Tank put his hand over his face and shouted angrily. The strain in his voice was clear. The only thing on Tank’s mind was to squish the bug. Kaze was just a lowly son-in-law of the Quints. Yet, he had the nerve to attack him repeatedly, and his face at it. Tank would never live it down unless he killed Kaze. “You’re one to talk, Mr. Gebach.” Kaze chuckled and said indifferently, “If you think this is pushing it, then so be it. “If you have the ability to crush me, do your worst. “If you don’t, just stand straight and take the beating.” Kaze threw back at Tank the very words he had used on Darcy. He flung back the insult to Tank.“Fine. I’ll show you.” Gritting his teeth, Tank whipped out his phone. Words were pointless at that point. Only by killing Kaze could Tank get over his rage. “Mr. Gebach is mad, Kaze. You’re dead meat.” “He has the resources and connections to crush you. You’re just a naïve moocher. You have no idea what you are in for.” “You will
A casually dressed man took strides toward the group. The man looked ordinary, the type that would not stand out in a crowd. However, there was something about his composure that could not be overlooked.“That’s Mr. Brams of Red Mount Capital.” Many exclaimed as they recognized the man. Jeremy Brams was the managing partner of Red Mount Capital.Tank held sway when it came to investments in South River. Jeremy, on the other hand, had influence across the nation. It was clear who was higher in the food chain. However, more surprises were to come. Many individuals swarmed into the club. “Haha. You are the face of Red Mount Capital. Where is your pride as the managing partner? I can’t believe you raced ahead of us.” “We know what you are up to, Jeremy. You are so embarrassing.” “You’re making it as if we don’t know Mr. Lee is here.” The subsequent individuals, who entered the place, teased Jeremy. The supercars club members were dumbstruck. The banter made
Mr. Lee? The group of renowned investors addressed Kaze formally. Cetus and the others were dumbfounded. They had to suspect Kaze was more than the son-in-law of the Quints. Ignoring the youngsters, the investors focused all their attention on Kaze. They stared at Kaze fervently. It was as if Kaze was their prey. Proficient in reading the room, these prominent figures knew what had happened in the supercars club. One of them snickered. “You acted fast and got in touch with Mr. Lee quickly, Tank. “But it seems you didn’t make much of a good impression. Haha!” The individual put Tank down. The feud between Tank and Kaze went past making a bad impression. Not only did the discussion about Rove not happen, but Tank’s face was bruised and swollen thanks to Kaze. After today, Tank would become the laughingstock of the community. Tank pulled a blank face and said curtly, “Don’t try to stir the pot. It’s none of your business. You can talk about your business once
As Tank was not willing to call a truce, Jeremy frowned. Jeremy turned to Kaze. “Why don’t you apologize to put an end to this, Kaze?” Kaze turned a deaf ear to Jeremy’s request. “You talk like you have beaten me, Tank.” Kaze looked at Tank and said with a faint smile, “Here’s the thing. “Just come at me with whatever you got. “Let’s see who survives in the end.” Since Kaze would not budge either, Jeremy felt a headache coming. He had no idea where Kaze found the confidence to go up against Tank. Still, he said solemnly, “You are free to use the South River Group at your disposal, Tank, but I will do everything in my power to stop you. “I don’t mind joining your little game.” The supercar club members were shocked that Jeremy had Kaze’s back. Even Darcy was surprised. Kaze did not seem to know who Jeremy was. Yet, Jeremy offered his unwavering support. What happened next was even more mind-boggling. “Jeremy made his stance clear. I can’t just let him show
Jeremy’s remark blew the minds of Cetus and the others. What did Kaze do to deserve the appreciation of big-name investors? It was not several million dollars or tens of millions of dollars. The amount was several hundred million dollars. No one would call that chump change. Yet, Jeremy offered to pay for Kaze. “There’s no need for that. Thank you.” Kaze turned Jeremy down and said to Cetus and his group, “I’ll cut to the chase. Write a statement to clarify your trashed car has nothing to do with me. Mr. Glitter ordered your vehicle to be destroyed.” Write a statement? However, Kaze was the one who got their sports cars ruined. There were over a hundred finest supercars. Yet, the bastard ruined them all. Insulted, members of the supercar club glared at Kaze. Cetus said angrily, “You’re pushing it, Kaze. It’s absurd of you to expect us to sign a disclaimer after you—” “Smack!” Kaze cut him off with a whack. “You write the statement.” Holding his face, Ce
“Tell you what. Why don’t we call it a day, and you can send me an investment proposal when you get back? I will contact those who will make a good fit with Rove.” Kaze proposed an idea. These investors came with the intention to help. Although he did not need any help, there was no need to be hostile toward kindness. It was inappropriate to pick and choose a few while offending others for no reason. Though Kaze was not afraid of trouble, he wanted to avoid adding to his problems unnecessarily. Taken aback, Jeremy took a long, hard look at Kaze and replied, “Alright. That’s a good idea, Kaze. We’ll talk soon since you can’t decide with all of us here.” He then walked away without stirring a fuss. Adrian from Green Source Foundation and Archie from Yellow Stream Capital left thereafter. These three investors belonged to the most influential investment firms. They were confident they could offer something Kaze would be happy with. The other investors did not share th
