“I suppose you know the rules of the Viper’s Den clearly state that agents and personnel are forbidden to collude with foreign forces. “Of course, it’s not that I don’t trust you or your position, Deputy Chief Gwake. A spy like Rio Sho would certainly accuse you or frame you for something you did not do, so that he could sow discord between us, am I right?” Hannah’s words made the other agents look at Jude with doubt and suspicion. Right before the match to decide who would become the chief, Hannah was ambushed by the Ryokanians. Saying Jude was not involved or the mastermind behind it would be difficult to believe. The coincidence was uncanny. Even though Hannah took the initiative to defend Jude, it was clear that Rio was most likely the Plan B he had prepared before the match. Jude was left speechless. He took a deep breath, feigned a calm look, and closed the box before giving it to his agent. He forced a smile and said, “Deputy Chief Delmore, I am delighted by the
Then, Kaze took a phone from Hannah, tapped on the screen, and dialed a number. “And I will survive… I, I will survive…” An old-fashioned ringtone broke the silence—it was Jude’s phone ringing. The caller ID displayed on his screen read Casius Weather. Jude was horrified when the words appeared before him. “Huh?! Huh!” He panted heavily, his forehead glistened in sweat. He stared at his phone screen but he did not have the courage to answer it. “Uncle Jude is having difficulties answering a phone? Why don’t I help you with that?” Collier smirked as he picked up the phone from Jude’s hand and slid to answer. Kaze’s voice came from the phone, “Deputy Chief Gwake, is this all you got? You’re disappointing.” The moment the voice reached his ears, Jude felt as though all his energy had been drained. It was as if he had aged a decade in an instant. The confidence and delight vanished from his face, leaving him in a devastated state. Without Casius making the connectio
Jude struggled onto his feet with his jelly arms and legs. He lifted his chest and said with gritted teeth, “Kaze Lee! I will never comply! Not to you, not to Hannah! Regardless of whether you are the branch leader, or she is the chief! “Even if you kill me, the answer is no!” Refusing to submit was his last resort, he decided to protect the last bit of his dignity. “You said it.” Kaze nodded and then walked over to Jude. “What are you trying to do?!” Jude’s remaining followers bellowed and stood in front of him, their hands reaching into their pockets. When Kaze entered Drake Gym, a clear order was given to forbid all firearms, and he was even searched twice. It was the rule set by the organizer and agreed upon by both sides. Yet the moment the rule was set, it was destined that one side would certainly break it. The loyal followers drew their guns. “You’re asking for it.” Kaze’s eyes turned cold as he swept them away with a slap, leaving them no chance to even
A piece of scrap. The sacred weapon of the Viper’s Den, the weapon that represented the power and authority of the organization, albeit a replica, was the symbol of power in the entire West State Viper’s Den. Yet Kaze called it a piece of scrap. He might be the only one brave enough to call the sword a piece of scrap, and no one dared to correct him. They knew exactly what he meant. Power and authority never relied on a symbol or an item; it stemmed from one’s true power, absolute power. Kaze undoubtedly showed them a taste of his incredible power. All of Jude’s loyal followers, twenty of them, were killed and none of them was able to endure a single hit from Kaze. The ex-branch chief of the Butterworth Branch, Alfonso, was one of the strongest in the West State Viper’s Den, who came with experience given his age. Yet he was stomped and kicked away like a ragdoll. The impactful scenes were much more convincing than someone raising the Nether Viper Sword, whining and
Every agent in the gym, be it on Hannah’s side or Jude’s side, knelt immediately. Buffy looked at Kaze, excited and emotional. She was truly happy for him. Many people had looked down on him before, calling him a bumpkin from Lilyrose, a live-in husband and son-in-law, a braggart, but he never changed. Now with his identity revealed, no one would look down on him anymore. Hope and her friends were horrified, their faces ashened. Kaze had become the one person that Hope had to look up to—the branch leader of the West State Viper’s Den. He was more powerful than Casius, or maybe all the Riverbank Seven combined. Hope’s friends were deeply regretful. Given Kaze’s identity, they would surrender their bodies to serve him, let alone marry off their daughters to him. Either way, it would be considered climbing the social ladder. However, their short-sightedness caused them to miss the opportunity to forge a connection with someone of such significance. It felt even more te
