The blueprint of the building was quickly presented to Kaze. “Thanks.” Kaze took the blueprints, glanced over it, and said, “I have to go to the 98th floor, please take me there through the fastest route.” Elevators in five-star hotels required access key cards, so it was unlikely that he could go up by himself. “This way please.” The receptionist quickly guided Kaze to the elevator. When he walked past a trash can, he took the “warrant” from the state police department and crumpled it into a ball before throwing it inside, all under the receptionist’s confused gaze. There was no way he could get a warrant from the state police department. The piece of paper with the official stamp on it was just a document of his previous release. He thought he could reuse it once more before throwing it away. …The presidential suite. Soon, the sniper recovered her composure. She removed the black robe on herself and moved away from the table. She actually covered herself with
“Thud!” The moment the case fell onto the floor, the sniper revealed a black dagger in her right hand. “Swoosh!” She quickly lowered her body and lunged out, thrusting the dagger at Kaze’s neck. The woman was not only skilled with a sniper rifle, but she was also quick and ferocious like a viper with the dagger during close combat. “Zwoo!” Kaze advanced on her instead of moving away. With a slight tilt of his head, he dodged the incoming dagger narrowly but easily. The sniper did not expect Kaze to be this quick. She clenched her teeth and grip before turning her wrist at Kaze, trying to stab him. Kaze did not give her a second chance. He slightly twisted his waist to lift his leg and then kicked forward. “Thump!” A heavy thud sounded. The sniper groaned in pain when the kick landed at her abdomen. She was sent flying back, crashing onto the wall before sliding onto the floor. “As a sniper and a woman, you are skilled not only with the sniper rifle but also in c
“Whip!” Kaze twirled the cloth in his hand and used it as a whip, smacking the sniper in the left cheek. The force of the whip sent her sprawling to the floor again, breaking a tooth in the process and making her spit it out along with blood. “Hiding a poison capsule behind your tooth?” Kaze stepped forward and stomped on the tooth-like capsule to break it. He then said coldly, “So you were trained by Siber and are ready to die for him?” The sniper tried to kill herself with the poison behind her tooth but Kaze just stopped her. Lying down on the floor, the sniper looked at Kaze in fear. She finally had a taste of despair. She could not even kill herself in front of him. Without sparing a glance at the woman lying on the floor, Kaze pulled out his phone, which had been buzzing incessantly moments ago. “Kaze, Albert and I are at Bronze Sparrow now. How’s your side doing?” It was from Snow and her voice sounded concerned. Kaze smiled. “You are calling me. Doesn’t
Siber’s secret killer? No wonder not even South, the so-called diplomat of the Steelclaw Guild, had no idea of her existence. The sniper, Samantha, was even sent to Ryokan to train as a ninja. “Interesting.” Noticing the pondering look on Kaze, Collier lowered his head and said, “I am sorry, Branch Leader. The woman is only a killer. I thought I could make her tell me who contacted Siber and contracted him to kill you, but she had no idea.” “It’s normal that she doesn’t know. If she does, then the mastermind is being unprofessional and careless,” Kaze said. He waved his hand and said, “There’s nothing much to get out from her anyway. As soon as I walked out of the state police department, she came for me. So, there are only two people who eagerly want me dead. “It’s either Reiko Hara, or Aiden Krad, but I tend to lean more toward the latter. Reiko is much more difficult to deal with and the Ryokanians are powerful here in Riverbank. If I can walk out of the state police d
The men spread out and quickly surrounded Kaze and Collier. One of them, in a black uniform and a headband over his forehead, stepped up and said coldly, “Kaze Lee, I am Senji Kadota from the Refined Blade Clan. I heard you have taken Anzu Okita. You have one minute to hand her over and I will take her away, or else I will level Bronze Sparrow to the ground and make this place your grave!” Senji peered down at Kaze condescendingly as if he were looking at a dead man. He did not take Kaze seriously at all. Kaze did not even look back at Senji. He grumbled, “What is Miru doing? I put her in charge of Bronze Sparrow and this is how she does things? Some random people came down here and she told me this is a safe spot?” Miru had become the kingpin of Riverbank’s underworld. With her connection to Kaze, she was able to secure a tight relationship with the Viper’s Den South River Branch as well. Collier knew Kaze was annoyed and not necessarily criticizing her like a mere employee.
