“You should also be aware that Senji and his men, all the elite members of the Refined Blade Clan, were wiped out while trying to save Anzu. “If you want her back, no matter what you do or how many men you send, the odds are slim. So, I can act as a hostage and let you exchange me for her.” Snow made her proposal calmly and firmly. She had been collecting information from the conversation with Ali, hoping to find her value in all this. Now that she finally saw a chance to save herself, she quickly grasped onto it. Snow was confident that, to Kaze, her value outweighed Anzu’s. If the Ryokanians proposed to exchange hostages, Kaze would agree to it without a second thought. However, Ali laughed at Snow’s proposal. “I have to admit that you are a smart one, knowing how to collect information to your advantage, but I am afraid that your proposal won’t work. “We lure you here because we want to divert attention from Bronze Sparrow, so we can send more men to rescue Anzu. A
“Shrill!” Ali drew out her sword, the sound of metal on metal ringing. She said, “You sure think highly of yourself, Ms. Frost. “Chief Commander Krad takes a fancy to you, but do you think he’d cut ties with us over a dead woman?“Trust me. He wouldn’t. “He may be fond of you, but he will always choose himself over anything else. He knows how best to maximize his gains. “All he has is infatuation, but do you think he’d do anything for you? “If he really cares about you, he won’t send his brother to sort his affairs while he focuses on his career. “Once you’re gone, our fair lady will set him up with Ms. Okita. “Chief Commander Krad will know that Ms. Okita is perfect for him.” Snow burst out laughing. “I get it. Ms. Hara must know that due to her ties with other men, she doesn’t deserve Aaron. “But your people want to form an alliance with Aaron through marriage. “I stand in your way, so you want me out. “But don’t you find it funny?“I’m sure there will only b
“What are you trying to do?” Snow had a bad feeling. Ali slipped her right hand into her sleeve and pulled out a tiny glass bottle. Snow focused on the bottle, which housed several pale red pills. Ali said with intrigue, “What I have here is a popular drug in Ryokan in recent years. “It’s known as a Woman’s Moan.“It’s said that even the least receptive woman to men would thirst for them within three minutes of taking three of these pills. “I’ll let Mr. Krad in once you have taken these pills.” Snow, strong in will as she was, grimaced. It clicked in Snow the reason why Ali did not mind her buying time. Ali had other plans in mind. White in the face, Snow asked shakily, “Aiden is here too?” “Mr. Krad should be here any minute now. “He said it’d be a shame just to kill you. “Since you think little of the Krads, he wants to prove you wrong before you die. “Ms. Hara is happy to grant Mr. Krad’s wish. “We’ll make sure to capture the beautiful moment and leak
“Either way, you are an heiress of the Butterworth Frosts. Yet, Kaze didn’t even make a move on you despite you hanging around. “How does that make you feel?” Snow kept a straight face. She understood that Aiden was up to no good. Still, she was hurt. Sensing Snow’s dejection, Aiden smiled and said, “The Frosts are known for keeping their virtues. If my guess is right, you must be a virgin. “You have never experienced the joy of a woman. “Are you sure you want to die carrying the regret?“Let me show you a good time. Call it payback on Kaze before you die. “He didn’t appreciate you. “Right?” As Aiden chattered on, Ali looked at him in admiration. She understood Aiden’s plan. Instead of drugging Snow, Aiden attacked Snow psychologically to make her take off her clothes willingly. Talk about class. “Come on. Go crazy for once. At least it makes your time on earth worthwhile.” Aiden approached Snow with pace, his tone seductive. He smirked in delight upon ca
Aiden recognized Draig due to his recent stunt on the internet. Plus, Draig was the son of a famous martial artist in Uleania. Not caring who Aiden was, Draig put his finger up his nose and said angrily, “I don’t care who you are.“You have one minute to release Ms. Frost unless you want to die.” Draig’s arrogance threw Aiden off from doing things civilly. Aiden grimaced. “Ha. You sure think highly of yourself.” Aiden sneered. “You come from Uleania. You have some nerve to talk smack. Are you looking down on my family, the Westeros Krads?” “The Westeros Krads?” Draig was horrified. He was aware of the family. Still, Draig took a step forward and said coldly, “I don’t care about your family. Snow is my woman. “Hurt her, and I’ll kill you.“Trust me. I will follow through.” Draig’s powerful presence gave Aiden the chills. It dawned on Aiden that he was no match for Draig. Taking a step back, he smirked at Ali. “Ms. Uehara, your people want Snow’s life. “But you h
“Swoosh!”The blade slashed Draig’s back, tearing his suit apart and ripping into his flesh. Draig’s back was a bloody mess. The stench of blood filled the air as Draig made a mad dash. “Argh!” While Draig was strong, he lived a life of privilege to experience such pain. Draig let out a scream and dropped to the ground with a loud thud. “Gash!” With a ruthless face, Ali followed up with a stab in his leg, pinning him to the floor. “Ugh! How dare you! I’m going to kill you!” Draig shrieked shrilly, his expression menacing. He looked more vulnerable than threatening, though. “Bam!” Aiden, who was wary of Draig, took the opportunity to kick him in the face. “Shut up! “You are no longer in control, so drop the attitude.“You’re the son of a famous martial artist. Yet, you don’t know your place. “Do you think we are in Uleania?” Aiden got down on one knee and smacked Draig’s cheek humiliatingly. He said with an amused look, “So Snow is your woman, Mr. Tenby?
“No! “My dad is Birch! We represent Arcadia in Uleania. You can’t kill me!” With Aiden having thoughts about silencing him, Draig was horrified. Draig was young. He had a lot to live for. For once, he felt fear. Aiden looked malicious. “Idiot! We are only killing you because your father is Birch, and your family holds influence in Uleania. “Mr. Tenby, you can be with your loved one in the afterlife. “Heck, you get your wish to spend eternity with her.” Aiden crackled, delighted by the control over another’s life. Over the past couple of days, he went from acting superior to groveling at Reiko’s feet. The rollercoaster-like shift in his mental state got him twisted. Waving his arm in annoyance, Aiden said to Ali, “Do it and get out of here. Don’t wait until Kaze gets here.”Ali pulled the sword out of Draig’s leg. She cleaned her blade with a silk cloth while gesturing toward Aiden with a smile. She said, “Please indulge as you wish, Mr. Krad. We will ensure you
What was going on? The Ryokanians executed their plan covertly with Reiko planning every detail. According to their plan, they would leak the information to Kaze. However, their business in Emerald Bull Palace would be over before Kaze could get there. Kaze would only come across Snow’s body. However, Snow was not dead yet, and the Ryokanians had not evacuated. Yet, Kaze had arrived. Even the best-laid plans could go awry. Reiko accounted for everything but one thing. Snow was absolutely loyal to Kaze. Even though she decided to come alone to Emerald Bull Palace and was told not to tell anyone, she left a note. The note saved her life. It seemed like fate had a hand in this. Ali looked Kaze dead in the eye and snickered. “Kaze, huh? Do you think you have everything under control? “We are only bait for Ms. Hara. The intention is to get you here. “I’m guessing that the security isn’t very tight at Bronze Sparrow right now. “It’s a shame that the signal is ja
“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