“If you think South Hill Holdings don’t have enough means to sort out your problems, Peony Funds have you covered, Kaze,” a partner of Peony Funds said. With Dakota’s face falling, the investor said with a smile, “Don’t be mad, Dakota. We can’t fight with Red Mount Capital, Green Source Foundation, and Yellow Stream Capital. “Instead of letting these firms secure a partnership with Rove, we might as well band together and give Jeremy and the others a run for their money. “The profits will be shared, but so are the risks.” The tension in Dakota’s face eased. The investor from Peony Funds had a point. “You’re right. We can form a coalition.” “Count us in.” “That’s right.” The other investors expressed interest in allying. Red Mount Capital, Green Source Foundation, and Yellow Stream Capital had been dominating the scene for far too long. The other investors had longed for a chance to join up to compete against the big names. Dakota replied with a grin, “Alright. We wi
The partner of Peony Funds was not done talking. He held nothing back. “But Rove’s Mr. Lyfe made you the decision maker of Rove’s operating strategy, so we had to come to you. “You are in over your head to think you can hike up the price and manipulate us.“We might not hold absolute power in the financial market, but we have seen it all.” The other investors nodded in agreement. They did not think highly of Kaze when they found out who he was. Their impression of Kaze only went from bad to worse when they arrived on the scene of a dispute between Kaze and Tank at the supercar club. If they had not stepped in to intervene, Tank would have gotten his way with Kaze. Kaze even trashed the cars of the club members and refused to cough the money up. As the investors were there for Kaze, he made the club members sign a disclaimer. Kaze was nothing more than a hooligan. Anyway, these investors looked down on Kaze. He was just a moocher who lucked out. Kaze would never
“How dare those men hijack the plane and take Kaze. They must be punished…” Despite her grumbles, Snow grew anxious. “Given Mr. Lee’s capabilities, he won’t be hurt.” The agents around her tried to comfort her. They believed she was being too nervous. “I know, but we as subordinates have failed him by allowing this to happen. We have to do our best to make up for the mistake, and not rely on Mr. Lee to get out because he can.” Snow drowned in self-blame and regretted not being able to help. It was her negligence that allowed the hijacking to happen. “But there’s nothing you can do now. It’s late. Even the hijackers need to rest. They won’t do anything yet.” “It’s because the hijackers need to rest that we have to hurry and beat them to it. That’s the only way to solve this matter!” “But we’ve searched high and low and didn’t find anything. No one knows where they have gone. Even if they transported the passengers via buses, we didn’t see any tracks.” The agents discu
Kaze breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly went over to Miguel and pressed his hands with the gun down so that it would not misfire. “Good job.” “Thanks.” Miguel curled his lips into a nervous smile. He frequently trained in the gym and mixed martial arts but had never encountered any real-life incident before, thus being inexperienced. Fortunately, his mentality was stronger than the others and allowed him to act accordingly. “I’ll be taking the gun. This is self-defense, you won’t be charged and you won’t need to take responsibility,” Kaze said. Miguel’s pale face looked relieved. “What should we do now? Are there more of them?” Miguel dared not let go of the gun, worried there might be more enemies. “I’ve counted the numbers and this guy here should be the last one.” He then took the gun from Miguel’s hands. “Really? Gosh! That was crazy! I was so terrified!” Miguel finally loosened up and let his instinct take over. His heart was pounding so fast that it
Manson came over and saw the mercenaries lying in their own puddle of blood. The gore shocked him and made him sick. He tried his best to hold back the urge to throw up as it would attract attention. “Don’t look if you can’t take it! Don’t make things worse!” “Yeah! Professor! Grow a pair of balls!” “I have never seen dead bodies like this before!” he explained with a flush of embarrassment on his face. “Can we go out now and run away?” The hostages were eager to leave as things had settled down outside. They thought the danger was over. A dead mercenary was inside the container with them and they were still horrified. Once the others found out about this, the hostages would be shot to death. “If you want to die, be my guest. The moment you step out, you’ll be shot!” Callahan said as he looked at the others scornfully. One of the hostages had already put his hand on the handle of the door and was ready to dash out, but he quickly pulled his hand back after listening
