“Fine, punk. You got yourself a deal. If you beat us in drinking, I’ll resume your factory’s operation!” Noah grinned and then continued, “But we have a rule. You can’t just surrender verbally. You either knock us out, or you go out on a stretcher. Now you wouldn’t be a pussy, would you?” His tone was colder than ice. Kaze challenged him repeatedly, which to him was courting death. If so, he did not mind knocking out Kaze on the spot with alcohol. Even if Kaze did not die of alcohol poisoning, his stomach would implode on alcohol. Winnie’s expression shifted. She was scared. They were no longer trying to compete in drinking, they were trying to get Kaze killed! Noah was shameless to make such a rule because he had the advantage of numbers on his side. All of them were veteran drinkers and they were trying to drink Kaze to death. “Don’t…” Winnie tried to stop Kaze from falling into Noah’s trap but Kaze tapped on her shoulder to calm her down. He then grinned at N
At the start of the third round, Kaze drank even fiercer. “This is getting boring.” He lost his patience in drinking one by one, so he asked the waiter for five bowls and filled them all up with whiskey. Then, he drank all of them in succession. Noah, Troy, and the others felt challenged by Kaze’s contemptuous gaze. Some punk from nowhere challenged them and looked down on them. They were furious but they felt deterred when Kaze finished all five bowls of whiskey. Including the previous rounds, Kaze had probably drunk more than three bottles of whiskey. Yet he looked fine and his face did not even blush. Was he immune to alcohol? “Guys, this punk must be on his last stretch. He’s trying to scare us off by drinking that much in one go.” “Yeah. We can’t back off now!” Noah believed Kaze was playing mind games with them, so he bit the bullet and drank another bowl of whiskey. Troy, Baskin, and the others did the same as well. “Let’s continue.” Kaze grinned. H
“Know your place. It is your honor to be at this table. Usually, you won’t even have the chance to drink with us! Don’t push it, son!” Noah leaned on the table and glared at Kaze, condescendingly warning him. He then grabbed his bowl and flipped it over on the table, refusing to drink no matter what Kaze said. Kaze scoffed. “You can’t drink but you won’t accept defeat. Is this how people like you do things nowadays? If you don’t want to drink, I’ll make you!” He then went over to Noah with a bowl of whiskey. Bang! Troy from the Ministry of Health and Welfare slammed the table and got up, stopping Kaze. “Punk, what are you doing? We are all important people in government offices. If you mess with us, you and your family will be erased from Lilyrose!” Kaze looked at the man and then grabbed him by the neck. “What the f… W-What are you… Gulp!” Troy struggled but could not break free from Kaze’s grip. Kaze squeezed his mouth open and started to pour the whiskey into his
“Mr. Moor, that’s insincere of you. You can just tell your man to send us the approval now, why later? You can’t even drink as promised, I can’t trust you,” Kaze said with a faint grin on his face. Noah did not know Kaze was teasing him. Annoyed, he said, “Punk, go ask anyone. I’m a man of my word! There are official procedures that we must go through, I can’t make the decisions alone. I have to get other people’s approval as well…” He was trying to stall and delay the decision. Since he was the one making the final decision, he could stall as long as he liked. “Enough.” Kaze stopped his nonsense and said coldly, “I am not demanding you to give us an approval now. Our game is still not yet finished. Let’s continue drinking!” He then went over to Noah with a bowl of whiskey. “Stop it! You are going to get someone killed…” Winnie darted over and pulled Kaze back with a worried look. “Punk, if something happens to me, you and your family will suffer!” Noah’s expression t
Winnie was afraid of Noah, someone who was in the government office and had a certain level of authority. Two years ago, Shangrila Group went bankrupt overnight. Although the top three families were behind it, the ex-mayor was more or less involved. It was not that difficult to find out about it either. Without someone powerful making it happen, it was impossible to destroy a company as big as Shangrila Group overnight. “Someone powerful? Is he as powerful as the mayor?” Kaze did not take it seriously. He simply smiled it off and went out. Then, he saw a group of people coming over in a hurry. Kaze stopped, surprised to see that the leader of the group was his wife, Darcy. “Darcy? What are you doing here?” Darcy, Agnes, Hector, and even Agatha were there. Darcy and Agnes were holding gifts in their hands. “Winnie, Kaze? What are you guys doing here? Kaze, are you drinking?” Darcy was surprised to see Kaze with Winnie as well. Since Winnie was slightly tipsy an
Darcy’s expression shifted upon hearing Noah. She was right. Kaze slapped the man. This time, he slapped someone from the Ministry of Food and Welfare. Noah must be a reputable man to hold a high position there. In other words, Kaze got into trouble again. “Oh my god! Kaze you stupid idiot! Why did you slap him?!” Agnes’ smile froze and her face turned pale. She turned around to glare at Kaze. “Do you know who this is? How dare you hit him? Apologize immediately!” “Apologize? Hehe…” Noah chuckled and said coldly, “You slapped me and you think you can get away with just an apology? Do you know what this place is? This is the city council’s lounge! The leaders in the city council’s office, including the mayor, welcome important guests here! If you hit me here, that means you show no respect for the city council!” Kaze was amused by Noah’s claims, but Darcy and the others were terrified. Darcy knew that an acting mayor had just sworn into office that day. On his fi
