Jack and Celine didn't know what Katelyn was thinking at that moment. But all the same, the three of them chatted for a while longer. It was just like a reunion.
Although Celine was there with her mother and Jack, due to the memories that she had lost, she was discovering some new things that she had completely forgotten about.
And one of them was that her mother wasn't as cold as she always looked during these days. Instead, she was cheerful during the times that Jack's mother was present.
Though, as Celine forgot about Anne, and Anne herself disappeared, Katelyn had no choice but to focus on work so that she could improve the level of her company. But at the long run of it all, she was simply trying to find something that would keep her busy so that she wouldn't start thinking of the distressing things.
But now, although Jack and Celine were younger than her, at least she could be free with them. And so, they talked and laughed for almost another hour before Katelyn decided that it was enough for that moment.
"We still have a lot to handle. We managed to acquire a contract recently and it has a lot of things that need to be taken care of." Katelyn stated as she got to her feet.
Celine's mood immediately plummeted at the mere mention of work. With Jack around, she could at least idle and laugh. But, if she was supposed to start working, things would get boring at the end of it all.
All the same, she knew that Jack might have his own things that he would need to deal with. So, she had no intention of keeping him here to accompany her. At the end of the day, he was a man.
"Okay then aunt. I too still have some things to handle." Jack also rose from the seat that he was on and spoke.
Although Katelyn was going to be his mother-in-law soon, since he and Celine had yet to get engaged, he could as well continue calling her aunt as he used to call her back then.
"What is it that you are doing at the moment?" Katelyn asked curiously. If Jack was having nothing to do at the moment, she was willing to have him here to work in the company.
This was the least that she could do for the friendship that she shared with Anne, now that she was gone.
She also knew about the situation that Jack and Anne were in in the Alfonso family. So, she was willing to give a hand. Although she had offered to help Anne deal with the Alfonso family back then, Anne had refused.
But now that Anne wasn't here anymore, she was willing to deal with the Alfonso family as long as Jack told her to do that. Jack was just like a son to her after all.
"I'm currently running a few businesses. And now, I still have to deal with another issue concerning relocation." Jack replied.
"Okay… But if you have any problems, let me know." Katelyn offered. At the same time, she was thinking, 'He's just like his mother. He won't accept someone helping him that easily.'
At the end of it, Katelyn sighed. She decided that she would look into Jack's background after she got some time. She wanted to make sure that he wasn't having a hard time now that he was alone.
If he was encountering some problems, she would simply help him from the dark. And if the Alfonso family tried playing the tricks on him, she would give them a good warning.
It was just that, at the moment, Katelyn didn't know that Jack was actually rich, even than her Gravy family. As for the Alfonso family, it was a wonder if they existed any more.
Jack nodded his head in response. Since Katelyn wasn't asking about his business, he wasn't going to explain. Though, if she had asked, he would have told her.
But all the same, he believed that since Celine was there, she could tell her mother about him. That was something that he was expecting.
….
As Jack was leaving the Angels' Prominence, Valnaro on the other hand was looking at the reports in his hands with a dark face.
Name: Jackson.
Age: 18
Residence: ?
Net worth: ?
…..
On the document that he was holding, there was a portrait of Jack on it. And then, there was his name, which had no surname. Then, the age. Other than that, everything else there was completely blank.
Although there were some pieces of information that he knew about, like he was the boss of both GVSL and Glaze Hotel, there was no data about his ownership and so on. All that information was hidden even from the top records that were present in the government offices.
Now, if there could be any information on Jack that he could find, that would be the one that was in hardcopy. Anything else, there was absolutely nothing.
Valnaro shook his head as he released a deep sigh. In the end, they couldn't match the experts on Jack's side. They could hide all the information about Jack, even from the military.
"It seems that we will have to look for information about him the old fashioned way." Valnaro stated as he set aside the useless document.
He then looked at Robin who was standing next to him and inquired, "Have those three given out any information?"
"Not really. We are still in the process of getting all the information that we can from them with all means necessary." Robin was already sweating. He knew that Valnaro's mood was not good after finding that he couldn't get any information on Jack.
So, if they didn't get the information from the three that had attacked Jack's hotel, things would definitely turn for the worse.
"Okay, hurry up with that. Another thing, get all the people in the information department to use the normal means to acquire all the information on Jack. They have only two days to do that." Valnaro stood up and stated.
"Yes captain." Robin immediately replied before leaving the room.
Valnaro didn't stay either, he left. He was going to meet with his superiors so that he could inform them about Jack's demand.
….
After leaving Angels' Prominence, Jack contacted Denali and asked her if she could arrange for someone to manage the Alpha Tower. The tower itself had 105 floors.
He was planning to have This building used as the headquarters of the Jackson Enterprise. Although he already had several headquarters for the companies, he wanted this to be where the central management was.
The Business Overlord Building in Inchoate city would be the headquarters of the city. In other words, it could also be referred to as a branch office of the Jackson Enterprise. But, in a city, it was a headquarter for all the other businesses under him.
As for the relocation of the Glaze hotel here in Kartu city, that would be something that he would have to leave to the ones in charge of the hotel management.
Although he could have left things for Denali to take care of, she was already so busy with the work that he had left her with.
'GVSL can be considered to be stable at the moment. Perhaps I can have Ayush come over and start helping with some other things.' Jack thought to himself.
Since he had gotten Ayush, he had only given him the tasks there at the GVSL. Other than that, he had yet to give him any responsibilities to take care of. Not to mention the fact that just like Denali, Ayush was completely loyal to him.
So, Jack decided that he would hand Ayush to Denali. She would organize something for him to do. In this way, the burden that was on her could be reduced.
After he was done with all these arrangements, Jack took the cab and went back to Cardinals Supreme Hotel. He wanted to start preparing the body strengthening solution so that he could deliver them on time.
And although he could have several people prepare it for him, he wasn't planning to give the military a large amount of solution to begin with. He had to make sure that they knew that the production of the body strengthening solution was so 'hard'.
….
While he was preparing the solutions back in his room in the hotel, Johnathan was back in the Jesda residence.
Currently, he was seated on a couch and in front of him was a lady with silver hair and blue eyes. She was beautiful although she was already in her early forties.
"So, why don't you tell me where you went to, Johnathan?" Anita asked as she eyed Johnathan. He had simply disappeared for almost a whole year without any information.
This had made Anita panic because this completely reminded her of what had happened with her sister. Currently, she wasn't willing to have her son going through the same.
After all, she was still facing the pain of losing a sister. And till this day, since she couldn't make contact with Anne, she was regretting her decision to let her leave in the first place.
Although she had two children at the moment, Johnathan was her only son. So, she loved him just like how she loved her daughter.
"Mother, you wouldn't believe what I found when I was out there." Johnathan replied. He had no intention of saying the reason as to why he left in the first place. He knew that this would put a lot of pressure on his mother. So, he tried changing the topic.
Although she knew that he was deliberately changing the topic, Anita waited for him to continue. If he didn't say anything that caught her attention, she would still bring him back to the topic.
"Mom, I found someone that I guess you would really want to meet." Johnathan continued.
"Who is it? Just say it already and stop playing tricks on me." Anita urged.
"Okay, I met cousin." Johnathan stated.
Anita looked at him blankly. Johnathan had several cousins. And, most of them were not close to him. So, she was wondering why he was telling her this.
Seeing his mother's expression, Johnathan immediately knew what she was thinking. He coughed awkwardly and took his phone.
Then, he made a call. He knew that explaining the situation would be hard. So, he decided to throw the burden to someone else.
Anita continued watching, wondering what was going on. Then, Johnathan handed her the phone and said, "You'll understand once the call connects."
Anita waited and a few seconds later, a face appeared on the screen. When she saw the person, she looked at Johnathan and stated, "This prank won't work."
Jack was busy handling the preparations for the solution. He was intending to prepare a batch of 100 body strengthening solution. In this way, this would be enough for the following week when he delivered it to Valnaro.
He would give Valnaro fifty bottles. On the other hand, the other fifty would be for those that would need it. An example of this being Ayush, Wendy and Angy.
Ayush was his subordinate who was completely loyal. So, he deserved the solution. On the other hand, the two girls were Celine's friends.
Although he hadn't been together with them for a long time, he knew that they were good. And, he could also be considered as their friend though not that deeply.
But all the same, he was willing to give them the solution. In this way, at least they would have the strength to deal with ordinary crooks like Collins and his gang. As such, Celine wouldn't have to get worried that her friends were in trouble.
Just after he placed the solution that he had made into the fridge for it to cool down, his phone rang.
Jack didn't think much and took the phone. When he saw that it was Johnathan that was calling, he wondered what this guy wanted to say. But, his expression was quite strange because this was the first video call between the two of them.
He received while thinking if there was something that Johnathan wanted to show him.
He was just about to arrogantly ask what he wanted when he suddenly froze. The person on the other end of the phone wasn't Johnathan that he had been expecting. Instead, it was a lady with silver hair and blue eyes.
Now, this was just a copy of his mother. But, Jack knew all too well that this wasn't his mother. Instead, it should be his aunt Anita.
But all the same, seeing Anita really reminded Jack of his mother and this made his calm emotions to stir.
But, he managed to not show anything on his face other than the curiosity. He was curious about why he was called.
Although he knew that Johnathan must have wanted to introduce him to Anita, he still remembered that he had told that fool that he would go and see her when he thought that he was ready.
Now, there was an idiot that had decided that they would have to meet up this early. So, he had to make sure that the next time that they met, he would give him a good beating.
"This prank won't work." Anita stated as she looked at the other side. Jack could assume that she was looking at Johnathan.
And, it was also at this moment that Jack knew that there was a game that Johnathan was playing. This guy must be looking for a way to cause trouble for him.
Jack blinked his eyes twice and decided to wait. He wasn't going to say a word unless Johnathan explained it. He wasn't the one that had made a call at the end of the day.
"Mom, that's not a prank. That's the person that I met when I went out. So, I thought that you would understand by seeing him directly instead of having me explain things to you slowly." Jack could hear Johnathan speaking.
Anita's brows furrowed as she looked at the direction that Johnathan was. Then, she looked at the screen. She keenly observed the other person that was being seen on the screen.
And after a while, she managed to see the difference between him and Johnathan. That was the fact that their jaws had some kind of difference.
Furthermore, the one on the screen had a different clothing style as compared to Johnathan.
But, the main difference that Anita noticed was definitely the hair length. The one on the screen had shorter hair as compared to Johnathan.
At this moment, Jack decided that this would be a good time for him to play a trick so that Johnathan would be in a little trouble. As he thought of this, he smiled in his mind and began acting.
"I don't know if this video will work. Anyway, I'm sure I will do the editing well enough. This should be enough to make sure that mom won't ask about where I was during the past year." Jack muttered.
He was speaking in a low voice as of he was speaking to himself. But, although he was speaking in a low voice, he made sure that his words were clear enough so that Anita would hear them.
And true to his guess, Anita's frown deepened. She then looked at Johnathan in an unfriendly manner.
When Johnathan noticed his mother's gaze, he knew that things were not going as he had planned.
He too had just heard what Jack had said. His senses were sharp and he wasn't that far from his mother to begin with.
He just wanted to explain himself when he suddenly heard Jack continuing with his act.
"Ahem, hello aunt. Yes, I'm Jack. I was with Johnathan during the past year and that's the reason as to why he was away." Jack continued.
"I know that you might be wondering why he couldn't receive your calls, it was simply because we were on the mountains and there was no network there." Jack stated.
Anita's expression turned strange as she looked at the video that was ongoing and then at the panicking Johnathan.
Now, she believed that this was a trick that Johnathan was planning to use so that she wouldn't guess the main reason as to why he had been away for a year.
And, for some reason, the plan had backfired. It seemed that he had uploaded the unedited video instead of the edited one. As for the differences that were there between the one on the screen and Johnathan, she believed that this was the work of the make-up artists. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗻𝗲𝐭
And the reason as to why it connected as a video call, that could be the work of technology. With the current level, that was something that was completely doable.
"Johny, why don't you tell me why you were away for a year without telling me where you were going? And, even if you didn't want me to know where you were going to, you could have at least maintained the communication between the two of us." Anita stated as she looked at Johnathan.
The moment that he heard his mother calling him Johny, he knew that things were going towards the wrong path completely. She always used that name to refer to him only when she was angry.
And the end result of it was definitely something that he wouldn't want to experience again.
So, Johnathan snatched the phone from his mother's hand and shouted at Jack who was just about to continue acting.
"What the hell are you doing?! Stop acting already!" Johnathan yelled. He had been planning to use Jack to get himself out of the tight situation. But, Jack was actually pulling him deeper.
Jack smiled as he looked at Johnathan who was anxious on the screen. He winked at him. The expression on his face was one full of satisfaction.
He then shrugged his shoulders and decided to continue with the acting. "Well, I think that the explanation that I have given is enough. Oh, I forgot about something here."
This time, Jack's voice wasn't low at all. It was loud. He was intent on making sure that Anita who was at the side heard him clearly.
"Aunt, I'm currently busy with something. So, I'll hang up now. I will give you all the explanation through a recorded video once I'm done here." Jack continued.
Johnathan peeked at his mother and he could see that she had began rubbing her hands together. And, he knew what was going to come in the next moment.
So, he anxiously shouted at Jack. "Jack, can you stop playing a prank here? I know that I made a mistake here. So, how about I compensate you once I come to see you?"
The moment that Jack heard that, his eyes lit up. He hoped that the system wouldn't count the compensation as illegal because that was what he wanted.
Of course, the thing that Jack wanted was shares. If he could get shares from Johnathan, with the help of the system, he might get the shares of another company.
And, if the shares were of a company that was in the same industry as the ones that he was having, he would do the merging. In this way, he would be taking a step towards being a monopoly.
"Hahaha, alright, alright! Don't forget about that. If you don't compensate me for ruining my plans, you will definitely have to suffer from something else." Jack stated.
Anita who was rubbing her hands froze. This time, she was sure that there was something going on here. It was that there were two people there and the other one was simply acting.
Johnathan smiled bitterly and gave the phone back to his mother.
Anita took the phone with trembling hands. Although she didn't know what exactly was going on, she could tell that there was something that was happening and it was important.
"Hello again aunt. I'm sorry about what just occurred. It was just that the guy there ruined my plans. So, I was trying to make him suffer a little." Jack stated with a smile the moment that he saw Anita appearing again.
"So, you are Jack?" Anita nodded and asked.
"Yes, aunt." Jack nodded in reply.
At this moment, Anita could already make a guess on what was happening. So, she revealed a happy smile on her face and asked, "You are my sister's son, right?"
"That's right." Jack replied.
"Where is she now?" Anita asked. She had not met with her sister for about two decades. This was enough for her to miss her again and again.
She didn't have a way of communicating with her at all. So, she wanted to see her.
"That's kind of impossible." Jack replied with a stiff expression on his face.
"Why is that? Did something happen to Anne?" Anita asked in a panicked voice.
Jack nodded and he replied. "She passed away about four years ago."
Jack nodded and he replied. "She passed away about four years ago."
As expected, Anita wasn't pleased by the news that she received. She had not seen her sister for over 20 years. Let alone seeing her, she had not even exchanged a single word with her since she left.
Now, she managed to see her sister's son. She was really excited. But at the end of it all, she received the news that her sister was dead. This was one big damage to her emotions and state of mind. She nearly collapsed.
It wasn't just Jack, even Jonathan knew the result of his mother receiving the information about her sister's death. So, he immediately went forward and tried to calm her down.
Jack also knew that this wasn't the right moment for them to talk. She wasn't in a good condition at the moment, and as such, talking with her would be useless.
"Aunt, I have a few things to take care of at the moment. So, the next time that we speak, I hope that we will be talking face-to-face. As for the information about what had happened, Jonathan can tell you about it." Jack stated.
Anita's mind was currently messed up. So, although she clearly heard what he was saying, her muddled thoughts made her to shake her head only to nod again.
Jack decided to end the call there, since it was true that he had things to do. Furthermore, he wasn't the one that had planned for the early meeting between the two of them. So, unless he was sure that he could handle the Jesda family, he wouldn't appear in front of them.
But he knew one thing for the fact that, he was bound to meet some people that knew about Jonathan. These people would obviously confuse him for Johnathan.
But all the same, although he was staying away, that didn't mean that he was afraid of the Jesda family. This was just a precaution that he was taking.
After hanging up, Jack made sure to continue with the production of the body strengthening solution.
When he was done with it, he turned his attention to something else. That was the fact that, he had yet to finish dealing with Collins. As for his lackeys, he didn't know if they had convinced their parents to give away 50% of their total assets to the Gravy family.
But most likely not, he was sure that since these people didn't know his strength, they would simply ignore what he had said. But that was where they were going to make a mistake of their lives.
Without wasting any more time, Jack contacted Wendy and asked her about the information of all those that were involved.
Although she didn't know why Jack was asking about the information, she still went ahead and gave him all the information that she knew about them.
"Are you planning on doing something?" After she had given him all the information that he wanted, she couldn't hold back her curiosity and asked.
Jack chuckled and said, "I'm not making my move at the moment. I'm waiting for the time that I have given them to elapse before I do that."
"What are you talking about?" Wendy asked confusedly. Of course, she didn't know about what Jack had planned. All she thought was that Jack wanted to take care of them.
"Nothing big really, I told them to convince their families to give 50% of their total wealth to Celine's family. This was a compensation that they had to pay for their actions." Jack replied nonchalantly.
Wendy's mouth went agape in surprise and disbelief. "You know that they won't do that, right?" She couldn't help but ask.
"Of course I know. And that is the exact reason as to why I am asking about their information. I gave them a one month period. Once the time is up, if they have not fulfilled what I had asked them of, I will make them lose everything instead of half of it." Jack replied.
"Hahaha, I guess they deserve it." Wendy giggled. She couldn't help but look forward to the fate of the people who had assaulted her friend. She even thought that the punishment that Jack was giving them wasn't enough.
And although she knew about Jack having their limbs broken, she still didn't think that it was enough to pay for the chastity of a woman. And that was more so when it involved her own friend, whom she considered as a sister.
She didn't doubt Jack's ability to deal with all those families of the ones that were involved. She knew about him getting the helicopters that even the Jesda family could only acquire a single one of them.
This alone proves that Jack had more ability than they had seen. And if he wasn't capable of doing that, he wouldn't have tried in the first place. The combination of both of the Gravy family, and her own family, was enough to deal with Collin's family.
"Okay then, I'm looking forward to it." Wendy replied. She was just about to hang up when she suddenly asked Jack about something that she thought about.
"By the way, Celine told me that the two of you have gotten together. So, why haven't you asked her about the information that you just asked me about? She knows about them just like I do."
"She's quite busy with some kind of work at her mother's company. So, I'm not willing to distract her." Jack replied.
"And you thought that I was the only one that you could distract from doing whatever I was doing?" Wendy asked in a displeased tone.
"Oh, sorry about that, I really didn't consider things through." Jack finally realized where the question was going. So, acted fast enough and ended the call immediately after he replied.
He wasn't ready to play these games with the girl. After all, girls are unpredictable.
….
Just like that, a week went by.
During this week, a lot of things had taken place. Amongst them was the compensation that the Glaze hotel had given out to the victims of the attack that had occurred.
And of course, this caused quite a sensation in the city. Glaze hotel was well known in the city. As such, any information related to it was easily known by the public through the media.
The news about the attack wasn't a secret. Many people knew about it. And they also knew about the people who had died inside there.
As expected, the government gave the compensation to the families who had lost their loved ones. The most unexpected move was from the Glaze Hotel when they offered compensation. And their compensation was even higher than the one that the government had offered.
This caused the way that people viewed the hotel to change drastically. Although most of the people were afraid of going to the hotel after the incident, when they realize that the hotel had taken action to compensate those that had suffered, they thought that it wasn't bad to go there.
But they were also surprised by the fact that the hotel was closed down for a whole week. As for the reason behind that, all the workers had gone on a vacation! And to make matters worse, it was the boss who had sponsored the vacation!
This was something absurd according to most of the people, especially those who are in the hotel business. They knew that has single day without opening the hotel, was the same as making a loss, or a great reduction in the profits that they would receive at the end of the year.
But all the same, all the competitors of Glaze Hotel were quite happy that they had no competition at that point.
But that's only in the capital city. In the other cities that the hotel had its branches, the business soared. This was quite a blow to those that thought that they are going to benefit during this time the hotel was facing a crisis.
Now, the only thought in their minds was that, although he is making a loss in the capital, the increase in profits from the other cities can make up for it.
While all this was ongoing, Denali had also made arrangements for the hotel to acquire a new building. The plans for the relocation were already completed and the hotel will be reopened on the following day.
Leaving that aside, Celine had already signed the contract and received 12% shares of The Rose Entertainment Company. But even so, she didn't let her mother know about it because she was planning to give the shares back to Jack in case he needed them.
As for the solutions that Jack had prepared, he had already given Valnaro 50 bottles. This made Valnaro very happy. According to his perspective, 50 bottles a week was definitely not a small amount.
It wasn't considered a small amount because of the benefits that it brought along. This made Jack think that maybe he should have reduced the amount. But what was done was already done.
As for the permission to acquire the firearms, Valnaro had given him the certificate that approved it. As such, all the people in his company that were going to be given the firearms to utilize, they would need to give the information to the government so that they could be registered.
And basically, that was it. As for acquiring the firearms themselves, Jack didn't waste that much time going around to look for someone who could enable him to acquire them. He simply bought them from the military directly due to Valnaro's connections.
As for the information concerning the one that was behind the attack on his Hotel, according to Valnaro, they were still doing the investigation to confirm what was being said was actually true.
To Jack, the time that was being taken didn't matter, what mattered the most was the fact that he could get the one that was behind it and punish that person thoroughly.
So he decided to give Valnaro more time for him to continue the investigation.
Back to GVSL, Livingstone had brought a few more people who were in the same condition as him before he received the body strengthening solution.
And through Denali, Jack managed to acquire a total of 15 people who were from the army, Livingstone and the other five included. These 15 added to the mercenaries that he had acquired, the amount of power that Jack had, was increased drastically.
Ayush and Tracy who had also taken the body strengthening solution also began their training during their free time. This was just the basic that they thought that they should have, as people who dealt with security issues. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝐧𝐞𝘁
During this past week, Jack had managed to meet with Celine only twice. She was really busy and she was moving around a lot.
Back to the present, Jack was now preparing to go to the Brightway Medical Research Centre because the first batch of the anti-leukemia pills had been produced.
Now, it was time for the testing. Jack was now looking forward to if the pills would work or not.
When Jack arrived at the bright way Medical Research institute, he was welcomed by the scientists that were in charge of the production of the anti-leukemia pills.
From their expressions, Jack could tell that they were so excited. And he could already guess that they had already done some testing on the pills. It was so easy to read through these scientists because they couldn't hide the happiness that they were experiencing at the moment.
Jack simply shook his head and followed them to the laboratory that was in charge of the testing. He too was looking forward to the results that were going to be produced this time.
As long as the results were going to be successful, the reputation of the research Centre would be boosted. And as long as he linked the research centre and the hospital that was under him, the two of them could grow hand-in-hand.
Although he didn't plan to monopolize the pharmaceutical sector or the health sector, he did plan using that side to improve the capabilities of dealing with the other sectors that he was planning to monopolize.
Not long after, the group arrived inside the testing room. This was the same place that the testing for the body strengthening pill had taken place.
Jack took a seat at the side and waiting for them to continue with what they were best at. And as the test went on, Walter began introduction on what they had found out about the pills.
"We had done some testing before you came. And just as expected, we found that the pills were 'effective'." Walter stated. He made sure to emphasize on the word effective while giving Jack a glance which he ignored. 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝗺
Seeing that Jack had no reaction at all, Walter continued, "Just as you can see, we used a white mouse just like all the tests that have always been done before." As he spoke, he pointed towards the direction that the white mice were placed.
"We used the solution that was made from the pill after finding the right proportion of dissolving it in water, and directly injected it into their mouse's body."
"After that, we subjected the mouse to heavy radiation. And although the mouse suffered from some of the side effects of being under the intense amount of radiation, leukemia was definitely not one of them."
"The most amazing thing is the fact that, this solution takes effect the moment that it is taken." Walter was excited as he spoke about what had happened before.
Although their previous plan was to wait for Jack to be there while they conducted the tests, he was so happy that he couldn't help but want to show off the results to Jack.
Jack nodded. To say the least, he too was excited about the results that had been returned after the production of the pills was completed. Although the system had assured him about the pills being effective, he couldn't help but be a little nervous about it.
But now that the results were already out, he revealed a smile. But still, he decided to wait for the test that was currently ongoing to be completed first before he could make any conclusion.
"How many tests did you carry out?" Jack asked.
"During the past two days, we have been carrying out the tests. We made sure to subject the mice to the radiation for different periods. But at the end of it all, the only difference that could be found was that, those that were exposed to the radiation for a longer period of time, were only found to have suffered the most due to the side effects of the radiation."
"But all the same, there wasn't a trace of leukemia. It is such a pity that the pills will not heal those who have already been affected by leukemia." At the end of his explanation, Walter sighed somehow dejectedly.
Jack couldn't help but look at him speechlessly. If he remembered correctly, the time that Jack had brought the recipe to them, they were doubtful about it, even though Jack had already given them the explanation that the pills could not heal leukemia.
Now this guy was sighing that the pill could not heal leukemia? What a man with great ambition!
But all the same, Jack shook his head and decided to put that aside. He knew that testing the pills for only two days wasn't enough for the pills to be approved to be used by the humans.
More tests had to be conducted, even using live humans as test subjects. And all of these will take a lot of time. And according to his estimation, a month or two might be required before the pills were taken to the market.
As for why the production only needed a little over 5 days, it was simply because there was already a recipe of the pills. So, there was no need for any kind of research to be done.
"The results should be good enough at the moment. I would like to see the performance of the new pills once they are released to the market." Jack stated as he looked at the mice as they were placed into the radiation machines.
Walter who was standing by his side thought of something and asked, "Should we prepare only the pills or are we supposed to prepare the medicine in the solution form as well?"
"It will be good if all of them are produced. It doesn't matter the price that is supposed to be paid, just make sure that everything is okay." Jack said.
"Ok boss." Walter nodded. He was happy that he was working under a boss who was so easy going. Furthermore, he wasn't stingy with the money at all. He will give out the money if it was needed.
And although he had not participated in the research of the previous two pills, he had participated in the production. As such, his knowledge had been increased greatly. Through the recipe, he had managed to realize some things that he didn't know about.
All in all, he was thankful to Jack for giving him this opportunity. And to say the least, he wasn't willing to give up this opportunity even if others offer him another opportunity that would pay him higher than the amount that he was receiving here. Well, that was only if there was someone who was willing to pay him such a big amount of money.
The test that was being done when Jack was here was definitely the shortest one. He definitely didn't have the time to wait for several hours for the test to be completed.
And just a little over half an hour, the results of the first test came out. And just as Walter had explained before, the anti-leukemia pills were functioning well.
Jack went to the report that had been written after the test was completed. He looked at it before turning his gaze to Walter.
"Walter, what do you think about the pricing of this new medicine? It can be taken orally or through injection." Jack asked.
Walter was definitely not expecting something like that. He looked at Jack with surprise in his eyes. "Eh, I'm not really sure about the price that has to be set because there are other things to be considered like marketing of the pills and so on."
Jack shook his head and stated, "I want the price of the injection or pills to be set according to the price of production. As for other things outside this box, just forget about them for the moment."
If this was another institution, they will definitely try to get as much profits as possible. But it was different for him.
The other institutions might have a single breakthrough in a certain research. On the other hand, he could get the recipe from the system as long as he found another Research institute and earned a certain amount of money for the first time.
As for the profit, he was the least worried about it, considering that he had the system that will multiply the income that he will receive by 100 times.
Furthermore, by offering the price of the pills at a low price, the reputation of the institution would rise. And, although he wasn't going to monopolize the health sector, that didn't mean that he didn't want to be a giant there.
"I think that will need us to discuss with people from the other departments who were in charge of acquiring the materials that were used in the production of the pills." Walter replied after a moment of silence.
Jack thought that this was true. So he decided to put this matter aside at the moment.
"You can continue with all the procedures that are required and make sure that the pills are brought into the market as soon as possible. But you have to make sure that there are no side effects at all. I don't want the pills to be taken to the market when they are going to be things that are going to bite us back in the future." Jack stated.
"Yes boss." Walter nodded as he replied.
After a while, Jack left the medical research Centre. Since he had already seen the results of the production, he had decided he would no longer waste his time there as he had other things to take care of.
And the thing that he wanted to take care of at the moment was definitely to move to Serenity Residential area. His one month stay in the Cardinals supreme hotel was already over.
He had already made the arrangements with Moses who was already back on duty. And having not many things to carry, Jack thought that his movement would be simple as it could be.
….
While Jack was thinking about moving into a new residence, Valnaro on the other hand had received the information that he had wanted.
Although he had given the timeline of two days, he was made to realize that 2 days were not enough for him to go through Jack's background.
But today, he had received the information that he was waiting for a long time. He went through the documents that he had received.
Full names: Jackson Alfonso.
Age: 19 years old.
Father: Dalton Alfonso.
Mother: Anne Jesda
Education level: Masters degree holder.
Profession: Automation engineer.
…
There were several other pieces of information that had been included in the documents that he was reading.
And yes, he had managed to find out that Anne was from the Jesda family. But, this piece of information was only found recently due to Jack's interaction with Jonathan.
Valnaro squinted his eyes as he looked at the document. "So, he has a deep relationship with the Jesda family. No, he is actually a member of the Jesda family. But according to the reports, he has never used the influence of the Jesda family."
As he spoke, Valnaro thought of a possibility, "Could it be that he is depending on the Jesda family in secret? After all, he is even richer than the Alfonso family that he is from."
"Could it be that he is depending on the Jesda family in secret? After all, he is even richer than the Alfonso family that he is from." Valnaro's thoughts moved as he tried to think of the possibilities of Jack's wealth.
After thinking for a while, he decided to continue reading all the information that he had received. He had mobilized a lot of force so as to get the detailed information on Jack.
Valnaro's expression became strange as he continued reading the information. At the end, he couldn't help himself but mutter, "It seems that even a beggar is richer than the Alfonso family." He had managed to read the information on how the Alfonso family recently went bankrupt.
They were having debts left and right and they were being threatened of being thrown into prison as they were failing to pay off their debts. In other words, they were in a worse situation at the moment. All their assets had been sold off to pay off the debts that they were having but that wasn't enough.
Leaving aside the information about the Alfonsos, Valnaro shifted his focus to another record that had been added to the report that he was reading. And that was the information on Jack's cash inflow. Valnaro got up to his feet the moment that he read the information.
"So, here is the trick, huh? It seems that he has gotten himself quite a backing. I wonder what he is planning and how he got them to help him out. It's not that easy for someone to join that new rising group. And, all the information about who is the real owner of the group is hidden." Valnaro stated as he thought of something.
"I'll have to get the higher-ups to do something about this. Although we have forged a good relationship with Jack, that's clearly not enough at all." As he said this, Valnaro got out of the room that he was in and decided to go directly to his superiors.
The information that he had found about Jack was something sensitive that had to be taken care of in a way that it wouldn't cause them any future problems.
…..
On the other hand, Jack had arrived in front of the serenity residential area. He had already managed to get some of his cars to come from inchoate city. And amongst them was the Bugatti Veyron. That was the one that he was seated in at the moment.
After entering the area, Jack immediately headed for the first villa of the residential area. He had already informed Moses that he would be here on this particular day. So, the moment that Jack got out of the car in the garage of the villa, Moses was there to welcome him.
Moses was a middle-aged man. Though, one could see that part of his hair had already began turning gray. Perhaps it was due to stress or age, that was something that only Moses knew about.
The moment that he saw Jack, Moses came forward and gave Jack a deep bow. He was grateful that Jack had allowed him to take care of the situation back at home although he had already messed up back at work.
"Hello boss, it's nice meeting you." Moses greeted Jack politely. And although this was the first time that he was meeting with Jack, he had already seen his image when Denali came to pay him a visit after he came back from home.
Jack nodded his head before asking, "Have all things that I requested for done?"
"Yes boss. I have already arranged a group of people who would be in charge of taking care of the villa. Just as you had asked, they would be coming over four days in a week to make sure that everything is in position." Moses nodded as he replied.
Jack was relieved about the situation. He could still clearly remember how hard it was on him to take care of the prince and princess palace back in Inchoate city. At that time, he had ignored the fact that the two mansions were too big for him to take care of them by himself.
In the end, he had paid the price by working himself tired so that he could clean the place. It wasn't until Celine moved in that she helped him in getting some people that would be taking care of the mansions while he was away. This had made him have a week of relaxing before he came to Kartu city.
Now, he wasn't intending to do what he had done back then. This time, he was prepared from the start. He was going to be coming back to the villa so that he could relax and not to tire himself out.
Since everything was already taken care of by Moses, Jack had no further instructions for him. So, he simply dismissed him. As for why he had asked him to be here, it was simply because he wanted to know his subordinate.
After he was left alone, Jack got into the villa. Although he had been here before, he was amazed by the changes that had been made here after they knew that he was going to stay here.
…..
Two days later…
Katelyn was in a bad mood in her office. The reason behind this being the fact that there was someone that she wouldn't have wanted to see in her life if that was possible. The young man that was seated on the chair in front of her had short black hair, a well shaven chin and what's more, he was having a smile that would make whoever it was that was looking at it feel sick.
"What do you want young master Arthur?" Katelyn asked. On her face, there was a smile. But, the smile never reached her eyes. It was obvious that she was forcing herself to smile. But all the same, there was nothing that she could do in the situation that she was in.
"Mrs. Gravy, there's no need to play dumb when you know what it is that I want. But just in case you forgot, I would have to repeat myself again. I want to marry your daughter." Arthur stated.
The smile on Katelyn's face immediately disappeared as if it was never there to begin with. She looked at Arthur coldly as she stated, "You should already know that my daughter is still young and I have got no intention of getting her into marriage at such an early age."
"I knew that you would use this as an excuse to refuse me this time again. But, let me tell you in advance that it won't work." Arthur stated with a smile. He then raised his legs and placed them on the desk, blatantly nit caring about respect at all.
"This time, I want there to be an engagement between the two of us. In this way, there's no way that she would ever run away from me even if you try using age difference to prevent me from getting her." Arthur looked directly into Katelyn's eyes as he stated.
Katelyn on the other hand had her expression turning even colder. She looked at Arthur and decided that she was going to be blunt about it. So, she said, "Perhaps you don't get the meaning behind my words, young master Arthur. What I'm trying to say is that, I'm not giving you my daughter." She made sure to say word per word so that Arthur would be clear about her stance in the matter.
"Hahaha! Arthur laughed out loudly as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. He looked at Katelyn and asked, "What do you lose by handing over your daughter to me? You know, I can help you get this business of yours to the top in the whole province."
Katelyn also knew that the young man in front of her was nothing simple. He was a popular playboy in the city. Although most of the people didn't know about his background, they all knew that it was nothing that they should mess with.
Katelyn knew all too well that going against him would definitely bring calamity on her business. But, she simply didn't care about that. She wasn't willing to let her daughter get a life that she was simply going to suffer. To her, it was better to have her business destroyed rather than having her daughter's happiness destroyed.
And that was more so after Celine regained her memories about Jack. Although Jack couldn't compare to Arthur in terms of wealth and background, or so she thought, he was someone that could make her daughter smile brightly. That was the smile that she was willing to preserve even if it was going to cost her the company that she had worked so hard to build.
"It doesn't matter the amount of benefits that would come from your deep background. What matters to me the most is to have my daughter having a good life." Katelyn replied.
"I can grant her that kind of life. With the money that I have, I can buy anything I want. So, I can as well tell you that there is nothing, and I repeat nothing that I can′t acquire with money." Arthur stated.
"It might be true on other things but not my daughter. It doesn't matter the amount of money that you have. But, my daughter is not an item that you can buy." Katelyn responded.
"That's too bad though because that doesn't apply to me at all. I can even buy a life with money. So, I would advise you to think carefully about it." Arthur chuckled as he responded.
Katelyn felt a chill in her heart the moment that she heard him say that he could buy a life with money. To say the least, she wasn't expecting that Arthur would really go to that extend just because of her daughter.
But all the same, she held the same resolution in her heart. If her life was what she had to pay so that her daughter would have a good life, then so be it. As long as her daughter didn't fall in the hands of Arthur, she was okay with anything.
She was just about to respond when suddenly, someone knocked at the door. This made Katelyn frown. She had instructed that nobody was allowed to come over as long as she didn't call for them. But now there was someone here? 𝚋edn𝚘𝚟el.co𝚖
Before she could shout to chase that person away, the door was opened and someone stepped in. Katelyn panicked the moment that she saw who it was that was here. On the other hand, Arthur removed his legs from the desk and placed them down as he looked at the entrant.
"Well, see who it is that is here. I was wondering why you were not around. It turned out that your mother was trying to keep you away from me." Arthur stated as he got to his feet.
A bright smile was plastered on his face as he stared at Celine who had just come into the office. He didn't even try hiding the lust that was in his eyes as he looked at Celine's body, from top to bottom.
But, his eyes lingered the most on her bosom. He licked his lip lewdly as he chuckled a little.
Celine who had just entered and was subjected onto the scrutinizing gaze was at first stunned. But in the next moment, she was furious. After getting back her memories of Jack, she believed that she was Jack's woman entirely.
And now, there was someone that was blatantly looking at her without hiding it. Not only had this made her feel extremely uncomfortable, but it had also made her angry.
She had an impulse to go ahead and slap him hard but she stopped herself. She wasn't sure why this person was here in the first place and what was his status and relationship with her mother.
But although she wasn't going to take physical action, that didn't mean that she would simply let it go. She looked at the young man that was still looking at her and asked, "Don't you have some sense of self respect when you are looking at other people? You better know where to direct those eyes of yours or you might as well get them removed!"
When Arthur saw that she was angry and she even had the guts to shout at him, he was stunned at first. But in the next moment, he burst out in laughter.
On the other hand, seeing that the person that she was just admonishing was laughing instead of taking to heart what she had just said, Celine was completely pissed off.
She was just about to continue lashing at him when her mother suddenly pulled her away. Katelyn wasn't willing to let Celine get involved with the young man in the first place.
That was the exact reason as to why she had made sure to inform all the staff that nobody was allowed to come into her office. And that obviously included Celine. 𝒃𝒆𝙙𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝙡.𝙤𝒓𝙜
In the end, Celine had suddenly come to her office. And to make matters worse, she had already began clashing with Arthur the moment that she arrived.
Although it was unprecedented, Katelyn decided that she would simply do what she could so that she could protect her daughter.
"You are a feisty one I see. I wonder how it would be like after I tame you." Arthur finished laughing and looked at Celine as he spoke. He had met with Celine on one of the days that he was out there shopping with one of the girls that he had picked from somewhere.
Then, he managed to see her. At that moment, he was immediately captured by her beauty. As such, he wanted to chase her immediately. But, a commotion had occurred at that time and he had missed to get her as she mixed with the crowd.
The second time that he met her, he made sure to see her car's registration number, that he then used to investigate her background. When he found that her family was far below the Jesda family, he was even more excited.
He had immediately after come to her mother's company and met with Katelyn. He already knew that she was Celine's mother.
He then went ahead and asked her that he wanted to get Celine. In the end, he was refused by Katelyn, stating that Celine was still young.
At that time, he decided to play a game with Katelyn. He would wait for a while before going back to ask again. Although he had yet to meet Celine and speak to her personally, he would make sure to conquer her.
But, he had gotten busy a little while and had no choice but to come back at such a moment. Obviously, it was Jack's appearance that had changed things completely due to the fact that he had mistaken him for Johnathan.
When he got here today, he was willing to go all out to get his hands on Celine. Although he had yet to meet up with her in person, he believed that getting the parent's approval was the simplest way of getting the girl.
He was well known among the youngsters circle and his influence had spread to the adults at some point. But all the same, although he had never revealed that he was from the Jesda family, he had made sure that all those that messed with him paid the price.
In the end, many people came to know that his background was something that they were not supposed to mess with. All the same, although he was acting atrociously outside, he knew all too well than to expose his background.
As long as people knew that he was related to the Jesda family in any way, then the family would get involved. The reason for that being that, the current head of the Jesda family, his grandfather wouldn't allow the family's reputation to be tainted.
In the end, he was going to be punished. And perhaps by now, he might have attracted the attention of the old man. But, due to his father's help, he had managed to deal with several situations.
And that was the exact reason as to why he was getting bolder and bolder as time went by. There were connections in the police department and other areas. With a single call from his father, everything would be solved.
Now that he had seen Celine again, his blood was already boiling excitedly. He could already imagine himself pressing the girl down on his bed.
"What are you talking about?" Celine wondered what was going on here in the first place. She had just come in and had yet to know what was really going on here. So, she needed an explanation.
Instead of telling her what was going on here, Katelyn looked at Arthur who had set his eyes on Celine who was standing behind her. She then spoke in a cold tone, "Arthur, you better know that this is not your house where you can act however you want. And, better forget any thoughts that you are having about my daughter. Otherwise, I don't mind losing everything that I have even if I have to die to make sure that you pay for messing with her."
Katelyn's warning made Arthur raise his brows in surprise. Not to say the least, he was greatly surprised that Katelyn, despite knowing that he was someone with a big background, she still dared to threaten him.
But all the same, he wasn't the least afraid about the threat, that she would be willing to even give her life just to make sure that she protected her daughter from him.
On the other hand, Celine got an understanding about what was going on here. Now, as she looked at Arthur, in her eyes, other than the disgust that she was having for him, she was now even showing contempt for him.
