Kaze gave the Golden Toad to June, wondering if she knew the origin of the artifact. Someone from one of the top ten families in Arcadia would certainly know more secrets than the ordinary. It was the greatest advantage they had over the ordinary people. “I have never seen this thing before.” June checked the Golden Toad carefully but shook her head. Surprised, she continued, “But this thing helped with Sasha’s condition? It’s crazy! It even hastened the removal of the Nine Phantom Lotus! It’s like a magical artifact! “I can go back and look at old texts in my family or maybe ask my elders about it. I might be able to get some clues.” She then gave the Golden Toad back to Kaze, having no desire to own it. She believed Kaze must have figured out her background, so she did not bother to conceal it further and decided to be honest. “Great. I’ll be waiting for your good news.” Kaze put the Golden Toad away and explained, “I’ll take this with me. The Krad family is looki
Twenty minutes later, Sasha came out in fresh clothes. She wore a white T-shirt coupled with a pair of jeans, but the patches on them indicated that they were old clothes. She was holding her phone with a slight embarrassment on her face. “Sasha? What’s the matter?” Kaze asked. “Uh, it’s nothing. I-I have to call my school to inform my teacher.” Sasha then went to the corner to make the phone call. “Sasha, you should really try to be the emcee of the evening party. I always have high hopes for you but you are too shy. You blush whenever you talk to strangers. How are you going to adapt when you go out to work in the future? You should train yourself to speak up more. Try to go on stage.” The voice of a middle-aged woman came from the phone once it was connected. Sasha said shyly, “Ms. Cornell, thank you for your kindness, but I cannot afford to buy a gown. I won’t be joining the party.” “My dear, you should learn to be more open-minded. I said I would prepare the gown
Sasha looked troubled. She said, “The owner is paying? It’s okay! I’m wearing the clothes anyway; I should pay for them. The owner and the others took good care of me while at work, I don’t want to take advantage of them.” Kaze was left speechless. How could a little girl be as stubborn as a mule?“How are you taking advantage of them? I said, the owner wants you to wear beautiful clothes and get more business for them, so that they can earn more money. “You know the other employees actually have an allowance for shopping? Each of them has twenty thousand to buy clothes, but since you are just part-time, and you are new, you only have ten thousand.” Kaze continued to coax the girl. “Ten thousand?!” Sasha was shocked by the number. She shook her head and hands, “No! I don’t need that much! A few hundred is enough!” Ten thousand was enough for her to cover her daily expenses for two years or more. How could she spend all of them on clothes? Kaze chuckled. “Ten thousand i
Sasha’s lips moved once more, but Kaze’s gaze remained fierce, so she wisely zipped her mouth. “Not a problem, sir.” The storekeeper knew Kaze was a generous customer, so she nodded happily. Being a storekeeper for a luxurious brand required experience and taste. In less than ten minutes, the storekeeper selected three sets of outfits for Sasha, from top to bottom and outer to inner. “Miss, you try these.” Kaze swiped his card before Sasha had the time to regret or stop him. If the size did not fit, she could change it on the spot. Sasha looked at Kaze helplessly and then reluctantly followed the storekeeper to the changing room. A while later, Sasha came out in a new dress and with a blush on her face. Kaze was slightly surprised, looking at the brand new Sasha in a pure white dress. He had to praise the storekeeper for her sharp sense. The white dress emphasized the girl’s innocence and gentleness. “Miss, you are the first customer in our store to present su
“Kaze, I really don’t need it…” Buying ten thousand bucks worth of clothes was already overwhelming for Sasha. She dared not even spare a glance at the expensive gowns and dresses. “The boss is paying. Come on, let’s go get you something nice.” Kaze already spotted another store specializing in gowns and dresses. He dragged the girl inside without giving her the chance to escape. The store was filled with various designs of dresses and gowns, so fancy that it made the girl’s jaw drop. Even though she looked reluctant due to the price, her eyes showed a hint of delight. Kaze saw the delight in her and simply smiled. No woman could resist wearing beautiful dresses. He knew all women, including Sasha, would be instantly captivated by the beautiful dresses. He brought Sasha shopping for luxury dresses so that she could get used to the extravagant experience. He knew that a girl like Sasha could never conceal her charms under her shyness. Men would flock over to her like