“Mr. Moor, you!” The smile on Darcy’s face froze and her expression spelled anger. Agnes and the others were shocked and scared as well. They did not expect such a blatant request from Noah. Noah grunted and said coldly, “What? You don’t like me? If a stupid retard can fuck you, so can I…” Before he could finish, Kaze stepped forward and kicked him on his chest, sending him flying away. Bang! Following an excruciating cry, Noah crashed onto the wall behind him, causing the structure itself to tremble upon impact. He continued to cry in pain after he fell on the floor and bled profusely. “Noah!” The other two colleagues came out of the room and quickly went over to help Noah up. “Kaze! Why?!” Darcy bellowed after she regained her composure. “This is over! There’s no way we can get out of this anymore…” Agnes and the others were horrified. Kaze said, “Darcy, he got what he deserved. You can just stay out of this. I’ll get him.” Based on what Noah said to Darcy
“Noah, were you beaten? Who did it? Who beat you here at the city council’s lounge?” Adam was shocked to see the slap mark on Noah’s face. He knew Noah worked for the Ministry of Health and Welfare and his father was the deputy mayor. The father and son held important positions in government offices, which granted their family fame and status. Yet someone hit Noah in the city council’s lounge. “Him! That fuck!” Noah shouted and pointed at Kaze. He then looked at Adam with a curious gaze. “Adam, are you relatives with this punk here?” He saw how close Adam was with Agnes and Agatha, which made him suspicious. His expression turned bitter. If Adam decided to defend Kaze, then he would be in trouble. Adam was the vice chief of the Ministry of Health and Welfare from Sunrise City and was close with the Lees. If Noah decided to go against him, he might be at a disadvantage. Darcy sharply sensed the reverence Noah had for Adam and she immediately realized what was goi
“Kaze can pull the punches for sure. I mean, he has the Butterworth branch chief’s trust for a reason. “There has to be something for him to win the branch chief’s approval.” Edmund doubted there was depth to Kaze. After all, Edmund decided whether to take on a person based on their abilities. It made no sense to pay attention to losers, as he would hold them in contempt. Edmund had been impressed with Herman, who excelled in strategies and management. That was why Edmund bumped Herman up and made sure he stayed on top. “Got it.” Herman nodded and had one foot out the door. “Don’t be in a hurry to leave. There’s one more thing.” Edmund pointed at the table. Herman approached and stood on bent knees. Pleased with Herman’s submission, Edmund passed him a wine glass. Herman took the drink humbly before looking carefully at Edmund, awaiting his orders. “The wine was just airlifted from abroad. I can vouch for the taste. If you’re looking to sip on the finest, yo
Time went by, and a towering man in a suit showed up outside the door. Picking up on the noise inside the room, he knocked on the door. It was hard to tell whether the person inside could hear the knocking, so the man waited outside. The door was opened, and a woman, her face flawless with makeup, popped her head out and saw him. She cocked her head back at Edmund. “You have a guest, Mr. Witterson.” “Let him in,” Edmund instructed. He then leaned in to take the drink from the girl next to him with his mouth. The other girls cheered him on. The group was lost in their fun. The man, who entered the room, stood by the sofa respectfully. He kept his head down, his gaze staying low at the bottles of alcohol spread across the table. It was a bit of a wait before the man approached at Edmund’s order. “Tell me about Dwight.”While listening to the girls’ singing, Edmund turned to Herman. Herman rushed over as soon as Edmund called. He won a lot of money at poker toda
In this particular circumstance, Morris had to play it safe so that things would not get out of hand. The last thing he wanted was to be dragged into the mess. At least, he finally saw the Wittersons’ true colors. Morris’ friendly advice was met with disrespect and insult. However, the Wittersons were a force of nature, and Morris was not about to take them head-on. Despite his frustration, Morris had to walk away. Well, Edmund would soon face his downfall at the height of his power, and Morris would be there to enjoy the ride. Still, it did not sit well with Morris to have a young fella walk all over him. It had crossed his mind to keep the Wittersons in check, but there was only so much he could do. Morris had to be the one to back away as the Wittersons grew haughty. Morris believed there was more to Kaze’s visit to Westeros. Nothing major happened in Westeros recently. At least, there was nothing worth the other branch’s attention. However, a representative of the