How could he compare with Jack? He was someone that depended on himself and had managed to start several businesses. And, he was a member of the Jesda family. Although he had never used their influence, at the end of the day, he was still part of it.
On the other hand, Arthur was nothing other than a young master that only knew how to depend on his parent's efforts. She didn't need to know him or his reputation to know about that. Just by simply looking at him, she could tell that this was the way that he was.
There was also another thing that he couldn't compare to Jack. That was the fact that he wasn't as handsome as Jack was. And, he was even older than Jack but she was sure that his achievements were nothing when compared to Jack's.
"It doesn't matter what you say Mrs. Gravy. I'm going to take your daughter and make her my woman whether you like it or not." Arthur replied, not caring about what Celine was thinking at the moment.
"Make me your woman? Do you think that you are qualified to have me as your woman?" Celine scoffed at him. She was extremely angry at the fact that Arthur simply thought of her as an item that could be conquered.
She was standing here and he was saying that he was going to make her his woman, did he think that she was a cheap girl that would give herself to him simply because he said that he wanted her?
"Oh, is that so? Do you know who I am?" Arthur looked at Celine with a smile as he asked with great interest.
"You never introduced yourself before. So, I don't know who you are. So, who are you?" Celine replied plainly.
Katelyn on the other hand wanted to stop this from going on but she just couldn't find the best situation that she would use so that the matter wouldn't escalate. Things were already bad as they were.
If Arthur decided to target Celine through the underhanded methods, she would be in great trouble.
Arthur had his lips twitching. For the first time, he didn't like the attitude that Celine was showing.
No, to be precise, he didn't like the part that she asked who he was. This was the question that he had come to hate recently. After all, this reminded him of the time that he had lost to Jack thinking that he was Johnathan.
At that time, Jack had also asked the same question. On that day, not only had he embarrassed himself in front of many people, he had also lost to Jack, which was unacceptable for him. And this was the reason as to why his face turned dark at the question.
"Since you don't know who I am, let me introduce myself." Arthur decided to set his dissatisfaction to the side for the time being, so that he could punish her once he got his hands on her.
"I am known as-" Arthur was just about to introduce himself coolly when he was suddenly interrupted by Celine.
"It doesn't matter what or who you are. You will have to know that I don't like your type of men. And what's more, I already have a boyfriend. So, you better stay as far from me as you can." Celine stated.
At this moment, Katelyn's eyes widened. This was something that she wasn't planning to let Arthur know about. She was sure that he would take action against Jack the moment that he knew that he was Celine's boyfriend.
With Jack having a small background, he definitely was no match for Arthur. This was something that even she herself was having a problem dealing with it, let alone Jack.
And just as she had expected, Arthur's face darkened further. He had been trying to take it slow with Celine. But in the end, he was being told that she already had a boyfriend? This was something unacceptable to him.
He stared at Celine coldly and asked, "Who is he?"
He stared at Celine coldly and asked, "Who is he?"
Although she was being stared at coldly, Celine didn't tense up at all. Instead, she looked directly into Arthur's eyes as she responded, "He is someone who is way out of your league." Celine's voice was filled with confidence and she didn't look like she was lying at all.
Even Katelyn herself was surprised by how confident Celine was in Jack. But, she had no choice but to think that Celine's confidence in such a situation was nothing but foolishness. Being brave and confident wasn't bad. But, it depended in the situation that one was currently in.
True to her thoughts, the mood that Arthur was in at the moment plummeted further at the mention that he wasn't as good as the boyfriend that Celine was mentioning.
He had previously made sure to investigate Celine well enough to know that at that time, she had no boyfriend. In the end, it had already been some time already and it wasn't an impossibility for her to get a boyfriend in that time. That was more so due to the fact that she had left Kartu city recently.
"Since that's the case then, I'll have to take you with me so that that bastard that you are calling boyfriend will come to look for me on his own accord." Arthur stated with a perverse smile on his face. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑒𝘭.𝘯𝑒𝑡
"What do you mean by saying that you are taking her with you? Let me inform you as early as now that you better not touch my daughter. Otherwise, I'm going to make sure that you regret it." Katelyn frowned at the moment that Arthur mentioned that he was planning to take Celine away.
"Hahaha, you don't need to worry about anything at all. I'm going to take care of your daughter for you. As for her boyfriend, I'll merely cripple him. That should be enough punishment for laying his hands on something that this young master has set his eyes on." Arthur laughed as he responded.
At this moment, the door was opened again. And this time, there was a group of three bulky men that entered. Their entrance made Katelyn and Celine alarmed. To say the least, none of them was expecting that there was someone who was going to come in at this moment.
From their ferocious expressions, they could already tell that they were not on their side. Seeing their change in expressions, Arthur laughed again as he said, "You didn't think that I always walk alone, did you? Those three are the ones that are in charge of my security. So, today they are going to be more than that. They are going to help me in carrying my girl out of here."
Katelyn's and Celine's expressions shifted drastically. This was basically out of their expectations. Who would have thought that Arthur would try forcefully taking Celine with him during the day?
Celine on the other hand, although she was surprised and was somehow afraid about what was going to happen next, she had some kind of blind faith that her man would be there for her.
So, she hurriedly took out her phone and sent a text message to Jack to inform him that she was in trouble. Although she didn't know if he was free to come to her aid, she was sure that he would definitely come.
Arthur saw that Celine was taking out her phone. But he didn't try to stop her. He was curious about who this man was that dared to try getting his hands on Celine.
Katelyn knew that there was no way that the staff members of the company would risk their everything just to help her out. At the end of the day, they all knew about the reputation of this young master.
She was ready to try her best to fight so that she would give her daughter a chance to get out of the situation. But, she had to wait till the three people who were blocking the entrance moved from there.
She didn't even realize that Celine had taken out her phone and was texting Jack. Otherwise, she would have stopped her from doing that. After all, she didn't know about Jack's current abilities and would have thought that he would be in trouble the moment that he got here.
After sending the text to inform Jack about what was happening, Celine was surprised to see that Arthur was looking at her with great interest instead of trying to stop her. This made her curl her lips coldly.
Although she didn't know who this young master in front of her was, at the end of the day, she knew Jack. Although he didn't show it, she knew that he was powerful enough than a young master like the one that was in front of her.
As for his combat abilities, that was something that she was the least worried about because she had been lucky enough to see Jack fighting. And, he was so strong in that he had completely captured her heart with his strength.
"Now that you are done, I guess it's time for us to leave, right?" As he said that, Arthur motioned towards the three guys that had entered into the office. They immediately took action because they knew what Arthur was expecting of them.
Seeing the three that were heading their way, although she wasn't sure about what Arthur was talking about, Katelyn immediately decided to block the path of the three. "You better not try touching my daughter. Otherwise, I'm going to call the police."
Hearing her threats, Arthur simply chuckled and said, "Do you think that the police can help you out? You better stop dreaming and let me do this the easy way. Though I don't mind the hard way either as that will make things more interesting."
Before Katelyn could say more, the three had already made their moves. And although they were sure that a single of them could easily take care of the two women, because they were not supposed to hurt the lady that was going to be their young master's woman, they made a move together.
Katelyn tried blocking the way while shouting, "Celine, get out of here immediately. I'll stop them for you."
Unfortunately, she hadn't finished speaking when a tight slap landed on her cheek. There was great force behind the slap in that it threw her down on the floor.
The action of the one that had slapped her infuriated Celine. "How dare you hot my mother?! I'm going to kill you!" Although she knew that the situation wasn't in their favor, she still couldn't accept someone laying a hand on her mother.
Although her mother was always strict on her, she loved her dearly. So, she decided to give her all in making sure that she made someone paid for his actions.
She picked up a cup that was on the desk and threw it towards one of the two that were heading her way. The cup was thrown with all the strength that Celine had due to her anger. So, the guy that was targeted had no chance of evading at all.
The cup smashed onto his forehead, making him seize his actions for a moment before he continued going forward in the next second.
Although Celine had thrown the cup with all her strength, the guy that was hit was a war veteran. He had been engaged in several fights and had suffered several grievous injuries. So, the injury that was caused by the cup was nothing serious to him.
By the time that Celine was looking for another thing that she could use to hit someone with it, the other guy had already gotten to her. He immediately grabbed her by her wrists as he pulled her towards him as he tried restraining her.
Although Celine tried her best to get out of the man's grasp, she was no match for him at all in terms of strength. So, before she could even struggle even further, the other guy had already gotten to her and the two of them managed to stop her from doing anything other than trying to struggle and shouting in anger.
On the other hand, Katelyn was being held down by the remaining of the three. Although she had been slapped badly previously, she didn't lose her consciousness. But all the same, there was nothing that she could do in the situation that they were in at the moment.
Not only were they disadvantageous in terms of numbers, but the ones that were holding them down were men that were far stronger than the two of them.
Arthur looked at all of this with a bright smile on his face. He clapped his hands and said, "Let's get going then, I simply hope that the one that you texted was your boyfriend and not the police. Otherwise, things won't be interesting anymore.
*knock* *knock* *knock*
At this moment, there was another knock on the door. It was only that the person on the other side didn't come in immediately after knocking on the door. Instead, it seemed that the person was waiting to be invited in.
"What idiot is it that is here now?" Even though he was about to leave, the moment that he heard someone knocking on the door, he was immediately displeased. So, he shouted at the person although he didn't know who it was. "Better get lost right now before I lose my temper."
Instead of leaving, the other person opened the door. The moment that he stepped into the room, all eyes that were looking at the door widened in both surprise and disbelief.
The person that had just come in didn't think anything about the different gazes that landed on him. Instead, his eyes were extremely cold as he stared at the situation in the office. He then shifted his gaze to the three that were holding Celine and Katelyn.
Lastly, he looked at Arthur and stated coldly, "You really are bold. I wonder if you know your place or not?"
At this moment, there were three gasps that had finally managed to escape the mouths of three people.
"Jack!?"
"Johnathan!?"
At this moment, there were three gasps that had finally managed to escape the mouths of three people.
"Jack!?"
"Johnathan!?"
The first came from Katelyn while the last one came from Arthur and Celine. None of them had expected that the person who had just arrived would be here at all.
The person that had arrived was none other than Johnathan. He had come here because he wanted to talk to Celine about something. He had gone to her office but he had found that she was out.
When he asked around, he was informed that she had gone to her mother's office. And that was the exact reason as to why he was here.
Actually, he could have waited because he wasn't here to talk about something very important anyway. But, he had heard the staff murmuring to each other that there was going to be trouble in Katelyn's office.
Since he could help and wasn't ready to have Celine getting in trouble, he decided to come over and look. In the end, what he found was something that pissed him off.
Arthur was someone that he disliked the most in the family. Not to speak of the misconduct of his, there was also a fact that he always tried using his father's influence in the family to press him down.
At the end of the day, Arthur's father had a lot more power than Anita. But, due to his fighting capabilities as well as business mind, his grandfather had always supported him. Otherwise, he might have already been eliminated from the competition of the family head.
Johnathan looked at the three men who were holding Celine and Katelyn and stated coldly, "Remove those filthy hands from them."
His voice was stern, indicating that he wasn't joking around at all. The coldness in his voice sent shivers down the spines of the three and they immediately backed away from the two.
Arthur who saw this scene was already bursting with fury in his heart. He had just managed to get the girl that he wanted but, Johnathan just had to swoop in and ruin everything.
But, what made him angry the most was the fact that his men had obeyed Johnathan's words immediately instead of trying to hold on until they received his own command.
But at the end of the day, the three of them had done that on instinct. They knew Johnathan all too well. If they dared to offend him, he would simply beat them up.
Even if they wanted to resist, they were no match for him at all. Although they were not the ones that had been beaten up recently or ever, they had seen some people who were stronger than them being beaten black and blue by Johnathan.
Katelyn who was already together with Celine ignored the pain that she was feeling on her cheek that had already reddened and looked at the scene with widened eyes. She couldn't understand what was going on here at all.
According to what she knew, this person in front of her was Jack. But in the end, not only Arthur, but even Celine called him Johnathan instead of Jack.
She wanted to know what was going on. But, what was happening continued stunning her further.
The arrogant Arthur, although she could tell that he was angry, due to his rushed breathing, she could see that he had no intention of taking any action.
In other words, this 'Johnathan' was someone that Arthur couldn't even go against at all. He could only stand at the side, feeling angry while all the plans that he had made were being ruined.
Johnathan who was now looking at the situation of the two women, the frown on his face tensed up even further. At the moment, he was thinking, 'I'm pretty sure that if Jack finds out that I was here and simply let the fool that dared to lay his hands on his girlfriend and her mother go, he would definitely make sure that I compensate him with more than the shares that he asked for.'
So, he looked at the three and asked, "Who is it that dared to hit her? Although I have seen who it was that was there, I want to exactly know who it was that hit her."
The moment that Johnathan asked the question, the three people felt their scalps tingling. The two that didn't touch Katelyn immediately pointed to the guy who was between them.
The guy wanted to cry at that moment. He was now crying in his mind, 'Didn't you guys say that we are brothers and we will stand together in whatever situation? Why are you outing me out now?'
As for the ones that had pointed out who did the deed, they didn't care about what he was thinking at all. At this moment, they were thankful that they were not the ones that had slapped Katelyn.
The instant that the person was identified by the others, Johnathan made his move. Before the guy could even put up some resistance, a fist landed on his chest.
At that moment, he felt that he had a bone that cracked due to the sheer force behind the punch. He was thrown backwards and hit the wall.
While Arthur was almost having his face dripping with blood due to how red it was from the anger that he was holding in, the other two bodyguards of his didn't think that Johnathan's actions were strange at all.
They had seen several scenes where he acted like this. But, the question in their minds at the moment was, what was the relationship between Johnathan and the two ladies?
They were just thinking that they had dodged the fate of their partner when they suddenly felt someone's gaze falling on them. This made their body tense up.
"Now back to you two. Since you dare to lay your hands on her, do you think that I'm going to let you go?" Johnathan asked as he looked at the two coldly. The two also faced the same fate as their partner.
Johnathan then stated, "You better not think that this is enough of a punishment to you. Once we get back, I will make sure that you face a punishment that is suitable for those like you who abuse the family's power."
Arthur on the other hand couldn't hold it in anymore and blew up. "Johnathan! How dare you hit my subordinates?! Even if you are a little stronger than me, do you think that I'm afraid of you?! Remember that I'm older than you! So, I'm your senior!"
Johnathan on the other hand didn't like the way that Arthur was shouting at him.
Arthur who was shouting suddenly felt his cheek burning up. In the next second, he was forced to the ground due to the slap that he had received from Johnathan. Even his ears were ringing due to the temporary deafness.
"Why the hell are you barking at me?! You already know that I hate the dogs that bark loudly and they can't bite. You are telling me that you are my senior? What part of you indicates that you are my senior?"
"You are older than me, I don't refute that. But, that is just the age of your body, but you are nothing in my eyes. Look at you, you are here, abusing the power of the family to bully others."
"Do you think that grandpa doesn't know about this? He's currently held up and that's why you are yet to be punished. But, that doesn't mean that I'm simply going to let you do whatever you like here."
"Since your father doesn't know that he's supposed to discipline you, I might as well do this in his place."
Johnathan berated Arthur as if he was speaking to a small child. To say the least, had it not been for the family rules that stated that fighting in the family wasn't allowed, he would have crippled this cousin of his.
Although they never said that the person couldn't use other means to deal with the others, Johnathan didn't like doing what others did, sending assassins and so on.
But now that he had gotten a chance to beat up Arthur, he would make sure to beat him up well. At the end of the day, it was hard to get such a good chance that he could use to beat up Arthur like this.
Arthur got up from the ground. Although he was still fuming, he tried hard to calm himself down. He knew that Johnathan was someone that would resort to beating others as long as there was a misunderstanding and there was a chance for him to do that.
And this just so happened to be the chance. So, he didn't want to piss Johnathan off further because he knew that the results would be that he would be beaten even further.
"What is it that you are defending them this much? I was simply here to get a girl that I'm intending to have as my wife. Is there a problem?" Arthur asked through gritted teeth.
"Are you an idiot or something? You came here to take a girl that you are intending to make your wife? Humph, do you think that you can fool me? Try again. With your character, I know that you will simply play with her and then that's it." Johnathan snorted. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝘯𝑜𝘷𝘦𝑙.𝑜𝑟𝘨
He then continued, "And, are you sure about the girl that you are here to take wasn't already taken? You must be a fool to come without confirming some things. And what's more, you are even trying to force my sister-in-law to be your plaything. Do you think I'm going to let you go scot-free?"
Johnathan's words stunned both the three bodyguards, Arthur and finally Katelyn. None of them had expected that there was such a relationship between Johnathan and Celine.
Katelyn was still thinking that the person in front of her was Jack. But in the end, Celine had informed her that this was Johnathan and not Jack. As for the explanation of the situation, that was supposed to wait till they were done with the situation that they were in at the moment.
Arthur on the other hand had never predicted that Celine was taken by someone, in that Johnathan could refer to her as sister-in-law. And, he still couldn't help but curse at the way that things were.
He had made sure to investigate Celine's background and was sure that she didn't have a boyfriend due to her cold attitude. So, he didn't continue keeping watch on her.
But now that he was here to take her, she was already taken? He couldn't believe it. When Celine mentioned that she had a boyfriend, she still wanted to know who it was that she was going to call to play a game. And if it was true that she had a boyfriend, he would simply deal with him.
But now, he couldn't believe that even this person was related to him. So, he asked Johnathan, "Who is it?"
He knew that Johnathan wasn't someone that could have a friend easily. Even the cousins back at home, he wasn't close to most of them, just a few. Now Arthur was wondering who it was.
Johnathan scoffed. He opened his mouth to reply but had no choice but to stop speaking.
Bang!
Johnathan scoffed. He opened his mouth to reply but had no choice but to stop speaking.
Bang!
Just then, the door was shot open. From the sound, it was obvious that the door had been forcefully been kicked open.
All eyes turned towards the door. And the moment that they did that, all of them had widened eyes.
They looked at Jack with different emotions and thoughts running through their heads. To say the least, none of them had expected such an entrance from him.
Celine was the most excited at the moment. She had texted Jack and informed him of the situation here. As such, she was expecting that he would be here. But, it would be a lie to say that she didn't expect that he would be this fast when coming here. After all, it was just a few minutes ago that she had texted him about her situation.
And now that he was here, her heart that was somehow chaotic immediately calmed down. She then gazed at the expression that was on Jack's face. From the looks of it, he wasn't happy to say the least.
And, this was the exact expression that he had on that night that she was abducted by Collins and his minions. And at this instance, she knew that this guy called Arthur was bound to suffer.
Katelyn on the other hand looked at Jack with a surprised expression. She then gazed at Johnathan before shifting her attention back to Jack. She was so shocked that she couldn't believe what was going on here.
According to what she was expecting, Johnathan was just posing here. She thought that whatever Celine had said was just a joke and the person that was present here was jack in the end, the moment that she set her eyes on Jack, she immediately realized that what Celine had said was true.
As for Arthur, his expression was so rigid. He didn't know what was going on here anymore. He knew that there was Johnathan, but he didn't know that there were actually two Johnathans!
And, what was this situation where people would keep on barging into the office when he was here? And to say the least, other than the three bodyguards of his that he had called for, all the others were not here because they wanted to support him.
He could already tell from the way that Jack was looking around coldly that he was definitely not on his side. Not to mention the fact that he looked just like Johnathan.
Johnathan on the other hand could only face palm himself. What could he do? He had been trying to solve the situation here as fast as he could. Who would have expected that he would be coming in at such a moment.
In the end, he could only let out a sigh. He knew that from here, there was nothing that he could do other than stop Jack from killing Arthur. He knew how possessive Jack was with those that he loved.
He would never let go of those that dared to have some thoughts that would hurt the ones that he loved. Of course, that was only if he knew about them.
Marion was a good example. As for Collins and his lackeys, he knew that their punishment didn't end with their crippling. There was more that was coming soon, the time that Jack had given was almost expiring.
He stepped to the side and decided to let Jack take action. At the end of the day, the situation here involved him directly. Celine was his girlfriend while Katelyn was his mother-in-law to be.
As for why he would stop Jack from killing Arthur, he knew that Arthur's father would definitely make things hard for Jack. Although he didn't know Jack's full capabilities, at least he knew that the Jesda family was nothing to joke with.
That was especially so if the old man was involved in this. So, although he wouldn't mind seeing Arthur being killed, or he could have killed him by himself, the situation didn't allow it.
Jack who had arrived walked into the office step by step. He was furious, bit he didn't simply blow up and start shouting or attacking the first person that he didn't know in the room.
He was a person that knew that everything that happened had to have a reason. So, he wanted to know what was happening here first before taking any action.
As for the background of the person that dared to cause trouble here, Jack cared nonetheless about that. You are rich? You have a lot of influence? F*ck that! You dare lay your hand on my loved ones, then don't expect to walk away scot-free.
He walked towards Celine. Celine smiled and gave him a hug. She was happy that he was here, and the only way that she thought that she could express this was through the hug.
Jack patted her back and asked, "Are you okay?"
Celine smiled as she responded. "I'm okay." Then, she turned towards Johnathan and said in a low voice, "Thanks to Johnathan, that is."
Celine knew that Johnathan was afraid of Jack's beating. She could tell that from the last time when he was playing basketball. And, she could also see that Johnathan was currently flustered after Jack got here.
"Mmh, that's good to hear." Jack smiled. He then turned to Katelyn. Seeing the red palm mark that was on her cheek, Jack's anger soared. But still, he didn't show that much.
He asked Katelyn, "Aunt, are you okay?"
"Humph, it's only now that you are thinking of your aunt's wellbeing?" Katelyn snorted as she pretended to be angry. But, she was happy that Jack cared so much about her daughter.
And about the situation here, she didn't know what was going on anymore. But all the same, she decided to wait and see.
She was a businesswoman. Her eyes were sharp enough to tell that the situation here had changed the moment that Jack stepped into the room. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙚𝙡.𝙤𝙧𝒈
Even the person that had been beating up Arthur who couldn't resist had stayed silent. And just from what he said before about Celine being his sister-in-law, she could tell that she and Jack were related.
As for the real relationship, she wasn't sure about it. She had stayed with Anne and Celine for almost a decade. But, she had never seen Johnathan and neither had she heard Anne talking about him at all.
But, she knew that this wasn't the time to ask questions. She had to wait for the current problem to be solved first before she could finally ask for answers about why Jack and Johnathan looked similar.
Jack scratched his head with an awkward smile. But, he didn't say any word because he knew that she was simply teasing him.
He then turned to look at Arthur. He could remember him clearly. And from the same palm print that was on his cheek, Jack could relate what was happening.
From the information that he had gotten on the day that they had met, together with this guy's arrogant attitude, plus Johnathan's presence here, Jack could tell that this guy was in the wrong and was stopped by Johnathan. But, what really happened.
"Celine, what happened here?" Jack asked.
Celine looked at her mother before she began explaining to Jack what had happened.
As Jack was being told what was going on here, Arthur was getting even angrier. It was bad enough that Johnathan was treating him without any hint of respect.
But, what of this other person that had just come in? This person was literally ignoring him, as if he wasn't existing in the first place.
Then, the thing that made him grit his teeth in anger was the fact that he had hugged Celine. He wasn't a fool not to know that this was the person that Johnathan was saying that he was Celine's boyfriend.
While Celine was busy telling Jack what had happened here, Arthur couldn't hold it in anymore and glared at Johnathan. He asked, "Can you tell me why there are two of you and which one is fake?"
Johnathan looked at Arthur as if he was looking at a fool. It seemed that the time that he had spent outside 'enjoying' himself had really affected his brain.
"You want to know who he is? Then why don't you ask him who he is? I'm sure that he will give you a satisfactory answer." Johnathan snorted and replied.
For some reason, when he was told to go and ask Jack who he was, Arthur felt his scalp tingling. Although he was used to wasting much time on girls and some friends that he had made to hang out with them, he was still from the Jesda family.
So, he could read that even Johnathan wasn't willing to provoke this new 'Johnathan'. He himself was afraid of Johnathan as he wasn't as strong as him. So, what was he supposed to do when he faced someone that was even stronger than Johnathan?
The answer was clear. He was supposed to run! That's right, he had to make sure that he got out of here so that he could plan on how to deal with the current situation.
He looked at his three bodyguards. But, the three of them were on the floor, they were not moving. Arthur gritted his teeth because he knew that the three of them were obviously pretending to have lost their consciousness.
He had wanted them to stop Johnathan from coming after him. In the end, he could only think of another way out. And that was, to simply run towards the door and get the hell out of here!
He turned towards the door. But, he was stunned the moment that he saw that, somehow, Johnathan who was standing on the sides had somehow stood in front of him, with the door behind him.
His answer was simple, if you want to get out of here, you will have to get through me first.
Arthur's eyes reddened. He looked at Johnathan with his bloodshot eyes. He knew that the situation wasn't on his favor. So, he had to look for a way to slip away. But that didn't involve him fighting Johnathan.
He was about to speak when Jack spoke. "Arthur, why don't we go and talk somewhere private?"
He was about to speak when Jack spoke. "Arthur, why don't we go and talk somewhere private?"
Arthur's nerves tensed up as he stared at Jack. Although Jack was having a smile on his face, Arthur knew that this wasn't because Jack was happy. In fact, he could feel the intense killing intense that was coming from Jack.
And although it wasn't full, it was directed at him. So, although he wasn't a fighter and neither had he been to the battlefield, he knew that the situation was turning for the worse.
Arthur's fear for Jack wasn't developed because Jack was dangerous or something. No, it was developed from the fact that even Johnathan didn't like messing around with Jack.
Someone like this was one that Arthur would never want to deal with. And if he had to do that, he would always ask for his father's help and the situation would be dealt with.
But now, he had already messed with the person. What's more, he had actually been going after his girlfriend. And, this was definitely something that most men never liked, or, hated the most. That was someone messing around with their women.
It could be said that the situation wouldn't be bad if it was the girl that had initiated it. But if it was the other party that had done so, that could be said that the person was bullying the other guy's girl.
What was a man's ego? That was something that they wouldn't let others mess with. Having the girl that you loved the most being bullied, that would make a man do something that might send him to prison for life.
Arthur was currently in this situation. He knew that he was going to be in deep trouble. That was more so when his three useless bodyguards were pretending you have lost consciousness.
As for calling his father to inform him that he needed help, that was out of question. How would the two of them allow him to do that in the first place? They would deal with him and deal with the problems that would come later.
He smiled at Jack and said, "What about we do this. You let me go, and I will never appear in front of the two of them. In this way, both sides will benefit, right?"
He didn't want to deal with Jack at the moment. But there was no way that he was going to give up on a beauty like Celine. That would never happen.
His plan was simple, get out of here safely, then come back when you are fully prepared and take down the opponent completely.
"Hehe, don't worry at all. We are just going to talk, how men talk, you understand?" Jack chuckled as he replied.
How could he not tell what this idiot was thinking? Jack himself wasn't that gullible to believe that a young master that would dare to take action like taking a girl by force in broad daylight would pretend that nothing happened.
As for what he was planning to do to this Arthur, that was something that he didn't want to do in front of Celine and her mother. That was the exact reason as to why he wanted them to get to a secluded place.
Seeing that Jack had no intention of giving him a way out, Arthur glared at him as he said, "You think that I'm afraid of you just because you are the original Johnathan? So what? Even if the fake is stronger than me, I know for sure that I'm the oldest. Once my father and grandpa hear that this happened here, you will definitely be punished."
It seemed that this guy had yet to give up on his theory that there were two Johnathans in the room. And, one of them had to be fake and the other was the original one.
That was the reason as to why he was trying to use his father and grandfather to intimidate Jack. Unlucky for him, this plan of his won't work at all. Why was that so?
Bang!
Arthur who was looking at Jack waiting for an answer was suddenly sent flying by a kick on his back. Although the kick had sent him flying, it wasn't that overpowered to break his backbone.
"How dare you call me a fake? Do you not believe that I'll beat you up till that messed up brain of yours is fixed?!" Johnathan was angry. Although he wanted to beat up Arthur, he decided to be lenient because he knew that Jack still had to deal with him.
Celine snickered as she covered her mouth, clearly trying to contain her laughter. Although the situation wasn't good previously, now it had simply turned into a comedy.
Katelyn on the other hand had her eyes wide open as she observed the situation. At this moment, her heart beat had increased because she had been seeing things that were supposed to be impossible happening and repeating themselves again and again.
She had never thought that it was possible for a person to send another flying for a few meters simply from kicking and punching.
The first time that the three bodyguards were beaten up, she was still not registering just how absurd that was because she was still trying to understand why Johnathan was called Johnathan and not Jack.
But now that the safety of her daughter was assured, she could think about that. 'What on earth is going on here? Can this be a play that they are performing?' She questioned herself as she looked at Johnathan before looking at Arthur who was getting back to his feet doubtfully.
When Arthur got to his feet, he looked at Johnathan. Horror was clear in his eyes. He had never expected that what he had said would make Johnathan angry. Could it be that the fake one wouldn't want to be called out that way?
In any case, he had learned a lesson. He wouldn't dare to call him that way again. He could now feel that his body was experiencing great pain. He couldn't help but grunt from the pain that he was experiencing.
Even though Johnathan had held back, the fact remained that Arthur was thrown away and he had slammed onto the ground. As such, he was bound to be hurt.
Jack didn't care about Arthur's situation. He scoffed and said, "Do you think about the family rules and whatever? They don't apply to me as they do to you. So, why don't you stop wasting my time and let us get somewhere where we can 'talk' about the way that you have harassed my girlfriend and aunt?"
eaglesnov?1,сoМ This time, he didn't give him time to speak or try throwing the useless threats at him. He looked at Johnathan and said, "Hey Johnathan, why don't you help me with him? You are more familiar with him after all."
Johnathan snorted upon hearing Jack's words. He knew that Jack simply wanted him to do the work of a lackey. But, he knew that the reason behind this was simply because of the issue where he had called him so that he could try and talk to Anita and allow him to dodge talking about where he had gone for a year without giving her any information.
All the same, he still went forward and grabbed the still stunned Arthur by the collar and pulled him towards the door. Although Arthur was trying to resist, no matter what he did, there was nothing that succeeded.
When he got to the door, Johnathan stated, "I'll be waiting for you in my car downstairs. I still have things to talk to you about." Immediately after that, he left.
Jack shrugged his shoulders and turned towards Celine and Katelyn. He could tell that she had questions that she would need answers for. But, he still had things to do at the moment.
He took out two small bottles that contained the body strengthening solution. This was what had brought him here. He didn't come with his phone because he forgot it back in the villa.
As for why he entered the office angrily, that was simply because he had heard from the murmuring of the staff members that were out there that there was something going on in the office here.
And, they were saying that things wouldn't be good for Katelyn and Celine. Some were even thinking about leaving the company so that they wouldn't be implicated with whatever it was that the mother daughter duo were encountering.
So, he had rushed over here. Not caring about the etiquette or anything, he kicked the door open and encountered the situation inside here.
As he handed the two bottles to Celine, he stated, "Take the solution. This should be enough for you to deal with some useless young masters like the one that was here before."
Celine nodded. Jack had already told her about the body strengthening solution. She knew about what would happen the moment that they took the solution as well. He had promised that he would be bringing it for her and her mother. In this way, they would have an ability to protect themselves in case of an attack.
Jack then looked at Katelyn and said, "Aunt, there are things that Celine will tell you. I'll be back after I deal with that piece of garbage."
When he was done with what he was saying, Jack headed for the door. But before he left, he looked at the three that were still lying on the floor and snorted.
"You know I can see that single eye that you are using to peep on the situation. So, better get on your feet and follow me out of here. You will have to get punished as well." 𝙗𝒆𝒅𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒏𝙚𝙩
Hearing Jack's words, the three immediately shot to their feet. Although they were still feeling pain due to the blows that they had received from Johnathan, none of them dared to be sloppy.
They gave Jack a bow and said, "We will wait for you downstairs young master." Immediately after that, they rushed off.
Just like Arthur, they didn't want to spend a single second with Jack. After all, he could actually make Johnathan his errand boy. So, they had to make sure to follow his words or they would suffer greatly.
Jack shook his head when he saw their actions. He turned and looked at Celine. He gave her a gentle smile before he left the office. At the same time, the smile on his face disappeared and what appeared next was an extremely cold expression.
"Do you think that young master will take away miss Celine?"
"Isn't that obvious? That will happen. Have you ever heard of anyone that has ever escaped from his claws?"
"That's right, I have heard about how vicious he is. Furthermore, he treats women as his playthings. I really hate this kind of guy."
"That's right. Men are all the same, disgusting."
"What nonsense are you saying? If I remember correctly, you have a boyfriend, right?"
"That's true. And I heard that she was the one that pursued him."
"Heh, I only went after him because I have to leave behind a generation that my parents will call grandchildren. But all the same, I still don't like men."
"Should we call the police and inform them about what is going on here?"
"Are you a fool or something? This young master has connections with the police, otherwise, how do you think that there are several people who file a complaint about him but he is still enjoying himself out here?"
"You should really not try doing something like calling the police. You know, this is the most stupid idea. The police will simply say that you are the one that made a call. The end result will be that the young master will come after you."
"But, Mrs. Katelyn and young miss Celine were always good to us. We should at least help them out, right?"
"Help them your head! What can you do in that situation? Go ahead and try and see what will happen! You are the one that is going to suffer from that young masters wrath. And I hope that you won't involve me in your stupidity."
"He is right you know. Although the two of them have helped us a lot, it's not to the extend that it will need us to sacrifice our lives for them."
"That's right. This might even affect our families, what do you know?"
"If that's the case, then I'm leaving. I can't wait here for that young master to come over and simply point at me so that I can be beaten up if he is irritated."
"Hey, wait for me. I'm going with you."
"And, what do you think about the young man that entered the office even after we tried stopping him?"
"Him? He should have already been beaten up. Didn't you see the three bulky guys that entered the office before him?"
"He was so stupid. His fate was sealed the moment that he entered that office."
The staff members of the Angels' Prominence were chattering. Some had excited expressions, waiting to see what was going to happen next.
Others had sad and helpless expressions while others were expressionless, clearly not caring about the outcome of the situation.
They were just chattering when they saw someone else arriving on the floor. At normal times, they wouldn't have noticed him. But this time, they noticed him easily because this person was going straight for the office.
"Hey, you shouldn't go there if you love your life." One of the staff members tried warning the young man that had appeared here. There were a few others that joined in.
The young man frowned a little. Then, he rushed towards the office that they were trying to stop him from heading towards.
"Another fool that doesn't value his life, sigh!"
"Guys, did you notice something?"
"What something are you talking about."
"Didn't this young man look exactly like the one that entered there before him?"
"Now that you mention it, I can see the semblance between them. Could they be twins?"
Bang!
The crowd was forced to stop talking due to the actions of the young man. They couldn't believe that he just kicked open the door of the director's office.
"Ah, I remember that young man. I think he refers to Mrs. Katelyn as aunt."
"Oh, that's why he rushed over. Now that makes sense."
Although they could see that the door had been opened, none of them dared to approach. They were afraid that they would get implicated the moment that they were seen by those that were inside the office.
So, they stayed a distance from the office and waited for what was going to happen.
After almost ten minutes elapsed, they were surprised to see that someone was coming out of the office. But, the one that was walking out surprised them the most because he was the person that they had thought that he was going to be beaten up.
Then, their eyes widened when they saw that the lofty young master, the one who had previously gone to Katelyn's office arrogantly was being pulled outside by the collar of his shirt.
His face didn't look good at all. They could tell from the swelling of his cheeks that he had been beaten up inside there. This just confused them further, making them wonder what just happened inside there.
Johnathan saw them looking his way. He then snorted. Even though he knew that Arthur was really beyond the scope of what these employees could handle, he didn't like their reaction at all.
Even if you can't help, why the hell are you going around speaking nonsense? Why are you simply saying that they are doomed? Just wish them luck if you can't help instead of cursing at them.
Without caring anymore about what they were thinking, Johnathan roughly pulled Arthur who was feeling humiliated under the gazes of the employees here. But, no matter how he struggled, he found that he had no way of getting himself out of Johnathan's grasp.
As for the employees, they were almost tempted to ask Johnathan about what had happened inside there. But, they held themselves back remembering that it was their boss who was in trouble. And, none of them went forward to help her out.
As they were still wondering what had happened inside the office, Johnathan got into the elevator with Arthur and they left.
And before long, as the staff members began making assumptions of what might have happened inside Katelyn's office, they saw another person getting out of the office.
They immediately recognized him as the person that had gone into the office last. But, the cold expression on his face as he looked at them made them flinch. They were sweating as Jack's gaze washed over them.
In the end, they were forced to take a few steps backwards as they opened a path for him.
They then saw him turning towards the office. He said, "You know I can see that single eye that you are using to peep on the situation. So, better get on your feet and follow me out of here. You will have to get punished as well."
Then what followed next was, the three guys that had been bouncing, trying to show their might as they entered Katelyn's office, were now running out of the office as if they were a bunch of scared rats.
eaglesnov?1,сoМ "We will wait for you downstairs young master." One of the three stated before the three of them rushed off. And, they didn't head for the elevator. Instead, they went for the stairs. 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘰𝘳𝘨
Their words made the crowd getting a little understanding of what might have happened inside there. Could it be that, this person, Jack, whom some of them had seen coming to the company, was part of a bigger family than Arthur's?
That was the only reason that they could think of. In the end, this could be the only reason as to why the three guys that were obviously under Arthur would treat him both fearfully and respectfully.
After the three left, they saw that Jack was focusing his gaze on them. In the end, he sighed before he began walking towards the elevator.
As he passed by the silent crowd, he muttered in a low voice, "A bunch of disloyal subordinates."
Although he said that in a low voice, most of the people could hear him as the area was so quite.
In the end, they couldn't retort his words at all. Their boss had treated them well but they simply stood to the side as she suffered alone.
….
After getting into the elevator, Jack took another deep breath as he tried to calm himself. He was angry in that he was trying to hold in his anger at the moment.
He wasn't just angered by the fact that Arthur had made a move on Celine and Katelyn, he was also angry at the fact that, the employees that were working under Katelyn were not loyal to her at all.
Although Katelyn was always strict on her ways of dealing with things related to work, none of the employees that were working in her company had ever suffered.
They had their days off work, if they worked overtime they were paid and so on.
Just like Johnathan, although he knew that there was nothing that they could do to help in that situation because of Arthur's family background, why were they then talking nonsense behind Katelyn's back?
Wasn't that the same as them kicking her when she was down? All the same, if this was his company, he would have made sure to do some screening and change to another batch of employees as long as the situation allowed.
Knowing that this was something that Celine and her mother had to deal with by themselves, Jack shook his head and waited for the elevator to open.
When he got out of the elevator, he was already on the ground floor. He could see that there seemed to be a commotion that had occurred here.
From their words, Jack could already tell that this was related to Johnathan pulling Arthur by the collar of his shirt.
Ignoring what was useless to him, Jack walked towards the parking lot of the building.
There, he found Johnathan's car. He had seen this car once when Johnathan came to pay him a visit. It was a Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
He got into the car and found that Arthur was seated on the backseat of the car. He was now obedient. As for the reason for that, it was due to the way that his face had swollen.
Jack could tell that the guy had received a severe beating from Johnathan. As for the stupid threats that he was making before, from the way that his mouth was shut, it was obvious that he had realized that these won't work on the two.
Seeing him like this, Jack shook his head. They were not going to deal with him here, they were going to do it in a place that they would have a freedom to do what they wanted without any kind of disturbances.
"Who is he anyway? I met him before when I was buying a building. He really pissed me off that day. He was lucky that I wasn't in a mood to beat him up for provoking me." Jack asked as he looked at Johnathan.
"I guess you will love this one. This is second uncle's first son. He should be twenty something years old now, I forgot. This guy and his father really have some fate with you." Johnathan chuckled as he said that.
"Fate bullsh*t. Before we met, I was fine. But now and then, there are some flies that come from nowhere to try disgusting me. You should at least handle all those that you have enmity with. I don't want them to confuse me with you." Jack snorted as he said.
"What are you saying? It's not like there was no one that confused me for you before." Johnathan retorted.
"What? You only had one. And what about me? We have Wendy, the guy called, eh, who was that assassin again?" Jack started counting before realizing that he had forgotten the name of the assassin that was after Johnathan.
"It should be spider. What a short memory you have." Johnathan stated.
"What short memory, it's just that I don't like wasting my memory space on some dead people." Jack retorted.
Then, he continued, "And that's not all. As you can see, the idiot behind me also thought that I'm you. And, apart from that girlfriend of yours, all the others never came with good intentions."
"Tsk!" Johnathan could only click his tongue as he had nothing to say here.
Arthur who was seated on the backseat of the car was having his eyes widened in disbelief. Now, he understood what was going on here.
'I understand now! They must all be fakes right? Then where's the original?' He asked himself.
Jack and Johnathan didn't know what Arthur was thinking at the moment. If they had known at the moment, they would surely have questioned what was going on in Arthur's father's head.
It was clear that not only was Arthur a person that didn't care about the position of the family head. Furthermore, he was an idiot. If this person was really given the chance to head the whole Jesda family, there was no doubt that the family might actually collapse in his hands.
Johnathan who was looking at Jack had no choice to give up. He knew all too well that what Jack had stated was the truth. Although the two of them had been mistaken for the other, it was true that it was Jack that had faced the most problems.
But, he wasn't going to say sorry. In his mind, he shrugged and said, 'I'm not the one that told you to look like me, am I?'
But, he didn't dare to say that out loud because he knew that another round of argument would start between the two of them.