“Lance,” Sasha said with a nod. She instinctively took another step back, which made the man named Lance frown. Ruby was displeased by how Lance reacted to Sasha, her face ashened. She scrutinized Sasha and said sarcastically, “Sasha, look at you. You’re Cinderella today. I thought you were still that Ugly Duckling back at school. Don’t tell me you’ve found a sugar daddy.”Misunderstood as someone clinging onto a rich man, Sasha’s face instantly blushed. She waved her hands anxiously and said, “No, it’s not like that! It’s nothing like that! My boss from Herbal Spring wants me to get some new clothes for work, so that I’d look better.” Ruby scoffed, “Are you kidding me? The brand that you are wearing might not be to my taste but it costs thousands. There’s no boss who is this kind, spending money on the employee’s outfit. Besides, you are just a part-timer, not a full-time employee. And you are telling me you don’t have a sugar daddy?” Her words fueled Sasha’s anxiety, making
“Your little sister? I have not heard of Sasha having a brother. Are you the sugar daddy who’s been feeding her?” Ruby scrutinized Kaze and noticed nothing branded on him, which fueled her contempt for him. “But you don’t look like a rich one, more like a poor loser! What are you two doing here in a luxury store?” Kaze coldly said, “We don’t have to inform you where we are going.” “You don’t have to, but if you are just here window shopping, I would suggest you leave right away. People just don’t seem to know their limits.” Ruby then looked at Sasha, who was afraid, and mocked her, “Some people are just an ugly duckling, not a swan. You can’t just change who you naturally are, not like you can put on a dress and look great. Am I right, Lance?” She curled her arms around Lance’s and spoke in a sweet and flattering tone. Lance was one of the wealthy young men on campus who had been asking her out. Initially, she saw Lance as just another one of her test subjects she could
Ruby thought that after mocking Sasha and Kaze, they would leave the store with a sour look, yet the two of them went to another section to continue shopping. Sasha’s timid figure was a pain in her eyes. In the other section, Kaze asked the storekeeper to do the same as the previous store. “Pick a gown for my sister here. She’s going to wear it to emcee at a party.” To their surprise, Ruby and Lance came after them. “You two poor bastards, get out of the way! Can you even afford the clothes here? Hmph! “You, I want you to pick something for me that is fitting!” The female storekeeper looked troubled. “Miss, this…” “Cut the crap and get on with it!” The storekeeper was instantly defeated by Ruby’s aggressive demeanor. She quickly sized up Ruby’s body and physique and selected a red gown with a deep frontal cutting for her. “Miss, this one might look nice on you.” “Let me have a look.” Ruby took the gown and looked at the price tag. She then tossed it on the floor
“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
“Worried about the mercenaries? I’ve taken all of them out and anyone with a sane mind would know by now not to come after me. Why would they make the same mistake again?” Kaze killed all the mercenaries. There was no one else the mastermind could send after him anymore. Even if there were, they would have to reconsider it after what had happened. Taking out the mercenaries in silence was a strong showcase of his strength. Once the mastermind found out, he or she would definitely stay away. Besides, Kaze had decided to continue his journey to Westeros without telling anyone. He could board a random flight to his destination, and no one would ever know. “Take me to the airport,” Kaze said to the driver. He and Snow were in the rear seat. “When you go back to Butterworth, don’t rush things. Now that Katie has made a mistake and is forced to step down, you can take over Northborn Group,” Kaze said. “Speaking of Katie, after I locked her up, her daughter, Leah, came to me
