“Maybe we can discuss getting the one who wants my life to come here. What do you think?” Kaze lifted his head and said with a smile, his gaze meeting Sieg’s. Sieg smirked. “What? Scared? Are you thinking about asking that person to spare your life?” Kaze shook his head and replied, “Idiot.” “What did you call me?” Sieg blew up. Not wanting to waste another with Sieg, Kaze went up and knocked him down to the ground with a slap. “Crack!” Kaze then stomped on Sieg’s leg, fracturing his bone. “Argh!” Sieg let out a heart-wrenching scream and rolled on the ground in agony. Mason and the others widened their eyes at Kaze. It never occurred to them that Kaze would be so savage to break Sieg’s leg. Sieg was part of the Geranium Lyfes and one of the top bachelors of Geranium City. Though Kaze had the Viper Queen’s support, he was insignificant. Surely, he would quiver at the prospect of revenge by the Geranium City high society. “Smack!” As Sieg was hit in the face
“What are you scared of?” Autumn glanced at Sirius. Feeling his hair stand, Sirius found himself in the crossfire. “Thump!” Sirius kneeled on the ground without a word, his head down. He knew who Sieg was on the phone with. It was Daiso, who secretly snuck into Arcadia.Kaze killed Newell, the Viper's Den South River branch chief, his son, and Malova. Malova’s husband, Jacob Ribbon, was the deputy chief of the Viper’s Den West State branch. To avenge his wife’s family, Jacob hired Daiso from the Kailan Clan. On the surface, Daiso was commissioned by Cherry Bank to seek revenge for Kai at Lilyrose. Only a handful of people knew Daiso’s real target. If Autumn were to find out that the Viper’s Den West State branch colluded with a Ryokanian, there was bound to be a shakeup within the organization. Sirius could only pray that Autumn noticed nothing. Sieg was done with his phone call by the time Autumn looked away. He put away the phone and got up with the help o
Sieg scowled. He could disrespect Kaze but not Autumn. “My Queen, I didn’t call Mr. Kailan here. Even without my involvement, he would still be after Kaze’s life. I merely told him where Kaze was. “Either way, I’m taking Kaze down. I accept any punishment from you after today,” Sieg said while carrying himself humbly. He would not waver from his intention to kill Kaze, though.Autumn narrowed her eyes dangerously and scoffed without another word. Since Sieg wanted to play with fire, Autumn washed her hands of the matter. “All I hear is your blabbering. When is that Brasso Crayon guy coming?” growing impatient, Kaze asked listlessly. “Idiot! “How dare you insult my mentor! You’re asking for it!” An angry voice with a strong Ryokan accent came from the door. The crowd looked over and saw several men in ninja suits escorting a middle-aged man armed with a sword standing there. The middle-aged man was short, but his lofty presence sucked the air out of everyone. “T
“Uh…” Daiso’s mind went blank when he got a good look at Kaze’s face. The God of War? He was the God of War. Daiso stood before the God of War who started a blood massacre and defeated the five strongest nations. The war still haunted Daiso. If there was one person Daiso was afraid of in Arcadia, that would be undoubtedly the God of War. “G-G-G…” Daiso stammered in fear. “What?” Keeping a stoic face, Kaze said with a pretentious smile, “Sieg said that you came all the way to Arcadia just to kill me.” “I…” Daiso turned pale, sweat drenched his back. Jesus Christ. He could not believe Jacob sent him to kill the God of War. Daiso was about to go mad. If he knew the target was the God of War, Daiso would never come to Arcadia even with a knife held to his throat. “Thump!” Despite his usual composure, Daiso lost it. He went limp and fell to his knees. Daiso kept his head down, losing the nerve to look Kaze in the eye. Unlike the smugness before, Da
“You have not answered my question, Daiso.” Kaze drew close and looked at Daiso with a fake smile. As the crowd watched on in surprise, Daiso planted his forehead to the ground and shivered. “You got the wrong idea. I didn’t…” “I’ve got the wrong idea?” Kaze cut him off. “The previous Ryokan assassin was one of yours, right? “You brought more of your men here in Arcadia. “If you’re not here to kill me, are you here for tourism or finding family?” “Uh… That’s right!” Daiso smashed his head to the floor and blurted, “I’m here to find my family. You’re like a father to me, sir. “I offer you my most sincere reverence, dear Father.”Everybody was dumbfounded by Daiso’s change of attitude. He became meek and submissive in an instant. What had become of the world? The true master of Ryokan kneeled on the ground and humbly regarded Kaze as a father figure. The crowd was caught in a daze. “Urg.” Lying on the ground, Sieg coughed up blood. The reaction came from a
“Swish!” The sword sliced through the air, leaving a shimmering silver arc in its wake.The sheer intensity of killing intent caused the crowd to recoil in fear. Just as the sword cut toward Kaze, Daiso pulled out a blade to stab into Kaze’s chest. “Kailan’s Open Chest Cut is the Kailan Clan’s signature move. Mr. Kailan is executing the move so perfectly.” “Kill the Arcadian, Mr. Kailan!” Daiso’s men shrieked with thrill. While it was baffling for Daiso to kneel to Kaze, his men knew that Daiso was undefeatable. No one ever survived Kailan’s Open Chest Cut and lived to tell the tale. Daiso was unstoppable especially when he pulled that stunt. Not even God could stop the inevitable. Daiso’s people could already foresee Kaze’s dismembered body. Just before the blade entered Kaze’s body, he finally moved. “All flashy and no substance.” Kaze took a step forward while commenting nonchalantly. Just with a minor shift of the body, Kaze dodged both blades effortles