Although they were inside the car at the moment, he could see that there were several people that were pointing at his car. It was obvious that they had attracted the attention of a lot of people with the way that he had dragged Arthur with him.
Shaking his head, Johnathan started driving from the area. They still had to deal with Arthur. And what Jack wanted to do, that was something that they would need somewhere private.
He didn't want there to be some evidence so that the police would call him to have tea. So, it was better to do this in a secluded place.
As Johnathan drove away, Jack kept his eyes on Arthur who was seated on the backseat. He was ready to make a move just in case Arthur tried jumping out of the car.
As for whether he really would do that, this was something that Jack doubted. He had already noticed that Arthur was someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Those that he considered strong were always dealt with by his father. But now that he didn't have the chance to call his father, it was obvious that he was the weak here. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝒎
Johnathan drove towards the outskirts of the city. He wasn't just going anywhere, he was going somewhere that he had prepared for situations like the one that they were in at the moment.
When they reached the outskirts of the city, the number of the skyscrapers had dropped. Although there were some tall buildings here, they were scattered.
Not long after they got to the outskirts, Johnathan drove towards a warehouse building. Jack could tell that for some reason, this place was abandoned already.
As if seeing through Jack's thoughts, Johnathan smiled and said, "I'm still planning on starting a project. This warehouse here is on the land that I'm planning on building something here. It is related to the deal that made with the baldy."
"What is that thing or project that you are planning on starting?" Jack asked curiously. The area on which the warehouse was standing on was definitely not small at all.
For Johnathan to require this big size of land, there had to be something that he was going to build here. And that thing was definitely not something small.
"Hehe, you don't have to worry. This is something that I have been planning for some time now already. I don't plan on using the family's influence or money either. This is something that completely belongs to me." Johnathan chuckled as he packed the car.
Jack didn't try pursuing because he could tell that Johnathan wasn't willing to reveal what it really was that he was planning here. But all the same, he didn't care that much because this didn't involve him that much.
The two of them got out of the car. What followed was Arthur who was looking around vigilantly alighting as well.
"Is this place okay?" Jack questioned as his eyes turned cold as he gazed at Arthur that was getting down from the car.
"Of course. Otherwise, why would I have brought you here if I knew that there would be a problem? I made sure that my men cleared this area because I wasn't willing to reveal what it was that I'm planning on doing here." Johnathan replied.
eaglesnov?1,сoМ Jack looked at Arthur and asked again, "Are you really sure about that? After all, I can see that a certain someone here has some plans after all. And, he would surely reveal this information to his father."
At the mention of Arthur's father, Jack's voice chilled even further. At the end of the day, this was the person that was involved in his mother's death. There was no way that he was going to let him go.
In other words, although he had yet to make a move on him, that didn't mean that he had forgotten the fact that, it was this uncle of his that had contacted Marion and used her to get rid of his mother.
"Not like there's something that he can say and be trusted. If he speaks of anything else, they can at least believe him. But the matters concerning serious business, even his father won't believe him because this guy is just an idiot." Johnathan scoffed as he replied.
"Hey Johnathan, who are you calling an idiot?" Arthur looked at Johnathan angrily as he asked. He didn't like the feeling of being treated as if he didn't even exist.
And although he was already scared from the beating that he had received, he couldn't help but mutter in displeasure. But the moment that he met Johnathan's cold eyes, he lowered his head as he shivered.
"Can I start already?" Jack asked impatiently. The more that he looked at Arthur's face, the angry that he got. This idiot not only tried forcing that he had to marry Celine, but he had made his subordinate slap Katelyn.
If it was another time, before he regained his memory, perhaps Jack might not have been so angry at this. But now that he viewed Katelyn as someone close to him, just like his mother, there was no way that he was going to let this idiot go.
"Just don't kill him." Johnathan shrugged as he responded.
"Why should I not do that? I don't like silly provocations you know?" Jack gazed at him and asked.
"If he dies, then grandpa will make a move. Although this idiot is the one that started all of this, it is also true that he is a member of the Jesda family. So, the moment that he dies, grandpa won't let the person that was behind it go." Johnathan replied.
This was the reason as to why he had never killed Arthur. He could beat him up and so on, but as long as he was the one that had killed Arthur, it was a sure bet that the old man would make a move to punish him.
This was something that even his mother couldn't handle. He wasn't ready to make problems for her. And although Arthur's father had always made moves to kill Johnathan, he had made sure to hide the evidence.
In this way, even if Johnathan reported this, the old man wouldn't make a move as long as there was no evidence that proved that Arthur's father was the one that had made a move.
As for Arthur, there were already way too many people that had seen them together. So, the moment that the news of Arthur's death were revealed, there was no doubt that they would doubt him first.
And with the plans that he was having in his mind, Johnathan wasn't ready to attract the attention from the family as this would make his dealings hard.
"As if I'm afraid of that." Jack snorted as he attacked Arthur directly.
Johnathan: "…."
Bam! Bang!
Although he had been expecting that things wouldn't be easy on him, Arthur had never expected that Jack wouldn't be lenient on him.
The attack that Jack had unleashed blew Arthur and he hit his back on the car before falling on the ground as he groaned in pain. The car's door that Arthur had hit dented a little. Although the dent was only small, it was still a dent at the end of the day.
Johnathan on the other hand was left speechless by Jack's actions. He looked at him as he cried in his mind, 'What has my car done for you to actually target it?' This was something that he wanted to ask but had no choice but to forget about it.
"Arrgh! Y- you! If…if you dare to hit me again, my father won't let you go!" Feeling the intense pain that was rampaging in his body, Arthur tried threatening his way out of the situation.
"As if I care about that father of yours. But, I have a question for you, did you ever think about the consequences that you would face the moment that you dared to try taking my girl by force?" Jack snorted as he replied.
Before Arthur could reply, Jack stepped on his fingers. The pain that Arthur felt made him scream in agony. He was someone that wasn't used to this. So, just a little pain made him cry so loudly as if his life depended on how loud he screamed.
Jack didn't stop there, he was venting his anger. So, he didn't make any other big moves after he kicked Arthur down. All the others that he made had the intention of making sure that Arthur suffered from pain.
He broke his fingers, one after the other. Then, he broke his hand. What followed next was a thorough beating that completely deformed Arthur's face.
Jack didn't stop there. He went on and broke his legs as well. Since this guy couldn't sit in a single place and could go around causing trouble, Jack was intent on making sure that he stayed on bed.
This was what he had resolved himself to doing. As long as someone dared to provoke him, Jack would make sure that the price that was paid was heavy.
In this way, the others who might know about his actions would have to think twice before they dare to try offending him. As for the repercussions that came from his actions, it wasn't like he was afraid.
Since Anita and Arthur knew about his existence, he might as well go ahead and deal with this idiot's father if he got involved.
Johnathan on the other hand felt a chill as he looked at Jack torturing Arthur. In the end, he thought, 'I guess I should add a few more shares?'
Jack made sure to administer the punishment on Arthur in such a way that he would not get out of bed for a long period of time. He had broken several of his bones, made sure that he would no longer go looking for girls like a randy he goat. In other words, he had, he had made sure that he faced the same thing that Collins faced when he tried forcing himself on Celine.
As for Johnathan, since Jack wasn't killing Arthur, to him, it didn't matter what happened to Arthur at all. Even if Arthur had died, he wouldn't have cared. It was just that he didn't want the matters concerning his death to be linked to him.
In other words, he didn't want his grandfather to blame him that he was the one that was responsible of the death of his cousin. Although he wasn't the one that would have killed him directly, he would have done that indirectly.
And if that was put on him, his chances of being selected as the next family head would drop drastically. With the aim of making sure that his mother had a comfortable life in the family, he wanted to get the position. Otherwise, he would have cared nonetheless about such a thing.
After he was done with what he wanted to do, Jack looked at Johnathan and said, "Now that we are done with this idiot, why don't you tell me that you are ready to give me the shares that you promised me?"
"I tried contacting you to inform you that I have already completed the preparations for the transfer of the shares. But for some reason, you never picked any of my calls. So, I had no choice but to come and look for your girlfriend so that I can ask about your whereabouts." Johnathan replied.
Jack looked at him and nodded. On this day, he hadn't taken his phone with him as he left the villa. As for Johnathan knowing of where he was, that was nearly impossible in the whole city. Jack had moved to the serenity residential area.
And even so, he didn't tell Johnathan about that. So, it was understandable that he would look for Celine as she was the one that might have a clue about where he was. And that was true because Celine had visited his villa twice. Had it not been for her busy schedule, she might have visited him more than that.
Johnathan looked at Arthur who had already lost consciousness then back at Jack. He sighed and looked at a certain corner and shouted, "What the hell are you idiots doing there? Better get here and take this trash from here. Otherwise, he is going to die and you are the ones that are going to be blamed for that."
The moment that he finished speaking, the three bodyguards that Arthur always brought with him rushed out. Then, they gave a deep bow to both Jack and Johnathan before they picked up Arthur from the ground and left the area as fast as they could. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝒏𝙤𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝒄𝙤𝙢
At the same time, they couldn't help but curse Arthur in their hearts. Their lives were just fine that was until they were assigned as his bodyguards. Although they had never liked what Arthur was doing, they were not in a position to stop him at all.
And now, his habits had led them into landing into the bad books of Johnathan, not to mention Jack who they were more afraid of now that they had seen him in action. If they could, they would have run away from all of this.
But, this was something that was impossible. When they were chosen amongst all the applicants that had wanted to work for the Jesda family, they were informed that they would never run away from their responsibilities. If they dared to do that, they would be risking their families as well.
There were some people that had tried running away after making a mistake. But in the end, none of them ended up well. They had their families kidnapped. And by using their families, those that had run away were forced to come and face their punishment.
And they, had failed in their mission of protecting Arthur from the vicious beating that he had received. All that they would have to do at the moment would be to give the full report about what happened here. Although they would still be punished, they hoped that their punishment would be reduced.
Jack watched them leaving without saying a word. As for the one that had slapped Katelyn, that guy would have to be dealt with by Johnathan. He was now interested in the issue concerning the shares that Johnathan was intending on transferring to him.
Knowing what he was thinking, Johnathan sighed and went ahead to open the door of his car. Then, he took a few documents that he had placed on the dashboard and gave them to Jack. Indeed, he was unwilling to part with these shares. But, he had no choice because he had made a promise that he would give them to Jack.
These shares were the ones that he owned. He had been working hard to acquire them. In other words, they were not related to the Jesda family at all.
Although he was giving Jack the shares, that didn't mean that he was giving him all the shares that he had on him. At the end of the day, he wasn't working for Jack. So, he was only going to handover the least amount of shares that he could give and that from the companies that weren't the best that he was having shares of.
But all the same, he was pained by the fact that he would have to part with these shares that he was having.
Jack cared not about what Johnathan was thinking or feeling. What was in his mind at the moment was whether the system would actually multiply the shares that he was receiving or not.
If it was going to be multiplied, that was something that he was going to be happy about. But if the multiplier effect wasn't going to be applied here, he would be greatly disappointed with the system. He was after all intending to shoot to the skies using the shares that Johnathan was giving him.
He read through the document with great expectation. At the same time, Johnathan talked about the shares that he was giving him.
"The shares that I'm offering you are those that belong to Kalmond entertainment company. Although it's not as big as compared to The Rose that the baldy gave to Celine, it's not that bad as well. It has a net worth of $70B. I currently hold 20% shares of that company. So, I'm giving you half of that, 10%. This should be enough, right?" Johnathan asked at the end of it.
Jack read through the document. Since he knew that he might be rewarded by the system a company, he had been paying attention to the companies out there. So, he knew about Kalmond as well.
Although it couldn't be considered amongst the top entertainment companies in the country, it was a middle tier one. The ten percent shares that he had received from Johnathan was the same as him receiving $7B.
Although it wasn't bad considering that this was just the compensation for Johnathan trying to use him to get himself out of trouble with his mother, Jack was a little dissatisfied about that. He looked at Johnathan and asked, "Why don't you just give me all the shares that you are having in Kalmond? You know, just to make sure that they won't confuse me with you."
"Dream on! Do you think that I got those shares that easily? I had to work hard so that I could even have a chance of getting the amount of money to buy those shares. And now, I just gave you half of them." Johnathan was immediately infuriated by Jack's greedy side.
If he could, he would have surely beaten up Jack. He had been working hard to accumulate his own wealth that wasn't linked to the Jesda family. He had started a long time ago. And, it was due to his sharp mind that he had managed to get the shares.
To give them to Jack because of a petty reason like him being used to deal with Anita's questions, it really made his heart bleed. But, he knew that perhaps in the future, he might have to depend on Jack for something. As such, he decided to think of this as investment from him.
Jack sighed. He had expected that Johnathan wouldn't agree to this. But all the same, he had at least gotten a few billions worth of shares that would help him in the long run establishment of the Jackson Enterprise.
Now then, it was time for him to sign the document and see if the system was going to multiply the shares that he had received or not. He looked at Johnathan and asked, "You gave me the document but you didn't give me the pen to sign this thing."
Johnathan's lips twitched when he heard that. But all the same, he took out a pen from the car and handed it to Jack.
Jack smiled as he placed the signature at the bottom of the paper. Immediately after he was done with that, a system prompt appeared. His smile widened further as he read the prompt that had appeared in front of his eyes.
[You've received 10% shares of Kalmond Entertainment Company. Multiplier Applied. You receive 90% shares of Kalmond Entertainment Company.]
[You receive 88% shares of The Rose Entertainment Company.]
Seeing the two system prompts that had appeared before his eyes, Jack was completely ecstatic. He had been expecting that there was a chance that the shares that he had received would not be multiplied.
But, the surprise that he had received was bigger than he had expected. Not only had the shares been multiplied, but he had also been given something that he had never expected before.
Instead of owning 10% shares of Kalmond Entertainment Company, he now owned 100% shares of it. In other words, the company was now fully under his control.
Then, the part that excited him the most was the fact that he had received 88% shares of The Rose Entertainment Company.
The Rose was a company that was bigger than Kalmond. And so, it was obvious that the 88% shares that he had received had a greater value than the 90% shares that came from Kalmond.
But, what made Jack's expression weird was the fact that he had only received 88% shares of The Rose. He was wondering why he had not acquired all of it.
But on the second note, could it be that the 12% shares that were not in his hands were the ones that Celine was having? If that was so, then Jack could say that the system was very considerate. But still, he would have to ask Celine about it to confirm.
But, there was another thing that Jack wasn't understanding at all. He had received 10% shares from Johnathan. These 10% shares were worth $7B. That meant that, if the multiplier effect were to take place, he was supposed to get something that was worth $700B.
But, no matter how he looked at it, the shares that he had received, even if he added the shares of the two companies that were in his hands, they would not be able to reach $200B, let alone $700B.
So, where was the rest of the over $500B worth of shares that he was supposed to receive?!
As if reading his mind, another system prompt appeared in front of his eyes followed by Angel's voice.
[The 10% shares that you received were not only something that you got due to coercion, but also because you never worked for it. So, the multiplier effect wasn't at 100 times.]
[Just like the income that you received from betting, there is a limit to the number of times the multiplier effect would take place when you receive money or any other income from the others as presents and so on. The current number of times remaining is 5.]
Jack was left speechless. What did the system mean by saying that he didn't work for it? He had literally made Anita forget about asking Johnathan about where he had been during the one year that he had disappeared.
So, that was considered as work. As coercion, that was something that he didn't do, right? He had only asked for payment so that he could work for him.
And although he only introduced himself, he had made sure that Anita didn't focus on where Johnathan was during that one year. In other words, he didn't use the normal means to complete the work that he had been asked to complete.
And what the heck was this limit thing again? Why was the system always looking for ways to make sure that he won't make a quick buck? Now, this was getting onto his nerves.
Johnathan who was watching Jack from the side was stunned when he saw that Jack was simply looking in front of him, without saying or doing anything.
It was like he was in a daze. Johnathan then saw a smile appearing on Jack's face, what followed next was that he frowned. And from the way that his face was turning ugly, Johnathan was stunned further. He was wondering if Jack had gone insane or something like that.
He waved his hand in front of Jack's face. But, the moment that his hand appeared in front of Jack's face, Jack who was just in a daze regained his focus and grabbed the hand that was in front of him.
The force that Jack had applied made Johnathan flinch in pain. "Let go will you? You were acting like a lunatic or something, changing your expression from being happy to being angry."
Hearing Johnathan's words, Jack finally realized that perhaps he had lost himself to the system prompts. It seemed that he had to learn to control his expression in front of other people.
With a slight cough, he released Johnathan's hand. Then, he looked at Johnathan and began smiling.
This action surprised Johnathan. "What are you smiling about? Have you become a fool after signing the document and gaining control of 10% shares?" Johnathan asked.
"Wait for it, I'm sure that you will know about it soon." Jack continued smiling as he replied.
Johnathan got even more confused about what Jack was talking about. In the end, he shook his head and decided to leave Jack alone.
Just as he turned around, his phone rang. He picked it up and looked at it. It was the secretary of the board of directors of Kalmond. He wondered what was going on.
According to what he could remember, he had already informed them that he would be transferring 10% shares from his 20% shares to another person. So, he wasn't sure why the secretary was calling in the first place.
But all the same, he picked up the call. "Hey Halton, what is it?" He asked.
"Hello Mr. Johnathan, I wanted to inform you that all the procedures for the transfer of shares have been completed and the money has been transferred into your account." Halton stated.
"Oh, that's okay." Johnathan nodded his head. He had just had Jack signing the transfer contract. So, it wasn't surprising that the company would have already done that in the database.
But on the second note, Johnathan frowned. He asked, "What money are you talking about? I said I was going to transfer my shares to someone else. So, where is this money thing that you are talking about?"
"Oh, I wasn't talking about the 10% shares that you had decided to transfer. I'm talking about the remaining 10% shares that were in your hands. These are the shares that I was telling you that we have already completed the transfer. As for the money, it has already been transferred to your account." Halton explained.
Johnathan's expression turned weird. "Halton, I'm failing to understand what you are trying to imply here. I'm supposed to give away 10% shares. Then, I'm supposed to remain with 10% shares. So, what the hell is this about me selling my shares?"
"Oh, didn't you say that you were going to sell all the shares in your hands? Every other member of the board that had shares of the company has also sold the shares that are in their hands." Halton stated. But this time, he too was confused by the way that Johnathan was reacting.
Johnathan on the other hand was fuming. He was working hard so that he could get more shares. Since when did he even decide that he wanted to sell the shares that he owned?
Now, he was being told that he had agreed to that? This was completely illogical. Could it be that the other members of the board agreed to that and thought that he had also agreed?
But then, where on earth did they get his signature? After all, there was no way that the transfer would be completed if he did not sign the transfer contract.
"When did we agree on selling the shares? I think I have forgotten about that. I have been having a lot on my mind recently." Johnathan asked. He knew that if he continued saying that he didn't agree to this, the other party might think of him as a lunatic.
Halton finally understood why Johnathan had forgotten about this. So, he replied. "I understand Mr. Johnathan. You rich people have so many shares that you even forget about others that you own. So, I understand."
'Understand your head! When did I have so many shares? I only have a few of them and I'm absolutely not willing to sell them! Forget about them? I always think about them every time that I can!' Johnathan yelled in his mind.
"It was yesterday that you signed the documents that stated that you agreed to sell your shares." Halton reminded.
It was then that Johnathan remembered that the previous day, he had been indeed in a meeting with the other share holders. At that time, he didn't pay much attention to what they were talking about.
In the end of the meeting, they passed around a document that each and every of the shareholder signed. He followed the flow and signed the document but he had never read the contents of the document.
Johnathan's eyes widened in disbelief as he recalled that. Now, he didn't know what to say about this. He was never forced to sign it, he was never stopped from reading the document and he was never told not to listen to what the others were saying.
Now, even if he wanted to complain, to whom was he going to complain to? He wasn't coerced or something. He did it according to his own will.
In the end, he could only shake his head as he let out a sigh of frustration. He then thought of something and asked, "By the way, who is the one that is buying the shares?"
He wanted to know this so that perhaps, he could convince the other party to sell him the shares. Perhaps he can even buy more shares from the other party.
"Eh, the one that bought the shares should be Mr. Jackson…yeah, Mr. Jackson, that's it." Halton replied.
"Mr. Jackson?" As Johnathan said that name, he turned around and looked at Jack who was still having a smile on his face. At that moment, Johnathan understood who this Jackson was. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦
Although there was no surname of the person that had bought the shares, the way that Jack was smiling at him was enough to tell him that Jack was the Jackson that they were talking about.
"You bastard!" Johnathan shouted loudly.
Jack on the other hand simply smiled at that. From where he was, due to his sharp senses, he could clearly hear what Halton was saying on the other end of the phone.
So, he knew why Johnathan was frustrated and angry at the same time. Still, he didn't like the name bastard. Although that was so, he decided to ignore that because he knew that Johnathan was currently pissed off.
But at the same time, he asked, 'Hey Angel, what the heck is this way of acquiring the shares? You don't even inform the shareholder that he would be selling his shares?'
Although Jack was previously smiling, it was because he had thought that he would be able to laugh at Johnathan the moment that he realized that the person who would be buying his shares would be him.
As such, he had never thought that even Johnathan himself wouldn't know that he was selling the shares. He was so surprised to hear that he had sold the shares and the money had come in already.
[How's that the system's fault? The idea was proposed to the board and he participated in the meeting. Instead of knowing what was going on in the meeting, he was thinking about his girlfriend.]
[Perhaps he had thought that there was nothing important to discuss during that meeting. As such, he wasn't even paying attention to whatever was being said. He nodded his head to agree to the proposal when asked.]
[As for the opinion about what they were supposed to do, he never gave a point and remained silent. So, the other shareholder made the decision.]
[Then, there's a form that was signed. He too placed his signature, and that too without reading it. So, at the end of it all, it is his fault that he didn't know about the acquisition of the shares. So, don't blame the system.]
Jack: "…."
The form was signed the previous day. But, he had acquired the shares today. Now, was the system already expecting this to happen? Could the system see the future? Jack of course asked.
[The system is more than just a multiplier of what you are earning. So, upgrade the level of your authority as soon as possible to access even more features from the system.]
Jack didn't ask further. As for the matter where Johnathan was thinking of his girlfriend, he didn't need to ask to know that the system must have read through Johnathan's mind to know what he was thinking.
All the same, he sighed at the way the system was overpowered.
[You should know that, the system never fails in the acquisition of something. If he read through the benefits that he would receive by selling the shares, even if he was keen during the meeting, it is a sure bet that he would have accepted to sell the shares.]
'What are those benefits that he would receive when he sells the shares?' Jack asked curiously.
[The price of the shares offered by the system is higher than in the market. So, it should be easy for him to decide to sell the shares.]
Jack: "…."
In the next moment, 'Why don't you f*cking give that money that you spent on buying those shares to me? I'm sure that Denali can use that money to buy even more shares for me!' Jack practically screamed in his mind.
The whole Kalmond was worth $70B. If the system bought the shares at a price that the shareholders couldn't refuse, it had to be quite high. It might even be double the market price of the shares.
If that was the case, this was akin to spending $140B to acquire a business that was worth $70B. That was practically a wastage. Though, with the 10% shares in his hands, it should have been $63B to $126B.
Although he had his own thoughts, the system had its own plans and way of doing things. In the end, Jack could only dream about receiving the money but he wouldn't.
"How dare you do that?! You could have told me that you were buying the shares. So, I could have given you shares from another company and sold these 10% shares to you instead!" Johnathan's shout brought Jack from his reverie.
Jack looked at him and snorted. "You are talking as if I knew that you were going to give me the 10% of Kalmond. I was intending to buy all the shares of Kalmond. But since you were transferring 10% shares, I had to buy 90%."
"I would have to look for the person that was getting the other 10% shares so that I could buy them from him. Now, this was a complete surprise that I was the one that got the shares. I guess that I will have to buy them from myself." Jack shrugged at the end.
Johnathan looked at Jack. He could only give up because he knew that what Jack had said was logical. Jack didn't know anything about the shares that he was going to receive on this day.
But, although he had given up on saying our loud that he blamed Jack, he was still blaming him on the inside. And, he wasn't the least pleased by the fact that he had lost the shares.
Although money was important, having shares was even more important to him. The shares represented connections and how fast he could do some things.
"Now, now, why are you blaming me for your own mistake? You were only thinking about Wendy during the meeting between the shareholders. And, did you even read the document that you signed or you simply signed because you saw that the others were signing it?" Jack questioned.
Johnathan looked at Jack with widened eyes. He couldn't believe that Jack knew what he was thinking about in the meeting. "Jack, are you stalking me?"
"As if I can stalk your thoughts." Jack snorted.
Johnathan looked at Jack for a while, it was as if he was trying to decipher something from Jack's expression. In the end, he couldn't find anything that could give him a clue about what was going on there.
"Alright, let's leave. I'll be giving you the 10% shares that you gave me as a gift for what you have been helping me with recently. In this way, you can get carried along as I boost the company to the top." Jack stated as he got into the car.
Johnathan was left speechless once again. He wondered, 'Am I being gifted my own shares? On the second thought, I think I gave him the shares as compensation?'
As he thought of that, he went back into the car and drove towards the Angels' Prominence. The reason as to why they had come to this place was because they wanted some privacy as Jack 'talked' with Arthur about respect for other men's women.
….
Inside a hospital ward, Collins opened his eyes. The look of his eyes seemed lost. At this moment, Collins was thinking about what had happened back in Volant city.
He gritted his teeth at the thought that his manhood was crippled and he might not be able to have children in the future. At the thought of this, Collins fury increased even more.
'Wasn't it just a beautiful girl, no it was just a face. What is there to make you think that the face was something that could compare to my progeny?' Collins growled in his mind.
He didn't think that Jack breaking his manhood was something that should have happened. According to him, Celine was at the end of the day, a girl. If she was a girl and he was a man, what was the problem if the two of them mate?
Although he was the only one that wanted that to happen, who said that she wouldn't feel good during the process? And what was even more infuriating to him was the fact that, he had been completely crippled although he didn't do anything to her.
'Just you wait! Although I don't know about you, I'm sure that you care about that b*tch Celine. So, I'll simply have to get my hands on her before getting you. And believe me, your fate will be worse than mine.' Collins swore in his heart.
'As for you bitch, since you thought that being with me alone wasn't something that you could be proud of, I'll let you be proud of being together with a group of ten!' Collins clenched his teeth so tightly that even his gums began bleeding slightly. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝐧𝐞𝘁
Just then, the door of the ward was opened and a man and a woman rushed in a hurry.
The woman was wearing a short navy blue dress that reached her knees. She had a face that was covered in a thick layer of make-up. It was obvious that she was trying to cover up the signs of age catching up to her.
From her expression, it was clear that she was worried about Collins. So, the moment that she got into the ward, she rushed towards the bed and asked worriedly, "Are you okay my baby boy? Tell me, what happened to you? Tell mommy and mommy will make sure that he pays it with his life."
As for the man that had gotten in with the lady, he was wearing a khaki suit. His expression was vicious and he looked like a schemer. Though, that was to be expected as he was in business. And sometimes, business didn't just require a business mind, sometimes, there were situations that required scheming.
Although he didn't say a word, he was ready to go and look for the person that dared to harm his son. This was the only child that he had with his wife.
He had been involved in an accident after Collins was seven years old. And since then, he had never had a child. According to the medical report, his fertility was affected.
He was having great hopes that his bloodline would continue through this son of his. He himself had great hopes that he would have a team of children. But since he couldn't, he had to depend on his son.
But now, his son had also been crippled. As for getting him back to the condition where he could have a progeny, that was something that the doctors were still working on.
To say the least, he was greatly angered at the fact that his son was crippled. He was just waiting for the name of the person that did this.
"The person behind this all is Celine and her boyfriend." Collins replied through his greeted teeth.
"The person behind this all is Celine and her boyfriend." Collins replied through his greeted teeth.
"Who is this Celine that you are talking about?" Collins' father asked with a frown on his face. Although he cared so much about his son, he had always been busy with work and rarely paid attention to what types of friends his son interacted with.
But, as long as Collins informed him that there was a problem somewhere, he would make sure to help him in taking care of it before leaving him to his own devices.
Collins' mother who's eyes were red at the moment also looked at Collins, waiting for his reply. To them, it didn't matter who it was, as long as that person dared to lay a finger on their only son, then they would make sure that the person paid a heavy price for it.
"The one from the Gravy family." At the mere mention of the Gravy family, Collins was forced to remember the brutal light that he had encountered.
That was the night that he had faced his worst nightmare yet. And to say the least, he didn't want to experience such a thing again in his life. But that did mean that he didn't want vengeance.
"The Gravy family?" Collins' father asked doubtfully. From what he knew, the Gravy family wasn't particularly big. It was smaller compared to his family. In other words, if he wanted to make sure that the Gravy family suffered, as long as he paid a price, he could manage to make them drop from the league that they were in.
"Yes, the one that owns a cosmetics company." Collins affirmed his father's doubt..
"Since that is the case, then I will make sure that they pay the price that is enough to compensate for whatever they have done to you." Collins' father said as his eyes turned cold.
"That is definitely not enough. The family will suffer because they failed to educate their daughter well. But the two culprits of what had happened to my son have to pay as well." Collins' mother stated.
Her expression at this moment was nothing far from a person who was deranged. She was getting crazy at the fact that she would not have anyone to call her grandmother.
"Do you know who her boyfriend is?" Collins' father asked.
Collins remained silent for a moment as he tried not remembering what Jack had done to him on that night. He could still remember the pain that he had faced when Jack kicked him.
He didn't wish to remember about the pain that he had suffered that night, added to the charges that he was placed under. Yes, they had reported him for attempted rape.
And as they were speaking, there were two police officers who were keeping guard at the door. They were going to make sure that the moment that Collins was released from the hospital, they would take him away so that he could face the charges that were placed on him in court.
But even now, although there was clear evidence about his actions, he wasn't afraid that he was going to be sent to jail. He was sure that way his parents' influence, there was no way that he was going to be sentenced in court.
"That is the person that I hate the most. He is the one that crippled me. He is the reason as to why I am currently in the hospital. His name is Jack. I haven't gotten much details on him because I was still doing a background check on him." Collins replied.
"But according to the information that I've already gotten on him, he is nothing but a poor boy who is depending on the girls." Collins continued as he remembered the incident where Jack's car was smashed before he smashed by Garpy.
When Jack smashed Garpy's Lamborghini Diablo, they had been called so that they could take care of Jack. In the end, he was saved by Wendy who claimed that he was her fiancé.
eaglesnov?1,сoМ "If that is the case, then there's nothing to worry about. We can simply get that girl Celine to tell us where her boyfriend is. Then we can take care of them." Collins' mother stated.
Collins' father was just about to say something, when the door of the word was pushed open. Then, a police officer entered the room and stared at the couple.
"Your time to see the suspect has ended. You are supposed to leave right now so that you don't compromise our duty." The male police officer stated as he stared at the two parents with a stern gaze.
"What do you mean by saying that our time has already elapsed? It has only been 2 minutes since we entered this room. You give us 5 minutes. That means that there are still three minutes left." Collins' mother retorted angrily.
The male police officer knew That it was true that they still had time. What he was doing this on purpose. 𝓫𝓮𝒹𝓷ℴ𝓿ℯ𝓵.𝓬ℴ𝓶
He and his partner were standing just outside the door. That meant that they could hear whatever was being said inside the ward. In other words, they had heard clearly what the couple were discussing.
They themselves knew what Collins had done because they were involved in the case. To say the least, they were disgusted at the behavior that Collins had. To try abusing someone s*xually was one of the things that was hated by the public the most.
And instead of admonishing their son of whatever he had done, the parents who were just as vicious as the son, were instead supporting him of his actions.
What's more, they were even looking for ways that they could use to get back at the person who had crippled their son. That was not it. They even wanted to get their vengeance on the victim.
Not sure if he could continue to listen to what they were going to say next, the police officer had decided to enter the ward and send away these two people.
And if he could have gotten any evidence, he could have made sure to have locked up the couple by now. But, whatever they had said was also considered evidence in case there was anything that was going to happen to the victim.
"I'm sorry sir, madam, but I have just been informed that people are not allowed to visit the suspect until the court verdict is out." The police officer stated.
"What nonsense are you babbling about? Do you think I don't know the law? Do you think that just because you are wearing a police uniform I'm going to be afraid of you?"
"Let me tell you clearly, I have seen a lot in all the years that I've engaged in business. And I know that the lows don't change in a matter of minutes without any information or discussion."
"So, don't you dare continue disturbing our moments with our son. Otherwise, I'm going to make sure that you are not going to maintain your position in the police force any longer." Collins' father threatened.
"It doesn't matter if you are educated or not. It doesn't matter if you are smart or gullible. What matters now is that you have to get out of the ward at the moment, or I'm going to arrest you for trying to interfere in police matters." The officer stated seriously.
Collins' father wanted to retort. But as a person who had been in the business for long, he could tell that the police wasn't going to give him. Since this wasn't a matter of life and death to his son, he decided to take a step back because he knew he wouldn't win against the law.
"Since that is the way you want to play, no problem at all. I'm going to see your superiors and we'll see what happens next." Collins' father stated before pulling his wife out of the ward.
His wife kept on screaming and shouting about this and that or how law was unfair to their son. According to her, her son had not made a mistake that was big enough for him to be crippled, not to mention that he was being sued for attempted r*pe case.
….
Jack organized for Denali to arrange the shares transfer contract for 10% shares of Kalmond Entertainment Company. He was going to give Jonathan the 10% shares as he had promised.
After ending the call with the Denali, Jack returned the phone that he had borrowed from Johnathan. Then, a few minutes later, he and Jonathan arrived in front of Angels' prominence. Since he had already dealt with Arthur, Jack wanted to explain a few things to Katelyn about what was going on.
Jonathan on the other hand, since the business that had brought him to Angels' prominence, get the information about Jack's whereabouts, were already dealt with, he decided to leave and deal with the things that he had yet to do.
Jack got to the 18th floor of the building from the elevator. He found that the staff members had already begun working just as the normal days. But the difference was that, they were clearly murmuring to each other about what had happened about an hour ago.
When they saw Jack coming in, they were awed and at the same time, scared of him. So, all the chattering on the floor seized the moment that he entered.
Jack completely ignored them and headed towards Katelyn's office. When he got in, he found that Katelyn had already covered the palm mark on her cheek using makeup.
Furthermore, inside the office, there was an additional person that Jack had not seen quite a while now. It was Faith, Celine's current personal assistant.
"It has been a while Faith." Jack greeted the moment that he entered the office.
"It has been indeed." Faith replied with a smile on your face. She too knew about Jack's relationship with Jonathan. So, she has been helping Celine In telling Katelyn about Jack and his relationship with Jonathan.
After some pleasantries between the two of them, Jack finally took a seat after being reminded by the impatient Katelyn.
"It is good that you are back. All the Celine has told me a lot about what is going on, I still want to hear it first-hand from you. What happened really during the years that we have not met?" Katelyn spoke the moment that Jack took a seat.
"It is good that you are back. All the Celine has told me a lot about what is going on, I still want to hear it first-hand from you. What happened really during the years that we have not met?" Katelyn spoke the moment that Jack took a seat.
Jack had already been expecting this. So without hiding anything, he informed his mother-in-law to be about his relationship with Jonathan and the Jesda family.
Although he didn't speak much about these assets or is wealth that he currently possessed, he was sure that she knew about his influence at the moment.
eaglesnov?1,сoМ Although she had already been informed about this by the two girls in the office, Katelyn was shocked by a great extent. She really needed some time to digest the information that she had received.
On the other hand, Jack shifted his attention to Faith. He took out a small bottle that contained the body strengthening solution I gave it to her and told her to ask Celine about what it was supposed to do.
After a while, Katelyn got out of her thoughts and looked at Jack. "So, that's your mother's background, huh?" Katelyn nodded her head as she looked at Jack. 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗o𝚟𝚎𝚕.org
Jack simply smiled wryly. He looked at her as he shrugged, "I only knew about this only recently. Otherwise, I never would have known that my mother had such a background."
Jack paused for a moment before he continued. "You know, since I grew up, till I was nineteen, I never knew my mother's surname, let alone background. I have only recently known about that due to the letter that she had left for me."
Katelyn nodded. She too knew Anne as Anne, nothing more than that. She had tried getting information about Anne's background. But in the end, seeing that she had no intention of mentioning it, Katelyn gave up on that, thinking that perhaps there was something that made Anne move away from her maternal home.
And if that something wasn't pleasant, she wasn't willing to bring it up if it would keep on ruining the good mood that they were sharing.
Celine on the other hand went ahead and hugged Jack. She was feeling the pain for Jack, just imagining about not knowing about his mother and losing her as well. This was something that she couldn't imagine how it felt.
But all the same, she didn't want to experience it. She now just wanted to comfort Jack. She knew that although Jack was now smiling, he was just like any other man.
He would hide the pain that he was feeling deep in his heart as he tried putting on a strong front when he was together with other people.
In the end, due to the chests of men carrying a lot, they end up aging faster, getting depressed in that they end up as alcoholics. There were even some situations where there were people that committed a homicide or suicide.
All the same, she didn't want Jack to be one of them. Even though she knew that he wasn't going to say it loud and neither was he going to show it, she would try making him tell her what he felt, in this way, she could relieve him off the pain in his heart.
Thinking of this, she hugged him Even tighter. Since they were sitting on the couch, she could only hug him from the side. Although it is said that she was hugging him, it was like she was snuggling into his arms like a kitten.
Even though she was in front of her mother, she wasn't the least afraid that she would scold her for showing her affection for Jack in front of her.
Since she had approved of the relationship between the two of them, she thought that there was nothing wrong. Additionally, it was just a hug, nothing big really.
Jack on the other hand had no issues of being intimate with Celine. With his memories of her in place, he didn't feel strange as they did many things together during their childhood in that they would be embarrassed if they were said out loud.
Faith was surprised that the two of them were hugging each other. And that too in front of Katelyn.
As Faith had worked under Katelyn before she was assigned to Celine, she knew Katelyn's personality when it came to Celine. She was a strict mother and would definitely not allow such intimate actions during working hours.
But now, other than looking at the two for a while before shifting her gaze somewhere else, she didn't say anything else. And to say the truth, Faith had been expecting that Katelyn was going to scold the two of them.
But, remembering that Katelyn knew about Jack and knew about his mother, she kind of understood. Then, she narrowed her eyes as she looked at the two who were publicly showing their affection for each other and thought.
'It seems that my previous assumptions were right. These two definitely knew each other before they met in Inchoate city. And, they were trying to play some game on me all along.'
'It is no wonder that their relationship progressed faster than ordinary ones. And, the way that they were talking and laughing with each other, that was something that those who had met a few days ago don't do.'
'Sharing the secrets, although not deep ones, but sharing them all the same, this, I just don't know why they were playing around.' Faith analyzed the situation in her mind.
"Jack, are you alright?" Celine asked in a low tone.
Although he was confused, Jack still nodded his head and replied, "Of course I am. Was I supposed to not be okay?" In the end, he asked.
Celine raised her head from Jack's chest and stared into his eyes. She could see the confusion on his face. She thumped his chest with her soft fist and said, "Idiot, I'm talking about the issue concerning your mother. Are you really okay?"
Jack finally understood where Celine was coming from. Previously when she heard that Jack's mother had died, although she felt sorry for Jack, she didn't have that much deep feelings for Anne as she didn't remember her at all.
But now, things were completely different. She had regained her memories of Jack and as such, she could remember about Anne. So, it was true that she felt that she had lost a lot due to the lack of Anne's presence in her life now.
Now that she had received the news that Jack's mother was dead, she now had the feelings of getting something that she loved being snatched from her.
Now, even she felt a pang of pain in her heart when Jack's mother, her aunt, died. Now, what about the direct victim, the person that had lost his mother himself.
Thinking of this, she wanted to share the burden that Jack was facing with him. That was the reason as to why she had asked if he was okay.
"You don't need to worry about this at all." Jack caressed Celine's hair as he pulled a strand of her hair behind her ears.
"You know you can talk to me if you have anything in mind, right?" Seeing that Jack wasn't willing to talk about it, Celine could only give up temporarily. She would have to look for him later once they were alone.
"I know that. But, there is no need for you to worry about anything. I'm fine. You know, I have faced the truth that my mother was dead for over four years now. So, even if I'm talking about it now, that doesn't change the fact that I already faced the truth." Jack stated.
Hearing his words, Celine stared deep into his eyes. She could see the sincerity in them and she could tell that he was speaking the truth.
But at the same time, she was blaming herself that she wasn't there at the moment that he needed her the most.
Living in a place like the Alfonso mansion, where everyone ostracized him, and that too being the moment that he had lost his mother, that was indeed a hard time on him.
That was also not to mention that Jack was only fifteen years old back then. He must have undergone a lot of psychological pressure due to the loss of someone important to him, as well as the mocking from the half siblings and cousins in the mansion.
Seeing the way that Celine's eyes had turned and they were slightly glazed, Jack was surprised. But then, he saw the sadness that was in her eyes as well as the self blame.
Jack wanted to comfort her and tell her that this wasn't her fault when he was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing her throat.
"Ahem, you two can continue with your lovey-dovey moment later. Cam we talk about serious things now?" Katelyn asked as she looked at her daughter and Jack who were still hugging on the couch.
Jack nodded in response. And seeing that her mother was quite serious, Celine also got out of Jack's embrace and sat properly as she waited for her mother to talk.
Seeing that she had managed to garner the attention of the two, Katelyn's expression turned solemn as she spoke, "Jack, what is going to happen between you and that Arthur? From what I have heard about him, I know for sure that his background isn't small."
