1. Kidnapping

"Boss, we've brought the waiter out front!" 

A man sitting comfortably on a sofa smoking a premium cigarette grinned, "Bring that rat in!"

"Yes, boss."

In just six seconds, the person who had been given the order walked back in. 

However, this time he was not alone. Another man wearing the same black uniform as him had come along to help him drag another man.

The man's hands were tied tightly, and his eyes were covered with a thick black cloth. He was forced to sit on the floor, right in front of a man with an ice cold expression on his face.

The bound man struggled, trying to free himself. Unfortunately, his efforts ended in failure. His thin body was no match for the two men who held him down and pressed him hard so he couldn't move.

In the end, he was forced to give up his desire to free himself and remained silent in despair.

Who are these people? Why did they kidnap me? Have I offended someone? the man who was wearing a white shirt that was stained in many places, thought.

Meanwhile, the cold man called "Boss" observed the bound man closely before finally snorting in annoyance, "What a lowly bunch he is!"

Upon hearing the voice of the man who had probably kidnapped him, the man with his hands tied rebelled again.

"Let him speak!" the dominant voice commanded again.

Another man in the room immediately removed the tape covering the man's mouth.

Once his mouth was free, he immediately spoke, "Who are you? What did I do wrong?"

A terrifying laugh erupted, causing the man, whose eyes were still covered with black cloth, to shrink back slightly.

"Who am I? You ... have no right to know, but you ... a lowly servant like you have dared to interfere." 

"You really have some nerve!" the man added in a dismissive tone.

Ethan Miller, a young waiter at De Crushy Restaurant, swallowed nervously.

He tried to remember if he had ever crossed paths with this dangerous man. But he still couldn't find anything. 

All this time, he had lived by the rules. He never tried to stand out or offend others. He preferred to stay away from any problems because he realized that his life was already difficult enough.

So, how could he possibly have a problem with this person who might be a mafia member or gangster?

Ethan thought that someone who would carry out a kidnapping like this to settle a score with someone else would only be someone with a background like those in power or someone who was extremely dangerous.

An ordinary person would choose to confront him and beat him up or at least talk to him directly.

"What have I done?" Ethan asked boldly.

The dangerous man quickly approached Ethan and grabbed his jaw tightly, "You still dare to ask, huh?"

"I'm asking because I really don't know," Ethan said, enduring the pain.

The man squeezed Ethan's jaw even harder, leaving marks. He then pushed Ethan and said, "Private room number 8."

Ethan gasped when he heard the private room number. He straightened up.

"Well? Do you remember what you did?" the man, whom Ethan thought was a mafia member, asked sarcastically.

"What's wrong with room number 8? What does all this have to do with that room?" Ethan was even more confused.

The mafia man frowned angrily. 

"Don't pretend you don't know, you bastard! You flirted with her and even dared to sit there, accompanying her while she ate. Who do you think you are, huh?" 

Ethan furrowed his brow, trying hard to think. He clearly had never done what he was being accused of. He had indeed sat there, but it was clearly not to flirt with the woman the man was referring to. 

He felt he had to quickly clarify the situation, “It’s true I was sitting in that room, but it was because the lady asked me to.”

The man fell silent, and Ethan didn’t know if he believed his explanation or not.

But shortly after that, he heard the man curse, “Bastard!”

"Beat him up!" the man ordered again.

Ethan's mouth was covered again. After that, he could only take the relentless blows without being able to fight back.

Actually, Ethan was not a weak person. He had decent martial arts skills. 

However, when he was beaten by people who were most likely the mysterious man's henchmen, he was bound and blindfolded. Anyone would have difficulty in such a situation.

After being beaten mercilessly, Ethan thought he was going to die. He could feel his body being dragged outside roughly and thrown into a car, then thrown onto the street.

He had no sense of time. Day or night, he couldn't tell. But what he did know was that a few moments after his body hit the hard asphalt, it started to rain.

A few minutes passed, and suddenly he felt a burning pain on his back. He screamed as loud as he could, even though no sound came out of his mouth.

After enduring the excruciating pain, his consciousness slowly began to fade, and eventually he collapsed, weak and helpless.  

Ethan didn't know how long he had been unconscious. 

However, as his consciousness began to return, he faintly heard someone speaking nearby.  

"Sir, when will he wake up?" someone on Ethan's right asked.

"It should be soon. He's getting the best care, he'll be fine," someone on the left replied.

Ethan, who was conscious but still had his eyes closed, began to think that he was probably in the hospital.

But who were they? Were they the ones who brought me to the hospital? Ethan wondered.

"Will he be okay, Sir? You saw yesterday, didn't you? He ...."

"He is the descendant of the Dragon King's knowledge, he will certainly be fine, Joss. Don't worry!" the man on Ethan's left calmly.

Ethan's head immediately throbbed.

What are these people talking about? The heir to the Dragon King's knowledge? What does that mean? Ethan thought to himself.

Oh, he intended to pretend to be asleep and listen to everything further, but it turned out he couldn't do it. 

Ethan immediately opened his eyes. He turned to his right.

A man in a neat suit screamed in surprise, "Sir, you're awake."

Ethan frowned and turned to his left, finding a man wearing glasses whom he also didn't recognize, "Wait a moment, I'll call the doctor right away."

But before the man could walk away, Ethan touched his arm and asked with wide eyes, "Why did you say I'm the heir to the Dragon King's knowledge? What do you mean?"