“T-Thank you!” Sieg nodded fearfully. Kaze’s hand on his cheek felt like a deadly blade, ready to give him the chop. “Don’t be too eager to thank me. I’m not done.” Kaze said with a chuckle, “Do you remember what I said?” “What?” Sieg looked at him in a daze. “You, you, and you…” Kaze pointed at Sieg, Mason, Sirius, and the others. “Like I said, you better recover the share price before you crash it. “I don’t care how you do it. No one is leaving until Rove closes at 200 points today.“You can count on it.“There are many ways to make people wish they are dead.” Kaze’s nonchalant sent shivers down Sieg, Mason, and the others’ spines. “Fine. I’ll get the money now.” Facing a dead end, Sieg embraced reality. Since Kaze had no qualms about killing Daiso, Sieg could be next. However, Mason was not having it. He tried to be strong and said sternly, “I am part of the Ridgesouth Quints, Kaze. I’m going to be the mayor of Lilyrose. “You wouldn’t dare do anyth
“You win, Kaze!“But I did not lose to you. I lost to luck and Elder Nectar. Hahaha!” Sinking into the ground, Mason laughed in resignation. He crackled to the point of tears. Many gave Mason sympathetic looks. Everything backfired on him. Armed with the might of the Ridgesouth Quints, Mason anticipated a victory over Kaze which would cement his dominance in Lilyrose. It was supposed to be a slam dunk. Kaze would not stand a chance against the Ridgesouth Quints. Yet, the surprises kept on coming. First, the Viper Queen showed up, and then Hannibal made a statement. The intervention of these two very key players tipped the scales in favor of Kaze and Perfect World Group. Kaze was lucky. Even Sieg resigned to his fate. He and Mason started making calls to get the money. They contacted their connections within Geranium City high society and the Ridgesouth Quints. Upon learning of Autumn and Hannibal’s support for Rove, Geranium City elites quickly amassed 10
“Do ask around,” Kaze said without being overly concerned. Since he was with Dwight, if they got any news, it would attract even more attention. However, if they did not ask around for more after causing a scene, it would also be strange. Therefore, Dwight’s little investigation was a great cover. “I have to use the toilet. Wait for me here,” Kaze said as he got up. Dwight nodded at Kaze as he was going to make a call. “Sure. If you want to leave, just give me a heads up.” He then sat down on the couch, took a sip of beer, and leisurely watched girls dancing on the dance floor. After seeing Dwight’s casual reaction, Kaze lowered his guard against him. He had been observing Dwight since the start and now he finally knew the man well enough. Dwight never saw Kaze as an outsider or some VIP guest. He was thoughtful and kind and never harbored any ill intentions. “He’s really a simple guy.” Kaze headed to the toilet as he muttered to himself. On the way there, he sa
“She’s quite capable but this will cost her.” Kaze thought Rosie was not being rational enough. If a customer crossed the line, she would have every reason to throw him out. There was no need to endure him or suck up for the sake of a little business. Rosie might seem to be the boss of the club but she often had to endure ridiculous requests for the sake of the well-being of the establishment. Dominic’s words made many uncomfortable, especially the waiter and the security guards. They were ready to throw him out. If he continued to be rude, they would not mind being physical with him. When Dominic calmed down, he would realize what he had done. After all, when one was drunk, one would not have total control over his or her actions, which would lead to making mistakes. Such mistakes would easily slip due to the person being drunk but it only worked when the person could not remember or was not conscious at all. If a person remained sane and could act logically, then be
“I’ll let this slip but you guys can’t always ruin my fun,” Dominic said with a frown. His plan of having fun was foiled before anything could happen. Rosie’s expression turned bitter. “That girl is just an innocent lady, our customer. You can’t just force yourself on her.” Dominic was not deterred. He believed that with his status and how much he had spent at the club, he could do anything he wanted. Yet the boss interrupted his plan and even let the girl go. It fueled his resentment. “Since when is Absolute Zero scared of anything? That girl is just some random girl, and even if I drag her to my bed, nothing bad will happen,” he said confidently. He even moved closer to Rosie, putting his chubby hand around her waist. Dwight was surprised as he had never encountered such a situation before. Dominic acted like he owned the club. He tried to force a girl against her will and now he put his dirty hand on the boss of the club. He was just the boss of a company who
