Collier heard that someone from another city came to Riverbank and challenged Cole. Without further ado, he decided to take the matter into his own hands. He failed to crush Kaze but he was confident this time. If this person decided to come all the way to their turf and challenge one of the most powerful people here, then he would suffer the consequences of doing so. Collier gathered his men and headed to the scene. “Mr. Ettinger, you are finally here!” “You’re hurt? You have to be more careful!” “Yeah. Young Master Collier, you are the representative of the younger generation here in Riverbank…” When Collier arrived in the parking lot, the other young men and women made way for him by stepping back and greeting him with the most flattering smile, trying to leave an impression on him. Listening to all the flattery, Collier felt a surge of pride welling inside him. The confidence that he lost returned to him. “Mr. Ettinger, you are finally here!” Cole jumped down
Collier laughed when he heard Cole. His gaze turned cold. He thought of Kaze, who was also arrogant. However, Kaze was powerful enough to be arrogant. As the branch leader of the West State Viper’s Den, the person appointed by Autumn Fall to cleanse the organization, it was normal for him to be arrogant. Yet how did some random guy from another city dare to act the same? “I’d like to see if this guy is really capable or just some liar,” Collier said coldly. The young women looked at the confident Collier with utmost admiration and respect. As the eldest son of the branch chief, Newell Ettinger, Collier could utilize his influence on the Viper’s Den South River Branch and also the resources of Golden Scale Corporation. A man with such power would be the ideal husband candidate for every woman out there. All of them looked at Kaze as if he was a dead man. No matter how arrogant Kaze was or what he did to Cole, all would end as Collier arrived. A loser like him had n
“Kaze Lee, I thought you were a show-off. Come on, now that Mr. Ettinger is here, why don’t you call him a dog again?” Cole said with a smirk. He was standing in front of Collier, so he did not see the shift of expression on Collier’s face. Collier’s expression turned bitter. Kaze glanced at him and then smiled. “Collier, why don’t you bark for him?” His words stunned everyone again. They assumed he continued to court death with his words. Pft! Cole burst out in laughter. He called Kaze a stupid idiot inwardly. He provoked Kaze to disrespect Collier and Kaze fell for it. Kaze did not only do as told, but he did it worse than before. He was practically digging his own grave. “Mr. Ettinger, you hear that? Kaze Lee called you a dog and wanted you to bark in front of us. He disrespected you and the Viper’s Den South River Branch! “If I were you, I would break his arms and make him bark like a dog!” Cole then turned around to Collier with a smirk as he tried to fan t
Collier put his bandaged hands in front of his chest and barked like a dog, looking ridiculous. Everyone else was stunned by the scene yet once again. One word from Kaze and the eldest son of the Ettingers, a prominent figure of the Viper’s Den South River Branch, knelt and barked like a dog! What happened? Everyone’s mind went blank. No one understood what happened. Kaze said, “Kneel straight.” Woof! Woof! Seeing Kaze roll up his sleeve, Collier moved forward on his knee and straightened his back to extend his face for Kaze. Slap! Kaze slapped Collier in the face. The powerful momentum turned his face to the left. “I told you and Hannah to settle Josiah Dubb and you came here to crush me?” Collier was in so much pain. He gasped but he dared not argue. Slap! Kaze slapped his face back to the right. “Did you think I let you live so that you can continue to act like a bully?” Collier clenched his teeth tightly and dared not make a noise. Slap! Kaze slapp
Everyone knew how arrogant Collier was in the underworld of Riverbank. In fact, he could even disregard the government officials, let alone the young masters or gangsters from another city. After all, with the Viper’s Den behind his back, no one dared to disrespect him. Yet one word from Kaze turned the man into the most loyal dog. Ridiculous. Cole did not expect Collier to demand him to apologize. He flushed red and argued, “Collier, this stupid idiot is just a live-in husband who got kicked out. He came to Riverbank to be a freeloader, why should I kneel before him…” Bang! Before Cole could finish, Collier jumped up and landed another kick on his stomach. Bang! Thump! Thud! Collier kicked Cole furiously, causing the arrogant young man to cry excruciatingly. “You little piece of shit! Who gave you the balls to challenge Mr. Lee?!” Thump! “You ungrateful fuck! Mr. Lee can crush you with his pinky!” Woosh! “How dare you look down on Mr. Lee?! You ignorant stu
