“You are either with me or against me.” Many gasped sharply at Gareth’s ugly statement. They started to make faces too. It had become clear to them that the event tonight was not just a step designed for Kaze. The feast was also a trap set for the most respected individuals in Lilyrose.Gareth demanded that they pick a side to determine whether they were a friend or foe. To Gareth, there was no in-between. If they were not with him, they would be against him. The gray area did not exist. However, not everyone was conflicted. “I support you, Mr. Hornberg.” Trent took a stand without hesitation. “To be frank, I am disheartened by the way the noob mayor runs the city. It’s a mess!“The young man won’t take advice from a retired man like me. Kaze even humiliated me. “I trust that you will contribute greatly to the Lilyrose New City project, Mr. Hornberg. Please get rid of pests like Kaze and build a figure for the city,” Trent said righteously. Gareth’s eyes sp
Gareth was a go-getter with strong connections in Sunrise City.On the contrary, Kaze might hold some sway in the city, but he was just a nobody who took his wife’s last name. He did not have the resources and wealth to compete with Gareth. The odds were in Gareth’s favor. “Haha. Thank you, all.” Gareth grinned and glanced at Bernard’s group before mocking, “You’ve been contemplating for a while now. What are your decisions?” Bernard, Peter, and Jack were firmly on Kaze’s side. However, that could change. Gareth believed that the family heads would be foolish not to make the wise choice, especially after many were in support of Gareth. All eyes fell on Bernard, Peter, and Jack. The Vikroms, Logmans, and Joestars were the top-tier families in Lilyrose at present. They profited from the fall of the top three families. Though the reputation of the top three families did not expand past the boundaries of the city, their influence went beyond that. However, the top t
Many grimaced at Jack’s comment. Hudson made the local players pick a team when he came to Lilyrose. The Bowmans, an upper-class family, were the first to take a stand. The head of the Bowman household, Blake, pledged allegiance to Hudson right away and took Johnson’s place as the mayor. Kaze was forced to confess a crime he did not commit. Blake’s son nearly pushed Darcy to jump off a building. As Blake pissed Kaze off, he was only mayor for a day. Since then, the Bowmans plummeted the ranks of social classes and hovered in the bottom tier. With that in mind, some locals started to have a change of heart. They were afraid Kaze might turn the tide and ruin their families too. Still, others sneered at that thought. “Don’t try to scare us with the past, Mr. Joestar. Kaze was driven to desperation to the point of giving Governor Farland gifts. “Governor Farland was enraged and followed the clues to Blake for taking gifts and bribes. Since the Bowmans were the bigger fi
“My request is simple, Mr. Lyfe. Issue a statement of your split with Kaze and his underhanded acts. I expect Kaze to return Rove’s 20% shares, and I want them for myself. “Once you do that, I’ll consider you a friend of mine.” Gareth had his eye on the 20% shares Kaze possessed. However, his goal was to destroy Kaze’s reputation through Hart. There was always a clear rationale behind Gareth’s actions. He was an egotistical man. Gareth wanted the world to understand that getting rid of Kaze was not a predatory move, but a just one.Hart sank under the burden of all the attention. Still, he made a shocking decision. “I’m sorry, Mr. Hornberg. It’s a fact that Mr. Lee saved Rove. No one can change that. “That’s not the only thing. Mr. Lee also saved my family and stopped my daughter from marrying Kingston. “Mr. Lee has always been an honorable man. He never resorts to underhanded tactics. “I can’t betray a friend for glory.” Despite his discolored face, Hart spoke
Guests shuffled out of the Lyfes’ reception area. All that remained were Gareth, his disciples, and the shivering Lyfes. Stress hung the heaviest over their heads. For some reason, Gareth got angry and directed his resentment on the Lyfes. “Come here.” Gareth took a seat at the head of the table and started eating. The spread prepared by the Lyfes was left untouched. “Thump!” Mary Sue, Syed, and the others drew close and kneeled before Gareth. Gareth signaled his student to fill his glass with alcohol before glancing at Mary Sue. He asked indifferently, “Have you figured out what the problem was?” “I have, G-Grandmaster Hornberg. “I shouldn’t have pitted you against Kaze and taken it upon myself to drug Stone into a coma. “It’s all my fault. I deserve to die,” Mary Sue replied tremblingly. She used the time to ponder about the reason behind Gareth’s fury. Mary Sue hung her head low. Gareth scoffed. “You sure are loyal to your master, bitch.” It was clear
Darcy looked worried. Kaze said with a smile, “Even if I didn’t humiliate him, he would still get on my case. Don’t listen to Miru. She doesn’t understand the situation. Gareth and I are way past reconciliation.” From the event, Kaze learned that Gareth intended to acquire the Lilyrose New City project. If Gareth took Kaze’s advice, abandoned his fantasy, and left the city, he and his pals would be safe, and that would be the end of the matter. However, conflict was bound to happen if Gareth insisted on doing things his way. Kaze did not care about Gareth’s choice. Gareth was the one facing the consequences of his decision anyway. The grandmaster did not scare Kaze at all. Looking relaxed, Kaze patted Darcy with a smile. “Take a nice, long shower and go to bed, babe. Everything will be alright.” “Okay.” Darcy skeptically entered the room. Kaze turned in for the night. He had no idea that Bernard and his friends were heading his way. Bernard, Peter, and Jack, i
“Who are you people?” Bernard’s driver yelled sternlyBernard’s, Peter’s, and Jack’s bodyguards got out of the cars immediately. They were on standby outside the Lyfes’ residence, so they did not recognize Mary Sue. “Who are we? We are here to finish you off.” Mary Sue, the leader, sneered. Her head was wrapped in a bandage. She was backed by a dozen of Gareth’s disciples and two quiet men. “Let’s just get straight to it. Take them!” At the wave of Mary Sue’s arm, six individuals lunged toward the family heads’ drivers and bodyguards. Even at one-against-one, the drivers and bodyguards were overpowered by Gareth’s minions.The drivers and bodyguards howled in pain as they were knocked down, their legs crippled by the relentless assault.“Tap, tap.” Mary Sue approached Bernard’s car and knocked on the window. She said gleefully, “What? Don’t you recognize me anymore? “Get out of the car. It’s pointless to hide in there.” Soon, Bernard stepped out of the car with
Wolf smiled and followed Sven. “Ugh…” “Ow!” A spine-tingling scene ensued. In an echo of screams, Sven and Wolf knocked down fifty to sixty security officers. “Uh…” Bernard and his friends gasped sharply as the bloodthirsty duo charged and wrecked the crowd. Chills went up their spine. Even Mary Sue and Gareth’s disciples felt an unsettling feeling pricking under their skin. Sven and Wolf were terrifying. They lived up to their titles as the strongest in the underground fighting ring. Sven and Wolf quickly walked back after finishing off close to sixty opponents, reeking of the stench of blood. Mary Sue shuddered and said, “Please handle these assholes. Grandmaster Hornberg wants them to suffer.” Bernard and his friends went weak behind the legs and sank to the ground. They looked at Sven and Wolf dejectedly, lost for words. “This will be quick,” Sven said, his brows furrowed. He then went up and broke one arm of theirs before circling back to his spot.
“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