Jackson was not the only one dumbfounded. His sidekicks were shocked. They understood the significance of Kaze’s identity to Jackson.“So he was the mayor of Lilyrose, Mr. Quint, but that’s ancient history. The guy stepped down, so you have nothing to worry about.” Amid the shock, Vance approached ingratiatingly and helped Jackson up. “Pow!” Jackson blew up and kicked Vance in the belly. “Ugh!” Vance collapsed to the ground with a scream and stared at Jackson, looking hurt. “Mr. Quint, you—” “Thud!” Jackson gave him another kick. “What do you know? “Don’t you know my dad needs his approval to become the mayor?“What do you mean by ancient history? I’ll make you ancient history.” Jackson kicked and punched Vance without holding back. Vance rolled around with his hands over his head while crying. Before Miranda could jump in to protect her son, she cocked her head back and looked at Kaze in disbelief following the revelation from Jackson. Jackson’s dad nee
The scene of Jackson holding his arm while rolling on the ground in agony sent a powerful message to everybody. It was wise not to upset Kaze. Kaze had not been in the next-door office for long when Snow entered. Sipping on tea, Kaze looked up at Snow and asked, “What’s the progress on shifting Perfect World Group’s core business to Riverbank City, Snow?” “We are moving along as planned, Chairman Lee. We are keen to rent one of the selected few office buildings in Riverbank as our branch there.” Kaze waved his arm. “Just purchase the building if possible. Nothing beats having your own property. Besides, owning a Riverbank City’s office building is a good investment.” “Alright.” Snow nodded and said, “But there’s one more thing to note before our move to Riverbank City.”“Oh?” Kaze lifted his head curiously. Snow approached and spread some sheets in front of Kaze. She said, “Rove is going public, Chairman Lee. “Perfect World Group owns most of Rove shares, so we’
The news was shocking. Darcy became the head of the household. Her social standing was bound to reach new heights. Meanwhile, the Quints started sending invitations en masse to local prominent families and socialites, inviting them to the reunion ceremony. The people of Lilyrose were honored to receive an invitation from the Quints. … A plane from Ridgesouth descended onto Lilyrose Airport. Soon, a stern-looking middle-aged man, escorted by his entourage, stepped into an Audi. The Audi headed straight for the hospital, and the group entered a ward. “There you are, Mayor Quint.” A young man opened the door to the ward, his hand holding an apple and a knife. With a smile, the young man looked at the middle-aged man at the door. The middle-aged man was Mason, Jackson’s father and the mayor of a city in Southridge. Mason was taken aback by the presence of the young man. He asked, “Hello, Mr. Lyfe. What brings you here?” He glanced at Jackson, who sat up in bed f
Mason made himself clear. It was unlike Sieg to suggest backing down and giving in. Sieg said earnestly, “I have crossed paths with Kaze before and admittedly been burned by him. He’s an arrogant prick, and nothing gets through to him. “It won’t be easy for you to become the mayor if you intend to exert your authority over him.” Mason frowned and took a good look at Sieg. “Thank you for the heads-up, Mr. Lyfe. Still, I am a father first. I can’t sit back and do nothing after what happened to my son.“Besides, I didn’t come to Lilyrose to become a mayor figurehead. “How am I supposed to govern Lilyrose if I let a former mayor walk all over me? “I’ve got a bone to pick with Kaze for both personal and professional reasons.” Mason spoke righteously without a hint of pretense. He was speaking from the heart. Though Mason needed to go through Kaze to become the mayor, he would not beg and plead to get his approval. Sieg replied, “I’m impressed with your devotion, May
There was a lot to decipher from the brief conversation between Mason and Sieg. Jackson believed his years of education were for nothing because he clearly saw nothing more to the conversation. “Hmph.” Mason scoffed, his eyes reflecting a fleeting viciousness. Despite knowing Sieg was goading him into a confrontation with Kaze, Mason had to keep up appearances and stay civil. Sieg was one of the top eligible bachelors in Geranium City after all. “What brings you to Lilyrose ahead of time, Dad?” Jackson asked. Mason replied icily, “Well, no thanks to you, idiot. The Lilyrose Quints are having a ceremony for rejoining the main family. I’m here on behalf of the Ridgesouth Quints.”“Huh?” Jackson was surprised for a moment before breaking out in joy. “Doesn’t that mean that Kaze and his wife need to act careful around you? “Hahaha! You need to get back at him for me.“I doubt I’d ever get another good night’s sleep until Kaze pays for what he did to me.” …Meanwhile,
Darcy scoffed and rolled her eyes. Kaze suddenly had a way with words. “What else are you keeping from us, Kaze?” Darcy asked, her voice a mix of annoyance and excitement.When Darcy was named the head of the Lilyrose Quints two days ago, Agnes no longer thought Kaze was good enough for her daughter. Yet now, Kaze’s position at Perfect World Group dismissed Agnes’ opinion. He was the chairman of Perfect World Group. Kaze always seemed to blow Darcy and her parents away with surprises. “Mom, truth be told, I—” Parting his mouth, Kaze was about to reveal who he really was.However, Agnes waved her arm. “Never mind. I’m not trying to criticize you. All I care about is that you and Darcy are happy together. “That reminds me. When are you planning to have a baby with Kaze?” Agnes’ question threw Darcy for a loop. Though Agnes no longer insisted that Darcy and Kaze slept in different rooms, she made sure they were safe against pregnancy. Agnes, likely bitter about the
Darcy’s family was baffled. They could not wrap their heads around the reason why Miru’s aunt and uncle would want to visit them. Their families had no prior interaction. Shocked, Kaze glanced at Agnes and said with a smile, “Maybe they want to thank us for always watching over Miru since she was all on her own in Lilyrose.” Fanny and Jared presented a gift and even wanted to visit. It appeared Miru’s cocky aunt could be finally playing nice. …The Quints’ residence was elaborately decorated by the next day.A fleet of luxury cars gridlocked outside the residence. No cars worth less than a million dollars would be found in the area. All of the most important people in Lilyrose had arrived. The event was not exclusive to the locals. Even the representatives of prominent families and businesses in neighboring cities like Sunrise and Riverbank attended the function. With the Lilyrose Quints rekindling their connection with the main family, they would rise to become a
Some local residents of Lilyrose seized the opportunity to curry favor with Mason, hoping to establish a solid relationship upon his appointment as mayor. It was their chance to ensure success in the coming years. “Mayor Quint.” “Welcome to Lilyrose. The city will only get better under your leadership.” “We have faith in you to govern the city, Mayor Quint.” The crowd greeted Mason. They acted like Mason already got the job. These people flattered Mason in the presence of Kaze, the former mayor. The reality was that Kaze was already yesterday’s news. “Hello, everybody.” Mason responded with a smile, carrying himself humbly and discreetly. No one could fault his kind manners. Passing through the crowd, Mason made his way to the Quints. The group behind Mason behaved cockily. Jackson, whose head and arm were patched up, was among the people. He looked at Kaze grimly. “Uncle Mason, I am Darcy.” Darcy, the head of the household, went up to introduce herself.
“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