“Fine, Kaze. I underestimated you. You dodged a bullet today. “But you won’t be so lucky next time. “Just you wait.” Luis cocked his head back to leave. He was too humiliated to stay. Wesley and Zenika kept close behind him. “Hang on. Did I say you could leave?” Kaze said indifferently. They tried to escape after failing to set Kaze up. Well, they would not get off easily. Luis had the nerve to threaten Kaze too. Kaze wanted to straighten them out tonight. “What do you mean, Lee? Why do we need your consent to leave?” “Who do you think you are?”Luis, Wesley, and Zenika snapped angry looks at Kaze. They had been humiliated enough. Paying them no heed, Kaze glanced at Eunice and said, “Shouldn’t you answer to me now, Ms. Lapel?” Eunice stopped on her way out and said curtly, “Why?” Kaze pointed at Zenika and the others. “This woman admitted to slipping the marble into my pocket to frame me. According to your rules, she gets her arm broken. “Besides, th
Buffy frowned. Though she did not agree with Eunice, Luis, and the others’ approach, Kaze was in over his head to challenge Bronze Sparrow. Eunice smiled pretentiously. “Watch your mouth, Mr. Lee.“I’m only following the rules. You weren’t supposed to enter the venue anyway.“You can leave now before I throw you out. “Take your pick.” Kaze shook his head. “None.”“Fine. You want to do this the hard way.” Eunice waved her arm. “Take him out. “He can fight, so get him altogether!”The dozens of burly men pounced on Kaze intimidatingly. “Kaze, you!” Rose shrieked in fear, her face stained with tears. Buffy stepped forward to say something. She had to put a stop to all this. Both women’s jaws quickly dropped. Kaze sent the first man flying with a kick. The man shot away like a bullet, knocking the other men off their feet. They cried in agony. Kaze took down more than half the group with just a kick. He ran into the crowd. “Pow! Smack! Bang!”Following
“Thud!” “You must be the mastermind behind the frame job. You have the nerve to show your face.” “Thud!” “Your family isn’t even that powerful, but you act like you own the world.” “Thud!” “You expect me to kneel and apologize to you.”“Thud!” Kaze saved the slap attack for kicks. Luis rolled and tumbled across the floor from the multiple kicks, barely able to catch his breath from grunting in pain. Even when Luis bumped into the furniture, Kaze showed no mercy. Luis was kicked around like a ball as the socialites trembled with a pale face. Wesley’s lips quivered, his complexion ashen. He was going to give Kaze a piece of his mind, but the horror that happened to Luis stopped him. That was not the only thing. Wesley retreated into the crowd and scooted toward the exit. Wesley was on his way out. All eyes were on Kaze attacking Luis, so no one paid Wesley any attention. “That’s enough, Kaze!” With Luis nearing death, Buffy pulled a sour face and said, “T
Kaze smirked. “You would’ve cut off my finger if you had found the supposed diamond on me.” “You’re being unreasonable, Mr. Lee.” Eunice argued, “I said I needed to investigate just to be sure. Even cops need time to get on a case.” “That’s not what you said earlier.” Kaze said indifferently, “Didn’t you say that Bronze Sparrow’s rules were the law? “You didn’t need time to investigate when you and your men barged in and demanded that I handed over the diamond. “You were sure that I stole the diamond. I thought you were a detective with some amazing skills. “Since you have no ground to stand on, you start talking to me about the law and evidence.“You sure have double standards when it comes to serving guests.” Eunice replied curtly, “I know what you mean, but not all guests are equal. Mr. Presley is a man of great standing and privilege. It’s hard to believe that he’d engage in such an act—” “Smack!” Kaze raised his hand and whipped her across the face. He belie
Kaze was aware of one thing. Given Bronze Sparrow’s long-standing presence in Riverbank City, the establishment surely had a more robust security system than the dozens of untrained security officers. Eunice took out a walkie-talkie in a daze and shouted hysterically, “Get here, Scarface! Some out-of-town bastard just smashed my head with a bottle. He claimed he was going to tear down Bronze Sparrow.“Bring backup! “Kill him! You got to kill him!” Eunice went limp and passed out soon after. Two minutes later, the door to the venue burst open with a kick. A dozen men in suits barged into the place. These men were not particularly strong or muscular. Heck, they paled in comparison to the dozens of burly security officers they replaced. Still, Kaze could tell that they were trained fighters from the bulging veins along their temples. The emergence of this new group gave Kaze insights into why Bronze Sparrow was able to stand tall in Riverbank City for years. With a sk
“They say he committed a massacre, killing a family of 36 in one night. He fled overseas and became an international fugitive, landing him on Arcadia’s most wanted list.“I didn’t think he’d be hiding out in Bronze Sparrow and living the high life right under the police’s nose.”Even those who did not know Gillian before turned pale. The massacre years ago was well known in Riverbank. Gillian’s name struck terror in the hearts of the people of Riverbank City and even the most elite. Instead of taking cover overseas, the ruthless killer unexpectedly remained in Bronze Sparrow. Even Buffy grimaced. While she was not naïve enough to believe Bronze Sparrow was squeaky clean, she did not expect it to be so brazen as to harbor a fugitive.It was the Viper’s Den’s job to arrest a fugitive like Gillian. As far as Buffy knew, Gillian was high up on the most-wanted list. “It’s been years. I didn’t expect anyone to remember me.” Gillian nodded at the crowd and turned to Kaze wi
“Tell you what…” Gillian took large strides ahead and flipped over a long table. The wine bottles on the table slammed onto the floor and broke into pieces. The stench of alcohol filled the air. The glass shards on the ground were a terrifying sight. Gillian narrowed his eyes at Kaze and said with a fake smile, “Get down on your knees and crawl across these shards to me. I’ll call it a day when you bow to me. “I can forget you ever claimed to tear down Bronze Sparrow.“How about it?” Gasps echoed across the room. Kaze was expected to crawl across the floor of broken glass. The thought sent shivers down everybody’s spines. Without looking at the shards, Kaze shook his head and replied, “Not for me.” “So you won’t do it?” Gillian scowled and said menacingly, “Help the guy out and make him crawl here, boys.” “Yes, sir!” The dozen trained fighters behind Gillian pounced on Kaze. The light had been dimmed to find the diamond just now, so no one could get a goo
“Ugh!”The short man grunted in agony. He held his chest and looked down in panic. The broken blade penetrated his skin, leaving barely half an inch sticking out.The jagged weapon nearly tore through his flesh completely. “Wham!”Kaze drew close and kicked the short man away. “A fugitive on the most-wanted list and a Ryokanian. Bronze Sparrow sure operates in the shadows.” The short man slammed onto the ground and whimpered. He spoke in his language before lying stiff on the floor, his hand over his chest. His eyes stuck to Kaze wickedly. Kaze did not even look at him. He was confident in his attack. The blade should hit close to the heart arteries. The attack would not kill the Ryokanian, but a tiny bump while on the road in an ambulance could end his life. The short man was aware of that fact. The only thing he could do was lie still and wait for the paramedics. Though the short man refused to admit defeat, there was nothing he could do about the situation.
“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