Leron said, “The Eight Tigers named themselves that just to look good. As a matter of fact, the four who died a while ago were just recruited to fill in the numbers. “As for the top four tigers such as Siberian, each of them has their own characteristics and traits. Siberian is responsible for the assassination and is one of the strongest and fastest members of the organization. “I believed Mr. Lee just experienced it first-hand.” Kaze narrowed his eyes. “So Siberian is after me?” He then pulled his phone out to dial a number. “Kaze, my brother, what can I do for you?” A while later, South’s voice came from the phone. Rumors about Casius dying at Kaze’s hands had been circulating around these days, but most of the common citizens did not believe it. No one believed a useless live-in husband could do something that atrocious. However, South believed otherwise because he saw what Kaze could do with his own eyes. It explained why he kept his arrogance and confidence of
“It’s like a fish in water, a tiger in the woods. To the Steelclaw Guild, at least in Riverbank, no one can stop them if they want to leave.” Kaze nodded, agreeing to Leron’s explanation. He quickly put the thought of pursuit aside. The Steelclaw Guild had been around for many years and its existence and strong influence became answers to many questions. “Let’s go back to Riverbank,” Kaze said to Darcy. Darcy looked hesitant. She carefully looked around and asked, “We’re just going back like that? Should we call the bodyguards or something?” She was terrified about what just happened and she still had not completely calmed down. She became aware of her surroundings and cautious of the people who appeared before her, assuming that they were people with malicious intentions. Kaze knew that she was under high pressure and anxiety for the past two days, especially after what happened. Siberian’s assassination attempt only made her condition worse. It all started with Aiden’
Aiden’s words carried obvious threats. His tone sounded like a bloodthirsty monster warning its prey. The arrogance and confidence that originated from his family were on full display during the conversation. It was as though Darcy must step away and let him take the land or else it would defy the laws of nature. “I don’t fucking care if your family is pissed.” Darcy spat out a rare vulgar word, showing neither respect nor courtesy to the man. “We’ll see what happens at the auction tomorrow.” “Ms. Quint, it seems like you are determined to oppose me and the Krads.” Aiden’s voice turned cold as he added, “If you continue down this path, you will only be my enemy. What I have done until now is nothing but child’s play. If you really become an enemy of my family, then…” A quick pause later, his voice turned sinister, and said, “Believe me, you will regret it.” “You’re threatening me?” Darcy scoffed in disdain. Aiden explained, “I am merely stating a fact. I know you are
“Aiden Krad? Why is a man like you threatening a woman? You call that capable?” Kaze took the phone and said, “Tomorrow at the auction, I will make you kneel and beg in front of me.” “Kaze Lee?” Aiden was taken aback for a moment before he realized he was speaking to Kaze. “How dare you speak to me like that? You must have a death wish.” “Fuck off.” Kaze hung up the phone immediately. “Don’t worry about that.” As he handed the phone to Darcy, he tapped her shoulder and said, “Tomorrow, Aiden Krad won’t even have the tears to shed.” Darcy might or might not have listened to Kaze. Her brows remained furrowed along the way back. She got a few calls during the journey but she did not answer them all. Kaze’s phone rang a few times as well. One was from Agnes, but since he did not know what his mother-in-law was up to, he refused to answer. When they almost reached Sky Ocean Corporation, Darcy slowly regained her composure and senses. “Ring!” Darcy’s phone rang
“Thank you, Ms. Quint!” Tess and the others were overjoyed. Darcy was the main reason why they did not resign or lash out at the old lady when they were slapped. Darcy treated the employees like family and even after Aiden’s intentional sabotage, only a few resigned from the company. “Where are they?” Darcy asked Pamela. “The main meeting room.” Darcy nodded and went straight to the meeting room. Kaze, on the other hand, pondered. He glanced at Tess and the others who went behind the counter to retrieve their phones and then said to Darcy, “You go ahead, I’ll be right there.” Darcy hummed a reply and went off with Pamela. When they arrived at the entrance, they saw Phoenix and the others from the Quints, sitting around the table like they owned the place. The executives of Sky Ocean Corporation were serving water to them like they were waiters. The other branch heads of the family ordered the executives around, giving them a hard time. “A small company with no man
“Hmph! You’re trying to hide it? How long do you think you can keep this up?” Joan crossed her arms and scoffed. “Everyone in Riverbank knows that you’ve offended the Krads and are being sanctioned right now. “The bank cut off your loans and the suppliers refused to work with you. Sky Ocean Corporation is in a huge financial crisis and might be facing bankruptcy!” Darcy frowned. “Joan, Sky Ocean Corporation’s financial status is none of your business.” “Yeah, but it’s Madam Quint’s business!” Joan scoffed. “Darcy, don’t you forget that you are the branch head of the Quints and your duty is to make money for the family. “Madam Quint came all the way here to Riverbank from Ridgesouth because she is representing the family to inspect your work! Yet look what you've done! Why don’t you look in the mirror and see who you are? How dare you offend Aiden Krad and oppose the Krads? You’re ignorant! “One word from them and Sky Ocean Corporation is facing bankruptcy! Don’t forget th