Cole was surprisingly tough. Even when beaten up, he refused to submit and apologize. He looked down on Kaze from the bottom of his heart. He saw Kaze as a loser who could not make it in his own city and decided to come to Riverbank to curry favors with the mayor. Making him kneel to a peasant like Kaze would be more miserable than killing him. “Cole Libra, if you want to die, be my guest!” Collier was furious. Even though Kaze spared his life and made him a lapdog, he knew he had to perform to stay alive. If he could not even deal with Cole, why would Kaze keep him as a lapdog? Under everyone’s surprised gaze, Collier grabbed a baseball bat from one of the young men. He then kicked Cole to the ground and then swung the bat at his arm. “Aaaargh!” Cole screamed excruciatingly. He held his broken arm in pain, twisting and twirling on the ground. “Collier, you fuck! I will kill you!” Collier grunted and then swung the bat down again. Cole’s other arm was broken. Th
“Kaze, are you free to talk right now? If you can wake up early tomorrow, come to my place and have breakfast.” Kaze instinctively declined the invite. “Mr. Yemen, I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to disturb you or your family in the morning.” “It’s no problem at all. You came all the way to Riverbank to visit me and gave us tens of millions worth of herbs, but we wasted them all. I feel like I have wasted your kindness. “Ryna said she wants to make it up to you as a token of apology. You can come over tomorrow morning, we are still staying in the same place. I’ll see you tomorrow.” After the call, Kaze put down his phone and shook his head helplessly. The herbs might be wasted but they seemed to work magically. …On the second morning, Kaze woke up early. This time, he went to Lock’s place without bringing Conan. Lock’s place was located in a residential area and arriving at the entrance brought back some memories for Kaze. He knew the place far too well. Man
“He can give us that much and he doesn’t have any more? Sounds a little too ridiculous.” Ryna rolled her eyes at Lock and then smiled widely at Kaze. “Am I right, Kaze? You must have more of those herbs, right? Can you give us more? You know how weak Lock has always been.” She could not sleep last night due to the frustration. In the end, she and Cyan believed that if Kaze could give them tens of millions worth of herbs in a single meeting, then he must have more of them. She refused to believe that Kaze gave everything to them on the first meeting. Therefore, after a discussion with her daughter last night, she decided to invite Kaze over for breakfast and tried to persuade him to give them more expensive herbs. If they could get the herbs and then give them to prominent figures, they could earn a lot of resources and connections. Kaze looked at the enthusiasm on Ryna’s face and finally knew why her attitude was completely different from yesterday. He said, “I’m sorry,
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
Kaze observed as the jeep took off further off course, past the towering buildings to a run-down neighborhood. “This is where I usually reside. My home is not too far away, but I think you might have trouble adapting to this place.” Dwight did not forget to book Kaze a hotel. Kaze could not possibly stay with him. The hotel was around the area anyway. “Didn’t you say that you haven’t tried the local cuisine? I’ll take you out for a bite. “The barbecue ribs here are to die for. We’ve got the dry-rubbed and saucy kind.” Dwight parked the car and hopped out right away. Opposite the parking lot was not the cleanest food joint. Looking in from the outside, Kaze realized that the place was packed. Kaze understood that the restaurant must be known for some kind of dish. The customers were from all walks of life, so the food must be great. “There’s not much to see here, but the food is tasty. If you don’t mind, we can order something inside.” Kaze was not particularly con