Miguel stated his strength so that Kaze and Snow would look at him differently. “That doesn’t mean we have to choose you.” Snow saw nothing stellar in him. Snow’s harsh words surprised Miguel and left him deeply displeased. Yet when he looked at Kaze, he dared not say a word. “I can work hard. Even if I am not qualified now, I can work toward that goal.” “Of course, you are not qualified now. You need to improve yourself to meet the basic requirements. Then we’ll talk about you joining us.” Snow just wanted to get this matter over and done with, so she handed Miguel her name card. “When you think you are qualified, you can give me a call.” Since she would eventually take over the largest force in Butterworth, she needed to build a team of her own—one she could truly trust. Miguel might just be an ordinary man who looked fierce but he was courageous and had the potential to be better. “Can I follow him instead?” Miguel took the name card and learned Snow’s name. He
“You did well,” Kaze praised Miguel. It was not easy for someone to fire a gun and take a life, even when he had basic training. Though without the proper technique and training, the shot was nothing stellar. “Really?” Miguel was thrilled by the praise. He might be tall and fit and have arms full of tattoos, but he had never gotten into a fight before. He was happy that someone he admired praised him. It made his day even more than escaping alive. Kaze wanted to continue but the cars had arrived. He walked forward and revealed himself in front of the headlights. The hostages were scared. They stepped back, some of them entered the hangar once more and tried to shut the door. Miguel stood in their way and stopped them from closing it up. “What are you doing? Kaze is still here and help has arrived. Stop hiding,” he said. He detested their selfish behavior. Kaze saved them but they did not even thank him. They even continued to suspect Kaze’s identity. Their be
“How dare those men hijack the plane and take Kaze. They must be punished…” Despite her grumbles, Snow grew anxious. “Given Mr. Lee’s capabilities, he won’t be hurt.” The agents around her tried to comfort her. They believed she was being too nervous. “I know, but we as subordinates have failed him by allowing this to happen. We have to do our best to make up for the mistake, and not rely on Mr. Lee to get out because he can.” Snow drowned in self-blame and regretted not being able to help. It was her negligence that allowed the hijacking to happen. “But there’s nothing you can do now. It’s late. Even the hijackers need to rest. They won’t do anything yet.” “It’s because the hijackers need to rest that we have to hurry and beat them to it. That’s the only way to solve this matter!” “But we’ve searched high and low and didn’t find anything. No one knows where they have gone. Even if they transported the passengers via buses, we didn’t see any tracks.” The agents discu
Kaze breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly went over to Miguel and pressed his hands with the gun down so that it would not misfire. “Good job.” “Thanks.” Miguel curled his lips into a nervous smile. He frequently trained in the gym and mixed martial arts but had never encountered any real-life incident before, thus being inexperienced. Fortunately, his mentality was stronger than the others and allowed him to act accordingly. “I’ll be taking the gun. This is self-defense, you won’t be charged and you won’t need to take responsibility,” Kaze said. Miguel’s pale face looked relieved. “What should we do now? Are there more of them?” Miguel dared not let go of the gun, worried there might be more enemies. “I’ve counted the numbers and this guy here should be the last one.” He then took the gun from Miguel’s hands. “Really? Gosh! That was crazy! I was so terrified!” Miguel finally loosened up and let his instinct take over. His heart was pounding so fast that it
Manson came over and saw the mercenaries lying in their own puddle of blood. The gore shocked him and made him sick. He tried his best to hold back the urge to throw up as it would attract attention. “Don’t look if you can’t take it! Don’t make things worse!” “Yeah! Professor! Grow a pair of balls!” “I have never seen dead bodies like this before!” he explained with a flush of embarrassment on his face. “Can we go out now and run away?” The hostages were eager to leave as things had settled down outside. They thought the danger was over. A dead mercenary was inside the container with them and they were still horrified. Once the others found out about this, the hostages would be shot to death. “If you want to die, be my guest. The moment you step out, you’ll be shot!” Callahan said as he looked at the others scornfully. One of the hostages had already put his hand on the handle of the door and was ready to dash out, but he quickly pulled his hand back after listening