Darcy frowned and said, “Grandaunt, we don’t need to be afraid of Aiden Krad’s dirty tricks. As a matter of fact, I dealt with the banks and their repayments last night. “Sky Ocean Corporation is fully prepared for the upcoming auction. All our funds are being diverted and we will receive them today…” “Shut up!” Phoenix shouted to cut Darcy off. Her eyes were sharp and fierce as she said, “You are more ignorant than I thought. The bank repayments are nothing! “I heard that the auction committee raised the deposit to ten billion. You can’t even afford to qualify for that, yet you dream of opposing the Krad family? You are delusional! “I don’t want to repeat myself. Call Aiden Krad right now and drop out of the auction!” The deposit alone was ten billion?!” Agnes and Hector, who were hiding behind the crowd, were shocked by the astronomical amount. “Darcy, what are you doing standing there? Make the call!” Noticing Darcy’s silence, Agnes finally lost her patience and de
“Why do you think the Krad family sanctioned Sky Ocean and did not eliminate it entirely? It’s because of the Quint family!” Phoenix spoke with utmost righteousness, as if Sky Ocean Corporation belonged to the Quint family. “Is that so?” Kaze shook his head and said, “If Aiden Krad knows Sky Ocean belongs to the Quint family, would he even try to stop us by using dirty tricks? “Can I also assume that in Riverbank, or in the entire West State, no one actually takes the Quint family seriously?” His words silenced the entire meeting room. Kaze was practically challenging the entire Quint family. Phoenix was stunned by the disbelief and anger. She raised her shaking hand and pointed at Kaze, shouting, “Y-You! How dare you! The Ridgesouth Quints are one of the top ten families in Arcadia! You shall not insult us!” Kaze chuckled. “Me? I am not insulting you—it’s Aiden Krad and his family. He knows my wife is a Quint but he still threatened her to drop out of the auction. “G
Clemont was born with a silver spoon and raised like a prince as he was the youngest in the family. He knew his father’s current situation, which explained why he behaved arrogantly. He thought his actions could help his father but little did he know, they were causing a huge trouble. Kaze made it verbal but the spoiled brat did not appreciate the warning and simply felt annoyed. “What do I mean? I guess you have to ask your father about it.” Kaze looked at Clemont coldly. There was no way a useless trust-fund baby could achieve anything great under the protection of his family. Every action that Clemont took was causing damage to his family. Kaze initially intended to use the Siegfrieds to his advantage, which explained why he did not act immediately. Now that Clemont had come under his radar, Kaze ought to use the chance. He managed to showcase his strength to Rosie earlier and what he said to Clemont would surely raise more suspicion in her. Kaze must come up wit
Rosie was shocked. She almost got kicked by some spoiled brat. She was not happy about it. She revered Clemont’s background and had been tolerant with the brat but he stepped over the line when he decided to be physical. Rosie looked up to Kaze who was hugging her. He was just outside the crowd and decided to step in when he heard the commotion. She did not expect him to save her. It was a surprise but it allowed her to see his capabilities. The man from Butterworth had been hiding his abilities from everyone all along. Rosie smiled at him before getting back up on her feet. “Thank you for your help,” she said softly. “It’s nothing. It’s the right thing to do,” Kaze said. Kaze was the type of person who could never stand seeing the weak being bullied. “Who the hell are you? What do you think you are doing?” Clemont bellowed. He was outraged and needed to vent his emotions. Since Kaze had intervened, it gave Clemont a chance to lash out at him. “Stop causing a
“I told you this is my club! They have to listen to me! Now open the damn door!” Clemont was furious after being questioned. He started to kick the door like a madman. The waiters were worried but they dared not do anything. “Young Master Siegfried, there are guests inside! VIP guests!” the waiter added. He dared not reveal the identity of the guest inside. Zidane informed all employees earlier that no one shall reveal the VIP guest’s identity or even mention that the suite was booked by Edmund. It was to keep things low. Therefore, the waiter dared not speak any of it even to Clemont. Unfortunately, Clemont stubbornly believed the waiter was lying to him. “What guests?! You’re lying to me! You said there were guests inside but even after I kicked the door, there was no answer! Open it up. Don’t be stupid!” he shouted. He cared not about the others when he shouted. He was impulsive at nature. “Young Master Siegfried, there are guests inside. You can’t do this,” the