“Pft!” Even Kaze could not hold back his laughter. Collier was amusing at times. “You bastard!” Senji was infuriated by Collier’s words, but he was on a mission to retrieve someone important, so he suppressed his erupting anger and said coldly, “Anzu Okita has another name here in Arcadia—Samantha Oakland. “She might be an Arcadian but the martial artists here are all show and no power, charlatans if you may. She studied under a famous teacher in Ryokan and was given a new name.” Kaze was not concerned by Senji’s insult but he glanced at Collier. Collier tacitly understood Kaze’s glance and quickly lowered his head, with his forehead glistening with sweat. He said timidly, “I am sorry, but my men did whatever they could to make the woman talk. “We thought she had spilled everything but it seems like she still kept something from us.” It was a serious mistake for not being able to extract all the information from Samantha. Initially, Kaze thought she was just a kille
Collier knew exactly who Albert was—the ex-chief commander of the South River Strategic Department. He was certainly powerful. If it was one-on-one, Senji might not even make it through the first round even if he sounded intimidating. Yet there were almost fifty of them and all of them were experts, equipped with a katana. One slash from each of them could easily slice Albert into a thousand pieces. Collier was worried that Albert might be overwhelmed by the numbers. “Calm down.” Kaze explained, “I know better than anyone how powerful Albert is. After going through the lengthy fight at Drake Gym the other day, he’s reaching the point where he could break through to the next stage. “If he could overcome this situation, then he would be able to take the final step to the next stage, thus becoming an expert Warlord. Only then will he be worthy of being the chief commander of the South River Strategic Department.” He ignored the other Ryokanians and focused his gaze on Albe
If nearly fifty elites of the Refined Blade Clan were wiped out in Bronze Sparrow, Reiko would likely have to lay low for a while. “Yes, sir. I’ll open my eyes and watch closely.” Collier put away his messy thoughts and focused on the scene. “Arcadians! You are fools to send one man against us! This is pure disrespect!” Senji was infuriated when Kaze and the others talked about how to wipe them out in his face. He turned to Albert and raised his hand at his men, shouting, “Kill him!” “Rawr!” The two elites closest to Albert drew their swords and jumped at Albert. Albert was not deterred at all. Instead, his eyes showed a strong sense of battle intent. He advanced on his opponent despite being barehanded. Fists and kicks were thrown at the two men, causing a few heavy thuds followed by agonizing cries. The two men were sent flying backward as they groaned in pain. Blood gushed from their mouths as they slid across the floor. Their faces paled rapidly, losing all
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
Snow could not believe her eyes. Katie suddenly went quiet and behaved like the CEO she was.However, Katie did not look like she was right in the mind earlier. “What’s going on? She seems to have gone insane.” Snow turned to the warden, still digesting the change. Katie had lost touch with reality before the Viper’s Den did anything to her. “How did this happen? She has been taking her meals. Just days earlier, she nagged about getting out because she was worried about her daughter. As usual, we didn’t respond to her requests.” The warden found the whole thing peculiar too. Just a few days ago, Katie demanded her release. Now, she kept to herself and abided by the rules. Out of the blue, Katie went nuts. Things had gotten complicated. Snow wanted to keep Katie behind bars due to her betrayal. However, Kaze decided against pursuing the matter for Leah’s sake. Katie would be let go soon enough, but she would lose her job at the Northborn Group. Katie’s presence woul
It was quiet in the office. Snow sorted the last bit of paperwork before picking her head up in exhaustion. Her initial plan was to delegate the tasks. However, Katie was controlling. Previously, she personally oversaw many matters. Snow could not distribute the responsibilities because the employees had no experience in handling them. They came to Snow for every tiny, little thing, and Snow really got her hands full. Despite her frustration, Snow could let things go as Katie was locked up. “I should pay her visit.” Snow decided to see Katie. Some things should not be left unsaid. Leah would be working for the Northborn Group soon, and the mother and daughter should meet to tie up loose ends. The truth would put Leah to shame, and her guilt would stop her from ever betraying Kaze. After a quick bite, Snow drove to the prison. Katie was furious when she was imprisoned. She was one step away from victory. She was so close to leaving Butterworth to head to Westeros
“Why do you want to sell the properties? Do you need money? Don’t you have some saved?” Joey had a good understanding of Leah’s finances since she ran all the paperwork. “My mother is being held, and I need money to ask favors. Maybe I can get her out.” Leah was not thinking much. Money could always be replaced, but not her mother’s freedom. “Don’t be silly. This is not the way to go.” Though Joey did not have the details, she observed that things were not as simple as Leah thought. Kaze was safe now, but the fact that Katie had betrayed Kaze and revealed his whereabouts remained unchanged. Katie had broken the Viper’s Den’s rules. Even if she got out, she would be a wreck. With Snow running the Northborn Group, Katie would remain a failure. Either way, Katie would not get away with it. Even if Leah offered all her assets, Katie’s situation would not change. It was a waste of money and resources for Leah to save her mother. Nothing would come out of it. “But I
“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