Ryna panicked. “The Ryokanian is back for revenge? What do we do now? “Kaze, it’s all your fault! “You ruined our party! I want to kill you!” Without a word, Kaze frowned. Jiro died in front of the Refined Blade Dojo, and his message to the Ryokanians did not seem to intimidate them. The Ryokanians had the nerve to seek revenge. The revenge came quickly. Ryna shouted furiously at Lock, “Don’t just stand there, Lock! Get us out of this mess! Kaze attacked Jiro. We have nothing to do with it.“If you take his side again and ruin things for us, I won’t forgive you!” Lock answered with furrowed brows, “What’s going on? I don’t understand what is going on.”“Here’s the thing, Dad.” Cyan briefed Lock on the situation. Lock gasped sharply, finding himself in hot water. “I’ll ask my associate in the Viper’s Den South River State Branch upstairs.” He turned on his heel to head inside. A car with a diplomatic license plate pulled up. “Here is the Ryokanian VIP. I’ve s
Reiko frowned. As her investigation showed, Kaze had no place in the Yemen family. Reading Reiko’s expression, Ryna could feel her heart sinking. She assumed her apology did not cut it. Hence, Ryna tipped her daughter the wink. Biting the bullet, Cyan went near her mother and said ingratiatingly, “Ms. Hara, is Mr. Sakamoto doing well? Is he badly hurt? “I’m sorry about what happened to him. I hope to check on him later.“I kept persuading Kaze to apologize, but he just wouldn’t let things go.” Cyan kept apologizing to Reiko. As Cyan and Ryna humbled themselves in Reko’s presence, Lock grimaced hard. He took a deep breath and said solemnly, “Ms. Hara, we are sorry about Mr. Sakamoto. As Kaze’s mentor, I have my fair share of responsibility. “We are happy to compensate Mr. Sakamoto for his trouble.” Though displeased with Kaze’s violence, Lock could not turn his back on Kaze. “What are you saying, Lock?” Color drained from Ryna’s face. “The attack on Mr. Sakamoto
“But I know you mean well, Ms. Hara.“Don’t worry. It’s over in my books. I won’t take revenge on Jiro or put this on the Refined Blade Clan.” As Draig rambled on, Reiko furrowed her brows. “Woah! Mr. Tenby is so cool. He assaulted a Ryokanian, and another Ryokanian begged for his mercy.” “Yeah. That’s one of the perks of being an Uleanian. As Arcadians, we would be praying that the Ryokanians wouldn’t take things far.” As gasps filled the room. Cyan’s influencer friends were starstruck by Draig’s heroic response. Mika, a superfan of the Ryokanian culture, looked at Draig in admiration. She became doubtful of herself. Maybe it was better for her to migrate to Uleania instead. “So you are not going to hold the Refined Blade accountable, Mr. Tenby?” Reiko asked with a frown. “That’s right. It was just a slight altercation, so it should end that way too.” Draig waved his arm generously and pointed at Cyan. “Cyan is my good friend. Don’t put this on her too.“Well, I’
“Ms. Hara! You!” Draig put his hand over his cheeks and snapped an angry look at Reiko. Cyan and the others were confused. Reiko had come to apologize to Draig. Yet, she slapped him. “Smack!” Reiko raised her hand at Draig again. The slap left a mark on Draig’s other cheek. “Oh, you’re the son of a highly trained martial artist in Uleania. So what?” “Smack!” “Who do you think you are, saying that you won’t hold the Refined Blade Clan accountable?” “Smack!” “I have many dojos in Uleania. Your father doesn’t scare me.” “Smack!” “You sure are full of yourself! Did I say that I came to apologize to you?” “Smack!” “You sure think highly of yourself.” Without giving Draig time to breathe, Reiko whipped her hand across his face over and again. It did not take long for Draig’s face to swell up. “Phew. I’m exhausted. You can take over.” Reiko retracted her arm and spoke to her subordinate with a blank face. She brought along the Refined Blade members whos
Cyan and Ryna looked at Kaze in a daze while emotions overtook them. The influencers stared blankly at Kaze, their expression awkward. Draig, the supposed great man, was no hero. Kaze, who everybody had looked down upon, was the person Reiko wanted to rub shoulders with. What the hell was going on? The question burned in everybody’s mind. Mika, especially, was at a loss. She was wrong. Mika made the wrong call. Men were an open book to her. Yet, Mika read Kaze wrongly. Kaze could make the great Ryokanians fall. Most absurdly, Mika was sarcastic to Kaze. With the things she said in mind, Mika wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it. She could not accept that she lost the chance to be friends with a man like Kaze. Mika had herself to blame. Draig, his hands over his head, was stunned. It was impossible. No way. His screams echoed in his mind. The truth was hard to swallow. As the assault on his head continued, Draig had to accept the cold, hard f
Outside the villa, the crowd looked at Kaze in reverence. Kaze commanded the respect of a powerful Ryokanian. He was the real hero in this story.Everybody used to think that he was a pushover who held his tongue in the face of mockery. Now, Kaze’s behavior was perceived as discretion and refusal to stoop low to the level of petty people. Kaze glanced at Reiko and laughed. “I must say that I am surprised that you’re here.“I didn’t think you’d be here to apologize.” Reiko uttered, her head down, “It’s only right to apologize after making a mistake. I came here tonight to offer my apologies.” “Oh, really?” Kaze smiled offhandedly. He was skeptical of Reiko’s intention. His conflict with the Ryokanians was way past the death of Jiro. “Please believe me, Mr. Lee. I only come with good intentions.” Reiko waved her arm, and one of her people brought forth a box. The lid was opened, and the box revealed a black card inside. “What’s this?” Kaze raised a brow. Re
Ryna was focused on repairing the damage to her reputation as the mentor’s wife in the eyes of Kaze. Kaze shook his head and waved his arm, gesturing for Reiko to follow him. As the pair disappeared into the villa, Lock furrowed his brows. “What’s wrong, Dad?” Cyan asked curiously before uttering in glee, “I didn’t think Kaze’d be amazing. I guess I had the wrong idea about him. “Tsk, tsk. Even a Ryokanian VIP is sucking up to him. That’s brilliant. “Draig sure is nothing compared to him. “You are a good judge of character, Dad.” Cyan’s perception of Kaze changed. She was relieved that while she had been taunting Kaze like her mother, her family would remain close to Kaze because of Lock’s support.Well, all was not lost. Since Kaze was amazing, Cyan would make sure to be nice to him. She could exploit Kaze to get her family ahead in life. “I’m worried about Kaze.” Lock sighed and uttered, “The Ryokanian is not playing nice because of him but because of Mayor
On the other hand, Lock was worried about what Kaze might face. Any long-time resident of Riverbank would know of the Ryokanians’ entrenched and extensive influence in the city. Given his business in the city, Lock had a deeper understanding of the situation. Kent may be the mayor with absolute authority, but a direct confrontation with the Ryokanians could destroy him. Consequently, Kaze would be in grave danger. “Dad, I think you’re getting to your own head.” Cyan said without a care, “I trust in Kaze. I’m sure everything is fine.“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? “We should be thinking of building a business relationship with the mayor while Kaze has Mayor Synder’s respect.“All that matters is making money; everything else is just fluff.”Cyan did not take Lock seriously. To be honest, Cyan did not care what would happen to Kaze. The only thing on her mind was to gain her family an advantage through Kaze. “Sigh…” His daugh
“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