“Then what should we do?” “What else? Give him a VIP room and try to hold him down.” Rosie was displeased but she had to handle the matter herself. Clemont was a proud man. If he felt embarrassed in any way, he would certainly cause more problems. Rosie was afraid that he would do something rash once provoked. He was a man with a background. Even if he made a mistake, his father could cover up for him. However, if the club’s business was affected, Edmund would hold her responsible. That was why Rosie saw Clemont as a problem. “But they are heading to the suite already,” the bouncer said, looking worried. He had a premonition of something bad happening. “What are you guys doing?!” Rosie glared at the bouncer. They were usually smart and quick-witted so she did not have to worry about many things. Yet they let Clemont through?! “There are too many customers today. All the rooms are booked, so we have to make new arrangements.” “The other bouncer at the entranc
To many youngsters, Absolute Zero was a mysterious place. Young men and women from a better background were forbidden to set foot into the club. It was not because of the environment, but because of the human relationship within the establishment. The club was a gateway to the underworld and once exposed, the youngsters might thread onto the wrong path. Clemont was not allowed to go to Absolute Zero. However, he knew the club belonged to the Wittersons, which was his father’s rival. Therefore, he had been planning to help his father. He often used his father’s name to spend money at the club to annoy them. He brought his friends here today to show off his wealth and power. He wanted to let his friends know that he, too, was capable. “Young Master Siegfried! You’re awesome!” While surrounded by flattery, Clemont walked down the stairs to the entrance with his friends. The bouncers knew Clemont, so when he arrived, they quickly informed the management. They dared no
Kaze finally got some surprising news: Edmund had booked a room at Absolute Zero tomorrow for a business talk. In addition, Morris’ son was a regular at the club. Edmund and Morris were rivals but they looked peaceful in the open. No one knew how fierce the competition was under the table. Morris wanted to put his son in charge of the Viper’s Den but was unsure if his son could handle the matter. According to Zeeny, Morris’ son was a trust fund baby. His only ability was to make friends over alcohol. Maybe the young man liked being surrounded and flattered by people. Due to his father’s position, he was always flooded with friends and people interested in his resources. His so-called friends were just drinking buddies. None of them were any help to his career. It was the reason why Edmund did not take the son seriously. Kaze had a feeling that tomorrow would bring something interesting. They left later than usual tonight and he tipped the girls as usual. Even Dw
Kaze took a glass of beer from the girl and had a sip. “It’s okay that you still haven’t decided on your future.” He suddenly felt like a joke. He came to the club yet he tried to convince them to leave the environment without bothering to know their difficulties. “Let’s play dice!” The girl, Zeeny, smiled brightly and took the dice on the table. She was trained on how to make customers happy. Kaze did not ask the difficult questions anymore. Everyone enjoyed themselves with the games. Those who lost must drink. There were a few who sang while the others played, filling the room with joyous melody. Kaze enjoyed himself as well and slowly got to know each other better. At the same time, he learned more about the girls’ backgrounds, even though most of them were made up. To let customers tip them more, they would fabricate a pitiful background. Kaze’s goal was to fool Rosie, so he just had to enjoy himself now and nothing else. Dwight was overwhelmed by the beer
When Kaze entered the club, he saw that the place was clean and the lights were on. It was indeed not open for business yet. There were no customers inside. He could have a clear look over the entire establishment. “You guys are too early, so we had nothing prepared for you. I’ll bring you guys to the VIP room. When the music starts later, you guys can come out and have some fun, or you can call in some girls to accompany you,” Leeny said. She then pointed at a few girls walking toward her. All of them were in heels and sexy outfits. Their smiles rivaled the brightest sun and each of them had their unique charisma. All the employees of Absolute Zero were carefully handpicked. The way they dressed emphasized their personal charms. One would definitely ask for more after a glance. “Can we ask the girls to come to our room?” Dwight asked. His eyes were gleaming with interest. “Of course. This is your room. The girls will drink with you. We do provide some special service,
“I didn’t get anything from them. They just said Rosie is a dangerous woman.” “I told you to go back to see your colleagues and befriend them. Having no news is actually a good thing,” Kaze said. He might be slightly disappointed but it was expected, so he was not bothered. “Really? I thought I was quite useless.” Dwight thought he could finally get the recognition that he was waiting for but he was turned away by his boss. He was never taken seriously at the Viper’s Den, which was the reason why he disliked his colleagues and his superiors. However, he had to stay with the organization for the sake of staying alive. Ever since he met Kaze, his life changed. He thought he could improve himself but the others still did not take him seriously. Dwight was still willing to trust Kaze. “Don’t be affected by their opinions. You know better than anyone what you can do. Just focus on what you need to do and things will be alright,” Kaze said with a hint of encouragement. “Y