"And from the conversation that he was having with that…. Johnathan, I could tell that there was a relationship with him. So, can you tell me how we are going to handle the situation?"
Jack knew what Katelyn was worried about. Arthur, that was someone from the Jesda family. And from the words that Celine and Faith had used to describe to Katelyn about the Jesda family, she knew that this was a family that wasn't supposed to be messed with.
But now, Arthur had targeted her daughter and, he had been beaten up in her office. Without a doubt, she could tell that Jack must have beaten him or something when they left the building.
So, it was out of question that Arthur would try to seek revenge. What really worried Katelyn was the fact that Jack and Celine would be targeted. She wasn't afraid if Arthur went for her, but she was extremely afraid that he would go after the two.
"Aunt, there's no need for you to worry about that. I have already dealt with Arthur, temporarily. So, you can be assured that he won't be coming back in a few months time." Jack replied.
"As for how I'm going to handle the background and so, I already planned to deal with his father. So, we can just say that this is called preponing the plans that I previously had." Jack stated with his eyes turning cold.
"As for how I'm going to handle the background and so, I already planned to deal with his father. So, we can just say that this is called preponing the plans that I previously had." Jack stated with his eyes turning cold.
Since it seems that he had to deal with Arthur's father as early as now, then Jack won't shy away from this opportunity or challenge. Jonathan had already ruined his plans to meet with the Jesda family only after he was sure that he could destroy them as long as they tried messing with him.
Although he didn't mind being confused with Jonathan as long as the confusion wouldn't need him into problems, he was quite tired of it. If the members of the Jesda family could know that he and Jonathan were lookalikes, then it would be make things better for him.
As for the situation where his mother was being condemned for running away from home, he didn't care at all. As long as he found one person who dared to badmouth his mother, he would make sure that he dealt with them properly.
Katelyn looked at Jack with surprise in her eyes. She had already known about the influence that Arthur had, and that was just relying on the background that he was having.
But now, Jack was confidently saying that he was going to deal with the background that was supporting Arthur. Although she wasn't sure who Arthur's father was, she was sure that he was a big shot.
"Are you sure about what you are saying Jack?" Katelyn asked worriedly.
"Don't worry aunt, I am confident in doing whatever I'm saying. Furthermore, it is just dealing with a single person and not the whole family. But if the whole family dares to try backing him up, I don't mind dealing with them as well." Jack stated calmly.
Katelyn looked at Jack. She wasn't sure where his confidence was coming from. She wasn't even sure if this was confidence or stupidity.
From what Faith and Celine had informed her of Jack, she knew that Jack wasn't depending on the Jesda family. But now there was a question in her mind, how on Earth did Jack become so rich? Even richer than her!
She could still remember that they had parted only a few years ago. And within those five years or more, she was sure that it wasn't enough for Jack to build such big influence.
As for Anne doing all of this in secret before passing away, this was something that she didn't even consider. If it was true that Anne could do such a thing, then why would she stay away from her sister for over two decades?
Not knowing what was going on in Katelyn's mind, Jack got to his feet and decided that it was time for him to leave. Arthur's incident had reminded him of Collins.
That was something that he was planning to handle at this exact moment that he was going to leave. As for the lackeys that he had, there were only a few days before the timeline that he had given them expired.
Since he was sure that they were going to fail to fulfill their end of the bargain, he could as well start the preparation as of now.
He had already shifted the plants that he was having. He no longer planned to make them bankrupt, instead, he was planning to have all their wealth and assets at the least price possible.
At the end of the day, making the bankrupt would not benefit him in any way. He might as well use their wealth to boost the net worth of the Gravy family. He was sure that as long as the Gravy family was counted as one of the richest families, then they will no longer be in trouble with small fries.
And even though he had given Celine and her mother the body strengthening solution, that didn't mean that she wasn't worried about the safety at all. Although they were going to be strong, in case they were attacked using bullets or even a bomb, their lives would be at stake.
"Jack, let me walk you out." Celine offered before she followed Jack out of the office. The two ladies who were left inside the office began talking and making assumptions of what Jack was planning to do.
"Faith, you have been with Jack for a while now, since he got the way he is now I mean, do you think he has the capabilities of dealing with Arthur's father?" Katelyn asked with a frown creased on her face.
It wasn't that she wasn't confident in Jack's ability, it was just that she was worried about him. This had clouded her judgement to see that Jack could already make Arthur fear him.
Arthur wasn't someone who was strong, instead, it was his background that was strong. And this was the exact reason as to why Arthur was confident in dealing with the problems that he was facing or creating.
But, if even he was scared, didn't that mean that he wasn't confident that the background that he was having, wasn't capable enough of dealing with the problem that he was currently facing?
"Mrs. Katelyn, although I don't know Jack's full capabilities at the moment, I can fully assure you that, I have never seen Jack act if he wasn't confident enough." Faith replied. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝑛𝘦𝘵
"Faith, I told you not to refer to me formally as long as we are alone. You don't have to be so uptight." Katelyn stated as she looked at Faith.
"Okay aunt." This was the way that Katelyn had asked her to be referring to her, as long as they were alone or they were not at work.
Since she graduated, Faith had been working under Katelyn. Katelyn had already made herself clear that, she was nurturing her so that she could help her daughter in the future in terms of managing the business.
And, it wasn't like they had met only after Faith had graduated from the University. Instead, Katelyn was the one who had sponsored Faith's high school education.
"Now that's better." Katelyn nodded her head in satisfaction. Then she began thinking about what Faith had said. In the end, she could only release a heavy sigh before stating, "I hope that everything goes well."
….
Jack and Celine walked out of the office under the scrutinizing gazes of the staff members. These people was still curious about what had really occurred inside the office. But in the end, they were so embarrassed to ask about it when they were not willing to give out any assistance.
Of course, the duo ignored their gazes and headed for the elevator. When they got inside, Celine hugged Jack again. Jack was quite surprised by her action.
Although he wasn't sure as to why she had decided to hug him like that, he didn't think much of it. But then, Celine's question made him realize what or why she had decided to hug him.
"Jack, after I take the body strengthening solution, I would need to undergo training so that I can have the skills to protect myself. I don't want to be a burden to you." Celine stated.
"But as you know, I don't know anyone other than you and Jonathan who can train me in the combat skills. So, could you please take me in as your student?" Celine continued as she looked directly into Jack's eyes.
Jack looked back at her, and, he could see that she had some longing, longing for power. She seemed determined to do what she was saying.
In the end, Jack chuckled as he ruffled her hair. "What are you thinking? Did you perhaps forget about someone?"
Celine look at Jack confusedly. She thought for a while if there was someone who could train her in the combat sector. In the end, she could only shake her head and look at Jack, "I don't think I forgot to mention anyone who knows how to fight and can teach me."
"Aren't you forgetting about Denali so easily?" Jack questioned amusedly.
It was only then that Celine remembered of the incident that had happened when she was kidnapped by Collins and his lackeys. At that time, at a fast speed, Denali had broken the hands of all those that were holding her down.
That was definitely not something that anyone can do. Not only did one need to have strength, but that person definitely needed to have skills so that he or she could manage to deal with the group.
Celine pouted as she responded to Jack, "Denali is always busy. So I don't want to disturb her."
Ever since she received her memories of the time that she had spent with Jack in their childhood, she had gotten even more intimate with Jack. Now, even the expressions that she was trying to hide previously, were easily revealed without even herself knowing it.
"You do look cute when you do that." Jack chuckled. "I can free Denali so that she can train you easily."
"No, I guess I better go and ask Jonathan to train me instead." Celine responded.
Hearing her words, Jack immediately knew that she was trying to rile him up. All the same, he decided to play along. "If he accepts to do that, I'll make sure that after every training session that you have with him, I'll beat him up."
"You are jealous, aren't you?" Celine looked at him as she questioned with a smile on her face.
"Not really, I'm quite possessive and protective." Jack shrugged.
"So, when is the training starting?" Celine smiled even wider after hearing Jack's words. And although Jack had not stated that he was the one going to train her, there was no need for him to say anything because she knew that he wasn't going to allow another person to do that.
And she was right, Jack responded, "Just tell me the time that you are free. I'll make sure to train you all I can."
"Okay then, I'll have to ask my mother about arranging a different schedule for my training." Celine stated as she got out of his embrace. The elevator had already got into the ground floor.
"What do you think about training your mother and Faith after I have finished training you?" Jack questioned as they stepped out of the elevator.
"That's a great idea. I want to see how my mother will be like when she is my student." Celine chuckled at the thought.
"Is this all the information that you have on Jack?" A man who was wearing a military uniform questioned it looked at the documents that he was holding in his hands.
These were the exact documents that Valnaro had been reading when he was in his office. They contained the information about Jack that have been obtained after a whole week's effort.
He had already submitted his report about Jack to his immediate superior. At the moment that Jack delivered the body strengthening solution, it was the moment that the higher-ups decided to have a meeting with him.
They had already seen the magic that the solution did. The fifty bottles that Jack had delivered to them were given to the soldiers that had the highest merits. All of these soldiers were injured during the war with another nation.
And since they could not be treated due to the current level of the medical technology, they had been forced to retire early. But now, with the assistance of the body strengthening solution, these soldiers were now back on their feet and were stronger than they were previously.
This had immediately made all the higher-ups of the military to cause a commotion. They had called for a meeting immediately after the results were seen.
Although during the time that Valnaro was presenting the opportunities that Jack had granted them, they were several people who were against the idea, once the results were out, they were amongst the first ones to rush towards Valnaro, trying to get all the information that they could about Jack.
In the end, due to the intervention of Valnaro's superior, all those that were pestering him for information about Jack were forced to stop.
After that, all the 50 people who had taken the solution were placed under observation for the past 2 days. And on this specific day, they had confirmed that there were no side effects of taking the solution.
Of course, this was only after numerous tests that were conducted by the best doctors that the military had. When they confirmed that there were no changes that had been caused by the solution, other than the strengthening of the body cells, they were immediately ecstatic.
This was the reason as to why Valnaro was standing in front of his immediate superior, giving the report about Jack.
"Yes sir!" Valnaro replied confidently. Before he submitted the report, he had made sure to do all the research that could be done on Jack.
Although he couldn't find that much information on Jack as long as it was related to the information was on the net or computers.
He had even sent a few people to the companies that he had found that Jack was the owner to do some investigation. But, what had surprised him was the fact that, there were very few people that knew about him. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
The only way that he could get information about Jack was through the higher ups of the company. But in the end, they got very limited information about Jack from those that were in the top management of the companies.
These people had tight lips and they only revealed the basic information about Jack. No matter what means they used to get the information, giving money and so on, these people said nothing.
In fact, the moment that they realized that the people were asking about Jack, and they specifically weren't interested in business talks, these people made sure to completely forget about giving the information.
There were even the situations where these people sent away those that were asking of Jack's information.
But of course, it wasn't like Valnaro had just sent anyone to go and ask about Jack. It was obvious that if someone that you didn't know suddenly came to you and asked about the information of your boss, you would send that person away immediately.
So, Valnaro had made sure to investigate all the people that were in the top management of GVSL, Glaze Hotel and Hope hospital. After that, he looked for the people that were closely related to them and paid them to look for information.
But of course, he made sure not to reveal the information that he was from the military. But all the same, the information that he had received was limited, nothing much, not much different from the one that he had gotten before.
What Valnaro didn't know was the fact that, there were even a few higher-ups that didn't know much about Jack. Although he was the boss of the companies or the hotel, he had only visited them once or twice.
That was apart from GVSL that he was quite involved with. And, Tracy had gotten much information about him. But still, she didn't reveal any information about Jack.
"Although it's not as detailed as I wanted, it should be enough to tell me that this Jack isn't someone that can be considered as a threat." The major stated as he squinted his eyes.
Although there was information about Jack and the body strengthening solution, they had made sure not to reveal the information about that to the whole military in the country.
Even in the military, there was competition. And since the number of body strengthening solution that could be delivered to them was limited, they couldn't accept the other garrisons to know about this as of now.
There were several competitions that involved different garrisons that were located in different parts of the country.
The one that was stationed in the central province were the ones that had gotten the deal with Jack.
And since they were located in the central province, they were the ones that were considered weak as compared to the other garrisons.
Although they were stationed in the central province, that didn't mean that they didn't participate in the war. They were assigned missions at different times according to the needs or the situation.
As for the competition for Jack's information, that was a competition between the majors that were involved. There were three majors in the garrison, all of them were headed by a colonel.
"That I have ascertained sir! I did all I could to get the information on him or the opinions that those that had met him had on him! All of them were positive, apart from his family who seems not to like him at all!" Valnaro replied.
At this moment, there wasn't even a hint if air of superiority that was there when he led his soldiers to the glaze hotel. Now, he was subservient. This was mainly due to the respect that he had for this superior of his.
"Hmm, I guess I'll have to speak with the colonel to see if we can pull him in. If he joins our garrison, the there's no doubt that we would be strong enough to deal with the incoming tournament." The major nodded his head as he stated.
Upon hearing this, Valnaro's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't help but ask, "Is that necessary sir?! From my impression of Jack when I met him, although he isn't the type that would betray our country, I can tell that he is someone who deals with things according to benefits."
"He agreed to have a deal of supplying us the body strengthening solution because he saw an opportunity to benefit from it. And now, I don't think that he would agree to leave his freedom so that he can join the military." Valnaro stated his points.
"What was his strength level from your evaluation or from those… videos that you brought from the hotel?" The major asked.
"I can say that he is by far the strongest person that I have ever met before. He even has a personal assistant who is just as strong." Valnaro replied.
"I'm not talking just about physical strength, I'm referring to him as a whole. Anything that can be considered as his strength." The major corrected.
"That, he is very strong. Other than physically, he has a team of experts that can do things that even those that are in our entire garrison cannot accomplish. As for financially, with 'that' group as his backing, there is no doubt that he is strong as well." Valnaro replied honestly.
"Then, what do you think if we want to recruit the experts that are under him?" Major asked.
"I tried it already but he seems to have no intention of letting go of them. From the answer that he gave back then, it was clear that he wasn't intending on releasing part of his strength." Valnaro replied. Though, he was wondering where the conversation was heading towards.
"Then, what do you think will happen the moment that he joins our garrison?" Major asked. A smile appeared on his ever serious face.
At this moment, Valnaro finally caught onto what the major was trying to imply. His eyes shone with surprise and realization.
Seeing his reaction, the major nodded. He then stated, "That's right. If we manage to recruit him, there would be no problems if we want to use his experts at all."
"In other words, we would be having a better deal with the body strengthening solution, perhaps we might even gain the formula of the production. Then, theirs is a fact that he himself is a strong warrior and he can make a good soldier as long as he follows the military routine."
"And then, what about him sharing his skills with the soldiers here? He would definitely be able to raise the quality of soldiers here in tandem with the body strengthening solution that would be improving their physical qualities."
Valnaro nodded his head when he heard the majors analysis. But at the same time, he was quite skeptical that Jack could accept to join the military.
After all, the way that Jack had handled his vice captain when he had provoked him was enough to show that Jack didn't know the issue of a superior or not. He was someone that only discussed with those that had the strength to be on the same level as him.
He expressed his doubts to the major. On the other hand, the major smiled as he spoke confidently, "You don't need to worry about that. As long as the colonel approves of this, there would be no problem at all. Since he is someone that deals with benefits, we can simply offer him benefits that he can't refuse."
After leaving Angels' Prominence, he immediately went back to his villa. He had to prepare a training schedule for Celine.
Since he himself was already a professional when it came to combat, then it wasn't something hard for him to instruct Celine on the fighting techniques.
Although he had previously been asking Celine about choosing other people to train her, he was obviously joking with her.
There was definitely no way that he was going to lose this chance that he could use to stay with Celine. Furthermore, he could enjoy her company as he trained her.
When he got to the villa in the serenity residential area, he got to work. He started planning the right way that he would start training Celine.
He had to make sure that she was good to go in the least time possible. And although he wanted to speed things up for her training, that was for the basics.
In the other areas, it would need a long period of time. So basically, whatever Jack wanted at the moment was to make sure that Celine was capable of utilizing the strength that came along with the consumption of the body strengthening solution.
After about ten minutes, Jack had come up with a good training schedule. Since Celine would already be physically fit, there was no need for the physical training and so on.
The only that was required was to simply train her skills and reaction to different situations and attacks.
After he was done, Jack decided that it was time for him to deal with other things. With Arthur currently out of the picture, he was going to deal with Collins.
Unlike the lackeys that he had given them a chance that they could use to redeem themselves, he wasn't going to give Collins a single chance at all.
At the end of the day, if his plans had succeeded back then, Celine wouldn't have had another chance. So, he was going to be merciless just like Collins had planned to be like.
Now then, he took out his overly expensive laptop. It was time that he used this thing that he had bought. He had spent a total of $3.5M to acquire it.
Looking back to his decision to buy the expensive laptop that was present on the online market, Jack shook his head. He wasn't sure if it was just that the wealth that he had recently gained that had gotten over his head or what.
But to think that he had spent so much money to acquire a laptop whose price was higher due to the fact that it had diamonds on it. He had to agree that he truly was idiotic back then.
All the same, he had decided that he was the one that was going to handle Collins' family personally. He had already given Denali a lot of work and he thought that it was time for her to rest.
Furthermore, she too had her life. He was supposed to create some time for her so that she could at least go back home and visit her family.
Placing the laptop in front of him, Jack took a deep breath. He decided that it was finally time for him to use the opportunity that he had received from the system to chose a skill that he wanted.
This was the chance that he had gotten after earning his first buck from playing basketball that was organized by Johnathan.
The first skill that came in his mind was computer mastery. This was the thing that had been disturbing him back in the days that he was still in the university.
Although he knew some of the basics of using the computer, there were a lot of things that he was still missing. And, he wasn't willing to miss the things now.
He had learnt the Automation engineering. This was something that involved technology. And as a result, there were a lot of calculations that couldn't be done by a simple calculator.
Instead, they required a computer for that to happen. This had troubled him back then. And this was the exact reason as to why he didn't want to engage with the numbers as this reminded him of how hectic it had been for him back in campus.
And since that was the first thing that came in his mind, Jack chose it immediately. 'Angel, I would like to acquire the same skill, computer mastery.' Jack stated in his mind.
[Confirm that you want to use the free skill slot for computer mastery?]
'Confirm that.' Jack replied without a hint of hesitation.
[Confirmed. The skill slot is used. Computer mastery acquired….Ingraining the skill into the hosts mind and body….The host will feel slightly uncomfortable.]
The moment that Angel's voice faded, Jack suddenly felt that his brain was being overloaded. This was by far the most uncomfortable feeling that he had gotten since the time that he had gotten the system.
Even when he got the professional combat and professional basketball and driving skills, he didn't feel this way at all.
Had to not been for the fact that his mind had been strengthened further due to the fact that he was a professional combatant with great mental strength and will, he might have passed out.
Jack was now wondering why the system was undermining things. This was definitely not slight discomfort. This was great discomfort!
At the same moment, Jack felt that there was a load of information that was being dumped into his mind at that point. The things that he previously didn't understand were now becoming more clear at the moment.
The codes that Denali had been typing when Jack was observing her, the things that didn't make sense to him, were now as easy as 1+1.
In the end, Jack could only close his eyes as he tried digesting the information that was coming in his mind. At the same time he tried ignoring the discomfort feeling that he was getting. be𝚍nove𝚕.com
His hands began twitching and so did his body muscles. Without even he himself noticing it, he had changed his seating posture. Then, the muscle memory was altered by the system as Jack continued digesting the information and making sure that he understood them completely.
This went on for almost an hour. And then, Jack finally opened his eyes that shone with a strange golden glint that vanished in the next second as if it were never there to begin with.
Jack took a deep breath as he finally felt that the burden that was on his mind had finally been lifted. He got to his feet and did a few stretches before sitting back on the coach.
He then thought of something and asked, 'Angel, why is it that I'm the only one that felt uncomfortable during the time that I was receiving the skill while Denali was just fine when the skill was being ingrained into her?'
[You'll have to understand that there is a great difference between the two of you. Denali was receiving an ability, this was akin to something that she had gained naturally.]
[And although it is being referred to as an ability, it's still a skill. The reason as to why it's called an ability is due to the fact that, unlike you who received the memories, Denali could do that naturally.]
[Furthermore, during the time that she was being given the ability, she didn't really know about that at all. At that moment, there was an alteration in her mind. And as a result, she didn't notice that there was something that was added to her mind at all.]
Jack was left speechless for a moment. He then shook his head in the end. He had been wondering why the system had not done the same thing as it did with Denali.
But in the end, just thinking about the alterations in the mind and memories, he gave up on that idea. He had already had his memories messed with.
Although he didn't know how the person that had done it did it, he really didn't wish to forget about the things that he thought important to him.
Jack then shifted his attention to the laptop that was in front of him. But, he was surprised to find that the laptop was different from the way that it was before.
Jack was sure that there was no way that he was hallucinating or something. So, there either had to be a problem with the laptop or there was a problem with his eyes.
Just then, Angel's voice reached him.
[It's not that you are hallucinating or there have been any changes to the laptop in front of you. It's just that there is a change in the way that you can see things that are related to computers.]
[I believe that you have realized that the computer mastery that you have gotten doesn't simply involve the software, it also involves the hardware. Even the procedure of putting together a laptop or computer as long as you have all the required parts is in you right now.]
[As such, different from the other people, as long as the thing that you are looking at is related to a computer, you will enter a condition where your eyes will change.]
[In other words, you can see through anything that is computer related. If it's a problem, a firewall and so on, that is something that you can fix in a matter of seconds.]
Jack was stunned. He had never expected that the skill that he had received from the system would be so overpowered.
It was true that he had received all the information about the computers, both hardware and software.
He could even put together the computer or laptop as long as he got all the parts. It was just that he didn't have the knowledge of how to manufacture these parts.
In other words, he would have to buy the already manufactured parts so that he could put together a laptop or computer. Although he was sad that he didn't get that knowledge and skills to do that, he really didn't feel that bad.
[The longer that you have a free skill slot to select a skill, the better the skill that you would receive in the future. Host, please keep that in mind.]
Jack: "…..F*CK!"
[The longer that you have a free skill slot to select a skill, the better the skill that you would receive in the future. Host, please keep that in mind.]
Jack: "…..F*CK!"
Jack couldn't help but curse at the system for the first time as long as he could remember. This was the first time that if he could, he really wished that he could get a hold of Angel and give him or…it, a beating that it deserved.
[There's no need for you to throw profanities around. I was just giving you a suggestion. There's no need to thank me, but you are welcome anyway.]
"Reminder your father! Suggestion your grandfather! Thank your head!" Jack cursed further, this time, he was even louder that he was before. If there was someone around his villa, that person would have surely been scared by the loud voice that reverberated throughout the whole villa.
[….?]
The system didn't reply to Jack's cursing at all. This agitated Jack further. He really wanted to just pull the system from wherever in his head it was located, then, he would pull that guide that called itself angel, he would then strangle it while hitting it on the head to make sure that the brain that wasn't in position got back in place.
All the same, knowing that there was nothing that he could do than to vent his anger and frustration using his words, Jack let out a deep sigh before asking.
'Angel, why didn't you tell me such a crucial detail before I used the chance that I had gotten before?'
[Eh? Was I supposed to tell you that?]
'Of course you f*cking were supposed to tell me such an important thing the moment that I received the reward. Why else are you called a guide if you can't even guide me on the ways to utilize the system to the maximum.
[To utilize the system to the maximum, you'll first have to start by upgrading the level of your authority to the second level….]
'Just shut that already. You said that I would be able to access more features in the future as long as I upgraded my level of authority, I know that! So, don't try changing the topic, just tell me why you didn't tell me such a crucial detail?' Jack interrupted the guide from continuing.
[You should know the basics. Just like wine, the longer that it stays, the better it becomes in terms of quality, taste and as a result, there is an increase in price.]
'Oh yeah? You should know the basics as well. If you keep milk for a long time, it will end up having its shelf life coming to an end. And not to mention an increase in price, I doubt that there is someone that would be willing to pay a cent for that milk!' Jack retorted.
[Host, please don't relate the system rewards to foodstuffs.]
'Talking as if wine isn't considered part of food.' Jack didn't back down at all.
[….]
Jack was breathing heavily at this point. It might seem that he was just coming from a marathon. But instead, he was just so angry that his breathing had gotten so ragged.
If he had known that there was such a thing, were the wine principal was applied, he really wouldn't have wasted the skill slot that he had just utilized.
Yes, he now considered that he had simply wasted the skill slot that he had been given as a reward for the first income in the basketball game.
If he had known about the wine principal, he would have made sure to keep the reward that he ad received from the system as long as possible. In this way, in case there would be an emergency, he would be able to use that slot to acquire better skills.
As for how he was going to handle Collins and his family, there was Denali. He could have used her computer mastery so that he could do whatever he was planning on doing.
As for what Denali was busy with, he could have replaced her with Ayush or he might have as well have done it himself. At the end of the day, just a few hours or a day of working wasn't something that he couldn't afford, right?
And, this was to consider that there was a good reward that came with the 'sacrifice' that he would have to make. So, he didn't think that this was hard at all.
But now, the chance was gone. It was something that he had already utilized. So, he didn't think that he could get the slot back….
Jack's thoughts paused for a moment as he reached this point. 'Angel, is it possible for you to take back the computer mastery that the system just granted me?'
'Angel, I would like to acquire the same skill, computer mastery.'
[Confirm that you want to use the free skill slot for computer mastery?]
'Confirm that.' 𝐛𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦
[Confirmed. The skill slot is used. Computer mastery acquired….Ingraining the skill into the hosts mind and body….The host will feel slightly uncomfortable.]
Jack: "?$# ?"
Jack stated blankly at the screen that was floating in front of him. It was displaying the conversation that they had been having, he and Angel, just before he acquired the new skill…that he was no longer so happy about.
"Is the system experiencing micro failures or macro failures? I think this might be…" Jack's words were interrupted by the system's guide.
[That was the conversation that we had during the time that you had decided that you wanted to use skill slot that was available to you.]
"So?" Jack inquired.
[As you can see, I asked for your confirmation first. That means that the decision was irreversible once it was taken. That was the exact reason as to why I had to make sure that you were sure about your choice and give you a chance to change it in case you thought that it wouldn't be a good choice.]
Jack: "…"
'Aren't you an almighty guide of the almighty system? Don't tell me that you can't reverse the situation where the skill that was granted to me could be taken back so that I can receive my skill slot back?' Jack taunted.
[Who said that it's impossible to do that. It's just that, the process of doing that is painful. Furthermore, this might have an impact on your memories as well as your body.]
Upon receiving the system's reply, Jack immediately threw away the thought of having the system undo what was already done.
There was one thing that he knew for sure. It was that, the system, for some reason, it was understating things. It said that he would feel slightly uncomfortable. In the end, even with his improved mentality, he had felt very uncomfortable.
Now that it was saying that it would be painful, and not slightly painful, Jack believed that this kind of pain wasn't something that a mere mortal like him to could handle.
Then, an effect on his memories and body, since there was also no mention of 'slight', Jack didn't dare to take the gamble. He might end up forgetting about everything that he currently knew.
As for his body, would it become elastic? Would it break down, maybe the cellular state of his body would be altered! That was another thing that he didn't want to risk at all.
But, although he had given up on the matter of gaining back the slot, that didn't mean that he had given up on making sure that he got the benefits that he deserved.
'Now then, that's not my fault. Why would I want to suffer when I'm not the one that made the mistake? Still, you have to look for a way to compensate me for this.' Jack said with great resolve.
[….]
The system went silent. Seconds passed, a minute went by, still no sound from the system. Another minute went by, there was still nothing. Five minutes went by, Jack began getting impatient.
Just as ten minutes were about to elapse, Jack decided that he couldn't hold it anymore and decided to test to see whether the system was present or not.
But before he could even form the words in his mind, another system prompt appeared in front of him alongside Angel's voice that echoed in his mind.
[The corrections have been made. The operation of the system had been slightly been altered due to the changes that have been made on the system program.]
[Since the host was able to spot the mistake that was made by the system's guide, the system has decided to not only offer compensation, but to offer a reward as well for the corrections that have been made.]
Before Jack could even understand what was going on, another system prompt appeared.
[You have been rewarded two more skill slots. And, the conditions of the slots are exactly the same as the one that the host utilized.]
eaglesnov?1,сoМ [In other words, if the host decides to use any of the two slots that have been granted to him to acquire computer mastery, he would be able to get the computer mastery at the same level as the one that he currently posses.]
Jack went silent for a few seconds. Then, a broad smile bloomed on his face. Although it would have been even better with three skill slots that could continue improving the level of the skills that he could draw next, it wasn't bad to have two, right?
Kidding. Jack was completely ecstatic that, not only had he maintained the skill that he had received from the system, but he had also gotten two more slots that he could use to acquire even more skills.
It was just that this time, he wasn't planning on using any of the skill slots that easily. As long as there was an alternative, he would definitely seek the alternative so that he could continue buying more time for the skills to evolve.
'System, you are indeed an almighty system. Angel, you are a good guide as well. So, you'll have to make sure that you maintain your image as the best system guide.' Jack chuckled as he flattered.
No sooner had Jack completed what he was saying than he received another system's prompt that made his expression turn.
'System, you are indeed an almighty system. Angel, you are a good guide as well. So, you'll have to make sure that you maintain your image as the best system guide.' Jack chuckled as he flattered. 𝒷ℯ𝒹𝓃𝓸𝓿ℯ𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝓶
No sooner had Jack completed what he was saying than he received another system's prompt that made his expression turn.
[Changes have now been made. Now, there will be things that the host will have to find out all by himself by testing them out. Although the host might receive the system's guide tips, it is not something that happen.]
[This is all so that the host can put in more effort and work harder.]
Jack was fuming at this point. What the system was basically saying was that it would no longer give him the hints like the one that he had just received previously. If he didn't receive such important hints, how was he supposed to exploit the system to the limit.
After all, although it was true that there was an introduction when he received the system, he didn't know about all the features that the system had. Jack had to complain about this as well. 'Angel, you are not serious about what you are telling me right? There are things that I definitely don't even know about. So, how am I supposed to exploit this gap at all?'
[There have already been changes that have already been made by the system. And among the changes is the fact that the system will no longer compromise in its decisions. As such, you shouldn't expect that the system will make any changes at all.]
[Just as it was stated before, you'll have to exploit the system features on your own from now on. To get any more clues on what you are supposed to do, you will have to upgrade the level of your authority to the second level. In this way, there will be a lot of things that you can finally access from the system]
Jack didn't give up. He had lost quite a lot of things due to the changes that the system had made. Although he had gained two slots for the skills, he didn't think that this was enough compensation for all that he was losing.
But before he could even say a word, the system beat him to it.
[You shouldn't ask about how you are supposed to gain the knowledge on what you are supposed to do. You are supposed to exploit the system on your own. And the best means to do that would be for you to work hard in earning more money. Remember, there are always first income rewards that come every first time that you earn the money from different activities.]
Jack understood what the system was trying to imply to him. Just like the way that he had gotten the free skill slot that he could select a skill of his liking, he could as well engage himself in the activities that would make him earn money from those fields. In this way, he could gain several slots
And as he utilized them, he would come to realize that he would be getting better skills as long as he had the slots for a long period of time.
But still, to Jack, this was nothing than a waste of the precious skill slots that he would be receiving. 'Is there really no other way for me to work harder while still receiving the hints about what I'm supposed to do?' Jack asked for the last time.
[No compromise about this host. The changes have already been made and there is no way that another change is going to be made without any specific reasonable reason.]
In the end, Jack could only sigh as he set aside the thoughts about making the system change the decision that it had made. But, he had already made a resolution at that moment.
Since the system wanted him to work harder, then that was just what he was going to do. He was going to make sure that he abused the system to the limits that it could allow. And maybe if possible, he would surpass the limits that it would set for him.
All this while, he had been so lenient with the system. He would now have to make sure that all the features that could be used in the first level of his authority was used. In this way, he would be able to fulfill the final condition of upgrading his authority to the second level.
'I have already fulfilled the condition that I'm supposed to have a girlfriend, right?' Jack asked in his mind.
[That's right. Two of the three conditions have already been fulfilled. The only remaining condition that has yet to be fulfilled is the one that concerns the five companies under you.]
With the confirmation from the system, he could now focus on what he had originally intended on doing. That was dealing with Collins' family.
Since they were not his competitors but his enemies, he wasn't ready to play with them at all. He was going to use the method that he would find the easiest and fastest in dealing with them.
The first thing that he would have to do would be to get all the information that he could get on them. He had to make sure that he got the information about their wealth, backing and so on.
That's right, he had decided that he would destroy any backing of theirs that would try to get themselves involved in this. It didn't matter to him who it was. Even if it was the government, the current one could always be replaced by another in a democratic country like Azima.
So, he took the laptop and placed it on his lap. What followed that was that he began typing several codes. With the help of the muscle memory plus the memories that had been ingrained in his mind, he was fast enough to right several lines of codes in just a matter of seconds.
Of course, the high speed was also due to the high speed that came with the professional combat ability plus the boost of taking the body strengthening solution.
Jack continued typing on the laptop and slowly but surely, he was able to break through several firewalls and the information about Collins and his family were revealed to him. Just to note, Jack didn't start hacking from blank. Instead, he had already gotten several pieces of information about Collins and his family.
With all this information in place, he was able to get the information that he wanted easily. Had he had not been having these pieces of information, he would have been forced to take the longest route to get all this information.
Jack had decided that he was going to use the shortest means possible to destroy Collins' family. So, to get all the information about them as fast as possible, he had decided to go to the place where all the information about the citizens was stored.
It was referred to as the information tower. This was a company that was reputed to be having the most information about each and every citizen in the country. But of course, this wasn't a private company, instead, it was owned and controlled by the government's ministry of public information.
As expected, all the servers of the company were protected tightly by several firewalls that were created by the best of the best experts in net security in the country. The servers were protected tightly because, once the information that was contained in the information tower fell into the hands of an enemy country, the situation of the country wouldn't be good.
After all, with all these pieces of information, they could do a lot of things, blackmailing would also be included. And this in itself could be used to cause internal strife while the enemies attacked from the outside.
Still, these walls that these experts were so proud of, the walls that had never been breached before, were easily infiltrated by Jack in a matter of seconds. And to make matters worse, all the alarms that they had set up so that they would be warned in case there was an infiltration failed to detect him at all.
As such, Jack accessed the servers and got all the information that he wanted to get. After that, he left as if he was never there before, changing nothing at all.
With all the information in hand, Jack began working again. He began looking into the deals that involved the company that was owned by Collins' family.
Since he wanted to acquire all the shares of the canned food company that was owned by Collins' family, he had to make sure that they didn't go bankrupt. That would be a loss to him.
What he was going to do was to simply ruin the reputation of the company. He would make sure that they would see that the company was going to fail. In this way, he would force them to sell it. But of course, he would buy the company at the least price possible. This was his way of dealing with things.
And since all of this involved Celine, he was going to make Celine the owner of the company. And after clearing the name of the company, he would let her view the path that she would like to have it develop towards.
With this thought in mind, jack began making his moves. The first ones would of course to make sure that the reputation of the company went down the drain. And unlike how Denali had dealt with the companies that were owned by the Alfonso family, where they asked several people to pretend or those that had really suffered to come out, he was going to do all the work by himself.
And, he was going to do all of this from the comfort of his villa. With the laptop, he began hacking into several media platforms before he began doing the posting of all the information that he had gotten.
Even he himself was surprised by all the dirty information that he had found on the company alone. And to make matters worse, this wasn't the only company that was owned by Collins' family. They were involved in others as well through the ownership of shares. All of this was what Jack had to deal with.
Jack had to agree that there was no way that a snake could be born by a cow or a goat. Just like how vicious Collins was, his parents were the same. So, jack had no intention of being merciful to them at all.
"Good day to you ladies and gentlemen, I'm your host today, Zachary, and I would like to welcome you BNL, BREAKING NEWS LIVE. To get straight to the point, I would like to talk about something that has never happened before happening, the first in history of our country."
"For the first time ever, there has been a hacking of all the servers of the media platforms. It doesn't matter if it is a social media platform or a news platform. All of them have been hacked by someone we have no information about."
"The hacker managed to bypass all those that were working as cyber security for all the companies that were hacked. The most surprising thing is that, even after several experts joined hands to look into the situation, there were no results at all although several hours have already gone by."
"They have been trying to get the servers back. But surprisingly, all the servers were back in their control. This was definitely not due to their efforts but because the hacker was already done with whatever he or she wanted the servers for."
"But, the most surprising thing was the fact that the hacker didn't need the servers for something big, it was simply to pass information about a certain small canned food company."
"Don't misunderstand folks, the information that has been passed was nothing but good or an advertisement. Whatever information that was passed was concerning how the company wasn't following several protocols that needed to be followed when running a canned foods company."
"To be precise, this food company is called Tin Preservationists. A weird name indeed. But still, this small company has been working for over a decade now. And according to the information that was left on the servers of various platforms that were hacked, this company has been doing things the wrong way."
"It was a company that dealt with beef canning. But now, instead of beef, they have been mixing beef together with meet from other animals. There was enough evidence that pointed towards the fact that the meat that was added to beef was from donkeys, dogs and surprisingly, even cats weren't spared from the menu."
"There had been several complaints raised by the consumers about how different the meat tasted from the normal beef or how the structure of the bones didn't match that of cows."
"But, once all these reports reached those that were in charge of regulating the food industry, they somehow disappeared in a thin air. The complaints kept on coming in but no action was taken against the company as it continued operating normally."
"But now, there have been several pieces of evidence that have been presented to us through the hacker. Perhaps even this hacker ate that meat and as a result, he or she wanted the company to take responsibility of feeding him the meat that didn't belong to a herbivore.
All the same, the police have already began doing their investigation about this. The company's operations have been halted till the investigation is completed.
As for the hacker, the experts have already contacted the cyber police to help them in getting who was behind the hacking. And although the hacker didn't do anything negative to the servers other than simply posting the information, none of the top management of the companies hacked would want a repetition of what happened here in the future to happen again.
Oh, right, I'm sure that some of you didn't like my long stories. So, you can go ahead and look for the information in all social media platforms. Somehow, the hacker managed to stick all the information that I have informed you about on the front page.
As long as you open the apps on the phones or your browsers on your PCs, you should be able to see all of that, unless you are blind of course.
That's it for today's breaking news, I was your host today, Zachary. Let's meet again when another interesting story arises. Goodbye then!"
That was how it was. From all the news channels all over Azima. They were all talking about the same incident. They were all talking about the Tin Preservationists. And what's more was that, they repeated the breaking news every single hour.
Jack who was seated in his villa watched the news calmly. Beside him, Celine was watching the TV with her mouth agape. She couldn't believe what she was seeing at that moment. This was what she defined as the world going crazy.
With the remote in her hand, she tried changing the channels but no matter what she did, she found the very same piece of news. Even if there was no broadcasting by the presenters, there were several lines that were running just below the screen, giving the same news as the one that she was watching.
"Jack, are you the one behind all of this?" Celine turned her gaze towards Jack as she questioned. Although she really didn't want to, she had no choice but to doubt Jack. That was because she knew that this Tin Preservationists was the company that belonged to Collins family.
She didn't need to relate anything else for her to know that was the work in the hands of Jack. After all, it was only Jack that whom Collins had messed with through her, and had the ability to make all those news channels continue presenting the same piece of news over and over again for a whole week.
Yes, it had already been a week since Jack decide to take action against Collins' family. He had hacked several platforms and posted all the information that he had gotten from the research that he had done. Then, he had made sure to hold the servers in his control for about two hours before returning the control back to them.
Though the servers were under his control at that time, he had made sure not to affect anything that was related to the performance of the platforms other than the news that he had wanted them to know.
The reason as to why he had held onto the servers for long as well as allowed them to notice was to simply inform them that his skills were far beyond that of their experts. In this way, the message that he had left them would be carried out to the latter.
He had informed them that they would have to make sure that the information he had left was spread. And, this was to be repeated over and over again until he thought that it was enough. If they failed to do that, he would make them lose profits for every day that they didn't do as he said.
Although it might seem a little over the top to ruin the reputation of a small company by spreading all the negative information all over the country, he himself had plans for the future. He didn't do things blindly. Since he was intent on abusing the system, he had to make sure that he did it well.
Jack gazed at Celine who was looking at him. Currently, she was wearing a loose t-shirt. Her hair was damp as she had just come back from taking a shower. During this past week, the training schedule that he had arranged for her had already began taking effect.
He had been training her for the past seven days. Katelyn had somehow allowed Celine to be free from the company as long as it was related to her training under him. And he had to agree that Celine had a knack for fighting.
Even though she had only trained for a week, her improvement was quite big. It could easily match the soldiers who had been training the combat techniques for a whole month. But still, this wasn't enough. Although she was now able to easily control her strength, in that she could deal with up to five low level crooks at once, if she met with someone who knew how to fight before and had taken the body strengthening solution, she would be beaten up.
"You look beautiful." Jack stated with a smile on his face.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Celine asked in a displeased tone. Though, the faint blush on her face stated that she was definitely happy with the compliment.
"I was saying that you look beautiful. Especially when…" Jack who wanted to explain further was cut off by Celine who threw the remote at his face. Of course Jack simply grabbed the remote before it got damaged from hitting him.
"Jack, I asked, are you the one who's behind all the madness that has been going on throughout the week?" Celine questioned again.
"Who else do you think can do such a thing?" Jack didn't try denying this as he asked with a smile on his face. He was definitely proud about what he had done.
"I understand that you are trying to get back at Collins and his family for what they did. But, don't you think that you are going a little overboard?" Celine wasn't surprised when Jack confirmed that he was the one behind this as she had already made such a guess before.