“Stop causing problems!” The security guards gained on Kaze and Dwight, trying to get them out of the club. Dwight was also a hot-tempered person and he could not allow injustice to happen, especially to himself. “It’s that fat prick who started it! Why aren’t you guys throwing him out? The girl has made it clear that they don’t know each other! Why are you two gaining on us?!” He was not weak and could easily take down two security guards, but he remained resentful. They tried to help a girl but the situation turned on them. “You can’t be sure. Maybe the girl is playing hard to get. This is not Mr. Jarbosky’s first time here, and he will never break the rules here,” the security guard said. His words attracted even more attention, but they dared not speak up. Vivi’s face turned pale. She wanted to explain but nothing came out of her mouth. Her explanations seemed weak. Everyone seemed to believe that she seduced Dominic, but she was the victim. “No! It’s not like t
“Kaze, you might not know since you are new here but he’s the boss of Dominion Group, Dominic Jarbosky. We can’t offend him. His company works closely with the Viper’s Den.” Dwight came over and whispered into Kaze’s ears. He just wanted to inform Kaze to rethink his decision. The girl might be in danger but she had it coming. Coming to a club in a skimpy outfit was certainly a bad idea. Since Dominic had his eyes on her, and she did not want his company, then it was up to her to break free. Dwight thought that by explaining Dominic’s status to Kaze, the conflict would be resolved. “I said, it’s time for you to stop,” Kaze said once more, his tone colder than before. Dominic frowned after being interrupted once more. He finally got his eyes on a young girl who looked beautiful and innocent, thinking he could release his sexual desires on her for the entire night, yet someone poked his nose into his business. “What do you have to do with this? Are you into this girl as w
“Seems like there’s nothing to see here.” Kaze was slightly disappointed. He came here just to find out more about the club’s operations and the person running the place. Yet there was nothing he found, or maybe he did not get the right chance. Clubs were loud and messy, fights even broke out occasionally. Men would fight over a woman, and once the fight broke out, the person in charge of the club must step up to resolve the conflict. Kaze just needed to wait patiently for the chance to arrive. With alcohol involved, people tended to be impulsive and physical once the girls rejected them. Dwight continued to test his luck but got turned down every single time. A few minutes later, a void formed around him with no girls wanting to be close to him. He was annoyed. He was tall and handsome, yet no girls wanted to be with him. He saw other men, who were shorter and looked normal, surrounded by girls. The only difference was the watches and branded outfits they wore.
As they arrived, they saw a dozen expensive cars parked outside. The customer base was relatively stable as the establishment was targeted at the upper class. The people lining up at the club were young men and women of ordinary background. All were allowed inside Absolute Zero with an entrance fee. Since this would be a chance for ordinary people to meet and interact with the upper-class elites, they cherished it and tried their best to look good. Even movie producers and scriptwriters came to the club, seeking investments or a role in movie production. It was a shortcut to reach out to the upper crust after all. Yet they were just a bunch of fresh graduates with no resources and connections, so the club was their only chance at achieving something great. Dwight would never understand how rare the opportunity was, as he was narrow-sighted. He had never experienced power and wealth before, so he lacked the understanding of how things worked in society. “I never thought
With that in mind, Dwight checked his outfit. His black leather jacket brought out his height and wild side. He then observed Kaze. The latter was dressed casually. Dwight was worried that they would not be allowed into Absolute Zero because of their attire. Nevertheless, he could not let slip that he had never been to Absolute Zero. Without a word, Dwight led Kaze down the apartment building. Kaze could pick up on Dwight’s nerves. While in the elevator, Dwight could not stop straightening out his clothes. It was clear that he was nervous. Even so, Kaze said nothing and pretended not to notice. They got into the car and drove to an alley. The area was not huge, but there were stands selling street food. “The food is great here. Since it’s early, we can grab a bite.” Dwight was not being tight with money. As their destination was a bar, there was no need to get a proper meal. “I’ll get a skewer then.” Kaze did not have much of an appetite anyway. “Okay. I’ll or
“You’re the guest. I should be hosting you, but I don’t seem to be doing a good job.” Dwight knew he had to do better. “It’s okay. I don’t have much to do. It’s just a delivery anyway.” Kaze bought a lot of stuff online. All they had to do was wait for the delivery. Once the items arrived, they could head out. Dwight talked about taking him to a bar under the Viper’s Den’s umbrella. It was a great opportunity for Kaze to check out the scene. He had heard that the Wittersons were tied to all the Viper’s Den’s business operations.Kaze would not meet Edmund and Morris in person, but he would grasp all information related to them. Then, Kaze would stir things up between them and sit back while reaping the benefits. Kaze had it all planned out. He simply had to take his time in playing the long game. Nevertheless, it was important for him to remain discreet. At the very least, he should not show them what he was made of. It was easy to execute his plan when everybody