Jude looked up at Kaze and Buffy in hesitation for a moment before lamenting, “I have lied to you, Kaze, Buffy. I’m afraid I can’t honor my promise to you.” “How so?” Kaze furrowed his brows. He doubted Jude would carry on playing mind games with him. Jude said with a wry smile, “I have done a lot of terrible things to get ahead in life, but I would never kill my wife.” “Oh, really?”Kaze smiled skeptically. Jude bit the bullet and uttered, “Tulip, Buffy’s mother, came from a powerful family in Midstate. “She was stronger and more talented than me when she joined the Viper’s Den. “There was no way I could’ve put her in a coma. “Besides, Faith and I just met when she fell into a coma. Though we were flirting, I wasn’t sure I was going to marry her. Heck, I haven’t learned that she was part of the Westeros Krads. I couldn’t have possibly been associated with the Krads and harmed Tulip. “Tulip didn’t turn brain-dead because of me. I just happened to find out that Fa
The rusted throwing star could not possibly still carry poison. Kaze held the weapon for a look before saying indifferently, “Since you kept this thing, you must know something about it.” “This meteor dart is the Ryokanian assassins’ typical weapon,” Jude replied with a nod. Kaze sneered. “You suspect that Buffy’s mother’s death is related to the Ryokanians. Yet, you collude with them anyway.” Buffy looked at Jude emotionlessly. She used to think Jude was just playing with fire, but he was clearly embracing the enemy as his own. Jude said embarrassedly, “I haven’t been able to find evidence to prove that Buffy’s mother is related to the Ryokanians.” “You couldn’t or you wouldn’t?” The curt question came from Buffy, stripping Jude of any dignity left. “I was reluctant to probe further.” Jude nodded with a wry smile. “Besides, if the Ryokanians have something to do with your mother, I can’t understand their motive. “I wasn’t even a deputy chief then. I doubt I had
Agnes glared at Kaze. Her attitude toward Kaze changed within a day. Agnes figured that despite Kaze’s competence, the fact that he married into the family would not change. She still wore the pants in the family. If she were to play nice because of Kaze’s little contribution, the guy’s head would swell. Agnes could not help Darcy upon learning of her issues while getting the shares. She took her anger out on Kaze. Something went wrong while the shares were being transferred to Darcy. Furrowing his brows, Kaze said, “I’ll ask Darcy.” “You better fix this, or you won’t hear the end of it!” As Kaze ascended the stairs, Agnes put her hands on her waist and tore into him. Hector shook his head. “Cut it out. Can’t you see that Kaze doesn’t want to get into it with you?” “I can’t believe you, Hector! Watch your tone! “Why didn’t you yell at him when he slapped me? Yet, you’re defending him now. “Did I marry a loser? “Do you want a divorce too?” Agnes came dow
“Give me an answer. Are you taking the job? If you are, you should sort out your affairs. Don’t bring your personal feelings to work.” Snow was not the type to go easy on fragile women. If Leah did not have what it took, she could be forced to leave the company. Nevertheless, Katie had left a lot of assets to Leah. Even without work, Leah could very well survive. The girl would have trouble keeping the wealth, seeing that she was without power or connections. If Leah had a job, she would have the resources to hold onto her assets. Leah had seen the best and worst of mankind. She was once the center of attention, and now, everybody avoided her. It dawned on Leah that it was over for Katie. If Leah could not even keep a job, she would lose everything. “I didn’t know things would happen.” Leah never thought that Katie was capable of stabbing Kaze and her in the back. The thought of betrayal put Leah in distress. Kaze was a great guy who helped Leah a lot. Feeling ete
