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
“You bunch of idiots have some nerve to run amok here in my place. “Die!” Juan flicked his stick, and steel wires spread out, striking the four women between the eyes. They breathed their last. “Spare me, sir!” The young practitioner, who brought Snow to the place, peed his pants as Juan ditched his kind heart to be a mass murderer. Dropping to his knees, the young practitioner begged for mercy. “You deserve to die for colluding with the enemy.” Juan shot another round of steel wires. The wires snagged around the young practitioner’s neck and strangled him to death. The public watched in disbelief as Juan walked ahead to shield Kaze. No one expected the usually friendly owner of Emerald Bull Palace to be so horrifying. His decorative stick turned out to be a weapon. Ali, Aiden, and Draig were dumbstruck. “Not bad.” Kaze nodded in approval. Due to his decision to go to Juan upon arrival in Emerald Bull Palace, Kaze was able to find the remote courtyard in ti
Ali wanted to put the incident behind her, but Aiden wanted more. Aiden tried to solicit Juan to kill Kaze. Kaze smiled and said indifferently, “Is my life worth that much, Juan?” Lying on the floor, Draig shouted, “No, Mr. Kawasky! I am Draig Tenby. My father is Birch, a famous martial artist in Uleania. You’ve met me before.“Kill the Ryokanian woman and Aiden Krad. I’ll make it worth your while!” Draig was not dumb. Though he did not like Kaze, he was certain he and Kaze were allies. If Kaze was dead, Snow would die too. To cover up the truth, Aiden and the others would silence Draig. “Hahaha.” Juan looked at Aiden and Ali before uttering indignantly, “Do you think you can bribe me? “I hate morons like you. “Just because you belong to the Krads, you think you have the right to kill in Emerald Bull Palace. “Do I look like I need money? “I’m committed to the law, the righteous justice of the world. “I should start with you.” Juan waved his stick righte
The Refined Blade Slash was never about grace. The attack came on fast and strong. Even Kaze had to admit that Ali was impressive. She could execute the cut with precision. The speed was to die for. Still, she could not beat Albert, who had been through war and back. Before Ali’s sword could reach Albert’s throat, he stepped aside, and Ali missed. Albert struck back, and then came a clang. The blade cut through the air. It was quite a stunt. Ali was in disbelief. She could not dodge the attack. “Gash!” Blood shot out of her throat. Ali’s head rolled off her body. Her head was covered in dust and blood. It was an immediate elimination. That was all there was to the Haras’ servant and highly skilled practitioner of the Refined Blade. “Eek!” Gasps filled the quiet air. Aiden, blood staining his face, was dumbfounded. One minute ago, Ali was alive and well. Now, she was a headless corpse. It was quite a blow to Aiden. He started trembling. “A
Aiden could feel as if his guts were spilling out while retching. Juan and Albert watched in silence. Draig played dead. While feeling vindicated, he felt a mix of emotions. Kaze sure was daring to attack anybody. It took a moment for Aiden to catch his breath. He picked his head up with a struggle and hissed through clenched teeth, “You have gone too far, Kaze! I have done nothing. What do you want from me?” “You have done nothing?” Kaze came closer to him and said chillingly, “I came because you have done nothing. “Do you think I have no idea what you intended to do to Snow?” Aiden said angrily, “It was just an intention. I have done nothing, haven’t I? Even the cops have to work based on evidence.” “The cops?” Kaze grinned. “Fine. I can drop that for now. Let’s talk about what you have done to me in the past few days. We can get it all out today.” Aiden grimaced without a peep. He was fully aware of his behavior. “Why aren’t you saying anything now?” Ka
It was true that Ali died at the hands of Albert. Still, Draig was only injured because Ali snuck up on him. Draig did not think Albert was strong. The only reason Kaze and Albert could turn the situation in their favor was due to Juan’s timely help. Furrowing his brows, Albert approached Draig and kicked him in the face. Draig passed out right away.“Make him leave.” Albert waved at Juan. While others may not know Albert, Juan, the chairman of the Riverbank Feng Shui Society, had been a fixture in the city’s high society for years. Juan knew who Albert was. After nodding at Albert, Juan grabbed Draig and took off. “I’ll leave everything to you, my mentor. I’ll be back to clean the place up,” Juan told Kaze with a smile before leaving.“You’re a mentor to Juan?” Despite the pain, Aiden was stunned.Kaze constantly surprised Aiden. Here Aiden had another newfound understanding of him. “Bam!” Wasting no breath, Kaze walked to the steps and knocked Aiden against a
Gritting his teeth, Aiden said, “Stop your demands, Kaze. You scammed me out of ten billion dollars at the auction. I’m still trying to recover some money. I can’t give you more than I have offered.” “Hm… Now that you mentioned…” Kaze said with a smile, “You bought the Golden Toad for ten billion dollars, so you believe the gem is worth that much. “I think ten billion dollars is a good price for your life.” Taken aback, Aiden said, “What are you trying to say?” “It’s simple, really.” Kaze said with an amused look, “I want the Golden Toad, and you keep your life in return. How does that sound?” “No! Dream on!” Aiden shouted in rage. He would never give up the Golden Toad to Kaze. If the Krads were to find that Aiden spent ten billion dollars to acquire the Golden Toad, only for Kaze to reclaim it, Sean would kill him. Aiden would never live it down. The Golden Toad was linked to his future within the family and his career. Aiden could not possibly hand the Golden T
Kaze pursed his lips nonchalantly. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. You’re just a member of the Krads. “I can crush you along with your family. “If you think I’m going to give up on the Golden Toad because of what you said, you are highly mistaken.” It was never Kaze’s intention to let Aiden bring back the Golden Toad to the Westeros Krads. Ever since Sasha had an adverse reaction to the Golden Toad at Marlboro, Kaze decided to keep the gem close. Kaze believed the Golden Toad must be somehow linked to the Nine Phantom Lotus within Sasha. Coincidently, like Sasha, the Golden Toad came from Megisto. The Golden Toad was possibly key to eliminating the Nine Phantom Lotus within her. Of course, the gem might worsen Sasha’s symptoms instead. Either way, Kaze needed to study the gem. Back from dragging Draig away, Juan stood at the door and said, “The state police chief, Morgan, contacted the palace. The police will be here to launch an investigation, and I am
“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