"Overboard? Not at all. In fact, this is just the beginning for them. There's still a lot more waiting for them." Jack shook his head as he responded.
Celine knew that he had just misunderstood her. So, she corrected herself. "I didn't mean overboard to them. I meant overboard on the ones that are running the tv channels as well as the other media platforms."
Hearing her words, Jack shook his head as he replied, "There's noting overboard here at all my dear. These platforms have all been selfish at some point. So, even if I become selfish and use them for my own purpose, I don't feel guilty at all. Furthermore, I'm not affecting them that much to give the news that only needs a minute or two to pass."
"But, they have been doing this every day." Celine stated. 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝐨𝗿𝗴
"A few minutes a day, which equals to a few minutes a day if you add all the intervals that are involved. But, there is no difference between this and the advertisements that they show to us during their commercial breaks." Jack disagreed.
"But, the news anchors that are reporting the same thing over and over again, don't you think that you are making things hard for them?" Celine questioned.
"That is false because the ones that you have been watching were recorded and not live at all." Jack shook his head.
"How do you even know that when you are here?" Celine asked doubtfully.
"You see, the news anchor just a moment ago, he was fired seven days ago. But, he's still broadcasting live." Jack stated with a smile.
"You see, the news anchor just a moment ago, he was fired seven days ago. But, he's still broadcasting live." Jack stated with a smile.
Celine looked at him with her mouth agape. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to believe what Jack was saying or not. After all, this didn't make any sense to her at all.
"What did he do to get fired? No, how do you even know that he was fired on the very same day that he had broadcasted this news?" Celine asked as she looked at Jack, confusion clear in her eyes.
Jack chuckled at that and said, "Just like how I can access their servers, it's not something impossible for me to know that they had fired someone here. In fact, this was the easiest to keep a tab on."
Celine was silent for a while as she looked at Jack. Then, she spoke. "Now there we are, although I'm not sure as to why they fired him, with that smile on your face, I'm pretty sure that he was fired because of you."
Jack looked at Celine with a pained expression on his face. He then asked, "Am I like that?"
"A lot." Celine replied bluntly.
Jack dramatically held his chest where his heart was located and said, "Oh! I'm hurt!"
"Get lost will you?" Celine chuckled at his expression. She then gained a serious expression on her face as she asked again, "What did he do to get fired? Although I'm sure that it has some relationship with you, I'm curious about it."
Jack also stopped his pretense and said, "You should have heard the content of his broadcast. Instead of only focusing on the information about the Tin Preservationists, he talked about how the experts of different servers were unable to catch the hacker."
"I stayed in control of all the servers that I had hacked for about two hours. Then, I returned it to them. This was the information that only the staff members of there respective platforms were supposed to know. After all, this was all about their reputation."
"In the end, this guy let out the information to the public. And the moment that he finished broadcasting, he was fired immediately."
Celine was surprised. This was something that she too had realized. She had actually been wondering if the broadcaster was someone that was against that channel or something.
But at the end of the day, she had seen this guy hosting BNL severally and this should be his sixth or seventh year. By now, he should have developed a sense of belonging.
But now, she saw that there had to be another reason to that. But all the same, it was obvious that his superiors didn't like what he had done and as a result, they had dismissed him off duty.
"But all the same, had you not hacked the servers, this guy wouldn't have reported the news and as such, he would still be having his job by now." Celine stated.
"I told that I would only affect the shareholders, a little of course. As for the employees, there is nothing that is going their way." Jack stated with a smile.
Seeing that Celine was waiting for his explanation, Jack continued. "I'm about to start a social media platform. Furthermore, there will be a TV channel and so on. This guy was laid off but I hired him. He should be back on duty by the beginning of next month."
Celine blinked her eyes both in surprise and surprise. She couldn't help but ask, "Just how many industries are you involved in?"
She had been coming to Jack's villa for training for a while week now. So, she knew that the villas that were present in the serenity residential area belonged to Jack. Additionally, she came to know that he was the one that had acquired the 88% shares of The Rose, making him the only shareholder other than him.
In other words, she had realized that Jack was involved in several industries. The more she was with him the more that she found out. Although she was always surprised, she was also happy to know that her man was so powerful.
"Believe me when I say that I'm going to dominate all the industries. But, that is something that will happen a little later. Although it's later, that doesn't mean that it's too far. Perhaps I can surprise you with a few companies as your bride price." Jack chuckled as he responded.
Celine blushed at the mention of the bride price. At the same time, she felt sweet in her heart because the moment that Jack said bride price, he was showing his intention to marry her. How could she not be excited at that? Being married to the man that she loved the most.
"Anyway, you should know that there is nothing that I did that was overboard. All the hype that I have created so far is not just anything. I have created all this hype to help you." Jack stated after a moment of enjoying Celine's cute side.
"Huh? For me? The hype or ruining the reputation of Collins' family's company?" Celine asked in confusion.
"The hype. Dealing with that family is something that needs special attention from me." Jack cleared her confusion only to create another.
Knowing that she didn't get his point, Jack decided to elaborate. "That hype is all part of my advertisement plan. Although now it is spreading with negative impact, by the time that it would be under you, it should have already gained quite the reputation."
"The only thing that I would have to do at that time would be to shift the reputation of that company. And of course, that is something simple for me. Not to mention that the company isn't that big. That means that the current number of people that were affected isn't high."
Celine looked at Jack blankly for a while before asking, "For me? How would that company be under me?"
"This is part of the compensation that Collins will have to pay. I'm planning on acquiring the company at the lowest price possible. And if I'm not wrong, the company should be acquired by the end of tomorrow."
"But, the company will be under you as this is something that was supposed to be given to you." Jack stated seriously as he fixed his gaze on Celine's.
Celine blinked once, then twice. She was quite confused. She knew that Jack wouldn't let Collins go. But, what did this have to do with her gaining control over the company?
"Don't think much of it. Just know that this is not the last one. There are a few more companies that will be under you. So, better be prepared for a lot of work." Jack snickered as he said this.
"Mmh!" In the end, Celine could only nod her head. It seemed that she would need to get a lot of information from Jack slowly as he continued training her.
….
Valnaro was now standing in front of the major. The major, his direct superior, had called for him. It had already been a week since the time that the major had stated that he was going to have a discussion with the colonel.
Jack had already delivered that week's batch of body strengthening solution, which was already used up by giving out to the soldiers that were having the highest merits and we're injured.
But of course there were those that received the body strengthening solution although they were not injured. These were mainly those that participated in the most risky missions and we're confirmed to be loyal to the country.
"Valnaro, I would like you to make contact with that Jack. It would be good if he could come here as soon as possible. The earlier that we recruit him, the better for us." The major, who was seated on his chair behind a desk stated.
"Yes sir!" Valnaro agreed immediately. This was an order that he had received and he didn't have the authority to disagree. But, if one looked at his eyes, one could clearly see that there was a hint of doubt in it.
And of course, the major also noticed that doubt that was present in Valnaro's eyes. He wasn't sure what it was that Valnaro was doubting. So, he decided to ask. "Can you make your doubts clear?"
Valnaro coughed a little in embarrassment. He was supposed to have a grip on his emotions and expression. This was one of the basics that a soldier was supposed to have, more so for him as a captain.
If he showed a panicked expression in front of the other soldiers when they were under an attack, this would definitely disturb the mentality of these soldiers that were under him. At the end of the day, he was considered as the pillar in the eyes of these soldiers.
Still, it was only because he was quite free with this easygoing major that he had let go of his emotions at that moment. Still, he managed to rein the embarrassment that had swarmed him and gave his reply.
"Major, I would like to know if the colonel had accepted to your proposal." Valnaro put forward part of his doubts.
The major raised his brows a little at the question. In the end, he still gave an honest answer. "Although he hasn't accepted the proposal, he is quite positive about this. So, he has decided that he would have to meet this Jack personally so that he can test him."
"If Jack passes the test that he has set for him, then there would be no problem for him to be granted a position in the military."
Valnaro was surprised that the Colonel was quite positive about the idea. But still, "But major, you know, it's another thing for Jack to agree to come over here. It might be a difficult task to make him come over."
"What did I say before? I said that we would give him the benefits that he wouldn't be able to refuse. So, as long as he gets here, you can leave everything to me." The major stated.
"Furthermore, you said that it would be a difficult to make him come over, but not impossible. So, I would like to believe that you will be able to get him here?" The major continued. 𝘣𝑒𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝑜𝘳𝘨
"Yes Major!" Nodded.
"Then get out of here and complete the task as soon as possible." Major stated.
"Yes Major!" Valnaro gave a salute before he left the office.
Jack took his time to explain and convince Celine to accept the company. He was planning to dominate the food industry as well. And that was basically through the groceries that were currently being run by Grace.
She had been doing good work as Jack had gotten the information from Denali that the groceries had already began spreading to other cities.
Grace had made sure to open several branches in different cities. She had employed a good number of people and what's more, she had asked Jack to go and inspect her work.
But since he was 'busy', Jack had no choice but to ask Denali to head there. In this way, she could inspect the work and the employees that were part of the top management.
With her skills and abilities, she had managed to find a few people that were basically there to look for information about the rising enterprise. Although they were only chain stores, they basically dominated the market the moment that they entered the city.
Not only was their capital big to threaten them that had been in the grocery market for a long time, but their strategies of gaining a standing in every city that they appeared in was unbeatable.
First of all, they never started another grocery. Instead, they offered to buy the groceries from those that were already dominating the market in that specific city.
Of course there would be several people that wouldn't want to sell their groceries. But, the amount of money that was offered to purchase the groceries was so mouth watering that it made a lot of people give in.
In their minds, they were only thinking that, 'Although I'm losing something that I had worked so hard to make it stand, with this amount of money, I should be able to start something else and still succeed. At the end of the day, there are no losses at all.' 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝗻𝗼𝘃𝐞𝗹.𝗻𝐞𝘁
As for those that were so adamant on not selling their groceries, they were never forced to do that. But, they were supposed to prepare for a tough competition.
Although buying the other groceries also reduced the number of competitors that they would have, it was also true that there was a certain competitor that was growing stronger with every grocery that they bought.
In the end, these groceries that had not been sold faced the greatest competition in their business careers. Not to mention that the groceries were sold at a lower price in the groceries under the new competitor, but all the other means that were used to try destroying the competitors were useless.
Furthermore, all those that dared to play with underhanded tricks were the ones that faced the greatest retaliation the moment that they dared to do that.
But, what made others fear the boss behind the grocery was that, she had a deep background. But, they never managed to find any information about her no matter what kind of connections or favors they used. All the security that were present at every store were trained. They were not the ordinary ones at all.
So, whenever there were people that tried causing chaos at the stores, their fates were always miserable.
As for the result of the provocation of the groceries, it was that all those that owned the groceries ended up suffering. The retaliation that was taken by the new grocery chain stores was that, they lowered the price of all the things that they sold in their groceries to the buying price.
In this way, they would go at a loss but all the same, the other groceries lost their customers one after the other. At first, they thought that the groceries would be closed due to the lack of money and the losses that were being incurred.
In the end, time moved on as the grocery chain stores had an increase in popularity and customers. As for the others, knowing that they would fail, they were forced to sell their groceries to them.
But, this time, the price that they were offered was slightly lower than the market price. And although they were dissatisfied, they had no choice but to agree to the offer. At the end of the day, if they didn't sell the groceries, they were the ones that were going to close down as they couldn't compare in terms of capital at all.
Denali on the other hand dealt with all those that dared to act as spies in the grocery department. She had make sure to track them back to the one that had sent them.
And to say the least, they all had suffered greatly. Both from reputation, beatings and even losses in their business. This was just her speed of work. And, she wouldn't allow anyone to dare to mess around with her master's business.
As such, Grace continued receiving more money from Jack as capital as she continued expanding to other cities. Basically, the chain stores had become something that was akin to a virus that was spreading without anything that could halt it.
The other cities had gotten the information about this new grocery chain stores that had already began dominating the market. They had seen the advertisements about the grocery that were brought forward by several popular stars in different fields.
It didn't matter if it was music, movies, football, basketball, tennis, athletics and so on. Stars from all these fields were used to advertise the grocery.
So, even before the grocery chain stores reached their specific cities, several grocery owners already began making contact with them so that they could sell their groceries. In this way, they could get the highest price for the groceries.
And true, Grace wasn't stingy at all. Not to mention the employees that were under her that were receiving good salaries, depending on their performance of course, she too didn't bully the other grocery owners.
In this way, she would make sure that the number of enemies that she would be making would be as low as it could. But, that didn't mean that she was afraid of being aggressive if there was a need for that.
With the supply of money as well as the security and advertisement, in addition to the freedom that Jack had granted her, Grace was going all out to make sure that she managed to be the one that created the most popular grocery chain stores.
In just a matter of a month since Jack handed her the duty of spreading the grocery department to other cities, she had managed to spread to over ten cities. Furthermore, she had already dominated six of them, being the biggest grocery in these cities.
As for the cars that Jack had bought, these were given to the person that was in charge of the groceries in each and every city. This was just because it would make it convenient for them to move around in case there was a problem in the groceries that they were managing.
Inchoate city, the source of all of this, that was where she had left things for George to handle. Although he was going to be the real head of the Dante family and was already the main decision maker there, he had decided that he was going to hold the position.
Although he was a racing fanatic, that didn't mean that he didn't know anything about business management. As a prospect heir, although he was not the eldest son, he was still trained so that he could have a chance of leading the Dante family in the future.
As for the reason that George gave when he decided that he was the one that was going to manage the grocery chain stores in Inchoate city, it was that, with his family being the most dominant in the city, he would have it easy handling things there.
As for the reason that he didn't mention, it was the fact that he had a premonition that Jack would be a big shot in the future. So, he had decided to make the first move and get linked with Jack as early as possible.
The progress of the grocery department was a proof that his decision was right. So, George was in an all time high mood.
...
Jack was just done with the training schedule that he had planned for Celine on that day. They had just returned from what he termed as gangster hunt.
This was something that he had decided that he would use to make sure that Celine got all the necessary experience that was needed in a fight.
So, he had made sure that everyday after training, they would head to an area where most of the gangsters were. Then, whenever they find that there was one that was bullying someone, that would be the person that they would target.
It wasn't that they were saints, it was just that they were against just going around and attacking just anyone. So, they had to find a good reason for their actions.
Finding one that was doing something that was considered a crime was a good reason for them to attack him. Even if there was a group of gangsters, Jack would have Celine attack them.
And of course, since this was a fight, in case there were a lot if gangsters that were involved, Jack would still stand at the side and watch as Celine dealt with them.
Even if she was wounded, he would only help her after the fight was over. He couldn't just go easy on her because she was his girl. She had to get used to being injured in fights because this was something that would always happen when there are fights.
He would only interfere if Celine's life was at risk or she had finished the fight and needed to have her injuries healed.
Although she was currently about three times stronger than normal men, she lacked much fighting experience. Furthermore, if she faced many people, it was inevitable that she would be hurt.
As for the injuries that she was suffering from the fights, Jack had found a way to deal with them. He had gotten a realization that the body strengthening solution was able to speed up the healing and recovery of a person that took it.
This was something that he had researched on after referring to the way that it could heal the soldiers that had gotten injured.
It was just that, other than the healing and recovery property, or did nothing to increase the strength of the person that consumed it.
So, Jack made sure to always carry around several bottles of body strengthening solution for this. He had also made sure that Celine always carried with her at least two bottles.
The moment that he stepped out of the car, Jack was surprised to see that Valnaro was waiting for him.
He raised his brows as he asked, "To what do I owe this visit captain?"
"To what do I owe this visit captain?" Jack asked as he looked at Valnaro who was looking at him with a smile on his face.
"Oh, am I not allowed to pay you a visit?" Valnaro asked with his brows raised a little.
"That's right," Jack nodded his head as he replied bluntly.
Valnaro was left speechless at Jack's answer. To say the least, he had never expected that Jack would be so straightforward with his answer. Furthermore, wasn't this a sarcastic question?
Celine who had just gotten out of the car was also surprised at Jack's answer. Although she didn't know who Valnaro was, from the way that Jack addressed him, added to his demeanor, she could tell that he was related to the military.
Valnaro wasn't wearing a military uniform at this moment. Instead, he was wearing a pair of casual blue jeans and a grey t-shirt that did nothing to hide the bulky arm and chest muscles. Though he was dressed casually, from the way that his back was as straight as a spear, one could refer him to the military as that was one of their traits.
Jack continued, pretending that he didn't see the shift in Valnaro's expression. "You are supposed to be a busy person. It's obvious that you would only come here if you have some motives for your visit. Otherwise, I doubt that you would pay attention to an ordinary person like me."
Hearing Jack's words, Valnaro was left speeches once again. But he couldn't help but ask himself, 'What part of this guy looks normal? He's obviously a freak. Otherwise, why would I have to pay a lot of attention to him?'
"And, I obviously am not a person who likes benefits from me to visit my house." Jack continued.
In the end, Valnaro could only shake his head when he looked at Jack. He decided to ignore whatever Jack had said as he went straight to the point. "I have something important to talk to you about." As he said this, he looked at Celine, his meaning being clear, he didn't want to divulge whatever it was that the two of them were about to talk about to someone else.
Jack looked at the captain and smiled as he said, "You don't have to worry about her. She's going to be my wife soon. So, the things that involve me have got some relation with her. I don't believe that there's something so confidential that we have to talk about that I would have to chase her away, right?"
Celine was just about to excuse herself when she saw how serious Valnaro's expression was at that moment. But when she heard Jack's words, she stopped whatever she wanted to do. Instead, she looked at Jack with a sweet smile etched on her face that was blushing.
To say the least, she was happy that Jack was serious about their relationship and wasn't afraid of showing this to the public. Furthermore, he was willing to share some of his secrets with her. This was something that made her happy about Jack.
But although she was happy about it, she didn't want to inconvenience Jack at all. So, although she wanted to hear what they were going to talk about due to her curiosity, she knew when to quit.
"Jack, I'll be inside. I have to take a shower first before taking a rest." Celine used the most reasonable excuse to slip away. And before Jack could say a word, she had already dashed away.
In the end Jack could only smile and wonder at how reasonable his girl was.
"Ahem!" Valnaro coughed a little to attract Jack's attention. Seeing that Jack was there with him, Valnaro flashed a smile and said, "Jack, my main reason of coming to find you today is simply because my immediate superior asked me to invite you."
Jack raised his brows as he looked at Valnaro's smile. Still, there was a frown on his face that showed that he wasn't expecting such a thing at all.
"Why would your superior invite me? I don't think that I am special in any way that would make a major interested in me." Jack stated with the frown still on his face.
This answer was something that Valnaro had expected. So, he replied, "I am sure that you would be interested by the reason behind the invitation. Furthermore, it's not like we want to kidnap you or something like that."
Jack continued waiting. He didn't think that he had the time to waste with a major. Well, that was unless there was something that would interest him. Additionally, he wasn't someone that they could simply come and invite and he would follow.
He himself had a lot of things to do. So, there was no way that he was going to stop whatever that he was doing to pay them a visit. It didn't matter to him whether the person was a major or a general. He wouldn't give a f*ck. At the end of the day, it wasn't like he was the one that was in need or something.
"I'm not interested at all. If your major has something to tell me, you can tell him where he can find me. I'm a busy person after all." Jack shrugged as he replied nonchalantly.
Valnaro had veins popping on his forehead on how casual Jack was mentioning the major. This was someone that he respected a lot and took him as a role model. So, there was no way that he was going to allow Jack to disrespect him. He subconsciously released a ferocious aura as he stared at Jack.
"Jack, I know that you are strong. But, I would like to let you know that, I won't allow you to disrespect my superior. It doesn't matter what, even if I would have to fight you, then I will fight you for that." Valnaro spoke solemnly as he stared at Jack. It was as if he was ready to fight in the next moment.
If this was an ordinary person or soldier, he would have been intimidated. But, the person that was standing in front of Valnaro at that moment was Jack and was nothing but ordinary. He wasn't the least bit scared by Valnaro's intimidating aura at all.
He simply waved his hand at Valnaro and said, "Not like I care at all. Furthermore, I don't think that I am the one that needs to see the other person here."
Valnaro took a deep breath as he tried calming his raging emotions. He simply couldn't believe how easy it was for him to lose control of his emotions. He then thought of the reason as to why he was here in the first place. He was supposed to invite Jack so that he could go back to the camp with him.
This was something important as he was personally assigned by the major to come and invite Jack. And if the two of them began fighting, he doubted that Jack would agree to follow him. Not to mention the fact that he was weaker than Jack. So, instead of a fight, he would be the one that would be receiving the thrashing.
He sighed. He had to complete the mission by all means possible. So, he decided to use the trump card that he had prepared beforehand.
"I know that you are a busy person. But, I have to inform you that the reason that I asked you to come to our camp other than it being the major's request, there is also the issue involving the incident of the Glaze hotel. We have done a lot of investigation but we are now stuck. There is a language barrier between us and the person that we are supposed to get the information from." Valnaro stated as he looked at Jack.
"Looks like you are so intent on making me visit your camp, huh?" Jack was no idiot as he immediately saw through Valnaro's ploy. So, he looked at him with a smile and raised brows.
Valnaro on the other hand was surprised that Jack had already seen through him. But, he thought that this was to be expected as from the information that he had gotten on Jack, he was a person that owned a lot of wealth. Furthermore, he was a member of 'that' group at such a young age. It was obvious that he wasn't easy to trick or manipulate.
"It is true that I would like you to head over to our camp." Valnaro stated honestly.
Jack wanted to refuse but then, he thought of something. He looked at Valnaro and asked with shining eyes, "Have you guys invited the professionals in the languages? Those who boast that they know many languages."
"Eh? Valnaro was surprised by the sudden change in Jack's attitude. But still, he nodded his head as he replied, "We invited all the experts that we could but we found that none of them could speak in that language at all." Valnaro was obviously depressed as he let out a tired sigh.
The attack on Glaze hotel was something that was related to national security. And the threat was from someone that came from the outside. So, this obviously concerned him. They had done a lot of investigation but at the end of it all, it led them to someone that spoke in a language that they couldn't understand at all.
They had invited several experts that could speak several languages but in the end, none of them could actually understand what that man was saying. It had already been a week but there were no results at all. This was making him frustrated as he was the one that was in charge of the investigation.
Although he was mainly a military captain, he was still the one that was supervising those that were doing the investigation as they were part of the company that he was leading. And, he was receiving a lot of pressure as the results were required as soon as possible. But without someone that could speak that language, there would be no results soon even if they tortured that guy to death.
Jack's eyes shone with greater intensity as he looked at Valnaro. "It's decided then, I will take a shower and the two of us will be leaving." The moment that he finished saying that, he rushed into the villa. He was anticipating what was to come.
After changing into a new set of clothes after freshening up, Jack looked at Celine and asked, "I am about to go out. Are you interested in coming with me? I'm sure that you will find it interesting."
Celine looked at Jack who was smiling at her and was lost for a moment. It was only after a while that she replied. "Sorry but not now. I have to go and aid my mother back in the company. I have been away all morning and I'm sure that there is a lot of work that has piled up."
"Come on, it's not like we are going to stay there. I'll make sure that we won't be taking long there." Jack was slightly disappointed and tried asking her to go with him. To say the least, he would appreciate her company more so for what he was going to do.
Celine remained persistent about not going. "Even though Faith is now back and she has been helping a lot, she still isn't enough to relieve the piling work due to the many contracts that we have been winning lately. Although the contracts should be something that should be making me happy, I can't help but complain at the pile of work that comes with it."
Jack sighed at the end of it. Since she was going to be busy, then there was no way that he was going to force her to go with him. Furthermore, she had things to do that concerned her. So, he had to let her do her things as well.
"Okay then. I hope that you don't overwork yourself, alright? After all, you come first." Jack stated as he stared directly into Celine's eyes.
His clear concern warmed Celine's heart. So, she gave him a smile before saying, "You don't have to worry. There is no way that I'm going to overexert myself. Furthermore, with my current physique as well as my strengthened mentality, it should be no problem for me to handle the office work."
"That's good then. But remember that even if you are now stronger than you were before, you are still a human and would need enough rest." Jack gave a reminder.
"Got it." Celine smiled sweetly at Jack. At the same time, she thought to herself, "How worrisome of him. With the body strengthening solution, I don't think that there is nothing that I can't recover from. What a genius medicine he made. As long as it's not amputation, it can heal all the physical injuries as well as mental tiredness.'
"Now then, where is my hug as I'm leaving?" Jack spread his arms as he waited for his hug.
Celine pouted at his actions. But still, she came forward and gave him a hug. After a few seconds, the two parted and Jack headed for the door of the villa. At the same time, he said, "Remember, take good care of yourself when I'm away."
"I'm not a small girl you know?" Celine shouted at Jack as he left.
"Well, it may be true. But, you are still my sweet girl." Jack shouted back. He left the villa, his words leaving another captivating smile on Celine's face.
…. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝐨𝐫𝗴
Upon exiting the villa, Jack found that Valnaro was waiting for him just at the entrance of the villa. He raised his brows at how this guy was so impatient.
He was now wondering what it was that had actually made the major to ask for him. If it was about the body strengthening solution's formula, then they had to forget about that for the time being.
"You can't even invite me in when I'm your guest." Valnaro complained. He was obviously not happy with the treatment that he had received.
"An uninvited guest to be specific." Jack corrected as he headed for his car, completely ignoring Valnaro's displeased face.
Just as he was about to get into his car, Valnaro stopped him. "Let's go in my car. It will be better since they know it back at the garrison. In this way, we can get there faster rather than being stopped at the checkpoints severally.
Jack thought that this was a good idea since even he himself was quite impatient to get there. So, he followed the captain into his jeep wrangler Sahara unlimited that was in the parking lot just outside the villa.
This jeep had obviously undergone a lot of modifications so that it could be driven in different terrains. The tires were the ones that were suitable for off-road driving. This was just enough proof that as a soldier, Valnaro had to be prepared to go to any area.
After getting into the car, Valnaro drove out of the serenity residential area. He then headed outside Kartu city.
On the way out of the city, Jack asked, "Anyway, where is your garrison located?" He was curious about this garrison. He was already expecting that they would be stationed out of the city. After all, it was an obvious thing that the city itself had little space.
"We are located twenty kilometers from the city. There is a valley in between Kartu city and the next city. That's the best place to set up our camp as the soldiers can train there without any problems." Valnaro replied.
Jack nodded. The two of them then went ahead to continue chatting about this and that. Then in just a few minutes, they arrived.
When they got through the first checkpoint, just as Valnaro had stated, they were not stopped at all. It seemed that the soldiers who were on duty could recognize the car the moment that they saw it. So, they allowed it in.
But of course, they were not reckless to simply let it in without checking. They looked through the open windows and they could see that Valnaro was the driver and he was bringing along him a young man.
Although they didn't know who Jack was, since he could come inside a Captain's car, then he must have some ability to do that. They all knew that Valnaro wasn't someone that would let just anyone into his car.
"Where is that guy that is speaking different language that even the best of those who mastered different languages can't understand him?" Jack inquired as they got through the third checkpoint.
Valnaro looked at Jack. After a while, he replied. "He's being held at the camp where my company is situated. He should be in the interrogation room or the room where he is being held."
"Let's go there then!" Jack said excitedly. What was making him happy was the fact that he could now complete a mission that had been bugging him on what to do so that he could complete it.
[Emergency mission program activated. Advance reward, Professional Human Language Mastery. Accompanying task that you'll have to complete so that you can permanently have the reward is as follows: Task; Show your language proficiency and amaze those that boast to be masters. Time limit, 4 weeks.]
It had already been two weeks and yet, he had not found a way that he could impress the masters. He had to amaze them with his mastery over the languages.
But still, he had tried looking for a place where the masters were congregated together so that he could try showing off his language mastery. But in the end, he found that the meetings that they were going to have were mostly planned at the end or at the beginning of the year.
It was rare for these masters to meet in the middle of the year. And, he wasn't lucky enough to encounter one of the rare moments that they would be having a meeting.
So, the moment that Valnaro stated that there was a problem in their investigation due to language barrier, and that he had invited several masters of languages but none of them had managed to understand the language that the person was speaking in, he was excited.
This was his opportunity. They were there, and he could go ahead and do something that they might consider an impossibility to them. In this way, he would complete the task that he had been granted by the system while claiming that he was simply doing his part.
But of course, he had to earn something from this, right? Although it was true that the system didn't ask him to earn any money, who said that he was going to offer his services for free?
Valnaro frowned. He looked at Jack and said, "I think we should go and see the major first before going to see this person."
Jack looked at Valnaro with a deadpan expression on his face as he said, "The most important thing right now is clearly to get information from that idiot that you are holding in one of your cells. So, let's get going there and see what happens."
Seeing that Jack was serious about this, Valnaro finally accepted. At the end of the day, it wasn't like the meeting between Jack and the major was an emergency or something.
They could meet up after Jack satisfied his curiosity. According to Valnaro, since this was a case that was related to Jack's hotel, he must have been looking forward to finding out who it was that was behind the attack.
Jack remained silent throughout the whole journey, just thinking about what his first income reward might be. At the same time, he looked at the buildings that they were passing as they headed deeper into the garrison.
From the buildings here, Jack could infer that this was the soldiers permanent station. Although they might leave this area to carry out several missions, they would eventually come back here as there were several training facilities that Jack saw on the way here.
Furthermore, the atmosphere here was nothing but welcoming. The ferocious aura that the soldiers were emitting while they were training would surely scare away a person who had never experienced war before.
About ten minutes later, they finally arrived in front of a building. Valnaro packed the car next to a military jeep that was outside this building.
As he got out of the car, he flashed Jack a smile as he said, "Welcome to The Rippers Garrison, Eleventh company base."
Jack didn't say a word as he got out of the car and looked around. He could see that this area had more soldiers than the outer area where they had just come in.
Furthermore, this area being almost covered in vegetation that was mainly shrub and grass, he could see that a little far from where they were, there were soldiers that were training in the hot afternoon sun.
Valnaro led the way to the place that they were detaining the person that they were futilely trying to interrogate. The place was inside the biggest building here that was present in the whole camp. It had four floors but it occupied a large piece of land.
As they got into the building, Valnaro led the way through the underground stairs that led to an underground basement. This was just like the dungeons that were found in the fantasies or the olden times.
Jack wasn't much surprised by the presence of a dungeon in the military camp. From the small cells that contained several people inside, Jack could tell that this was what they used to detain their prisoners.
After walking along a well-lit long corridor, they arrived in front of a door. Without even knocking, Valnaro pushed it open and entered while Jack followed from behind.
The moment that Jack stepped into the room, he found that the room was quite big taking up about 200m2. Inside this room was white, both the walls, the floor and the ceiling. The room was clean despite it being a dungeon.
Inside the room, there was a long metallic table. Other than that, there were three chairs present. One was facing the other two in the room. All the chairs were stationed around the table, occupying the two long sides of the rectangular table.
On the sole chair that was facing the entrance of the room, there was a man seated there. His hands were cuffed before they were attached to the table using a chain.
The man himself was having long and unkempt beard. His hair was quite long that a person could think that the person was staying in the wild where there were no scissors or hair clippers to cut his hair with. 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝘮
He had blue eyes that shined with both mischief and determination. He was currently wearing a brown apron that had some of the buttons at the chest area open revealing the yellow t-shirt that he was wearing beneath the apron.
The moment that he heard the door being opened, he looked directly towards Valnaro. He looked at him for a moment before he shifted his gaze to Jack who came in right after him. He locked eyes with Jack for a while before he turned his gaze away. But all the same, he didn't say a single word after that.
Jack looked at the man before gazing towards Valnaro and asking, "Does this guy always sleep here or do you take him somewhere else as a lodging area for him?"
Jack was curious about this because he couldn't see anything that stated that there was a person that was living in here. Since this person was a person that was suspected to be having information about the attack that was carried out on glaze hotel, which was a threat to the national safety, Jack wouldn't be surprised if they let this guy stay on that chair for a day or two.
"Not really. This is just the basic interrogation room. Here, after the interrogation is completed, the suspect will be taken to an area that he/she would stay." Valnaro shook his head as he replied.
Jack nodded as he continued observing the room. He could see that there were several cameras that were installed in the room. It was obviously to record the interrogation.
"So, what are we supposed to start with?" Jack questioned as he gazed at the guy who was minding his own business, completely ignoring the two of them as if their presence didn't matter to him. He was simply playing with the cuffs and the chains on his hands.
"Just wait a little while. There will be people who I have just asked to come." Valnaro stated as he continued waiting. According to his thoughts, the reason as to why Jack insisted on coming here was because he didn't believe in the results of their investigations. As a result, he had decided to invite the ones that were in charge of the interrogation.
In this way, the interrogation could be carried out in Jack's presence. In this way, he would have no doubts about what they were saying.
Jack's brows rose as he wondered who they were waiting for. But, he would be happy if it was those masters in language mastery. He wanted to impress them and that was the reason as to why he hadn't tried communicating with that guy just yet.
He was about to lay out his doubts when he suddenly caught the sound of footsteps heading their way. And from the sound that his ears were picking up, it didn't seem like one or two people, instead, it was a considerable group of people.
Just inn time, a group that consisted of over a dozen people entered the room. They were comprised of people of different ages. There were young and energetic soldiers, who were Valnaro's two vice captains. Then, there was another group that consisted of middle aged and old men and women. Jack could immediately infer that they were the masters that were hired by the military.
The group consisted of precisely fifteen people other than the two vice captains. There were nine men and six women. Majority of the group was in the old age, with there being a total of eleven who were at least fifty years old and above.
After the group got into the room, they spread out in the room, only two of them occuoying the chairs that were present in the room. Then, they all looked at Valnaro and waited for his instructions.
Upon seeing that everything was ready, Valnaro nodded at the old lady that seemed the oldest in the group. Furthermore, from Jack's observation, the way that the lady was being treated indicated that she was the leader of the group.
"I can speak a total of six languages proficiently. Aziminian being the basic as this is my country. The others are English, French, Spanish, German and Bambian. I made sure to learn the other four, which are the exotic languages that are rarely used here in Azima." The old lady stated ass she gazed at Jack. It seemed that she had been informed that he was the one that was here to see the progress of the interrogation.
"I am not the only person that can speak different languages here. All these people here can at least speak one language that none of us can speak though we have heard about it before." The lady continued as she pointed at the others as well as the old man that was seated on the chair beside her.
The lady then went ahead to introduce the others as each of them said the language or languages that was unique to them in the room.
Of course, Jack could easily detect the displeasure in the voices of most of the people there, especially the younger ones of the lot. It was obvious that they were displeased to give the reports to a person that was younger than them. But still, none of them said it out loud.
After the introduction, the lady then faced the bearded guy that was seated beside her and asked in Aziminian, "What's your name?"
The bearded guy looked at the lady before speaking a question in a language that they couldn't understand. "Ulimsilu namwe sianu?"
The lady didn't say anything else and questioned again. "Where are you from?"
"Kali unaparanga vachi kene mbole sinju esi mwelewa, linde usa. Mlalinda lakiini sikene ndome mluazimia ta." The bearded guy replied. And just like before, he spoke in a language that they couldn't understand at all.
The lady asked the last question. "How are you related to the attack that was carried out about two weeks ago?"
"Eh? Nyasaye mlayi. Vanju vandile sivamanyire olunyala tawe. Khanu, nenya khuvatukhana nivacheva amaswali kawe. Amakoso si kange tawe, ni kawe. Sivatkha munju amanyire okhulosa olunyala ulai kwanja kho vakole khucheva amaswali kano? Lakini, ata nivanyola munju amanyire olunyala, lasima munju oyo wefwe niye. Simbara kali alikhucharibu okhucheva si amanyire tawe." The bearded guy replied with a long answer.
The lady went ahead to repeat the questions in different languages. But no matter what, she couldn't understand a word of what he was saying. The others also did the same with the language that was unique to them. But all the same, none of the replies were in the language that they were asking the questions in.
In the end, the old lady could only shrug her shoulder as she turned her gaze towards Valnaro and Jack to indicate to them that she couldn't understand what he was saying.
Valnaro on the other hand looked at Jack, waiting for his opinion. And it was also at this moment that he saw that Jack was speechless as he looked at the bearded guy. Valnaro thought that he was surprised that he couldn't understand what the other party was saying and that was the reason as to why he was reacting in such a manner.
He smiled wryly as he spoke, "That's just how things are. We can not understand what it is that this guy is saying and we believe that even he himself can't understand what we are asking him. In the end, there is nothing that we can do at the moment about it."
Jack's heart was racing at that moment because he could understand the language that the bearded guy was speaking in. Furthermore, he could understand everything as if they were his mother tongue. His eyes shone with excitement but his face remained solemn. He couldn't give away that he was understanding this, unless of course they did something in return.
He looked at Valnaro as he spoke in a calm voice, "Pay up." As he spoke, he stretched his hand towards Valnaro as if he was waiting for his payment.
"Huh?" His words stunned all those that were in the room. And surprisingly even the bearded guy was stunned. Though, it was a question whether he understood what Jack was saying or he was just following the others in the surprise that they were undergoing.
"What are you talking about Jack?" Valnaro asked in a confused voice. He couldn't understand where the issue of paying Jack came from.
Understanding that he had been too excited that he failed to say things well, Jack retracted his hand as he spoke again. "Pay up and I'll tell you what that guy was saying. You are not expecting my service for free, are you?"
Understanding that he had been too excited that he failed to say things well, Jack retracted his hand as he spoke again. "Pay up and I'll tell you what that guy was saying. You are not expecting my service for free, are you?"
Valnaro and the others stared at Jack with widened eyes. It was obvious that none of them could believe what he was saying at that moment.
It wasn't that they couldn't believe that he was asking for payment, that was something understandable as even all those 'masters' were paid before they came over. But, what they couldn't believe was the fact that Jack actually knew the language that the bearded guy was speaking in.
This was completely out of their expectations. And this was the moment that those who were initially displeased by Jack came forward and said their pieces.
"What nonsense are you babbling? You? Are you saying that you can actually speak in whatever language that this guy is speaking in? Don't be delusional and stop wasting our time here." A bald middle aged man stated as he looked at Jack.
"Zaman?n bu kadar ?nemliyse buradangitmelisin ?ünkü burada bir i?e yaramazs? ?n? bo?a harcayan senken, ba?kalar?n?zaman?n? bo?a harcamakla su?lamak." Jack stated as he looked at the guy.
He had no time to waste with this idiot. He didn't want to delay the completion of the system mission that he was here to accomplish.
There was no way that he was going to spend his time arguing with a side character. So, he went ahead and spoke to him in a language other than Aziminian.
The moment that Jack finished his words, there was silence in the room. All the people present stared at Jack in surprise and astonishment. None of them had thought that Jack could actually speak in another language.
Furthermore, this was the language that this guy, the bald head, was proficient in and that was what made him unique in the room. But now that Jack could actually speak in the same language, then he was no longer unique.
What Jack had spoken was in Turkish. The meaning of the words that he had said was as follows..
"If your time is so important, then you should get out of here because you are useless here. Blaming others on wasting your time when you are the one that is wasting it."
Valnaro looked at Jack and finally spoke after about a minute of silence. "You…you can actually speak in other languages other than Aziminian?"
Jack looked at him with a raised brow as he asked, "You thought that I asked you to bring me here so that I can stand to the side? Of course not. I told you to bring me here so that I can see if I can understand what the guy over there was saying. In the end, I actually can."
As he finished speaking, Jack narrowed his eyes as he stared at the bearded guy. And for some reason, the moment that the bearded guy met Jack's eyes, he shuddered. But still, there was conviction in his eyes as he tried maintaining his gaze with Jack.
In the end, he turned away as he couldn't handle the invisible pressure that came from Jack's stare. At the same time, he was wondering to himself, 'Could it be true that he can actually understand what I was saying? That's impossible! That's the code language. Unless he is a member of our group, there is no way that he can know that language.'
'And, no matter how I look at him, I can't recognize him at all. This means that he is not part of our group at all. So, he must be bluffing, right? Yes, that must be it.'
Jack on the other hand shifted his gaze and looked at Valnaro and asked, "Are you going to pay for my services?"
Valnaro looked at Jack and asked, "Isn't this case still related to your hotel? If you find out what he was saying or how he is related to the attack, it would help you solve the problem of knowing who it was that had organized for them to reach the hotel."
Jack looked at Valnaro and rolled his eyes as he spoke. "Don't make a fool out of me. This concerns the national security, which is your greatest concern. That means that you will be the biggest beneficiaries."
"On the other hand, finding the person that was behind the issue is nothing hard for me as long as I put in some effort. I wasn't doing that because it was supposed to be part of the deal that you were supposed to complete for my goods."
Valnaro sighed. He knew that Jack wasn't someone that he could convince that easily. Furthermore, he was someone that always kept his words. So, he had to do what he was supposed to do.
Since he had paid the others, he would simply do the same thing with Jack. It wasn't like money was a big issue for them as they were sponsored by the government in the investigation.
So, he looked at Jack and said, "Okay then. I'll be giving you a total of $5M for your services. What do you think?"
Jack looked at Valnaro as of he was looking at a retarded person. Then, he said, "What kind of price is that for my services? You should know that I'm not a beggar."
Valnaro looked at Jack as he frowned. But thinking about the wealth that Jack possessed, it was clear that $5M was nothing but pocket change to him.
To actually call him over only to pay him something so small, then that was nothing other than disregard to him. Valnaro thought and after a while, he gave another price. "What about $100M?"
Even though they were supported by the government, that didn't mean that they were allowed to spend money recklessly. Furthermore, even if Jack got to tell them what the other guy was saying, perhaps that information might lead them to more investigation.