Dwight was surprised and curious as to who Kaze really was. From what he gathered, Kaze was a confidante of the Butterworth Branch chief. The purpose of Kaze’s visit was to learn and share. Dwight worked on the fringes, so his access to information was limited. Nevertheless, he got the feeling that Kaze was just an ordinary guy just like him. The only difference was that Kaze was lucky to rub shoulders with important people. Dwight did not get chances like that. “Who are the most influential people in the Viper’s Den Westeros Branch?” Kaze asked in the car. Dwight was taken aback by the question. Still, he had an answer to that. “So you don’t know much about the situation?” Dwight suddenly felt important. “Well, I’m new to the city. I will be running into them soon, so I need to make sure I get my facts right,” Kaze said humbly. This was Dwight’s shot, and he needed to present his best. “Relax, Kaze. I’ll tell you everything I know.” Dwight would reveal some info
Kaze glanced at the flowers. There was a card for well-wishes too.Curious, Kaze reached out to read the card. It was written, “To my eternal lover and sweetheart.” Dwight grabbed Kaze’s bag. Since the sign in his hand was getting in the way, Dwight tossed the placard in the trash can. As Dwight turned his head back, he saw Kaze reading the card that came with the flowers. He tried to stop Kaze, but it was too late. Dwight had not attended to a guest of high importance before. The task was assigned to him at the last minute. In the past, Dwight was usually on the sidelines, never getting close to major matters. He would always get the small, insignificant jobs. Dwight often bought drinks for his superiors to build connections. However, he had always been kept out of the loop. Now that an opportunity had fallen onto his lap, Dwight was not about to let it slip. He wanted to show what he could do. When Dwight arrived at the airport for the pick-up, most people car
The incident did not sit well with Kaze, so he left them out to dry. After much searching, Kaze came across a café. Kaze bought a cup of coffee. Cupping the drink between his hands, Kaze sipped slowly. Many passengers swarmed the arrival hall in the airport, dragging along their luggage or pulling out their phones to get a pick-up. They all had a destination, a place they had to be in a rush. Intrigued, Kaze followed the crowd out. Kaze turned on his phone, and a text message from his airport pick-up came in. He glanced at the message, curious about who the person was. Nevertheless, Kaze trusted that the Westeros Branch members would not set him up out in the open. At most, they would pull little stunts to mess with him. Kaze was not the type to sweat the small stuff. However, he would not tolerate any extreme behavior. He had been keeping a low profile back in Butterworth, keeping the limelight off him. The purpose was to handle Jet without unnecessary complicati
“Alright. I will work hard to be the manager of the Northborn Group. You need to show me the ropes and teach me about management.” Leah looked at Katie with a smile. She believed Katie had not lost her mind. Katie simply had her memory mixed up. “You need to keep your people in line and reward those who deserve it. It all boils down to profits. “You need to work toward managing your people and working with rivals. You’ve got to keep the balance, and nobody loses out. “You need to build your own system when it comes to working together. Don’t be led around by the nose.” Hearing that Leah would start work soon, Katie imparted her knowledge. “Don’t worry too much about things. Joey is nice. You can go to her for help,” Katie said earnestly. Katie seemed to be herself at the moment. Leah wondered if Katie faked her insanity to escape the punishment. “What have become of you? Did they do something to you? “Did you really betray Kaze?” Leah whispered while leaning close
Leah kept working on her knowledge until late into the night. Just as she was about to hit the sack, she got a message from Snow. Learning was a hard enough process. The text message came out of the blue. Leah did not expect Snow to contact her at night. The message was strange as well. Leah could not understand why Snow would give her the address of a nursing home. Leah was determined to turn things around. She strived to become stronger instead of being a burden. She was grateful for Kaze’s help. At least, she had a job now. However, her gratitude was not extended to Snow. She believed Snow had gone too far. Snow left her feeling powerless. Leah did not think much about the message. She assumed that the text was not meant for her. Since Leah did not respond to the text, Snow put the matter aside and went to bed. Leah called Snow the next day. “Why did you send me an address?” Leah went straight to the question. She had been equipping herself with knowledge before