Morris suggested entertaining Kaze well. Things would not be good for the branch if Kaze got dirt on them. That was where Edmund disagreed with Morris. His idea was to send someone to sound Kaze out. Edmund was smug because Morris’ decision was wrong. “You shouldn’t do that. Kaze is here on behalf of the Butterworth branch. You don’t want tension between both branches.” Morris looked at things from a wider perspective. Edmund believed Kaze was just a doormat of little importance. “You just overthink things, and it’s not good for your age. You’re getting senile.” Edmund did not take Morris’ advice seriously. He believed he was right. “You’re not getting it. Kaze is from Butterworth. Even if he doesn’t hold a high position there, we were in the wrong. We did not keep our tracks clean either. “Now that he’s back, I’m worried that he’ll cause us harm.” Morris was only giving a heads-up because the whole branch was at stake. Edmund was young. Due to his lack of judgmen
“We should be generous to our guest from Butterworth. You can arrange as you see fit. Please don’t house him in a messy home. Hire cleaners to tidy up the place. “You can report back to me if you need more money, but it’s not a reason for you to misuse the funds.” Herman wanted to hang up. The money was now in Dwight’s bank account, so he was washing his hands off the matter. The plan was to keep Kaze happy. He was just an insignificant member of the Butterworth branch anyway. The whole thing would blow over soon enough, so long as Kaze kept to himself without taking things too far. Herman would figure out a way to get him out quickly anyway. Maybe Herman and his friends did not have to do anything to get rid of Kaze. “Got it. I’ll be a good host, Herman. I won’t let you down. I’ll keep you in the loop.” Dwight was over the moon to get the notification about the money transfer. “Just play by ear and arrange what you see best.” Herman hung up and continued playing pok
“It’s becoming a hassle now. Are you going to inform the Viper’s Den about the change of accommodation?” After much hesitation, Kaze nodded to take up the offer. Dwight was thrilled. It only hit Dwight that he had to communicate with the Viper’s Den. Kaze was booked for a hotel stay, and Dwight’s job was to take him to the destination. Yet now, Dwight took him to his home. “I’ll tell my superior and see what he has to say.” Dwight was not sure whether the change was appropriate. Nevertheless, he did not want to pass up on a great opportunity. He simply grabbed the bull by the horn. If Kaze stayed at his place, the Viper’s Den members had to respect Kaze’s request even if they had a problem with it. “But when they ask, you can say that you’re getting along well with me. Living together just makes work more convenient.” Feeling unsettled, Dwight tried to get their stories straight with Kaze. Hopefully, the Viper’s Den would not come after them. “Aren’t we friends? I k
Dwight gave some suggestions. “But I’m worried about being a nuisance to your family.” Kaze remained hesitant, torn between decisions. “No, you won’t. I usually live alone. They stay somewhere else. They barely visit. I’ll just let them know not to visit for now,” Dwight replied. Dwight figured out what was in it for him. He could not let Kaze leave. “I don’t want to put your family in an awkward position.”Kaze was still considering the matter. “Relax. They don’t live with me anyway. The room I have for you is tidy. No one has stayed there before.“I’ll hire some help to freshen up the place. I can guarantee you an experience no less than at the hotel.” Dwight spoke with great confidence. “We should finish our food and doggie-bag the rest. I’ll take you to my place.” Dwight was ready to get things going. Kaze took the offer and nodded. “I’ll be in your care then.” Kaze was glad that his plan went through. Dwight had no idea that he got played. Nevertheless,
“I’m new to the place, so I don’t know much. Can you show me around when you’re available?” “No problem, but I usually have some stuff to take care of. I can’t be there 24/7. “Why don’t you propose to the branch that you want me to be your guide and attendant?” Dwight suggested. There was no telling whether Kaze would accept his proposal, but it was an opportunity to prove himself. He was never involved in the core operation. Often enough, he was the branch members’ punching bag. Though Dwight was aware that he was not good enough for the big stuff, he still wanted to succeed. Kaze was the trusted aide of the Butterworth Branch chief. He was in Westeros for a reason. By joining Kaze, Dwight would come across the major players. Kaze saw through Dwight’s plans. “Sure. I’ll do that.” Kaze did not mind the request. “Great. I’ll let them know on your behalf. I’ll be responsible for your needs while in the city.” Dwight was overjoyed at the opportunity. “So you live
“You must be rich. I often see rich people picking tabs for everybody. Talk about extravagance.” The tension in the air was lifted when Kaze offered to pay for everything. “I’m not. Consider it an apology,” Kaze explained, not wanting to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. He did not see the point of continuing the conversation. Dwight’s angry screams came from outside. “What the hell is this? I only ordered a bunch of stuff. Why am I being charged an exorbitant amount?“What do you mean my friend is paying for everybody? That’s throwing money away,” Dwight said while storming his way over. “I know you have money, but you shouldn’t do this, Mr. Lee.” Dwight did not approve of this type of generosity. “You rubbed them the wrong way. It was only right to apologize. Besides, it’s not a lot of money.” Kaze looked at the bill and handed a bank card to Dwight. “It’s my treat.” The consumption was barely a dent in Kaze’s savings. The meal did not cost more than his us