And, the more they investigated, the more the amount of money that they would be required to spend. So, he had to make sure that he did things according to the budget that was set.
Jack looked at Valnaro. In the end, he snorted and raised a finger in the air. "$10B, nothing less than that or the deal is off." Jack stated seriously.
"That's ridiculous! We ourselves were only paid $600k each to come over and help with the investigation. Who do you think you are that you can ask for $10B for simple translation? Why don't you go and rob a bank?" Another man, who was standing beside the baldy that had spoken to Jack before shouted as he pointed at Jack.
Jack's eyes turned cold as he looked at that guy. Then, he asked, "Do you have a bank?"
"Eh?" The guy was definitely not expecting such a question. But still, he answered, "Of course not, I'm not that rich to own a bank."
"Then, why are you telling me to go and rob a bank? You are trying to use me to make other people as poor as you are?" Jack questioned before he turned to face Valnaro.
"Captain, as you can see, we have a criminal in the room. You have all the evidence through the recordings by the camera and a bunch of witnesses, you included. So, why are you not arresting him?"
Valnaro: "….."
Others: "…."
They were left speechless by Jack's words and accusations to say the least.
Seeing that Valnaro was not reacting, Jack shook his head in disappointment. Then, he looked at the guy and continued, "You were asking about who I was? And, you were trying to compare the two of us? Let me ask you, do you understand what that bearded guy over there was saying?"
The guy who had just been brought out of stupor by Jack's words subconsciously shook his head.
Jack nodded then continued, "You received $600k so that you can come and look at the guy speaking, just so that you can at least hear another language and boast to others."
"But what about me? I can do the job. If you can be paid $600k just so that you can come and watch others, what about me that is supposed to do the real job of getting the required information from that mouth? Don't you think that I deserve more than $10B?"
"Si vous pensez que je ne suis pas censé recevoir cemontant, vous devriez au moins me montrer pourquoisi vous pouvez faire ce que je peux." Jack continued in French.
The group was stunned that Jack could actually speak another language so fluently.
[Meaning: "If you think that I'm not supposed to be paid that amount, you should at least show me why if you can do what I can."]
This time, it was Valnaro who replied. "Jack, you should know that these guys are always busy with something. For them to be here, we had to go through a lot to convince them to come over."
"As for the price that you are asking for, that's completely above even the budget that was given to us so that we can carry out the investigation."
Jack narrowed his eyes at Valnaro before asking, "Was I free when you found me?"
Not understanding where this was heading to, Valnaro still shook his head. "Not really."
"Then, how come I wasn't paid to be here? And what's more, I'm going to make sure that I get the correct information from that guy. That means that I won't simply be telling you a lot of nonsense that he is going to be blabbering. I'll have to make sure that the information is related to the investigation that is being carried out."
"And, so why if the money is not enough? You can always request for more. After all, we do pay the taxes, if even more people end up dead, the amount of money that the government will be receiving will get lower."
Valnaro remained silent for a while as he contemplated the truth in Jack's words. He too knew that it was true that Jack had to get the information according to what they wanted and not what the other party wanted to tell them.
In other words, it was like they were leaving the investigation to Jack, the sole person that could actually translate the meaning of the other guy's words.
"Okay then. But, the maximum that I can grant you would be $1B. No more than that because this would be eating into my budget of the company for the following three years." Valnaro replied through his gritted teeth.
"Captain, you can't do that!" Robin, one of the assistant captains said as he looked at Valnaro in horror.
Valnaro looked at him and said, "You don't have to worry. I'll shoulder all the responsibility."
Robin could only stay quite as he saw how resolute Valnaro was. It was clear that he wouldn't be changing his decision at all.
"Now that's good. I guess we just have to sign the contract and then-" Jack was just talking when he was forced to stop.
[Task Completed. Professional Human Language Mastery now permanently belongs to the host.]
Jack: ( ? )!
[Task Completed. Professional Human Language Mastery now permanently belongs to the host.]
Jack: ( ? )!
Jack was surprised by the system prompt that had appeared in front of him. He had never expected that even before he began acting, the system would actually claim that he had actually completed the mission that he had been assigned to him as he received the reward in advance.
'System was there a delay in the delivery of the prompt or something?' Jack couldn't help but ask the system. To say the least, he had been left speechless by the appearance of the prompt as well as the completion of the system task.
[That's true, there was a slight delay from my part. I just wanted to make sure that the 'masters' were actually amazed and not displeased. And that is the exact reason as to why the completion of the mission message only came in at this moment.]
Jack finally understood what was going on. While he was planning to amaze everyone in the room when he began talking in the same language as that bearded guy, the system had already thought that he had amazed them already. But still, Jack thought that he could perhaps amaze them further.
"Is something wrong Jack?" Valnaro saw that Jack had suddenly gone silent and thought that perhaps there was something wrong. So, he couldn't help but ask just to confirm.
"Oh, there is nothing wrong with me. I'm absolutely fine, it was just that I was thinking of something here that I was supposed to do before and I had forgotten about it." Jack came back to reality as he replied to Valnaro's query.
He then decided to continue from where he had left of from. "As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,"
Jack's words stunned the people present in the room. They looked at him with incredulous gazes as they wondered when he had been interrupted, rudely to say the least.
Jack of course didn't know what they were thinking and neither did he care about the strange gazes that he was receiving from them as he continued, "All we have to do is to sign the contract that you would be paying me my $1B after I deliver my services. Or, you could as well go ahead and do the transfer at this moment, coz I don't mind, and I'll begin my part."
Valnaro thought for a while and said, instead of going through of procedures just for a contract only to have us work again in the transfer of the money, I guess we can trust that you will do your part after receiving your payment." Valnaro stated and before Jack could say a word, he looked at Robin and said, "Inform the department in charge to transfer the money, there should be enough money in the account by now."
Robin was stunned by Valnaro's decisiveness in this issue. Even though he had also seen Jack's information and knew what kind of person he was, he couldn't help but doubt that he would be able to do what the 'masters' were unable to. But, since this was an order that he had received from his immediate superior, he had no choice but to carry it out.
He took out the walkie-talkie that he was having with him and decided to contact the department that was involved.
And while he was doing that, Jack approached the bearded guy and asked, "Can you speak in Aziminian?"
Jack's question immediately left everyone in the room speechless. They just couldn't believe that Jack was asking such a question when he was there when the 'masters' tried questioning him in different languages, Aziminian included, yet the guy simply spew bullsh*t. so, what Jack was doing at that moment was simply illogical to them.
The bearded guy also looked at Jack as if he was looking at a fool. He was wondering to himself on how to reply to Jack. After a while, he had thought of the reply as he readily spew it out. "Nakhawola nji si kene mbole sinju tawe. Oh, niiviriye, nalosanga sana. Khanu, nenyekhana mbole nji, sikene lose eluka yi mwelewa tawe. Hata ni mbola esi mwenya, si kene mumanye esimanisya tawe."
Jack heard his reply and nodded his head before asking, "Can you tell me who it was that was linked to my hotel, Glaze hotel?" 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝐨𝗿𝗴
The room was silent once again. Valnaro and the others looked at each other before looking back at Jack. In the end, they could only shake their heads as they didn't know what Jack was playing with the bearded guy. So, they decided to wait and see what Jack was going to do.
"Mmh, ni mbara akhaya akho khalingi khe hoteli indi eyi vailanganga vachi Soaring Eagle. Akhaya akho khaurile vachi khwenya aunju wa khuukula amateka. Khanu, akhaya akho khawola khachi kene khakhu yete ukhuwukula Glezi hoteli mateka. Lakini vinju si vyachiye ulayi tawe khanu vatila vanju vefwe. Alafu emichinga ikyo kyawola eyi ndi. Kali nyala khuvanyola, kene vamike."
"Mmh, okay then. Where's your base located?" Jack questioned again. At the same time, there was a frown on his face, as if he couldn't understand what the guy was saying.
And upon seeing the frown, the guy got excited as he continued giving out the information as there was no one that could understand him anyway.
"Aunju ukhuwukulanga ekasi chefwe ata siatayi tawe. Nuwenya okucha muprovince indi ila, ya mashariki, khuboda eyo, mwilova, khulinende enyumba engali ichumikha kama erumu ye kontroli. Khanu…" The guy went on to give more information about himself and the base that he belonged. The guy wasn't conservative to say the least.
Jack on the other hand listened to him with frown and a little confusion on hid face. After a while, a lot of information had been revealed to Jack. The others in the room remained silent as they watched from the sides to see the end of what Jack was planning on doing.
[You have received $1B. Multiplier applied. You receive $100B.]
[First income. As a reward, you receive a free skill slot that can be used to select a skill of your own liking.]
Jack took a deep breathe the moment that he saw the system prompt. He had been expecting that he would be receiving the money at any moment. And now that it was in, then there would be no problem if he completed the task that he was supposed to complete here. At the end of the day, he had just wasted a lot of his time here when the mission that had brought him over was already completed.
He looked at Valnaro and smiled as he said, "I have already completed the mission that you have paid me for. I have gotten all the information that you need for the investigation. And I think that you will have to send others away because this piece of information is quite sensitive."
Valnaro squinted his eyes at Jack. He was doubtful that Jack had truly gotten the information that they needed because he had seen Jack's expression throughout the time that he had been asking the questions. But still, he decided that he would trust Jack just as he had done when he ordered the transfer of the money into Jack's account.
He looked at the others in the room before gazing at Robin and the other vice-captain. He nodded at him as he said, "You should send them away."
But at this moment, the old lady spoke up. "I know that you want to talk about important matters that concern the national security. So, we wont inconvenience you. But, I have a request to you, young man. I don't know if you can grant me the request?" As she spoke, she gazed at Jack.
Jack looked at the old lady and said, "It depends on whether I can do what you will be asking for or not."
The old lady nodded as she revealed a smile on her wrinkled old face. Then, she stated, "You don't have to worry young man. I won't be making any outrageous requests. All that I would like would be for you to visit our university on your free time so that we can have a little discussion about the language that this person here was speaking in." She pointed at the bearded guy at the end of her sentence.
Jack thought for a moment and said, "I guess that is possible. But, I'll get your contact details from captain here so that we can communicate further about that arrangement."
"Thank you for your considerations young man." The old lady smiled as she led the way out of the room. The others followed suit and in no time, inside the whole room, there were only three people left. Jack, Valnaro and the bearded guy.
"Okay then. I guess that we can finally discuss about the information that I received. Can you get a video from the moment that this guy began speaking so that I can do the translation for you?" Jack asked as soon as the last person exited the room.
Valnaro nodded before using his walkie-talkie to contact a person on the other end. And after about ten minutes, a person came in with a laptop and a flash disk. Valnaro operated the laptop and in no time, he had already opened the video.
Jack took over the laptop and moved the video to the minute that the guy first spoke in 'that' language.
"Ulimsilu namwe sianu?"
"Kali unaparanga vachi kene mbole sinju esi mwelewa, linde usa. Mlalinda lakiini sikene ndome mluazimia ta."
TN; "If you are thinking that I will say something that you can understand, then continue waiting. You will wait but I won't speak in Aziminian."
"Eh? Nyasaye mlayi. Vanju vandile sivamanyire olunyala tawe. Khanu, nenya khuvatukhana nivacheva amaswali kawe. Amakoso si kange tawe, ni kawe. Sivatkha munju amanyire okhulosa olunyala ulai kwanja kho vakole khucheva amaswali kano? Lakini, ata nivanyola munju amanyire olunyala, lasima munju oyo wefwe niye. Simbara kali alikhucharibu okhucheva si amanyire tawe."
TN; "Eh? God is good. The people who arrested me cannot speak in nyala (A luhya sublanguage). So, I want to insult them whenever they ask questions. The mistake is not mine, it's theirs. Why don't they just look for someone who is proficient in nyala language first before they come back and ask all these questions.
But, even if they find someone that can speak in nyala language, that person must be one of us. I don't think that he/she will try asking these questions."
One by one, Jack went through the conversations where the guy spoke in nyala language. The more that Valnaro heard, the more that he was dumbfounded. He didn't think that Jack was lying to him just by looking at the horrified expression of the bearded guy. This was enough proof that what Jack was saying was true and not just things that he was making up.
The bearded guy was now sweating profusely. He had never expected that Jack was pretending all along to get more information out of him. In the end, he couldn't help but shout at Jack in anger. "You… you, you cheated!"
Jack looked at him with an expressionless face as he said, "Look at you, saying that I cheated when you cheated. You can clearly speak in Aziminian but you had been pretending all along. So, I decided that I would play the game with you."
"You… you, you cheated!"
Jack looked at him with an expressionless face as he said, "Look at you, saying that I cheated when you cheated. You can clearly speak in Aziminian but you had been pretending all along. So, I decided that I would play the game with you."
After that, Jack ignored the guy and put his focus back on the role that he was playing at that moment. He went ahead and played the next place that the guy was talking in nyala.
"Nakhawola nji si kene mbole sinju tawe. Oh, niiviriye, nalosanga sana. Khanu, nenyekhana mbole nji, sikene lose eluka yi mwelewa tawe. Hata ni mbola esi mwenya, si kene mumanye esimanisya tawe."
TN; "I said that I won't say anything. Oh, I have forgotten, I'm already talking too much. So, I'm supposed to say that, I won't speak in a language that you can understand. Even if I say what you want, you won't know what I mean."
"Mmh, ni mbara akhaya akho khalingi khe hoteli indi eyi vailanganga vachi Soaring Eagle. Akhaya akho khaurile vachi khwenya aunju wa khuukula amateka. Khanu, akhaya akho khawola khachi kene khakhu yete ukhuwukula Glezi hoteli mateka. Lakini vinju si vyachiye ulayi tawe khanu vatila vanju vefwe. Alafu emichinga ikyo kyawola eyi ndi. Kali nyala khuvanyola, kene vamike."
"Mmh, I think that little guy was from a hotel called Soaring Eagle. That little guy had gotten the information that we were planning to take hostages. So, that guy came forward and said that he would help us in taking over Glaze hotel. But, things didn't go well as they arrested our people.
Then, those idiots said where I was. If I ever get a hold of them, I'll make sure to strangle them."
"Aunju ukhuwukulanga ekasi chefwe ata siatayi tawe. Nuwenya okucha muprovince indi ila, ya mashariki, khuboda eyo, mwilova, khulinende enyumba engali ichumikha kama erumu ye kontroli. Khanu…. "
TN; "Where we usually take our jobs is not even far. When going to the eastern province, on that border, underground, there is a big building that is used as the control center. So…"
Jack completed the translation after about ten minutes. And since the proceedings in the room were being recorded, he didn't have to repeat himself over and over again as Valnaro would simply go through the video to get the information that he didn't get.
After he was done, he looked at the guy whose eyes were almost listless the moment that he had just revealed all the information that was supposed to be a secret.
At that moment, the guy was regretting that he was actually getting so arrogant that there was nobody that could understand what he was saying.
So, he had thought that this was a good opportunity for him to release whatever was in his chest. This was great secret that he was never supposed to reveal to another person.
But now that he had someone that was willing to listen to him, then he was going to use the opportunity to say it all and free his chest. Furthermore, the person that was listening to him couldn't even understand. 𝒃𝒆𝙙𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝙤𝙢
So, this was killing two birds with a single stone. Not revealing the information, well they couldn't understand, and he was going to be mentally relieved.
Now, he was wallowing. He had never thought things through at all. Had he thought about the fact that Jack had asked for payment so that he could do the translation, he should have known that Jack could understand him.
Furthermore, there was a recording, so, if they used the information that they had gotten, then the moment that they had gotten someone that could do the translation for them, they would surely find out what he was saying.
Jack shook his head and looked at Valnaro as he said, "Let's get going to see this major that had me coming over here. Now that I'm in a good mood, I'll transfer the $1B that you gave me back to you.
You guys are soldiers and there's no way that I'm going to take the money that was considered as your budget. So, I won't make you guys suffer for something simple like that. So, for the payment for my services, you can add to the request that you are supposed to help me on fulfilling according to the deal that we had."
Jack stated as he began heading for the door. He had already received what he wanted. So, instead of making the lives of the soldiers hard, he could as well go ahead and ask for a favor later.
What's more, a simple $1B out of the total $100B that he had received was nothing at all. So, he would end up getting $99B and a favor out of all of this.
"Jack, that can't happen. I have already agreed to having the money given to you. So, there is no way that I'm taking that back, I'm a man of my word after all." Valnaro refuted as he followed Jack out of the room.
The two of them left the bearded guy alone in the room as the guy could only place his head on the table as he wallowed at his mistakes.
Valnaro on the other hand couldn't accept what Jack was doing. To him, this was akin to Jack showing pity to him and the soldiers under him. There was no way that he was going to allow that considering that they as soldiers had pride of their own to defend.
Jack looked at him and said, "I'm not pitying you guys at all. It's just that the money that I have received will do nothing for me as I have more than that money in the account that is still looking for a place to be invested."
"And, I thought that it would be better for me to get the payment for my services by something that can help me in the end. Don't you think that my services are worth a lot more than money that would simply stay in my account."
Valnaro thought about it and thought that what Jack said was true. So, he could only let out a sigh as he walked with Jack out of the dungeon that was cleaner that most people could imagine, then back to the parking lot.
After that, Valnaro drove the car further inside after he had left a couple of instructions to his subordinates about what he was supposed to do. Jack had also left his contact information for the old lady so that she could contact him later on.
After that, Jack stayed in the car and waited for the car to arrive at the destination. And not long after they followed the rough road, they got past another checkpoint.
According to Valnaro, they had entered the territory of another company. But still, Jack cared nonetheless about that as he wasn't here to associate with the soldiers. He just wanted to know what the major wanted to see him for.
After about thirty minutes of driving, they arrived in an area that had many buildings as compared to the ones that Jack had seen at the Rippers Garrison Eleventh company base. Not only were the buildings better looking due to the maintenance that they underwent regularly, they were even advanced.
Jack couldn't help but wonder of he had really gone to another town or the garrison. After all, the way that the area was developed was no different from a town.
Furthermore, there were soldiers that were moving around in their civilian clothing just like how Valnaro had dressed like when he had gone to pick up Jack only to change into his official military uniform when they were leaving his base.
After getting out of the car, Jack followed Valnaro who led the way towards the middle of the military town, how Jack decided to call it. They went through another checkpoint before they entered the town.
After getting there, they still headed towards the center of the town. And not long after that, they arrived in front of a mansion. It wasn't something big, just a moderate one.
But still, it had a touch of art on it. It had a courtyard that was full of green.
Valnaro walked to the door of the mansion and knocked on it. And not long after that, there was a sound of footsteps that headed their way from the inside.
When the footsteps halted, the door was opened and an old face appeared in front of Jack. Well, although Jack was terming it as old, it was that of a person who was likely to be in his fifties and there were several strands of his hair that had already turned grey.
All the same, he was neat, not only in the military uniform, but also the hair that was well kempt.
The moment that the door was opened, Valnaro stood in attention and gave a military salute. "Good day Major!"
"No need for the formalities when you are in my mansion. That's something that you are supposed to do only when I'm on duty at that moment." The major chuckled as he waved his hand to dismiss the serous attitude of Valnaro.
He then gazed at Jack who was looking at him curiously. With a smile on his face, he greeted, "It's nice to see you in person, Jack."
"It's nice meeting you major." Jack greeted back as he shook the major's outstretched hand. "May I perhaps know why you wanted to see me?" He added after he released the major's hand.
"Straight to the point, huh? Anyway, come in and have something to cool yourselves down. After that, we can talk about the reason as to why I invited you over." Major said.
He then led the two into the mansion. The mansion was just well organized from Jack's perspective. The living room had several couches, a table a TV and a few artistic paintings that were hang on the wall.
After the two of them took a seat, the major went ahead and took juice from the fridge and poured it into the glass of the two. And as they began drinking, he began talking.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Major Alonso, the one that heads the eleventh to fourteenth companies."
Jack nodded. There was nothing that he was supposed to say to that. As such, he decided to continue waiting to see what the major wanted to see him for.
"So, the main reason that I invited you over here was simple. I have gone through your information, the one that we have gathered, if you don't mind. And, from the information, I came to know that you are an expert when it comes to fighting."
"I have also gone through the footages from the hotel recently. Although you were not visible in the video, I could still tell that you were the one according to the information that we received from the witnesses.
So, from the way that you handled the attackers was so sublime that it impressed me to call you over so that I can give you an offer or an invitation.
Jack, I would like to invite you to join the military as a captain. We will create another company for you so that you can lead them. But of course, all of this is only if you are going to accept the invitation that I'm extending to you." Major Alonso continued with a long string of words.
Jack took another sip of the juice before he placed the glass on the table. On his face, there was completely no change in his expression at all.
But, that didn't mean that he wasn't surprised. To say the truth, he was greatly surprised, not by them asking him to join the military, but by the fact that they had offered him a rank the moment that he agreed to join their ranks.
In the military, one had to use merits to get a higher position. And although there were those that used their fighting prowess to get the positions, that was only after they had stayed in the military for a long while.
This was completely new and shocking just by looking at the expression that Valnaro was putting at the moment. The captain had definitely spilled the juice that he was just about to drink on his shirt.
Although it seemed like something big to join the military and immediately become a captain, it was nothing but a bother to Jack.
If he was going to have to spend a lot of his time at the camp, how was he going to enjoy his youth by spending his time with Celine?
Furthermore, there was a fact that he would have to follow several commands of those that were supposedly his superiors. He wasn't ready for any of that.
So, he spoke, "I'm sorry major, but I definitely cannot accept to join you. This will definitely compromise my freedom and that is just something that I don't like. I'm a person that likes to be free, doing whatever I want.
So, if I'm told to come over here so that I can start following what others are saying, that would definitely be the thing that I would hate the most."
Hearing Jack's straightforward answer, Alonso sighed. He had expected this from a person that was a part of 'that' group. So, he had been prepared.
"I know that. But, you know that you will have a lot of freedom the moment that you become a soldier. There are some things that can be said to be illegal if you do them right now.
But once you are soldier, even if you do that, there would be no problem as long as you show your badge. So, do you think that you can try thinking about it again?"
Jack shook his head at this. "If I was the one that is commanding the whole military, then I can definitely join you guys. But, if it someone at lower ranks, them forget about that."
Valnaro looked at Jack with his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He had always been proud that he had been able to achieve the position of a captain in a military where there was a lot of competition.
But, all of this was gotten through sheer hard work and dedication plus sacrifices. On the other hand, Jack was being offered the same position as him just so that he could join them.
And that was not all. In just a few years, Jack would be able to raise his rank due to his abilities as long as he put on some effort.
But now, Jack had just refused all of that and wanted to get a position of the commander of the whole military in the country. This was something that made him somehow angry.
But all the same, he managed to keep himself in check because he was in the presence of his direct superior, a major.
Alonso on the other hand, although he was surprised, he wasn't the least angry at what Jack had said. He knew that it was hard to convince Jack to join them. But still, he had a few other cards that he could play with.
He smiled as he looked at Jack. Then, he said, "You should know that this is an impossibility, right?"
"That's what I was trying to imply. It is impossible for me to join the military. It's not that I'm a criminal or something, but I just don't like the thought of being under someone. I like being someone independent." Jack replied.
Alonso shook his head as he decided that it was better for him to use the trump card. It seemed that the low offers would do nothing to attract the young man that was seated before him.
"So, what about we make a compromise?" Alonso asked.
"What compromise?" Jack asked with raised brows.
"We can do this. You join the military, you maintain your freedom, but you can come and do something for us when we need your help. You can decide to agree or refuse to do that according to your convenience." Alonso stated as he locked eyes with Jack.
Jack's brows raised again after hearing the offer. From what he could tell, this was indeed a good offer. But, there must be something that they wanted from him for them to offer something like that.
Jack wasn't a fool to believe that they would just allow anyone to use the military name and badge to do what he liked but had no commitment to the country. That was an impossibility.
"And what do you get in return?" Jack asked with narrowed eyes.
"Hehe, don't worry at all. What we will get would simply be what you offer to us. When you agree to help us, then that's what we get. Furthermore, we are already getting something from you, the body strengthening solution.
Although you are free to ask for something from us in the future, I'm sure that the price of the solution is higher than what you asked from us. The results that they have brought are enough to tell us that." Alonso replied honestly.
He knew that for a person like Jack, there was no need for him to involve lies. He was supposed to come out clean and say it all to his face rather than hiding it.
In case in the future he came to find that they were using him, they would fall out and this would be something that they couldn't afford at the moment.
Not only were the body strengthening solution that Jack was providing them important, but if he began giving them to the enemy nations, it would cause them a lot of trouble.
So, he had to make sure that even if they didn't come to an agreement with Jack, at least they didn't have to be enemies. Neutrality was also an option to them.
Jack thought through what Alonso had said. To say the least, the deal wasn't bad. He could agree to help them when there was a mission and he could refuse if he didn't want to do it. 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗰𝐨𝗺
But then, there was something else that he had to ask. "Will I still have to follow orders and so on?"
Alonso sighed again. He wondered what was wrong with Jack that he was simply refusing to follow another person's order. In the end, he could only relate this to his youth hot-bloodedness. In other words, youths were usually unruly and didn't like being controlled by others.
"You don't have to worry about that. Just like I had said it before, you will maintain your freedom. Nobody in the military will be able to order you to do something at all.
It will only be a request and that's it. Furthermore, with your rank, you can command the other soldiers that are at a lower level from you. The prerequisite is that, whatever it is that you are ordering them to do is not to commit a crime or kill themselves.
But, you won't have soldiers that you would be leading at all. In other words, you would have a rank but no subordinates. All the soldiers below you in terms of rank can be considered your subordinates." Alonso stated.
Valnaro who was listening to all of this was about to die from both shock and jealousy. Even he himself, a captain, he could not command any soldier that was a part of another company.
Jack thought about it and questioned, "What rank was I receiving again?" Jack wasn't willing to get a rank that was so low that he didn't have that much authority at all.
"You will be given the same rank as the one that I. You will be a major as long as you agree to the deal." Alonso replied with a wry smile on his face.
Jack thought and then asked. "Is it possible for my rank to rise higher than that?"
Alonso felt his lips twitching at the question that Jack had just asked. Just giving Jack the rank of a major was something that the Colonel had decided on.
He himself didn't think that it was alright for someone as young as Jack holding so much power in the military but having no restrictions at all. He could decided to misuse the power that was granted to him.
But in the end, the colonel had insisted on that. In the end, the major had decided to mention that at the very last moment, his trump card in convincing Jack to join the military.
But what was going on now? The rank that he had thought was too big for Jack, he thought that it was small and that he wanted a higher rank than that.
He himself had to tire himself for over two decades in the military, going through several dangers, before he was promoted to become a major after serving as a captain for a decade.
Still, he didn't show much on his face. He looked at Jack with an ambient smile on his face as he replied. "Yes, it's possible for you to raise your rank and become a colonel. But, that's something that can only happen when you have several accomplishments under your belt.
In other words, if you want to get a higher rank, you simply have to take on a few missions and complete them perfectly. Once you have gained enough merits, you can be promoted to become a colonel."
Jack looked at Alonso with a deadpan expression on his face. He could tell that the guy was trying to be sly. But, that was something that he could easily tell.
What Alonso was telling him was simple. Become more useful to the military and you will be rewarded by becoming a colonel. As simple as such.
In the end, he simply shook his head. He still had a lot of missions from the system. Although it looked like he only had a single mission, which was to dominate five industries, it was something that would take a lot of effort to be completed.
So, he didn't want to engage himself in other things that would take a lot of his time. Although he didn't like working a lot, he had no choice but to take things more seriously and work together with Denali so that the conditions could be fulfilled faster.
As for the military rank, to him, this was nothing but a decoration to him. It wasn't like he was planning on using the authority that he had been granted any time soon. In other words, he had decided to agree to this just as a precaution.
"Okay then. How do I get that badge?" Jack asked as he leaned back on the couch that he was seated on.
Alonso smiled before he clapped his hands. And immediately after that, the door of the mansion was opened and three soldiers clad in their uniforms entered the living room.
Each of them had something that they were carrying on their hands. They each had a glove on their hands as well. And as they entered the room, they were matching as if they were on a parade.
The soldier who was in front was carrying a black military uniform that was well folded. On top of it was a pair of military boots. The one that was following behind him was carrying something that looked like a badge that was placed on a velvet box.
And the last soldier was carrying a small rectangular box. The contents of the box were unknown as Jack couldn't see through things…yet.
After the three arrived in the middle of the living room, they stood upright and awaited for Alonso's command.
Alonso stood from his seat. He then cast his gaze at Valnaro who was seated on the couch with his eyes unfocused. The glass that he was holding in his hand was still half filled with the juice that he had poured him.
In the end, Alonso could only shake his head. He understood that Valnaro was shocked. Well, he wasn't the only one that had been shocked. He too had been like this, though a little better, when the Colonel gave his decision on the matter that he had brought before him. 𝚋𝚎d𝚗ov𝚎𝚕.co𝚖
He decided to let Valnaro be for the time being. He headed towards the three soldiers that were standing straight and still as if they were statues.
He moved to the first soldier. He then had his expression turn solemn as he took the uniform from the soldier's hands. Then, he gazed at Jack and stated, "Once you receive the uniform, you will become a soldier."
Jack understood the underlying meaning of Alonso's words. So, he got up from his seat. And although he didn't like being restricted by the military system, that didn't mean that he demeaned the soldiers or something.
In fact, he had some kind of respect for them. At least till this day, he had never met with a soldier that tried harassing him.
He faced Alonso and waited. The moment that Alonso stretched his hands to give him the uniform, Jack reached out both of his hands as a show of his respect for the soldiers.
When the uniforms were in Jack's grasp, Alonso spoke. "From now on, you are a soldier. And as a soldier, I hope that you will fulfill justice for the country whenever the chance presents itself."
Jack nodded in agreement. Although he was no saint, if there was an incident like the one that people attacked his hotel, he would definitely do something about it.
But of course, that was on a premise that he won't have to lose his life. He wasn't ready to exchange his life for a person that he didn't know just because he was a soldier after all. He was still young and had a few more years to live.
Seeing that Jack was nodding, Alonso smiled in appreciation. Then, his expression returned to its previous solemn self.
The soldier who was previously holding the uniforms took a step back after giving a military salute. Alonso then went forward towards the second soldier who had already come forward.
Alonso then took the badge that the soldier was carrying. It was oval in shape and was made or painted in silver. At the center of the silver metal, there was a scythe that was black in color.
Then above it, there were three golden stars. These were just like the stars that were on Alonso's shoulders,
"This is the badge. This is something that you can use to show your authority when you don't have a uniform on you. And, in case you are wearing the uniform, there are three stars just like the ones that are on my shoulders.
Make sure that they don't leave your clothes at all. That's because even I myself don't have the authority to change them, only the colonel can do that for the majors and below."
Jack nodded as he received his badge. To say the least, or looked cool.
After receiving the badge, he pocketed it, causing the lips of all the soldiers present to twitch a little at how he was handling the badge.
In the end, Alonso could only continue with what he was doing. As the second soldier moved back after a military salute, the third one approached.
Alonso went ahead and opened the box that he was carrying. And inside it, there was a gun. To be precise, it was a pistol.
Before Alonso could say anything, Jack spoke first. "The Glock 19, a compact handgun. A handgun large enough to fill your hand.
The weapon features a 4.02-inch-long barrel, an overall length of 7.28 inches, a height of 5.04 inches, and it weighs a little over 30 ounces, fully loaded with 15 rounds of 9mm.
It's smaller than most duty-sized handguns, like the M9, M17, and M1911. The Glock 19 is a good in-between size that allows it to serve as both a duty handgun and a concealable firearm. The Glock 19 is just right in the size department for a multi-mission role."
When Jack gave the brief introduction of the gun, all the soldiers in the room looked at him with surprise clear in their eyes.
But Alonso on the other hand managed to recover faster. He nodded. It was good that Jack knew about the guns and was not a newbie that would have to start training.
As for where he learnt about the weapons, that was something that didn't concern him at all. Jack was now part of their military. This in itself was enough that he wasn't their enemy.
Additionally, although he had joined the military, he didn't have that much authority like the other majors. In other words, he won't be able to access some of the sensitive information of the military.
In this way, even if he was part of the enemy nation, he won't be able to get any information that could be used again them.
But if he was on their side as they believed, the better that he was, the good for them the moment that he took on the missions that he would be accepting in the future.
Alonso handed the gun to Jack and said, "The gun is currently fully loaded. As for the ammunition that you would need in case you have used all the fifteen rounds inside, here they are.
This box contains 100 bullets. I believe that this should be enough, right?" Alonso asked as he handed a small box that contained bullets.
Jack smiled as he replied. "This should be enough for now, I think. But in case there will be more attacks on my property, I don't think that they will suffice."
Alonso ignored whatever Jack had said. Then without saying another words, he stood in attention and performed a military salute.
"Major Jackson!"
The three soldiers alongside Valnaro who had just come back to his senses did the same thing.
"Major Jackson!"
When Jack got back to his villa that evening, he was all smiles. He had just gotten an idea and this idea would require the military's intervention. But, that was something that would be coming up later.
The darkness had already began descending alongside a light drizzle of the rain. It seemed that after a long time of no rain, the rains were planning on coming back soon as autumn zoomed in.
As he sat in front of the dining table, Jack's smile never left his face at all. Even as he ate, he maintained this smile. He was simply thinking about the big earnings that he had gotten on that day.
To say the least, he had earned big. He had already began using the system to the maximum limit that he could see. And due to that, he had managed to acquire some important things.
First off, he took out his phone to check his bank balance. He hadn't checked his balance for a period of time now. Although he had been spending, he had also been earning a lot due to the system's aid by multiplying whatever he had gotten by a hundred.
[Flyers Bank Savings Account Balance is $280,611,974,922.]
Jack took a deep breath. He was now having a lot of money laying in his account. It was finally time for him to spend the money to earn even more. Furthermore, the more that he spent, the more the chances of him getting the first income reward from the system.
In other words, he had to set up several businesses so that he could earn more. There were projects that he could carry out as well. But, everything was supposed to be taken step by step.
Another thing that he had earned during the day's trip was the free skill slot that he had received from the system. He now had accumulated three chances that he could use to get any skill that was to his taste.
But, all of this had to wait because Jack had the intention of getting the skills at their most powerful level. And for that to happen, he would have to remain patient and only use the skill slots when it was a must do.
Then the last thing that he had gotten was the military rank. He had joined the military and had gained not only its protection, but also the authority. 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟el.𝚌o𝚖
The protection that he was mentioning came in from the fact that, he could now stop any police officer from arresting him. In other words, even if he went ahead and beat up a few ruffians that were causing trouble for him, there would be no issue.
This had already made things easy for him as his training schedule for Celine demanded a lot of fights so that she could gain all the required experience.
And although the fights were not the life and death ones, Jack thought that it wasn't bad for her to acquire the basic fighting experience where there was a risk of getting injured.
In this way, she could hone her fighting instincts alongside her fighting techniques. So, this was something that made Jack's smile not fade away for a good while.
Once he was done with his supper, Jack decided that he would be resting early. So, after taking a shower, he went to bed and slept.
…
Collins was still in the hospital ward. It had been a while since he last saw his parents. They hadn't called or done anything as of lately. This had made him frown because this was something that had never happened before.
From the fact that he was their only progeny, his father and mother were always there for him when he needed them. But now, it had already been a week since they last met.
He had already began feeling uneasy at the moment. Although his recovery was progressing well and this was what he had been looking forward to due to the fact that he wanted to get his revenge, he was now hoping that the recovery would take a while longer than this.
He himself had already been in this ward for two weeks already. With the high intensity care from the doctors added with the current level of technology, they had managed to stabilize his condition thereby making sure that he would recover.
But, there was something that would remain, and that was the fact that he would remain a person who cannot have children. After all, the injury that Jack had placed on him was not easy to be healed.
Now, he knew that the moment that the doctor stated that he was in a good condition, he would be taken to court. This was something that he could tell from the fact that the police officers were still present just outside his door.
According to his previous estimations, his parents were supposed to have already dealt with whatever case was filed against him. Since the kidnapping and attempted r*pe were not broadcasted in the news, he didn't think that it would be hard for his father to deal with the evidence.
So, he should have been left free the day that his parents were allowed to see him. But now, not only had they disappeared without any information, but they didn't do anything at all.
'What is going on? Could it be that they decided that it was not worth it to continue helping me out of the situation? But, that doesn't make any sense at all. After all, I'm their only child, their future.' Collins started thinking.
'Or could it be that they have decided to abandon me because I can no longer have children till a solution is found? If that's the case, then I'm going to make sure that I kill that son of a b*tch and his b*tch! Even if I go to jail after that, I would have already taken my revenge on them.'
Creak!
At this moment, the door of the ward opened and a doctor wearing the normal white coat entered the room. In her hands was a file that Collins remembered all so well. This was the file that was used to monitor his recovery progress.
The doctor looked at Collins and greeted. "How are you doing today?"
Collins was brought out of his reverie as he looked at the female doctor in front of him. She was a beauty, a mature one. And, of course, Collins' lustful side kicked in as he ogled at the doctor.
His undisguised gaze made the doctor frown. She gave up on asking about his condition and went straight to the point that had brought her here. She had been trying to keep up with Collins behavior of ogling at her for a few days now, but she couldn't take it anymore.
"From your silence, I can tell that you are finally okay and ready to be discharged from the hospital. You don't have to worry about the bills and so on because they have already been paid. So, you can be free to leave after you change from the ward clothes. Have a nice trip home." The doctor stated.
Immediately after she was done, she turned away from Collins and headed for the door.
The doctor's words brought Collins from his stupor. The moment that he recalled what the doctor had just said, he immediately felt that his world was crumbling.
He rushed to get out of bed but he injured himself in the process. He was still not yet fully healed as he still had to stay here for a while more, about two weeks more to be precise.
He groaned in pain. But, he managed to get a hold of himself as he shouted at the doctor who was already at the door. "Doctor, I'm not okay at all. I still need more time to recover!"
But, no matter how hard he shouted, the doctor ignored him as she turned towards the two officers that were standing by the door and spoke.
"I have confirmed that the patient is in a good condition. So, I'm going to discharge him from the hospital today."
The officers turned towards her before they looked into the room where Collins was staggering towards the door. Then, they cast a gaze at the doctor with raised brows.
"Are you sure that he is already in a good condition? From the way that he is walking, he seems not well." One of the police officers spoke.
"Don't worry about that. This guy must be pretending that he is not healed yet so that we can delay taking him to face the charges that are placed against him. Do you think that a doctor would make a mistake?" The other officer spoke. He was the one that had chased Collins' parents the other time a week ago.
"Ah, that should be the case." The other officer also thought that this was the case. So, he nodded at the doctor and said, "Thank you doctor. Just go through the required procedures so that he can be discharged. We will take him away immediately after that."
The doctor who was about to regret what she had done finally calmed down. From the way that the two officers were behaving, it was obvious that they didn't care about Collins' condition at all.
This put her at ease. So, she smiled at them before she nodded and left. She had to get rid of Collins as fast as possible.
Collins on the other hand was despairing. What did he just see? He was still not healed but they were claiming that he was good to go? He was pretending? This was not how it was!
"I really am still not yet in a good condition! I still need a month, no, I mean a year before I can finally get back into a good condition!" Collins shouted in a panicked voice.
But, his words earned him a glare from the two officers. Now, they were sure that Collins was pretending. After all, according to the doctor, there were supposed to be only two weeks at most that remained for Collins to recover enough to be taken to court.
But it seemed that they had underestimated Collins' recovery speed as he had recovered earlier than the time that he was supposed to. And now that he was claiming that he still needed a year more, it was obvious that he was trying to dodge the case that was upon him.
Collins was trying to get out of the room to chase after the doctor. He still had to make sure that the doctor said that he wasn't healed yet. Otherwise, he was going to have to leave the hospital in pain and at the same time, he would have to go to court without even meeting his parents.
And without his parents' support, he would be sent to prison, that was for sure. But, he wasn't willing to go there without even doing his own revenge. That was just unacceptable to him.
But the moment that he stepped out of the room, the two officers blocked his way. "You are not allowed to leave this ward. Otherwise, the moment that you try doing so, we will consider you trying to escape." One of the officers spoke.
The two of them had been here for a whole two weeks. Although they were only there during the day shift, they also got bored by staying there for a long time. They were people who were used to venturing around the city during their time of duty.
But now that they had been given a single place to take care of for whole two weeks, they couldn't let go of a chance that would allow them to get out of here. They would rather be given the duty of going after the ruffians in the streets, rather than standing idle at the door.
Yes, they had been standing out there for several hours, just to keep watch over Collins. This had bored them to a bigger extent that they wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. To say the least, they were tired.
Collins on the other hand couldn't accept the results that was before him. He waved his arms around wildly as he shouted, "This is not acceptable. I am not in a good condition to go out yet!"
"Aren't you the one who's forcing himself out of the ward?" An officer asked in return.
"But they want to discharge me out of the hospital!" Collins roared back.
"But you are trying to get out of the ward earlier than your supposed to. This in itself shows that the doctor's decision is correct. So, young man, better get back into the room before we force you. And don't try pretending that you're still not healed after 2 weeks." The officer retorted with a sharp tone.
In the end, Collins was forced to remain inside until he was finally discharged after about 30 minutes. And the moment that the doctor gave the documents that showed that Collins had been discharged from the hospital, the two officers smiled widely as they carried Collins like a sack of lifesaving potatoes.
Since the guy was 'pretending' to be injured, the two officers didn't mind and carried him out of the hospital. They thought that this was a small price for them to pay as long as they were going to be freed from the duty that had been placed on them.