“Tsk. Hold on.” Vexed, the man clicked his tongue and then waved at his colleague. “Come here. Someone fainted. Help me get him out.” The man wanted to take the professor out of the container. Manson’s heart pounded as he listened to the man. He was afraid he might be exposed, but there was no turning back now—he had to play along. Kaze stood behind the door, calming his breath down to lower his presence. “Get back. Stay away from the door. If anyone gets close, don’t blame me for being rough,” said the man as he unlocked the container. He opened the door and saw a number of hostages still sleeping. He then looked at the professor on the floor. He went closer to nudge him but did not get a response. It seemed like the professor needed medical attention. “Come on. Help me get him out.” The other man outside the container was on edge, looking as if he would pull the trigger at the slightest movement. “Why don’t we do it?” Callahan and Miguel volunteered. “You two
“It’s freaking troublesome.” “Boss, don’t worry about it. We’ll get an update tomorrow.” “Yeah. It’s late. Get some rest.” Tiguan’s men told him to get some rest and not worry so much. A few of them were already snoring on the chair. Tiguan sighed and killed the cigarette. He then closed his eyes to get some rest, too. The container that Kaze was in fell into silence once more. No one dared to make any noise but they all looked at Kaze, hoping to find out about his plans. Kaze’s eyes remained fixed on the window and showed no intention of revealing his thoughts. Miguel and Callahan were annoyed by the other hostages. “If you people want to get out of here alive, you better cooperate or come up with your own idea. No one is responsible for saving you.”“Yeah. I don’t want you guys to turn on us after we do all the heavy lifting. It will cost us our lives and you people won’t even be grateful.” Miguel’s tone was sarcastic because he disliked how the others looked at t
Kaze read the hostages’ minds and refused to be used. He wanted to leave but not under such circumstances. “That’s not true. We just don’t have the skills for this kind of situation. You guys are stronger, of course, you should be in the front,” said the man in glasses and a suit. A hint of sharpness gleamed in his eyes. Miguel knew what the man was planning, either. “That’s some plan you have there. You are just trying to use us to escape this place and no matter what happens, you’ll win.” “That’s not it! I just want everyone to stand together and get out of this place. I’ve never thought of using anyone!” the man argued, trying to look innocent. Even a monkey knew what he was planning, yet no one dared to speak up because they would benefit from it too. “Why don’t you guys think of something? If you need our help, we’ll help,” said another middle-aged gentleman who looked more just and fair, as if he could lead the group. “Then what is your plan?” Kaze suddenly wante
The hostages were locked up in the containers. Some of them were elites in their own field while some were ordinary people with average income, yet all of them got into trouble when they boarded the plane. Most of them could not accept their fate. Yet they dared not defy or resist the mercenaries. When things started to calm down, they broke down in tears, weeping in silence as resentment consumed them. Kaze sat down at a clean corner that allowed him to look outside the window. The window was dirty but at least he could see outside. The space inside the container was filled with people sitting closely, offering comfort to one another. They were aware they were just temporarily safe in this container. No one knew what the mercenaries would do to them at the next moment. “My parents must be worried. I said I would call them when I land but now I can’t even get in touch,” Barney muttered as he sat beside Kaze. He too looked outside the window, his feelings mixed. He watc
Kaze thought of what he had overheard in the toilet. If he told the hostages about that, they would probably panic. “It’s nothing. They are just going to separate us into different rooms or containers. They said the buses would be disposed of,” he said. He did not want to reveal too much because it would cause panic. Once the hostages knew their lives were on the line, things might spiral out of control. The mercenaries could kill a few of them to make an example, and none of the hostages would dare to cause problems anymore. Kaze kept it a secret because he wanted to protect the people. “That’s it?” “Is there anything else? How many men are there? What is their plan? Who are they looking for?” “We want to know because we want to survive. This isn't our problem—we just got caught up in it.” The hostages looked at Kaze, their eyes filled with worry. They felt aggrieved because they should not be caught in such a huge problem. “I don’t know either.” No matter how m
“There’s a room there. Get in.” The mercenary pointed his gun at the mother and son, which led them to look at Kaze nervously, seemingly asking for help. “What do you want?” The mother was nervous. She clutched her son’s hand tightly, nearly making him cry, but she reacted quickly enough to cover her son’s mouth to prevent him from doing so. “All women must go into that room. You go in now,” the mercenary explained. He did not want the woman to get the wrong idea. “You people won’t hurt me, right?” the mother asked, worried that she might be ravaged. “We are not into MILF,” said the other mercenary who was escorting Kaze, indirectly assuring the mother. Kaze shot a glance at the mother and nodded at her. “They told us they were going to separate us, so there’s nothing to worry about,” he said, worried that the mother and son would not cooperate. The mother then carried her son and followed the other mercenary into the room. It was called a room but it was actually ju