Leah got dressed and was ready to leave, but she did not know who to turn to. She thought about going to her wealthy friends to see if they could uncover anything through their connections. However, Leah could not get a hold of them. It dawned on Leah that loyalty would fade when power was gone. Even though Katie was just missing, intel spread around Butterworth very quickly. These people must have found out and have chosen to stay away. Leah had always been treated like royalty. Nobody had ever avoided her like the plague. Nevertheless, she had not been in touch with these friends since her injury. Now, in her attempt to contact them, she could not reach them. “Why is this happening? My good friends have gone MIA, and I’m getting silence from those who have been trying to connect.” Sitting on the couch, Leah looked out the window in despair. She tried to seek help with her mother’s search, but her efforts were futile. She could do nothing for her mother. All al
“I have to work hard starting today. But before that, I have to get some sleep.” Snow remembered that Kaze punished her to get some sleep. He said her face looked tired and pale, signs of how hard she had been working. It felt great being cared for. It was because of his kindness, Snow fell for Kaze uncontrollably. Yet she understood not all things were meant to be. After she returned home, she went to sleep immediately without talking to anyone. She only woke up in the afternoon after a comfortable and easy sleep. Next, she would have to work on many things, first being taking over Northborn Group. Katie’s disappearance had the company shaken, but it gave many others a chance. They tried to calm their subordinates down and contact the higher-ups for more information, hoping that they could replace Katie as the new CEO. Little did they know, their preparations would eventually fall short. Snow and her secretary arrived at Northborn Group in the afternoon, and her a
“Worried about the mercenaries? I’ve taken all of them out and anyone with a sane mind would know by now not to come after me. Why would they make the same mistake again?” Kaze killed all the mercenaries. There was no one else the mastermind could send after him anymore. Even if there were, they would have to reconsider it after what had happened. Taking out the mercenaries in silence was a strong showcase of his strength. Once the mastermind found out, he or she would definitely stay away. Besides, Kaze had decided to continue his journey to Westeros without telling anyone. He could board a random flight to his destination, and no one would ever know. “Take me to the airport,” Kaze said to the driver. He and Snow were in the rear seat. “When you go back to Butterworth, don’t rush things. Now that Katie has made a mistake and is forced to step down, you can take over Northborn Group,” Kaze said. “Speaking of Katie, after I locked her up, her daughter, Leah, came to me
Miguel stated his strength so that Kaze and Snow would look at him differently. “That doesn’t mean we have to choose you.” Snow saw nothing stellar in him. Snow’s harsh words surprised Miguel and left him deeply displeased. Yet when he looked at Kaze, he dared not say a word. “I can work hard. Even if I am not qualified now, I can work toward that goal.” “Of course, you are not qualified now. You need to improve yourself to meet the basic requirements. Then we’ll talk about you joining us.” Snow just wanted to get this matter over and done with, so she handed Miguel her name card. “When you think you are qualified, you can give me a call.” Since she would eventually take over the largest force in Butterworth, she needed to build a team of her own—one she could truly trust. Miguel might just be an ordinary man who looked fierce but he was courageous and had the potential to be better. “Can I follow him instead?” Miguel took the name card and learned Snow’s name. He
“You did well,” Kaze praised Miguel. It was not easy for someone to fire a gun and take a life, even when he had basic training. Though without the proper technique and training, the shot was nothing stellar. “Really?” Miguel was thrilled by the praise. He might be tall and fit and have arms full of tattoos, but he had never gotten into a fight before. He was happy that someone he admired praised him. It made his day even more than escaping alive. Kaze wanted to continue but the cars had arrived. He walked forward and revealed himself in front of the headlights. The hostages were scared. They stepped back, some of them entered the hangar once more and tried to shut the door. Miguel stood in their way and stopped them from closing it up. “What are you doing? Kaze is still here and help has arrived. Stop hiding,” he said. He detested their selfish behavior. Kaze saved them but they did not even thank him. They even continued to suspect Kaze’s identity. Their be
“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