When they got out of the hospital, they got into a car that was waiting there for them already. They had previously contacted their superiors to inform them that the suspect had already been discharged from the hospital and was ready to be taken away.
Without wasting much time, they shoved Collins into the back of the car and followed him in. The car was immediately driven away a moment later.
Although Collins was still resisting, there was nothing that he could do to compete against the two police officers. And soon, he was inside the police station where he was detained to await for his court hearing.
…
The following day, he finally got someone to visit him. This person who was the lawyer that had been handling his family cases all this while. He was hired by his father to take care of his cases in case there was one.
"It is a good thing that you are here Raphael. I have been waiting for a long time now. Get me out of this cell. And where the heck is my father and mother?" Collins began shouting frantically as he looked at the lawyer who had just arrived outside his cell.
Raphael was currently wearing a suit. But from the looks of it, the suit was quite dirty. It seems that he had been wearing the same suit for at least 2 days. His hair was messed up. His eyes had dark spots below them.
This was another indication that he had not gotten enough rest for a long period of time. In other words, he was currently worn out.
The moment that he heard Collins' words, his frustrations welled up. He slammed his fist on the bars of the cell as he shouted at Collins. "Who the f*ck do you think you are? Do you think that I'm here because I like it? Humph, you better not try talking to me as if I'm your subordinate anymore.
I'm only here to inform you that your parents have been arrested. And they should be up in court at the same time as you. All the businesses under your father have been either sold off or have gone bankrupt. In other words, you are completely poor, even a beggar is better than you.
This is the last thing that I'm going to do, I am informing you about your parents current situation because I'm grateful to whatever your family did for me. But that ends now because I have already done enough. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐧𝗲𝘁
This should be enough to repay for whatever you did for me. So don't come looking for me in the future because we are done." Raphael finished his ranting, completely ignoring the pain that he was feeling due to how hard he had punched the cell's bar.
The moment that he finished saying whatever he had in mind, he turned away and left. He completely ignored Collins whose eyes were currently almost lifeless.
And true, Collins cared nonetheless that the lawyer had left. He was just thinking about what he had been informed. He was wondering what really happened when he was in the hospital. His family had gone bankrupt? Several businesses under his father had been sold?
This was completely illogical to him. Even though he was not that serious with the family business, that didn't mean that he was completely clueless about it. He knew the situation of the family business before he was hospitalized.
Instead of going bankrupt, the businesses that were under his father were supposed to be blooming right now. After all, his father had many connections that he could utilize to continue making sure that he soared at greater heights than the ones that he was currently in.
But now, he had just been informed that all the businesses under his father were gone. Either sold or gone bankrupt. His father and mother were supposed to be in court at the same time as him.
And to make matters worse, there was a fact that his family was currently poor. And knowing the information about bankruptcy, this was a situation where a business brought heavy debts on the person who was owning the business.
That meant that his family currently had several debts that were supposed to be paid off. It was no wonder that Raphael had said that even a beggar was better than them.
At this moment, Collins was experiencing more than just despair. He didn't know what to do or what to say. He could only sit on the floor as he stared at the entrance of the cell that he was locked in blankly.
But what he didn't know was the fact that he was the real cause behind whatever his family had undergone. Had he not made his moves towards Celine, and incurred Jack's anger, perhaps his family might have been prospering the way that it usually was.
At the end of the day, he had nobody to blame other than himself and the lust that he had. He failed to control it and it had cost him a lot. A price that he was going to pay for the rest of his life.
Perhaps in his reincarnation if there was, perhaps he would remember not to dare to do whatever he did on that specific night.
Celine had been training for two weeks, honing her fighting skills and building her strength. She wanted to be ready for anything, to be able to defend herself no matter what situation she found herself in.
She had been working hard under Jack's training. She never wanted to be a dead weight for Jack. That was a feeling that she didn't like. So, although she knew that she would not be as strong as he was at the moment, she was sure that she could help in the future.
She was aiming to complete the training that she had been undergoing so that she could start training her mother and Faith as well. Though, if she found that it was hard to do that, she would simply go ahead and ask for help from Denali.
On this day, she had left home and decided to venture around the city. It was on Saturday and Jack was busy with something. So, she had gone out together with Wendy and Angy so that they could relax.
Celine, Wendy, and Angy had been planning their girls' outing for days. They were all exhausted from work and needed a break, so they decided to spend a day in the city, exploring different parks and playing games.
The three friends met up early in the morning, their faces bright with excitement. They had packed a picnic basket full of snacks and drinks, and they were ready for a day of fun.
Their first stop was a large park on the outskirts of the city. They walked along the winding paths, taking in the beautiful scenery and enjoying the fresh air. They found a quiet spot under a tree and spread out a blanket, unpacking their picnic. 𝗯𝐞𝐝𝗻𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥.𝐜𝗼𝐦
As they ate, they talked and laughed, catching up on each other's lives and sharing funny stories. They took turns playing music from their phones, and they even got up and danced a little bit, not caring who was watching.
After lunch, they decided to play a game of Frisbee. They took turns tossing the Frisbee back and forth, giggling as they tried to catch it. They weren't very good, but they didn't care – they were just having fun.
As the afternoon wore on, they decided to venture into the heart of the city, to a park that was known for its games and activities. They played a game of basketball, cheering each other on as they made shots and stole the ball from each other.
Next, they tried their hand at mini-golf. They laughed as they missed the holes and joked about who was the worst at the game. But they didn't let their lack of skill stop them from having fun.
Finally, they ended the day at a skating stadium. They watched as several skaters practiced their skills or tried showing off. Furthermore, since the three of them were beautiful ladies, there were several people that tried hitting on them.
But, since both Wendy and Celine had boyfriends, none of them fell for the boys here nor for their skills. As for Angy, she didn't care about them at all. She just enjoyed seeing them perform and that's all.
As the sun began to set, they reluctantly returned to the parking lot and made their way back to their cars. They were tired, but they were also happy and content. They had spent the day exploring the city, playing games, and enjoying each other's company.
As they hugged goodbye, promising to do it again soon, they knew that they had made memories that would last a lifetime.
Celine didn't go out with her car on that day. The reason for that was simple, she didn't want to give up on the training that she was still undergoing under Jack. So, as the night zoomed in, she began taking a walk on the streets.
She knew that night time was the best time that the gangsters would be out. So, she took out her phone and texted Jack about her whereabouts before continuing with whatever she was doing.
She was sure that Jack was going to come. He had contacted her during the day before she informed him that she was spending her time with both her friends.
In the end, he compromised that he was the one who was going to spend the evening with her. And currently, it was late 17:00. It was almost dinner time and she had decided to spend that time with Jack.
As she was walking, she made sure to head towards the areas that were the least populated. Those were the sides that the gangsters usually revolved around. So if she wanted to get the gangsters that she would use for training, she had to make sure that she headed that way.
But even after a long while, she frowned as she had not met even a single gangster. This was quite unusual. But still, she continued walking, looking around.
She wasn't worried that Jack wouldn't find her because he could tracker location easily. She had made sure to leave the location on.
As time went by, she began getting frustrated from the lack of the gangsters in the streets. She had already taken the body strengthening solution so that she could recover from the tiredness that she had faced when she was spending time with her two sisters.
And as more time passed, instead of looking for those that were committing a crime somewhere, she had decided that she would fight whichever gangster she met.
So, when a group of gangsters crossed her path after a long while, she saw it as an opportunity to put her training to the test. They were standing outside a nightclub, their faces twisted into sneers as they watched the people going in and out.
Celine walked past them, her head held high, but she could feel their eyes on her. She knew that they were sizing her up, wondering what she was doing there. She ignored them and kept walking, but as she passed, one of the gangsters stepped forward and blocked her path.
"Where do you think you're going?" he said, his voice low and menacing.
Celine didn't flinch. She looked at the gangster straight in the eye and said, "I'm just passing through. Move out of my way." Celine didn't want to just attack them. She had to make sure that it was in such a way that it seemed that she was the one that was defending herself.
And that was why she had decided to do whatever she was doing now. She was sure that these guys wouldn't let her go just from her beauty being exceptional, and from the fact that the darkness was already beginning to loom in
The gangster laughed, a cruel sound that sent shivers down Celine's spine. "You think you're tough, little lady? Let's see how tough you really are."
And with that, the gangsters closed in on her, their fists clenched and their eyes gleaming with malice.
Celine stood her ground, her muscles tense and ready for action. She had been waiting for this moment, preparing for it, and she knew that she was ready.
The first gangster lunged at her, throwing a punch that Celine easily dodged. She countered with a swift kick to his knee, and he fell to the ground, clutching his leg in pain.
The other gangsters hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do. Celine took advantage of their hesitation, delivering a powerful blow to the next one's stomach.
The gangsters were tough, but Celine was tougher. She moved with lightning speed, dodging their punches and kicks and delivering powerful blows of her own.
The fight was brutal and intense, but Celine didn't back down. She fought with everything she had, her mind focused and her body strong.
The fight had attracted the attention of several people who were looking for entertainment. The moment that they saw that there was a fight, they decided that they could watch this.
The gangsters tried to overwhelm her with their numbers, but Celine was too fast and too skilled. She took them on one by one, wearing them down and slowly but surely gaining the upper hand.
The good thing was the fact that her abilities were above the average humans. She was about three times stronger and faster than the normal men. So, although it seemed that it was a difficult task for her, she was trying to restrict herself so that she didn't end up killing them.
Her aim was to beat them up and not to send them to the hospital with several broken limbs. Although they were the ones that had come after her, she wasn't ready for such a fight yet.
Though, she was sure that she would have to do it at some point in the future. But, that was something that she would leave for the future. As for now, she would continue with the fight that she was engaged in.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the last gangster fell to the ground, defeated. Celine stood over him, her chest heaving with exhaustion, her fists still clenched.
She had won the fight, but she knew that she couldn't let her guard down. There were always more threats out there, always more people who wanted to do her harm.
With a deep breath, Celine turned and walked away, her head held high. She knew that she had proven herself, that she was strong and capable, and that she was ready for anything, as long as it didn't involve guns.
Well, the numbers as well…
Celine and Jack sat across from each other at a cozy table in a bustling restaurant. They had been dating for two months now, and things were going well. As they sipped their drinks, they began to talk about their relationship and their future together.
"So, where do you see us in the next few years?" Jack asked, his eyes fixed on Celine.
Celine smiled. "Honestly, I see us traveling the world together, experiencing new cultures and trying new things. I want to see everything with you by my side."
Jack nodded, his eyes shining with excitement. "That sounds amazing. And what about our future as a couple?"
Celine took a deep breath. "I think we have something really special, Jack. I love you, and I want to build a life with you. But I also want to make sure we're on the same page about things."
"Of course," Jack said, leaning forward. "What's on your mind?"
"Well, I know we've talked about many things. But, Jack, I really love spending a lot of time with you. You have done a lot for me during the past period of time and I know that I have been on the receiving end all this while. I would also like to do something for you as well. But, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do." Celine said, fidgeting with her napkin.
Jack had given her the Tin Preservationists company that once belonged to Collins' family. That family had already been taken to court and had been sentenced, each of them at least five years of sentence.
But of course, the five years were only for Collins' mother. As for Collins and his father, each one of them was sentenced to 20 years and 40 years respectively.
Each of them had been found with several crimes that they had committed. All of these had been revealed by Jack. Collins was judged for both r*ape and attempted r*pe, kidnapping, murder and so on.
On the other hand, his father was sentenced for tax evasion, kidnapping, murder, fraud in business and several more other crimes.
Celine had gotten Jack's help when it came to the management of the company that he had given to her. Although all the decision-making was left to her, Jack was the person who was involved in the advertisement and marketing of the company.
He had even go ahead to provide her with several finances that boosted the company and enable it to create several branches in different cities. This was something that was still undergoing and not yet completed.
But of course, they had made sure to change the company's name so that they could wipe away the stain that Jack had smeared on it before. Currently, the company was named emerald food canning.
Now, it was not only involved in the meat canning, but also other foods that could be canned. This was something that was still ongoing as the changes who would take some time to take effect.
But with Jack's assistance, the changes and the expansion should only take about a month before the company was completely stabilized. Jack had after all used several media platforms to clean up the reputation of the company as well as to advertise it.
You had made sure to make all the public informed that the company had now been acquired by another person.
But of course, he didn't do the same thing as going forward to use the service that he had hacked previously to do the advertisement. He was sure that as long as he did that, he will be creating a lead for the cyber-police to come after him.
And since the company was under Celine's name, they would go after her and cause her a lot of trouble which was something that he didn't want.
Now, through Jack's help, she had managed to gain a lot. Not only in terms of the company that had handed to her, but also the shares that she had received from the baldy, the 12% shares of The Rose Entertainment Company.
She had also come to know that Jack had acquired all the other shares of the company. This had made that entertainment company one that was owned by the two of them. And although she only on 12% shares, she was also a decision maker.
This was something that Jack had emphasized on, the moment that he had informed her about his acquiring of the 88% shares of the company.
And although Celine knew that Jack was serious about the relationship between them, she didn't like the feeling of being on the receiving end of everything. And this was the exact reason as to why she had been working hard during the training period.
He had been intent on making sure that she would reduce the pressure that Jack was facing. This was so that, Jack wouldn't have to be protecting her all the time. And perhaps she could protecting him in the future with the strength that she was currently having.
Jack nodded understandingly. "I think that I understand. But still, I don't want to pressure you into anything, Celine. I just want to make sure we're both happy and fulfilled. And to say the least, I'm happy with giving you whatever I can. So don't burden yourself with those thoughts."
Celine smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Jack." But although she said that, she was still thinking of what she was going to do for Jack. In the end, she finally came to a decision. Since she couldn't help him with the bigger things at the moment, then she would do the smaller ones.
As their meals arrived, they shifted the conversation to lighter topics, laughing and joking as they ate. But in the back of their minds, they knew that they had a bright future ahead of them, filled with love and adventure.
After the meal, the two of them walked out of the restaurant holding hands. After a meal together, their moods were lightened up.
"So, what do you think? Should we go around so that we can help the food get digested faster?" Jack asked as he chuckled.
Celine looked at Jack with a bright smile on her face. Although she had already fought before Jack found her, she was still willing to engage herself in another fight.
All if this with the aim of making sure that she would not be considered as Jack's weakness. Furthermore, she knew that she had to develop some sense of indipendency because she didn't want to be so over reliant on Jack.
She had to create a life of her own. So, even though Jack would be present during most of the fights that would involve her, she would make sure to think that he wasn't there and there was a fact that she could be killed if she wasn't careful.
And, she appreciated the fact that Jack allowed her to be injured during the fights. This was a good thing that she loved about him. Although he was overly protective of her, he didn't dare to do something that would limit her progress or growth.
So, the injuries that she suffered during the fights reminded her of the fact that she had to grow up. Feeling the pain during a fight with something that honed her fighting instincts.
A while later, Celine stood In the middle of a dark alley, surrounded by ten ruffians who had been harassing a certain lady. She had come in at the right moment and saved the lady.
The ruffians allowed the other lady to walk away after they saw how beautiful Celine was. In other words, they had changed their targets, leaving the other one for the best one.
They smiled as one of them spoke. "Since you thought that she wasn't good for us, I guess that you can accompany us in her place?"
"Right, that's right. Since you came in and disturbed us, then you will just have to take the other lady's place as you are the one that had helped her escape.
Celine hated whatever these guys were about to do the most. After all, this reminded her of the incident with Collins. That was something that she didn't really want to remember, the despair that she had felt at that time was tormenting to her.
And now that she had chanced upon these guys trying to harass a female, she couldn't stand it at all. She took action immediately and kicked one of them. In this way, she had managed to gain the attention of the ruffians present.
In doing so, the other lady had managed to run away. Of course this was due to the fact that these 10 ruffians had allowed her to go. Otherwise, there was no way that she was going to escape from the clutches of the 10 people here.
Although this was the capital city of Azima, it was also true that there would be no way that the dark side would ever be absent in a city that was ruled by humans. 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗰𝐨𝗺
This was an ironclad rule that has existed for a long period of time. After all, humans did things according to their feelings, needs, and several other factors. As such, even the presence of the police force could not prevent the presence of the ruffians and gangsters in the city.
At the end of the day, even the police who were supposed to be maintaining peace and order, were sometimes the ones that were breaking it. As such, this side had to exist.
Celine was not one to back down from a fight. She stood tall, her muscles tensed and ready for action. The ruffians laughed and jeered when she didn't respond to their taunting, thinking they had an easy target.
They had completely forgotten about their fellow who had been kicked initially the moment that Celine arrived at the scene. That was just how they were, driven by whatever they thought they wanted the most.
"Alright, guys, let's get her." One of the rufianes stated before he rushed towards Celine.
But Celine was not easy. As the first ruffian lunged at her, she dodged to the side and delivered a swift kick to his knee. He crumpled to the ground, and Celine turned to face the next attacker.
The fight was long and brutal. Celine took on each ruffian one by one, dodging punches and kicks, and delivering powerful blows of her own. She was a skilled fighter, and her strength and agility were unmatched.
The ruffians were no match for Celine, but they were also tenacious. They kept coming at her, trying to wear her down. But Celine refused to give up. She fought with everything she had, and slowly but surely, she began to wear them down.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the last ruffian fell to the ground, defeated. Celine stood over him, breathing a little heavily. This time, due to her anger, she had been making several mistakes during the fight.
Sometimes she failed to exploit the chances that presented themselves to her in order to finish off the ruffians. And as a result, she had taken a lot of time as a lot of effort in order to take care of them.
"It seems that we have a lot of work to do." Jack stated as he walked behind Celine before he gave her a hug from behind.
Celine was started by Jack's sudden appearance. She had not managed to notice him the moment that he came towards her before hugging her.
Had it not been for the familiar feeling and scent that came from Jack that she had already gotten used to due to the long time that they had spent together, Celine would have attacked him immediately.
She took a deep breath when she realized that she had done something that was against what Jack had taught her. It meant that, she wasn't a good student.
"I'm sorry Jack." Celine stated from his embrace.
"Mmh? What for?" Jack questioned in confusion as he placed his chin on her shoulder.
"I didn't do well this time. I'm sure that if you had been an enemy, you would have already dealt a big blow to me the moment that I lost focus after dealing with the other ten guys." Celine replied in a low voice.
She couldn't even believe herself. She had just sworn to herself that she would make sure to work hard so that she could make sure that she improved and wasn't Jack's burden.
But now, had it been that there was another person that had come to attack her from behind, Jack would have been forced to come out and help her. This was something that she didn't want.
She bit her lips in frustration. She really didn't know why she had lost her cool the moment that she saw the ruffians trying to r*pe a lady. It seemed that she was still tormented by the trauma of that night and she didn't even realize it.
Just as she was still thinking, she felt something warm touching her cheeks. Her eyes widened a little when she saw that Jack had kissed her on the cheek.
This was actually the first time that Jack had been more intimate with her. Other than hugs, they had done nothing else. So, it came as a surprise to her that Jack had decided to advance a little further than that.
But all the same, she loved the feeling. She didn't hate the way that things were. If possible, she would have wanted him to kiss her more.
But, she was shy as the reddening of her face to the tip of her ears was a sign of it. It was just that since it was nighttime and they were in an alleyway that wasn't well lot, Jack couldn't see that.
"Don't worry about some things. I'm here with you, okay? I'm going to help you deal with the problems that you are having till you can finally stand on your own." Jack's voice reached her ears.
"Mmh." Celine nodded as she responded while leaning back on Jack's chest. She made sure to make herself more comfortable in his embrace as she tried recovering from the fatigue that she was experiencing after the long fight.
After a while, Jack spoke. "I guess that it's time for us to get back and take a good rest, don't you think so?"
Before Celine could say anything, he had already carried her princess style before he began walking out of the alley.
Just as he passed by one of the ruffians that had been beaten by Celine, he tried getting up. But no sooner had he raised his head than it was kicked by Jack.
He had to vent a little as this guy had spoken sh*t about his girl. But other than that, he did nothing else to the unconscious guy.
The moment that they exited the alley, Jack got into the Bugatti Veyron that was parked not so far away from there.
Of course, the way that Celine was snuggling on his chest as he carried her attracted the attention of several pedestrians. But of course, Jack simply ignored them.
After he put on the seatbelt, Jack drove away. "Should I take you back home or should I take you home?" Jack asked.
"Huh? Celine was confused by Jack's question.
"I'm asking, should I take you to your maternal home or your future matrimonial home?" Jack rephrased his question.
Celine blushed at that. From Jack's words, it was clear what his intentions were. He was planning to have her as his wife. And of course, she was happy about that.
When it came to the relationship between the two of them, this was something that she was always more open to. She was willing to discuss it as long as it involved the future of their relationship.
"I think I'll go to my future matrimonial home so that I can see how it looks like. Perhaps there is a chance that I can see the changes that will have to be made in the near future before I become a part of it." Celine replied with a smile on her face, thought, there was a faint red tint on her cheeks.
Jack smile widened when she decided to go to his villa for the night. Although he had yet to build a mansion, villa or whatever house that he wanted to have as his permanent home, the villa could currently be considered as his home.
So, he stepped on the accelerator and sped on the road. He overtook several cars while others opened the way for him as they were afraid that their car would scratch his Lamborghini.
It was also at moments like these ones that Jack loved driving a car that was high profile. At least, it was efficient on the road.
About forty minutes later, he arrived in front of his villa. Since the two of them had already eaten dinner, they didn't waste that much time. They took a shower before getting snacks.
What followed that was a good period of watching several movies that suited their liking. They hugged each other, laughed and commented on the movies that they were watching as time went on.
To say the least, they enjoyed their time together during that night. And when the final movie ended at almost 1 a.m., the two of them decided that it was finally time to sleep. All the following day was going to be on a Sunday, that didn't mean that they were going to be free.
The month of August is already approaching the end. It was already 29th of August. Just 2 days now and another month would begin. And just looking forward to the beginning of a new one because that was going to be the time that he was going to receive several rewards from the system apart from the income that he was supposed to receive.
Although he wasn't going to get the first month reward like the one that he had gotten during the beginning of this month, he was still looking forward to the first income rewards of several companies that he had acquired so far.
As for the other system reward, that would have to wait until the year ended. And at the time that the year would end and another would begin, he was sure that he was going to get another reward, better than the Glaze Hotel that he had received.
….
Inside a Manor several kilometers from serenity residential area, a man with a dark expression was looking at the doctor in front of him waiting for his report.
"Mr. Nathan, the young master will be waking up very soon. He should be up in around 30 minutes from now." The doctor stated. He was their private doctor that was hired by the Jesda family.
He was the one who had been taking care of Arthur ever since he was brought back completely injured. He had not woken up even once, but now that there was a chance for him to wake up, Nathan wasn't going to let this just go.
"Are you sure that there are no complications at all?" Nathan questioned.
"There are no other complications other than the ones that we found previously. So unless there are some that we have not yet found, we will have to wait until he wakes up." The doctor replied calmly.
"Okay then." Nathan nodded his head before he entered the room where Arthur was.
When Nathan stepped into the room, he saw that other was lying on the bed. He had been this way since the day that he had been brought home by the three bodyguards that he always took with him.
The doctor who belong to the Jesda family was the one who had tended to him during the previous weeks. And according to the report that the doctor had given, Arthur's condition wasn't life-threatening at all.
But there was a single problem, it was for the fact that Arthur may not be able to walk again. In other words, he might have been crippled for life. This was something that Nathan could not accept.
Arthur was his only son at the moment. Although he had two other daughters, they didn't have any chance at taking the position of the family head.
Even though Arthur was someone who liked to play and didn't mind the family business that much, Nathan didn't care about that. Since he was not going to take the position as a family head, then at least his son had to take the mantle.
If possible, he would have had his eldest daughter to compete for the position of the family head. But there was an ironclad rule in the family. There was no way that a woman was going to take the position of the family head.
According to the ancestors who had said this rule, they had thought that if the daughters of the house inherited the position of the family head, then their husbands would find a way of controlling the whole family.
So as to avoid the situation where the family and all its assets fell into the hands of another person who wasn't part of the family, they had decided on making sure that only the male children were going to take the position of the family head.
As for the female, it didn't matter to them even if they were married or not. As long as they were women, they were not allowed.
Nathan himself knew that his son was incompetent for the position of the family head. But what choice did he have? He was a person who was hungry for power. And by the position of the family head being held by his son, then he could control all the assets of the family.
This was something that he wanted. In other words, he was planning to use his son as a puppet. Although Arthur was going to make the front as the family head, he was the one who was going to make all the decisions concerning the family.
And this was the exact reason as to why he had been trying to restrict Arthur from doing anything that would make the old man of the family refuse to hand over the position to him. As for whatever trouble he caused out there, he had make sure to handle it well and hide it from the eyes of the old man.
But now, there was a problem here. Other than the fact that Jonathan was back to the family after a one-year period of his disappearance, Arthur had gotten himself crippled. This had gone ahead to limit the chances that he had for the position of the family head.
Nathan himself had been trying to take care of Jonathan, trying to eliminate him from the competition of the family head. But all his efforts ended up in vain.
Other than the fact that he had to hide his tracks so that they would track anything towards him, Jonathan was abnormally lucky. He had managed to evade several assassination attempts that he had made for him.
And as such, all the money that Nathan had spent in hiring all the assassins was wasted. When he finally hired spider, he had thought that spider would take care of Jonathan. But in the end, Jonathan was back and his activities were now more fierce than they ever were.
Initially, Jonathan was the person who had the highest chance of acquiring the position of the family head. And now that he had begun working even harder to ensure that his actions were noticed by the old man, then this was no different from him trying to cement his position as the new family head even before the selection was done.
Although he was frustrated, Nathan could only swallow his anger and bitterness as he looked at his son who was currently unconscious. He knew that he had to make a move soon.
He had already managed to convince the other people who were trying to compete for the position of the family had to back down. This was something that he had done during the one year that Jonathan was not around.
When Jonathan disappeared without a trace, he had thought that perhaps his son would get the position of the family head. As such, he had offered a lot of benefits to the other competitors of the position of the family head.
And then, he had allowed other to be free for a while. But who knew that all his plans would come crashing down at once? Not only was Jonathan not dead, but even Arthur, the person that he had been trying so hard, so that he could achieve the position of the family head was now crippled.
He was currently sure that if Arthur did not managed to get back on his feet as soon as possible, then they could only wave goodbye to the position of the family head.
Without him noticing, minutes went by and soon, over 30 minutes had gone by since he entered the room. He only came back to his senses only when he heard the sound of sheets moving from the side where the bed was.
He looked towards the bed and saw that his son was finally awake. He was trying to move his arms around, but all his efforts were futile.
Currently, Arthur was covered in all white. Bandages were all over his body added together with the areas where his limbs were broken. So, it was quite a difficult task for other to move his hands or legs. The only thing that could ever that moment was the neck that was spared.
But even so, the head was inspired by the assailant. The person had made sure to beat up other on the head. And as such, only the slits of the eyes the nose and the mouth were left uncovered by the bandages.
Nathan gritted his teeth thinking about the person who had done this to his son, his only ticket to the position that he had ever been dreaming of.
Still, he managed to come down as he came close to Arthur. He then asked, "Who is the person that did this to you?" 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗻𝐨𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
That is right, what Nathan cared the most about at this moment was, who was the person who had attacked Arthur. He didn't even care about his son's health at all. At the end of the day, he wasn't a doctor and there was nothing that he could do even if he knew that Arthur was in pain.
Arthur was first confused about what was going on. He had just woken up from a long slumber and as a result his memories were a mess. And after a while, he had managed to organize these memories together before saying whatever he was thinking at that moment. "A fake Jonathan!"
"What nonsense are you saying?" Nathan asked. He was wondering if his son had gotten confused after he was beaten up this brutally, or there was a game that he was trying to play here.
"The one that had beaten be up this way was the fake Jonathan. No, in fact, there were to Jonathans and all of them beat me up." Arthur replied in a frenzied voice.
Previously, since he was the one who was on the losing end, he could only go ahead and receive the beating from Jack. But now that you was in front of his father, his only backer, he was going to tell the truth about what had happened on that day.
He really wanted to get his revenge as soon as possible. And as such, he didn't even care about the retaliation that would come if he dared to attack Jack again. According to him, his father was invincible in the family.
Nathan on the other hand was getting even more confused about the situation. He was wondering if his son had already gone mad after receiving the beating.
He frowned as he thought of the solution to this problem. He had already asked the three bodyguards about what had happened to Arthur. In the end, those three gave him the same answers.
They said that Arthur had told them to stay away from him for a while. After that, he had left. They as his bodyguards of course wouldn't let him go away without protection. So, they had make sure to track his location and followed him closely.
In the end, they had waited for a long period of time but Arthur didn't even show up. So, they had decided to storm into the room that he was in. But what they found was a crippled Arthur, whom they took to the hospital directly, before he was brought back to the family manor.
Since Arthur was unconscious at that time, Nathan had no choice but to wait until he woke up so that he could get the first-hand report from him. But still, he had made sure to keep an eye on all the three bodyguards so that they would not slip away.
"Can you get serious and tell me who the hell injured you in this manner?!" Nathan yelled at Arthur in both anger and frustration.
He wanted to know who It was that had dared to try ruining his plans. As for whether Arthur would get back to his feet or not, was not his concern at the moment.
"Eh?" Arthur was surprised by the loud voice that Nathan used on him. This was actually the first time that he had seen his father being angry at him. Even though there were several times that he had made mistakes, Nathan had always been gentle with him.
He had only been spoiling him since he was young. As such, this was a new experience for him. But before he could even think further about what was going on, he heard Nathan snorting at him.
"Are you going to speak, or are you not going to talk until I get the words right out of your mouth by myself?"
Looking at the called eyes that were staring back at him, Arthur felt a chill running down his spine. He shivered a little before he hurriedly replied. "The one that beat me up was Jonathan. There were two of them at that time."
Nathan looked at his son with a cold expression on his face. Presently, he was just thinking about what he was supposed to do. If it was Jonathan who was involved, even he himself had to be careful in whatever he was going to do next.
After all the years that he had spent trying to deal with Jonathan, he had come to a realization that Jonathan was not someone who could be dealt with easily without having the family knowing about it. And since that was the case, then he will have to change his tactics.
With narrowed eyes, he thought to himself, 'Since you dare to lay a hand on my son, my only ticket to power, then let's play the game that you are trying. You think just because you are the favorite to win the position of the family head, you can be arrogant and do whatever you want?
Then let me see how you're going to deal with that old man. At the end of the day, you are the one who broke the rules of the family.'
Immediately after making up his mind, Nathan turned away from the bed and headed outside the room. He was intent on having the family rules on his side. In this way, he could at least eliminate the most dangerous opponent that he was currently facing.
Arthur, on the other hand, was surprised that his father was leaving immediately after he had informed him of the person who had attacked him. I couldn't help but think to himself that perhaps his father was incensed in that he was going to deal with Jonathan at that exact moment.
But whatever he didn't know was the fact that, Nathan had completely ignored the part where he stated that there were two Johnathans. According to Nathan's analysis, there was a problem with Arthur's way of thinking after a long time of slumber.
….
On Sunday, Jack and Celine spent the day together. They went on to enjoy themselves by visiting several places that made them relax. On that day, Jack didn't have Celine undergo the training.
He wanted her to relax as well. At the end of the day, the following day was going to be on a Monday. And as such, she was going to be quite busy with office work and so on.
Although her mother and Faith had tried to free her from all these duties by working overtime, they couldn't handle the work from two different companies. After all, apart from the Angels' Prominence, there was also Emerald Food Canning.
Since the company was handed over to have by Jack, she had decided that she was the one who was going to personally manage it. After this was the reason as to why she was going to have a very busy schedule the following day.
Jack wanted her to relax so that she could handle whatever she was going to do the following day easily. After all, there was still a lot of work to be done for that company.
He himself was also busy. Although he had the help of Denali and Ayush, they were still not enough for the management of all the companies that were under him currently. Other than the two entertainment companies that he had gained recently due to the multiplier effect by the system when received the 10% shares of Kalmond from Jonathan, there were still other companies that still needed him to take care of.
But what he would be involved mostly during the following day was definitely the research and dealing with all those that had provoked him. He had to deal with them as soon as possible to relieve his mind of all the thinking that he had to do about what he was supposed to do to them.
After spending the day together, enjoying each other's company, the two of them returned to their specific homes. Jack took Celine back to her parents' house before he went back to his villa.
The moment that he got back to the villa, he took out his laptop as he decided that it was finally time for him to deal with another person that he had been delaying recently.
He had left Arthur and his father off the hook for a good while now. So, it was finally time that he began putting them in their places. As such, he had to get all the necessary information that he could get about them before he began taking any further actions on them.
He would rather not start dealing with them, to only stop in between simply because he had failed to get a certain important piece of information.
But of course, the main reason as to why he was putting in some effort into the research was simply because he wanted to deal with Nathan as a person and not the whole Jesda family.
Jack was going to take over the entire Jesda family in the near future. Since the two of them were not enemies, then he would have to make sure that he doesn't affect him.
With his current abilities, Jack believed that he could deal with Nathan, although he had the backing of the Jesda family. After all, although he was a part of the Jesda family which had assets that were worth hundreds of billions of dollars, that didn't mean that he was the one who was controlling them.
Furthermore, the Jesda family wasn't that peaceful at all. In other words, there were competitions and enemies from every angle. Had it not been for the family rules that restricted the members of the family resorting to killing each other, then it was a sure bet that there would be several people that wouldn't see the lights of the following day.
As such, Jack had decided that he would get all the information on Nathan. His allies and his enemies would be included in the list as well. He would use the enemies to destroy him. As for the allies, those he wouldn't care about as long as they didn't get involved.
The reason as to why he wanted to deal with Nathan in this way was because he had actually been involved with the death of his mother. Or, to be precise, he was the real cause of his mother's death.
And such a person was the one that Jack wouldn't spare at all. He would first make sure that whatever he was proud of was dealt with. And what followed that would be simple, he would have to face the same thing as the one that Anne had faced, death.
After he was done with the research about all the information about Nathan, he would then start dealing with the lackeys that had been used by Collins to kidnap Celine. He had to fulfill his promise after all.
Without wasting any more time, Jack began typing several codes on his laptop. And one by one, he began accessing the information about Nathan.
He had already gotten various pieces of information about Nathan from Johnathan. So, the hacking and searching for the information about Nathan was something that Jack was able to handle easily.
All the account statements, the text messages and the chats that he had been having for years, all the contacts that he had been having for a long time, all of them were unearthed by Jack one after the other.
. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝒏𝙤𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝒄𝙤𝙢
After that, Jack began looking into the deals that Nathan was involved. Either legal or illegal, he made sure to get all of them. With his speed and proficiency when it came to the utilization of the computer related items, he was able to get all the information.
All the contracts and so on were saved in Nathan's laptop. So, by using Nathan's email, he managed to hack into Nathan's laptop and got all the information that could be found there.
Not only there, but even the phone and any other electronic device that he had used the email or his phone number on. Jack managed to hack into all of them and got the information that he had wanted.
"Now that we are done here, I guess that it is finally time that we start playing the game." Jack muttered with a smile as he looked at his phone. He could see that it was already 1 past midnight.
Inside a well furnished room, two people sat facing each other. One of them was Nathan, a man who was in his late fifties. He was currently wearing a loose brown shirt and a pair of white trousers.
His eyes were sharp as he gazed at the other person that was seated across him in the room. This man seemed older than Nathan considering that there were several more wrinkles on his face as compared to Nathan whose hair had just began turning grey.
This man had sharp features. From the looks of it, he was a handsome man during his youth as he still maintained a certain charm even though he was already old.
This man was wearing a green t-shirt accompanied by loose grey sweat pants. Just from the looks of it, one could tell that he was a man who liked to be free from all things that would cause his life to be boring.
Too bad that he was born in a family where each and everyone's performance mattered the most when it came to the matters concerning authority and the ability to speak and get whatever one wanted to get.
This man was called Martin. He was Nathan's older brother, as well as Anita and Anne's eldest sibling.
"What is it Nathan, you know that I have got a lot of things to do at the moment. So, I would appreciate if you could tell me whatever it is that you wanted to see me for as soon as possible so that I can get going." Martin spoke with an impatient tone.
"Come on brother, you are saying that you are busy with something when you were sleeping when I asked to see you?" Nathan looked at his brother, disbelief clear in his eyes.
"What? You don't think that sleeping is something that can make a person to be considered being busy?" Martin asked with narrowed eyes.
"That can be considered if this was nighttime. But now, it's only 2pm. It's still during the day. So, you should at least be doing something right now. At the end of the day, this Is the first date of the month of September." Nathan stated.
"You should know that the weather has already began changing. We have just experienced summer, the temperatures were quite high. But now that autumn has come in, the temperatures have already began dropping. So, let me take a rest. Hurry up with whatever you want to say so that I can go to sleep." Martin complained.
They were currently in his house that was located at the east end of the family manor. He didn't even want to leave the house because he felt that he couldn't handle the changes in the weather conditions.
"Humph." Nathan snorted before he finally spoke about what had brought him to see his brother. "I have been trying to contact father and uncle recently, since Saturday. But, all of them are turning me down for the meeting."
"What did you do to make them stop coming to see you when you requested their audience?" Martin questioned as he eyed Nathan. From what he knew, both his father and uncle would definitely not refuse to seeing any of them.
But, the condition for that was that, they had to be having something urgent that would actually need their intervention. Otherwise, there would be a punishment that would come in the moment that the two elderlies found that they were being disturbed.
Unlike the old fogies that were found in the fantasies, who would spend a lot of time in seclusion to increase their strength, the elders of the Jesda family were different.
They were the ones that were in charge of the main family businesses that were either in or out of the country. So, they didn't like to be disturbed.
Although they were already old, they would only stop working when they had finally found someone that was going to replace them. Though, they would supervise their inheritors to make sure that he was on the right track before they finally retire. 𝚋𝚎dno𝚟𝚎l.n𝚎𝚝
Normally, by such a time where they were already in their early or late eighties and some in their late nineties, they would have already retired. But, there was something that had happened a few decades back in that, the elders decided that they would not leave the reigns of the family to the generation that came after them.
In other words, it was only the second generation that came after them that would take over the family. So, they had been work themselves off till this moment where they were supposed to have retired already.
"I haven't done anything to irk them at all. As long as I can remember, there is nothing that I did that is not according to the family rules." Nathan stated.
Martin looked at him with squinted eyes. Of course he didn't believe in such a blatant lie to his face. From the way that he knew this brother of his, he was someone that would do anything to get whatever he wanted.
And considering that recently, there were many people who had been competing for the position of the family head that had decided not to compete further, leaving only two people, Nathan's son and Anita's son.
Though, he decided not to talk about this as it would end up extending the time that he was going to spend awake.
"Alright, just tell me what you were going to tell them so that I can see if it's something that I can ask father to come out and handle." Martin waved his hand as he stated.
Nathan's lips twitched at Martin's words. Just from the way that he was saying things, it could easily be thought that he usually came to speak nonsense to his father and uncle. He had no time to waste on other things like that as he had a long list of things to do so that he could get whatever power he wanted.
"I wanted to talk about my son, Arthur. He was attacked and beaten to that extend by Johnathan. Now, not only has my son become a cripple who we don't know if he would ever be able to walk again, he is already have a problem with his mind due to the harsh beating that he received." Nathan stated.
The more that he spoke about the situation, the more angry he got at that. The only ticket that he had to gain power, control over the whole Jesda family, had suddenly been torn. It was now a wonder whether it could be fixed or not.
Martin looked at Nathan, doubt clear in his eyes. He then spoke, "Are you sure that you are not mistaking Johnathan for someone else?"
"What do you mean brother? This is the information that I have gotten from my son who has just woken up not long ago." Nathan retorted with a frown on his face.
"And you just said that your son is having a problem with his mind. Could it be that he mistook Johnathan for someone else?" Martin questioned further.
"I said that there was a problem with his mind, but who the heck said that he is having a problem with his memory?!" Nathan shouted as he pointed his finger at Martin.
"Come on, I'm just trying to make sure that things are on the right track here. Furthermore, why would Johnathan do something that is completely against the family rules and leave all the evidence there is to find?" Martin shrugged as he replied before he asked again.
"Although he just woke up, he could still remember that I'm his father. And when I asked about who was behind the condition that he was in, he stated that it was Johnathan. How do you even know that Johnathan thought that Arthur would be in a coma forever and never wake up?" Nathan practically roared at this moment.
He was even regretting over the fact that he had actually come over to ask for his unreliable brother's help. Had there been any other choice, he would have chosen that rather than coming over to try convincing his brother about the truth.
Martin looked at Nathan with suspicion. He was wondering if this was a way that Nathan had devised so that he could clear the way for his son towards the position of the family head.
According to the family rules, as long as one didn't want to become the family head, then that person would never be allowed to get into that position. And if a person went against the family rules, that person would also not be allowed to take over the position.
Clearly, all the other previous competitors had stated that they didn't want to compete for the position of the family head any longer. So, the moment that they declared so, they were no longer qualified for that position again.
"Are you trying to use the family rules to eliminate our nephew out of the competition? You know that there would be investigation that would be carried out to find out the truth behind the matter. So, if they find that you were trying to accuse Johnathan about this, you would face severe punishment." Martin stated.
"I know the family rules all too well brother. There is no need for you to go ahead and remind me about them. It has already been over fifty years since I began recounting the family rules." Nathan stated. At the same time, there was a tinge of hatred that flashed in his eyes.
The family rules, this was something that had prevented him from taking over the position of the family head. It was just these family rules situation that had prevented his generation from ever taking over as the head of the family.
