrated smile just deepened Angie's confusion. "Wow, you've just thrown me a major curveball! Felix has a connection like that, and I'm trying to find him a job? It's like teaching a professional chef how to boil water." But Lindsay saw things differently. "Angie, I can't say I know Felix super well. But from our school days and our recent encounters, I can vouch for his character. "The f
Chad and Lindsay were absolutely sure that it was Dreamscape's voice. Felix asked, "Hey, do you know Lindsay?" "Yeah, she's quite good at singing. Her technique is solid, and she nails the emotional delivery. She's got a bright future ahead."Lindsay immediately covered her mouth and cried. If her comment was posted online, it would instantly boost her market value by tenfold or even hundredfold. After all, it was something Dreamscape had said. "So, here's the thing. Lindsay's my old friend, and her real dream is acting. I was wondering if you could help introduce her and help her make that dream happen." Chad was excited. Dreamscape might be just a singer, but her status in the entertainment world was unparalleled. Even a casual comment from her carried massive weight. "Sure, I'll send you my manager's number. Have Lindsay contact him. I'll put in a good word, but tell her not to forget her main gig—she really can sing." "Got it! Thanks, then. Bye!" After hanging up, th
Everyone looked at Felix, their eyes showing different reactions. "Felix, thanks for your good intentions. But sometimes, we just can't make things go the way we want them to." Lindsay quickly tried to smooth things over, knowing Felix meant well. But sometimes, well-meaning lies just would not cut it. Yet, Felix spoke again, "I know someone who can probably solve your current crisis. So, you really don't need to do something you don't want to do." Chad could not hold back anymore. He wondered what kind of friend Felix was to talk big so casually. "Listen up, you brat! The worst thing you can learn in life is bragging. For every lie you tell, you'll need a hundred to cover it up. Got it? "Stop giving Lindsay false hope. You're just making things worse." Angie frowned, too. Though she knew Felix meant well, how could this possibly help? "I wonder if Dreamscape could solve your problem." Dreamscape? The two who were about to leave turned back, their eyes filled with dis