And the reason as to why he couldn't take or compete for the position of the family head was because of Anne. This was the reason as to why he hated her to the core, although she was his sister. She was the reason as to why he had failed to obtain something that he had been dreaming of for a very long period of time.
This was the reason as to why he had resorted to using his son to get the position of the family head. Although previously, his son had said that he wasn't interested in the position. But in the end of it all, he had managed to make that stupid son of his agree to become the family head, then leave everything for him to handle.
But now, it was as if the heavens were against him being the leader of the family. Not only had the chance gone away due to something that didn't even matter to him, but the current one was also being snatched away.
He wasn't going to accept something like that. This was the reason as to why he had decided that he had to make sure that he would utilize the family rules to make sure that, Jonathan would no longer be eligible to compete for the position of the family head.
In this way, even if his son was still a cripple, since he was the only person in the family who was eligible to taking the position, then, his father and uncle would have no choice but to hand over the position to him.
He himself would volunteer to help him in making the decisions concerning the family. In this way, he could manage to assure the old men that, there would be no problems in the family in the future.
Martin seemed not to have been convinced by whatever Nathan was saying. He looked at his younger brother and said, "Have you tried investigating so that you can find out if, whatever your son told you was actually the truth, or, he was trying to lie his way out?"
"Brother, just from the way that my son was speaking about Jonathan, it was clear enough that he was quite scared about Jonathan. It was obvious that he had undergone a trauma in the hands of Jonathan who is supposedly his cousin." Nathan stated without even thinking about it.
He was ready to push things forward as long as they proved to be effective. And if they found that whatever Arthur was saying was utter nonsense, then he would simply push the blame to Arthur.
To him, Arthur who didn't have any type of hunger for power was not a person that he would consider a son. Had it not been for the fact that he wanted to utilize him to acquire more power, he would have completely cared about nothing that happened to him.
On seeing that his brother was quite serious about whatever he was talking about, Martin could only shake his head before saying, "Okay then, I will try to contact father and see if he can arrange for a meeting between us. In this way, you can present all the information that you have that is related to the issue where Jonathan attacked your son."
"Thank you, brother. I really do appreciate your help." Nathan finally revealed a smile on his face as he thanked Martin.
"Whatever, I'm going back to sleep." Martin waved hands as he got out of his seat, ready to go back to his bedroom to enjoy his sleep that had been interrupted by his younger brother.
"When are you going to contact father, brother?" Nathan hurriedly asked. He wasn't willing to give Jonathan any more time that he could utilize to do more things. He had been doing things that had made him suspicious recently.
But all the same, since he had not utilized anything from the family, Nathan didn't want to engage him or ask whatever he was doing. At the end of the day, Jonathan had his own freedom as a person even as a member of the Jesda family.
"I will contact father tomorrow morning." Martin replied lazily before he began working towards his bedroom.
"Brother, you have to do this today. This is something urgent. If you delay any longer, then perhaps Jonathan might use this chance to cover all the tracks and evidence that would point towards him." Nathan rushed towards Martin and pulled him by his hand as he tried to prevent him from entering back into the bedroom. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝒏𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙣𝒆𝙩
He knew that, the moment that Martin entered the bedroom, it would be a difficult task to bring him out.
"Can't you wait a little longer? I want to sleep already!" Martin complained.
Just before Nathan could say anything, his phone rang. He followed his brows as he wondered who it was that was calling him at this moment. According to his plans and schedules, there was supposed to be nobody calling him during the weekends, especially on Sunday that he had dedicated to his rest.
He was forced to release Martin's arm as he tried to pick up the phone from his trouser pocket. When he looked at the person who was calling him, he found out that it was his personal secretary.
This was actually the last person that he had been expecting to be calling him at such a time. After all, as a personal secretary, he definitely knew about his schedule and arrangements that he made on a daily basis.
With disgruntlement, received the call before asking, "What is it that you call me now? Don't you know that today is on a weekend, and I'm supposed to be free from all the work duties?"
"Boss, there is a problem with all the laptops and computers that have your email." A panicked male voice came through the earpiece of the phone.
"What do you mean by saying there's a problem? Can't you be specific about what you're trying to talk about?" Nathan grumbled.
"What I meant to say was that, all the computers and the laptops that have been signed in or are using your email account are kind of malfunctioning. They are revealing all the information that was supposed to be kept a secret." The person on the other end of the line responded.
Nathan's brows furrowed deeper when he heard that. He turned his attention to his brother so that he could excuse himself, only to find that this brother of his had already slipped into the bedroom.
Shaking his head, he decided to put aside the matter concerning Johnathan and deal with the most urgent one. He had kept a lot of secrets on his computers and laptops.
But, all of them were the ones that only he and his personal secretary knew about. Furthermore, there were even some of them that only he could access.
But now that he was being informed that there were some laptops and computers, as long as they were using his email account, were malfunctioning.
"I'll be calling you back when I'm free in about 5 minutes." Immediately after he said that, he ended the call and exited his brother's house. He was practically rushing towards his own house so that he could confirm if whatever he was being told was true.
Since all the laptops and computers that had used his email were malfunctioning, then that simply meant that even the one that he was having in his house could malfunction as well.
When he got into his house, he headed straight into his bedroom where his laptop was placed. And just as he had been told before, he found the laptop that he had left in sleeping mode was currently on.
And to make matters worse, whatever was being displayed on the screen of the laptop was something that he usually kept as a secret. It was the information about a certain transaction that he had been hiding for a long time now.
But all the records were flashing through the screen of the laptop again and again. This made his heart thump crazily. Just thinking about all this information being revealed to another person, it gave him a heck of a scare.
He hurriedly took the laptop and tried to exit the information that was being displayed by the document reader. But no matter what button he pressed on the laptop, nothing responded at all.
Left with no other choice, he could only smash the laptop to make sure that it had gone off. This was because even the power button had failed to work.
Wiping their small beads of sweat that had already accumulated on his forehead, Nathan couldn't help but wonder to himself, "What is going on?"
This was something that had never happened to him before. And neither had he ever heard about this happening to anyone that he knew of. So, could it be a certain virus that targeted his email account?
But that didn't make any sense to him. After all, if there was actually a virus that could affect something as long as it was linked to the email, then this was an extremely dangerous virus that had to be taken care of as soon as possible.
"The good thing is that I have saved all the important information in this laptop inside my email. This should help me in recovering them at the time that I will need them." Nathan muttered to himself after releasing a deep sigh.
But just then, he thought of a crucial fact that he had almost forgotten about. The fact that, only his secrets were being shown after this so-called 'virus' appeared in his email account.
He narrowed his eyes as he thought of something, "Could it be that there's someone who is currently targeting me? Who could it be?" Nathan asked himself as he tried to think of anybody who had the enmity with him, and had the ability to do what was being done right now.
But no matter what he thought about, he couldn't find anything interesting that pointed to a certain someone. In the end, he was left guessing who the person that was targeting him was.
Although he could do anything to get the power that he so wished to get, there were some times that he had to do the opposite of creating enemies. That was the time when he first the people who were at a level higher than him.
He wouldn't mind making an enemy out of a person who was at the same level as him because, he believed that he would surpass that person very soon.
But someone who was at a higher level than him, that was a person who he would try to befriend so that he could get all the benefits that could be gotten from that person.
That was his way of doing things. If you don't support him and you are at the same level as him, then you better be ready to be his enemy. And if you are at a level higher than him, then you better get ready to be used.
Just as he was immersed in his thinking, his phone rang again, bringing him out of his stupor. He looked at the screen of the phone and noticed that it was his personal secretary that was calling again.
The laptop incident had caused him to forget about the time that he informed his personal secretary to call him about 5 minutes later. Now that he thought about it, he hurriedly picked up the call. 𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗰𝗼𝐦
"I like computers and laptops they are still malfunctioning?" He questioned the moment that he received the call.
"Yes boss. As long as the laptop or computer was connected to the power source or had its battery with enough power, they were all turned on." His personal secretary replied.
Nathan felt his heartbeat racing. Just thinking about the fact that all the computers or laptops that had his information, as long as they were linked to his email account, they would be showing several types of information.
If it so happened that his competitors found the information that could be used against him, then he was going to be in a very deep hot soup. Lucky for him though, it was on a Sunday and all the laptops and computers that were linked to his email were in the office.
Since he himself took the weekends off, he made sure that all his subordinates took the Sunday as a day off. But of course, this did not involve those who were supposed to be in charge of security.
"Then what the f*ck are you waiting for? Go ahead and smash all the computers and laptops so that they can stop displaying that serious information!" Nathan yelled at his phone.
The personal secretary on the other hand was frightened at his boss's shout. But then again, when he finally registered what his boss was informing him to do, he couldn't help but ask, just to confirm that, what he had heard was correct.
"But boss, if I smash all the computers and laptops here, then there's a lot of information that will be lost. This itself will hinder the work's progress." The personal secretary stated.
"Does it look like it matters to me? Do as I said. As long is there is a computer or a laptop that is malfunctioning, then smash it into pieces so that it can stop working. That piece of information being revealed to others, more so my competitors, will cost me a lot more than just losing a few pieces of information that will daily our work." Nathan stated angrily.
"Okay boss. I'll do that right away." The personal secretary replied hurriedly.
"Then what are you still talking for? F*ckin' destroy those things before they continue displaying any further information!" Nathan yelled again.
Toot…toot…toot…
The call was finally ended and Nathan could finally breathe. He didn't even know that he had been holding his breath for a while now as he waited for the results from his personal secretary.
"I think this should be enough to deal with the problem for now. The only problem that is currently there is on how to deal with the person who is trying to mess with me. I don't know who this person is but that person knows who I am.
This is so problematic for me. Not only is this person my enemy, but this person has great expertise in that, they can get the information that I have been keeping as a secret for a very long time.
It seems that I will have to deal with all my enemies if possible, so that I can remove all the possible dangers that are there. I don't want several people coming after me when I'm facing something else." Nathan matter to himself before turning his gaze to the phone in his hand that was currently vibrating.
Looking closely, he saw that there was a message. He frowned as he opened it because he found that, there was no information about the sender being displayed on the screen of his phone.
[Hello there Nathan, I guess you have gotten the heads up from me. But don't worry too much, I won't to be revealing any information about you to any of your enemies. So I think you can be at ease.
After all, you're only going to deal with one enemy, and that is obviously me. So, you better focus your attention from me and forget about any other enemy that you are having. That is simply because I am more than enough to deal with you.
So, as a meeting gift, I would like to present you with a present of not being able to use your email account. That means that, anything that is related to your email account will be hacked by me.
And don't try using the other email accounts that you are having, because I know about them already. So for now, even completely forget about the information that you have saved in your email accounts.
Perhaps you might even consider forgetting about using any electronic that is linked to your email.
That is all for now, I'll be seeing you tomorrow.
PS: Your worst nightmare yet.]
The moment that Nathan finished reading the message that he had received from no sender at all, the phone that he was holding in his hand began blinking in and out.
Then, a document opened all of a sudden. The moment that Nathan's eyes fell on the document and he read the first sentence, he felt he was running down his spine.
The information that was being displayed on the screen at that moment was the communication that he had been having with spider. Not only did it consist of the message that he had asked spider to do something for him, but also a bank statement that showed the transfer that had occurred between the two of them.
Nathan knew that, the moment that this information was seen by his father or uncle, he would be in deep trouble. After all, this was the information about the communication between him and the assassin known as spider during the time that he had been hiring him, so that he could assassinate Johnathan.
In the end, spider failed the mission just like all the other previous assassins had failed. Although he was frustrated at this fact, he knew that it was a difficult task to deal with Jonathan without leaving a trace behind.
Nathan slumped onto the bed. Although he has not done anything tiresome, he all of a sudden felt very tired. He just wanted to rest. Due to the pressure that he was currently facing, he decided to give in and, he fell asleep a moment later with a thought that, he would think of a solution to handle the situation when he woke up.
What he didn't know was the fact that, this would be the biggest mistake that he had ever done ever since he entered his room. And what was to be expected, it was definitely regret and much more.
"Nathan, come out right now!" An infuriated shout came out outside Nathan's bedroom. Nathan who was currently sleeping due to the mental tiredness that he had experienced, suddenly bolted out of his bed.
His expression was wary at that time because, he was not expecting that someone would dare to enter his bedroom. This was the room that even his wife and children could not enter.
So, for someone to get here, this was a blatant provocation as he had clearly stated that nobody was supposed to be here, especially it being on a Sunday that he was supposed to be taking his rest.
He was currently furious. Not only had there been someone who claimed to be his worst nightmare yet, but there were even others in the family that dared to go against him like this?
"How dare you try entering my room like you own this place? Who do you think you are so that you can simply come here as you wish to disturb my rest?!" Nathan shouted at the door that was still shut at this moment.
He was sure that had It not been for the fact that he had locked the door before he slept, then the other party might really have entered the room.
"Come out right now Nathan, you b*stard!" The other party did not seem to be scared by Nathan's shout at all. In fact, the other party seemed to have been even more enraged at the fact that Nathan was inside the room.
Bang! Bang!
There were fierce hits on the door. It was clear that the person on the other side of the door intended to break the door so that he could enter. But, the doors that were present in the Jesda manor were not that easy to be broken.
Nathan's fury was even more inflamed when the other party knocked on the door as if he wanted to break it.
Wasting no time at all, he rushed towards the door with a murderous intention. The next moment, he opened the door and looked at the person that was standing there with a ferocious gaze.
"Do you think that I'm so easy to bully, Simon? You left your house, came all this way to come and disturb my rest. Don't expect that you will get out of here intact!" Nathan practically roared with reddened eyes that showed just how maddened he was.
"You dare to talk to me in such a manner when you are the one that was involved in the murder of my son? Did you think that I wouldn't know that you were the one that sent the assassins after him?!" Simon shouted.
Simon was a middle aged man with a few streaks of grey on his head. He had deep brows, brown eyes and was a man with a tall stature. He was currently wearing a sweatpants and a vest.
This clearly indicated that he had come here the moment that he confirmed or got the information that it was Nathan that was involved in the murder of his son.
It was already morning at this moment. Nathan had slept through the day till the following morning. He had not even realized that it was already almost eight in the morning.
Nathan was stunned the moment that he heard what Simon had said. Simon was his cousin, he was from another line, different from his father's. But all the same, the two of them were cousins.
Nathan had clearly not expected that Simon would get the information about the assassin that he had sent a few years ago to kill his son. This was one of the ways that he had utilized to get rid of the competition that his son was going to face.
He had made sure that he was meticulous in whatever he did and didn't reveal any kind of information that would point the incident back to him.
Now, the question that was ringing in his mind was, how did Simon find the information about the assassin that he had sent over?
'This is getting frustrating! First, it was the hacking of my email account that led to several pieces of information being released. And now, here is Simon who has suddenly known about something that has remained in the dark for over a decade now.'
'Could this be the work of that person? Or is it that Simon just so happened to get the information at the moment that all the electronics that were registered with my email malfunctioned?' Nathan began questioning himself.
But, it seemed that the other party wasn't going to give him the time to continue musing about how the information was revealed.
"Today, if I don't kill you, then I'm not Simon Jesda!" Simon shouted, his eyes reddened with anger. He had clearly lost his sense of reason and completely ignored that there were family rules that prohibited the fights between members of the Jesda family.
The next moment, he had already managed to tackle the absent minded Nathan into the ground. What followed were blows that came from every angle that could be thought of.
Simon wasn't sure about the information that he had received that morning yet. Though, knowing Nathan's character, he thought that this was something possible.
So, he had come over angrily. Though he was angry at that time, it was not to the extend that he would attack the moment that he saw Nathan. He had deliberately put on an act that he was angry so that he could see Nathan's reaction.
And the moment that Nathan showed the stunned expression when he mentioned the fact that it was Nathan who had sent the assassin, then he had confirmed that it was something that was related to Nathan.
What Simon didn't know was the fact that, if this was any other time, Nathan would not have shown such a reaction at all. In fact, he might use the accusation that was placed on him to find a way to make sure that Simon suffered.
But, due to the changes that had suddenly occurred and he was in an unfavorable position in a long period of time, then he had lost his composure.
But, none of that mattered to the completely enraged Simon. He was stronger than Nathan. And so, he managed to land several blows on Nathan's face the moment that he brought him to the ground. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝐧𝗲𝘁
Nathan finally came out of his reverie the moment that he felt the pain that came from the blows that eh was receiving.
Although he might not be as strong as Simon, that didn't mean that he was weak as we. So, the moment that he came back to his senses, he also began wrestling with Simon.
The two engaged in a brutal fight that led to noses bleeding or the lips being broken. They were just about to continue fighting when suddenly, another person rushed in.
Nathan had managed to restrict Simon in that he had gotten a moment of peace. This was something that had happened only because Simon had lost his thoughts and was just attacking.
He had wanted to take a deep breath but then, he noticed the newcomer. And from the reddened eyes, he could tell that he was definitely not someone that was here to help at all.
"You bastard Nathan! So you are the one that caused my business project to fail?! Do you know how much you cost me by doing that? Don't expect that I'm going to leave you alive, even with the protection of the family rules!"
Nathan wasn't even given a chance to curse before the other party lunged at him. Then, another scuffle ensued as the two of them rolled on the ground, fighting for dominance while using whatever chance they had to land furious blows at their opponents.
Simon who was then free, got to his feet and charges towards the two that were fighting. Since he wanted to take care of Nathan, then, there was no way that he was going to let go of a chance to do just that.
He was going to throw a blow at Nathan when the next moment, the two who were fighting like barbarians changed positions. As a result, the punch landed on the other guy that was fighting against Nathan.
And having received a surprise attack, the other party was at first stunned. But in the next moment, he was infuriated as he yelled at Simon. "So, the two of you are collaborating in this? Then just fine, I'll deal with the both of you, more so you sneaky rat!"
And the moment that he finished that line, he ignored Nathan and charged at Simon who was just in the process of throwing another jab.
Simon's only thought at this moment as he faced the newcomer was that, this guy wanted to prevent him from killing Nathan. And since that was the case, then he would simply deal with him first before he got to Nathan.
So, he changed the target and attacked the newcomer with all his might.
Nathan finally let out a breath of relief when he saw the two engaging in a fight. He had never expected that another person coming over was a blessing to him as it relieved him from the fight.
Since the two of them were fighting each other, then he would let them do as they pleased. He would simply have to excuse himself so that he could leave them enough fighting ground.
He limped towards the staircase that led to the floor below. He wanted to get as far from this place as possible. He had to organize his thoughts so that he could deal with the situation where several of his secrets were being revealed one after the other.
Just as he got to the stairs, he was stunned to see that there was yet another person that was charging towards the upper floor on the stairs that he had just planned on using.
And just like the other two, his eyes were red. The moment that he spotted Nathan, he yelled. "There you are! There is no way that I'm going to let you go in a single piece. I'll definitely have to get a piece of you for-"
At this point, Nathan wasn't even willing to know what the other party was saying. His only thought at that moment was, 'Why does everyone want a piece of me today?'
While all of this was going on at the Jesda manor, a day before, Jack was seated inside his room inside of the villa at the Serenity's residential area.
His eyes were shining with great expectations as he looked at the screen that was blinking in front of him.
It was finally the time that he had been waiting for all this while. The month had finally ended and it was time for him to start reaping his rewards.
[The income of the companies is coming up next.]
As the system prompt appeared in front of him, Jack took a deep breath as he decided to watch as the system prompts were going to appear in front of him.
It was quite excited, looking forward to the types of rewards that he was going to receive this time. He had already started a few businesses this time that was supposed to have the first income reward.
And that was what was making him more excited. Although the income that you was going to Ann was going to be multiplied by 100, that didn't change the fact that he wasn't much interested in money as he already had over 200 billion dollars in his account.
[You have earned $70.5M from Good Vision Security Limited. Multiplier applied. You receive $7.5 billion.]
[You have earned $105.5 million from Bright way Medical Research Centre and Hope Hospital. Multiplier applied. You receive $10.5 billion.]
[You've earned $306 million from serenity residential area. Multiplier applied. You receive $30.6 billion.]
[You have earned $252,500 from Eden residential building. Multiplier applied. You receive $25.25 million.]
[You have earned $217.03 million from Kalmond and The Rose Entertainment Companies. Multiplier applied. You receive $21.703 billion.]
[First income. As a reward, you gain professional script writing and song writing skills. No missions needs to be completed so that the host can gain the skills permanently.]
[You have earned $50.8 million from glaze hotel. Multiplier applied. You receive $5.08 billion.]
[First income. As a reward, you gain professional chef skills. No missions need to be completed so that the host can gain the skills permanently.]
It was only at this point that the barrage of system prompts stopped. Jack's eyes stared fixatedly at the space in front of him.
'System, where is the first income reward of the Eden residential building?' Jack asked.
[Eden residential building was The first income reward of the serenity residential area. As a result, there is no first income reward for it.]
To say the least, his eyes showed a great hint of disappointment. He had been expecting more than what he had received to say the least. Although he had expected that the system wouldn't grant him the first income reward, he will still hopeful.]
Although it was true that he had received a lot of money, what he had been expecting was that, he was going to receive a lot more assets or businesses that he was going to manage.
But the end result of it all was that, he had received three different skills. Although it was true that he didn't need to complete a set of missions so that the skills could become his permanently, he didn't enjoy the feeling of gaining them at all.
The reason for all of this was that, All the skills that he had received while those that he didn't need at the present time.
Script writing? Songwriting? Professional chef skills? He wasn't going to dab into the entertainment sector at all. He didn't want to be a singer and neither did he want to be an actor . 𝓫ℯ𝓭𝓃𝓸𝓋ℯ𝓁.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Although these two skills could be used to promote the entertainment companies that were under him currently, this was something that would be considered a long term investment.
As for the chef skills, he already knew how to cook. Although he wasn't that much skilled in cooking, at least it was to a level that, they considered good enough for him.
Although he had a lot to complain about, there was nothing that he could do considering that the system had already been updated. Now, no matter what he did or said, The system would not change its decisions.
'System, can I at least get an explanation on why I got the skills and not assets?' Although he wasn't going to change the rewards that he had received, there was no harm in understanding what was going on.
[The host must know that, The first income rewards the host has received came from the assets that he was rewarded by the system.]
[And as a result, the system can decide on what kind of reward the host is going to receive. Since the previous month, The host received assets, then this time, the system decided to award the host with several skills that could be used.]
[The host has to note that, all the schools that he has received are related to the source. Furthermore, they can be used to boost the company in such a way that, the host can go ahead and monopolize the industries easier.]
[In other words, The system hopes that the host can complete the conditions for upgrading his authority of the system faster. Since the host currently has several businesses under him already, then the system so that it was good for the host to make sure that the current companies that were under him were on a top notch level.]
Jack took a deep breath as he listened to Angel who was explaining what the system had done. After thinking for a while, he found that the explanations from the system were making sense.
Although he could not use them personally, The skills that he had received could be used in such a way that they would boost the companies that were under him.
[Does the host want to claim the rewards that he had received?]
It was only after seeing this system prompt that Jack remember that he had not received the rewards that had been granted to him.
'Go ahead.' Jack immediately acknowledged. He wanted to know what was contained in the skills that he was going to receive. It would be good if it would be the improved version, just like the computer mastery that he had received.
Like a surging tide, several fragments of memories emerged in his mind. What followed that was that, Jack felt somehow uncomfortable as he got familiar with several things that were strange to him.
His mind began racing as his thought process rate increased. Several ideas appeared in his mind, several recipes also appeared in his mind.
His muscle memory was enhanced and such a way that he felt that he could do something that he had never done before.
Additionally, he felt that his mind had become somehow clearer than it was before. This was the first time that this had happened other than the time that he had received the professional combat skills.
When he received the professional driving skill, professional basketball skill or professional human language mastery, it was just the enhancement of his muscle memory or the appearance of the fragments.
The only time that receiving a skill changed him was when he received the professional combat skills. At that time, not only had he become stronger and faster, but his mind capacity had also been increased. Now, this was another time.
'Angel, do you have an explanation about what is going on?' The moment that Jack finished receiving the skills, after he was sure about it, he Immediately questioned.
[They had the number of skills that the host receives or gains, The higher the mental capacity required. And as such, if the mental capacity it's lower than the required threshold, then the system would improve it in order for the host to accommodate the new skills that he is receiving.]
Jack finally understood what was going on. Every time that he received a skill from the system, he had always been receiving several types of information in his mind.
And since each and every one of them was so much detailed, then it was obvious that his memory was occupied at large. For his mind to be able to store this large pile of information, then it is true that he needed great mental capacity.
Every human had his own limit. Even the number of the things that the brain could remember was limited. If one tried to force things, then it would be a scenario where, you would master Z while forgetting A.
Jack took a deep breath. It seemed that he had to do a lot more so that he could upgrade the system authority that he had. In doing that, equal to perhaps get more advantages from the system.
Although what the system had in store for him after he upgraded his authority to the second level was currently not well known, he was sure that it was going to be better than what he was receiving now.
And if what he was receiving currently was already enough to make him stand at the top of many people, then it was going to be a wonder about what he was going to receive during the time that his authority would average the second level.
'Okay then, I guess that it is time for me to look at the amount of money that I have received this time. I've got a lot of money but I have yet to start spending them fully.' Jack muttered in his heart as he took out his phone ready to check the balance.
It was no doubt that he already had more than 200 billion dollars in his account. Now what was left was to check the accurate balance that he had.
[Flyers Bank Savings Account Balance is $356,389,170,138.]
Jack took a deep breath as he looked at the balance that was shown on the screen of his phone. He really had a good amount of money that he could utilize to start several businesses.
Although he had failed to get something good from the system this time, that didn't mean that he was going to let this go during the following month.
Other than exploiting the system with all that he could, what he wanted to do was to complete the task that the system had stated so that he could upgrade his level of authority in the system.
That aside, he took out his laptop and placed it on his lap before he once again began typing. He wanted to make sure that he dealt with Nathan as soon as possible.
There was one thing that he had come to know, that was the fact that Arthur was Nathan's son. As such, as long as he dealt with Nathan, then, he would make Arthur lose his abilities.
Although he wasn't afraid of Arthur at all, that didn't mean that he wasn't afraid that Arthur might decide to play a game in such a way that, he would go after Celine and her parents.
That was something that he really didn't want to see happening because, there was no way that he could guarantee that he would always be there to save the day.
Although the family had already gotten stronger after taking the body strengthening solution, that didn't mean that they were invincible when facing bullets.
With the connections of the Jesda family, Jack wasn't a fool to believe that it would be something hard for Arthur to get a gun. And if he intended to murder Celine or her mother, then this would be something that he would regret if it really happened.
The best method of defense Is offense. Other than taking revenge for the death of his mother, he could as well make sure that Arthur would not cause any troubles for him in the future.
Jack's plan for the day was simple. He was going to make sure that all those that were present in the Jesda family, as long as they had suffered from Nathan's actions, then he would make sure that they would attack Nathan.
There were those that had lost not only their loved ones, but even those that had failed in completing the tasks that had been granted to them. All of this was simply because of Nathan.
And of course, Nathan would have hidden all of these. And this was the exact reason as to why he was going to work so hard so that he could reveal all the secrets that Nathan had on him all this while.
With a smile etched on his face, Jack began exposing the secrets to the related people, one after the other. He would make sure that the way that he sent the information was in such a way that, the receiver would not be able to track it back to him.
One by one, he sent all the secrets, the assassinations, the blocking of deals and so on. All of these shady deals were the things that he had gotten the previous day that he had hacked into Nathan's email and computers.
Not only did he find the messages, but even the recorded calls of the chat between the two parties. Although the calls were end to end encrypted, that was nothing in front of Jack's computer mastery.
After about thirty minutes, Jack was done. It was finally time for him to do something else.
Setting aside the laptop, he looked towards the stairs where he saw that Celine was coming down. She looked dashing in her training tracksuits.
The red tracksuits that she was wearing clearly outlined her enchanting figure. She sure would make a lot of men to drool.
But of course, Jack wasn't amongst them. He was free to look and he would not be reprimanded.
"What are you looking at?" Or he was wrong, as Celine asked with a frown on her face.
Jack knew that she was just joking. "I'm looking at my girlfriend." Jack stated as he rose to his feet.
"Humph!" Celine harrumphed as she continued with her descent. Today was when they were going to continue with the training. It was already evening and Celine had already gotten back from work. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔
The duo then walked out of the villa and went to the backyard of the villa. There was ample space there where Jack could continue training Celine on what she was supposed to be doing.
This was something that they had been doing for a while now and it would continue the same way for a good period of time till Celine was at a level that Jack thought that it was good enough.
….
As Jack and Celine continued with their training and enjoying their time together, things were getting out of hand in the Jesda manor.
The day that Nathan was attacked, he was sent to the hospital. That was simply because he had been thoroughly beaten up.
People kept on coming after him, one after the other. And each one of them wanted to have a piece of him.
And as a result, he had received a good beating and ended up having several of his bones broken.
Although there was a family rule that was supposed to protect him from the injuries that he had suffered, there was no way that a crowd of angry folks could care whether there was a family rule or not. What they cared the most about was the fact that, Nathan was the one that was involved in their loses.
They had always been crying about the losses that they had suffered, days in and days out. And, they had never known who it was that had made them suffer their losses.
By the time that he was saved, he wasn't in a good shape. He was just lucky that there was none of those that had attacked him that had used a weapon when they were beating him up.
Currently, Nathan was in the hospital. He was guarded by several members of the family that could be considered as neutral as they had never been in a feud with Nathan and neither were they his allies.
They were the ones that had been assigned to make sure that, not only did Nathan not get away during the period that he was being treated, but they would also make sure that none of those that had suffered due to Nathan's actions could take the chance to deal with Nathan.
Though, at this point, Nathan cared nonetheless about those that had attacked him. What was going on in his mind at that moment was just how it was that all the secrets that he had been keeping were exposed.
Although he thought that the secrets being exposed was nothing big considering that there was a person that could hack into his phone and other electronics that were somehow linked to his email, then it was nothing for the information being revealed.
The main problem here was the fact that, he had actually suffered from the beatings from some people in the family. And, each and every one of them had come to find him because they had found out that he was the one that was involved in the losses that they had suffered.
What was even more incredulous was the fact that, each and every one of them came with only the knowledge of what they had lost because of him.
That meant that, the other party had known about them, sorted out all the information before he sent them to the respective receivers that were related to the pieces of information.
'Although I'm not sure about who it was that had leaked out most of my secrets, it has to be someone that knows about me and the others in the family, their schedules and their tempers as well.' Nathan muttered in his heart as he looked at the ceiling of the room that he was in.
It had already been a week since he was brought here. Although the injuries were not giving him any troubles due to the medicine that was used to relieve him from the pain, he was still hurt, his proud was hurt.
And yes, all those that had gone up to beat him were those that were known for their short tempers. As such, they would completely ignore the family rules and do what they thought that would make them feel better.
'The only person that I can think of, the one that can be behind all of this, this should be Johnathan. He is the only person that knows that he is going to be in trouble once father or the other uncles know that he was the one that had attacked Arthur.'
'Although he may not have the skills to manage to hack into my information, that doesn't mean that he cannot hire a person with those skills.'
Nathan gritted his teeth in both anger and frustration. To say the least, he had come to hate Johnathan to the bone at this moment.
All the other times, he had always thought that the others were things that blocked his path to success. As such, as long as a person was at the same level or at a level lower than him, then he didn't think that the person was worth becoming his enemy.
But now, although he wasn't happy with the fact that he was actually dominated by someone that he thought so low of, he had no choice but to point at that person as his enemy.
'These cursed duo. First, that stupid Anne made sure that our generation would not be able to take the position of the family head. And now, Anita's son is the one that is trying to make sure that my son, the only way to power that I had, lose a great chance of becoming the family head.'
'F*ck that family rule, f*ck those twins! I really hate the ones that set some stupid family rules! What the f*ck with, if one of the people of a certain generation runs from home, then that cursed generation should not be allowed to steer the family?'
Things went just as Jack had expected. The enemies that Nathan had created for a long period of time due to his hunger for power were the ones that had become his source of falling.
Although they could be said not to be as powerful as Nathan, but when they were backed up by the family rules, they were as strong as pillars that were made from steel and concrete.
Nathan was taken to the family head's villa that was located on the northern part of the manor, the moment that he was release from the hospital.
Although he had yet to be healed from the broken bones, he was still good enough so that he could at least move using the wheelchair.
The moment that he was brought before his father and uncle, Nathan saw this as his opportunity to report what Johnathan had done to his son.
But before he could even say a word, the family head who was also his uncle spoke first. "Nathan, are all the charges against you true or false?"
Nathan's uncle was an old man whose hair had already turned grey and there were even some of the strands that were already white. He was Hesbon Jesda.
He was currently wearing a casual black trouser and a shirt. This was the way that he usually dressed up when he wasn't involved in some of the serious business issues.
Currently, he was seated on the master chair in the conference room that was present in the villa. There was a long table that was occupied by all those that were attending the meeting, consisting of about fifty people.
Seated on his right was Nathan's father, who was also the second in command of the family, Benjamin Jesda.
On the left side, there was another old man who was just as old as Hesbon. He was Hesbon and Benjamin's cousin, Alfredo Jesda.
Basically, those three were the current pillars of the Jesda family. As long as any of them was displeased with any of the people in the family, then that person was bound not to have a good life in the family.
As for the others that were filling the numbers in the room, they were the ones that had suffered under Nathan's actions.
Although there were some that held high positions in the family and were thus allowed to come over and spectate the questioning, there were only three of them.
Nathan was stunned by the question that was posed towards him. All along, he had thought that, the moment that he arrived here, he would not be a criminal, but the victim. 𝒷𝓮𝒹𝓃ℴ𝓿𝓮𝓁.𝓬𝓸𝓂
After all, for him to be beaten up to the current state where he was forced to be moving around on a wheelchair, this could be said that it was the ones that had beaten him up that had broken the family rules.
As the victim, he had been ready to use the chance that they would be questioning them to make sure that they passed a good amount of punishment to Johnathan.
What he wanted for Johnathan at that moment wasn't a simple house arrest or denial to be involved in the family business. What he wanted was for Johnathan, a person that he considered his enemy, to be disowned from the family.
As long as the family head gave the judgement, then there was no doubt that, no matter how much Anita begged, she would never be able to make the decisions that were made to be changed.
As such, although his son would still be a cripple, according to the family rules, he had not done anything that would disqualify him from competing for the position of the family head.
"What is going on here? Am I not the victim? Look at me? Am I not the person who is on the wheelchair at this moment in this house?" Nathan questioned as he looked at the three pillars of the family.
Nathan's father, or Jack's and Johnathan's direct grandfather, Benjamin, squinted his eyes at Nathan. A flash of anger could be seen passing through his eyes as he stared at Nathan.
In the end, he said nothing because he didn't want to talk before he was given the opportunity to do so. Although he and Hesbon were brothers, this was a family meeting and there was hierarchy here.
As such, as one of the pillars of the family, he had to set an example by following the family rule that stated that, as long as he family head spoke, as long as a person wasn't given permission to speak, then, he was not allowed to do so.
Hesbon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Nathan. He then asked, "Answer the question that you have been asked Nathan. You are the one that is being questioned here and not us. So, tell me, are all the charges that have been placed against you true or false?"
Nathan was infuriated by the fact that he wasn't even allowed to bring up the issue where he was the one that was currently suffering by sitting on the wheelchair at that moment.
"Of course not! Where is the evidence that proves that I'm the one that was behind whatever it is that they are trying to put on my head? Let them bring the evidence forward so that I can see what made them so arrogant that they dared to come forward and point fingers at me!"
"This is all a sham that they are trying to use so that they can make sure that they evade the punishment for attacking me in the first place. Furthermore, isn't this a way that they are using just because they think that I'm too successful and they are jealous of me?!"
Nathan's shout and words caused all those that were present to be stunned at first. What followed next was the fact that, all those that had been wronged by him in the past or in the present, all of them stared at him with ferocious gazes.
The gazes were so penetrative that even Arthur could feel them although he wasn't looking in their direction. But all the same, he ignored them all.
"Okay then. But I hope that what you have said is the truth. If not, you will be judged for the mistakes that you were first brought here for, then, you would be charged for the mistake of lying to our faces." Hesbon spoke coldly.
The next moment, he looked at one of the people in the room. This was a person that had high authority in the family, second only to the current elders of the family.
He went ahead and started the projector. Then, several images began flashing where the projection was being dropped at.
The images that had been projects were those that consisted of Nathan and several people who were considered not to be in good terms with the family.
Just from the images that were shown, those who were looking at them could immediately tell that, the two sides were not fighting, but were instead making a deal and were both comfortable in each other's presence.
Nathan's blood ran cold the moment that he saw the projected images. As they slid to the side to make way for the next image, his heartbeat had already began beating erratically.
Those were the images that he had never expected that they would be found. What was even more incredulous was the fact that, the person or people that had taken the images were so close to be able to clearly take the photos that showed even his facial expressions.
"Who the heck was stalking me all this while? Is this even according to the family rules? This is completely unacceptable to me! Tell me, who was it that dared to mess with my privacy?" Nathan shouted in anger and exasperation.
If Jack was here, he would have simply snorted at him. Who the heck would talk about privacy when wherever it was that he was making deals with those people was a place that had several CCTV cameras?
That was just how Jack had managed to find the images. He simply took the videos from the footages, recent ones, then, he took screenshots before he sent them to the family elders.
That was the reason as to why, all those present, even the one that was controlling the projector, save for the elders, were stunned when they saw the images.
Even when Nathan shouted about injustice, none of them heard him because they were just too shocked that Nathan was actually doing something that was considered as a taboo in the family.
The family rules would never allow a member of the Jesda family to make deals with those that they considered as enemies. And, it was precisely those that Nathan had been making deals with that were the biggest enemies of the Jesda family.
Before they could sink deeper into their shock, Hesbon cleared his throat. The moment that the one that was controlling the projector returned to his senses, he continued playing, showing what was up next to be projected.
One by one, pieces of evidence that pointed towards Nathan's actions that had caused several people in the family to suffer or even some getting killed.
Additionally, there was even the evidence that showed the ways that he had been communicating with the assassins that had attempted killing Johnathan.
After about an hour, all the pieces of evidence were presented before the eyes of all those that were present. Then, all eyes fell on Nathan.
At this point, Nathan's face was as white as a sheet of paper. This time, he knew that he was in for a great deal of trouble.
True to his thoughts, he faced a great deal of trouble. Not only did the family head decide that it was already enough that he had made so many people in the family to suffer, but he had also broken so many rules at that moment.
As such, the family head had decided that, from that moment on, Nathan would no longer be allowed to participate in anything that related to the family business.
Additionally, in the future, he was no longer going to be a member of the elders council. This was something that most of the people were proud of once they were given the chance to be one.
At the end of the day, not everyone in the family could become a member of the elders council. As such, there was just the elect few that had the chance of getting the position.
Those that occupied the top of the elders panel were those that came from the family of the current family head. A good example of that was Benjamin.
Since it was his elder brother that had taken the position of the family head, he had gotten the chance to become the second in command in the family due to the relationship that he had with Hesbon.
With Nathan's relationship with both Arthur and Jack, he could have managed to get a very good position as long as either of them managed to acquire the position of the family head.
As for Anita, she was never counted in such a family that thought highly of only the male child.
Apart from that, they had also decided that, all the assets that were under his name to immediately be removed under him. Then, they had made sure that he would no longer access anything that would link him to the outside world.
….
Jack's life had been quite different all this time. He had continued training Celine, who never ceased to amaze him with how fast she improved.
She had managed to grasp so many things that he had taught her. And of course, for her to complete her training, some gangsters had to suffer.
As such, the two of them continued with their routine of going around the city, looking for the gangsters before Celine beat them up.
And if there was one that managed to wound Celine or he talked to her in a not so proper manner, then he would make sure to give that guy a good beating after Celine was done with them.
That was just how he did things. Although he was protective of her, it wasn't to the extent that he would try to hinder her progress when it came to training that concerned her real life.
Due to the two of them, there were now even less gangsters present in the city. Unknowingly, everyday, there would be a group of gangsters that would be taken to the hospital with several broken bones or were unconscious.
This was how Celine did things. She would become ruthless to those that dared to do something that she didn't like. As for those that she had provoked first, she would simply give them a beating before leaving them unconscious.
The police that were In charge of making rounds around the city, to try and prevent several cases that usually happened everyday were stunned as days moved on.
During the first two weeks, they had noticed that the number of gangsters in the streets had suddenly reduced.
This was quite unusual to them because they had tried several times to go around, making sure that the number of criminal cases in the streets went down. In the end, they only managed to find a temporary solution, whereby, they patrolled around the city at night.
In the end, this was only temporary. The gangsters had managed to make the patrols useless by having some people watch.
Once they noticed that the police were coming over, several phone calls would be made. Furthermore, there were even some of them that tried provoking the police when they were making the calls.
"Hey guys, the cops are coming over. They seem to be looking for you."
"Bro, some cops are heading your way. They want to play around with you. Do you want to join them?"
Statements like those were made once in a while. The police could tell that they were trying to help each other out. But in the end, they could not arrest them simply because they thought that the other party was actually preventing them from completing their tasks.
"Officer Olivia, do you perhaps know what's going on? According to what we are used to, we can always arrest at least five gangs that were committing some crime somewhere."
"Then, last week, we could only get three gangs. But now, it's so hard to get a single gang that us committing a crime at this moment."
"Although this should be something that we should be happy about, I doubt that we can be happy without even knowing why there are a few gangsters in the streets with each passing day."
"And, I would be a fool to believe that they would be turning over a new leaf at this moment, after all, there is nothing that they are going to do that would require a large number of gangsters at all."
Inside a police vehicle, there were two police officers. One a male and the other was a beautiful lady with a valiant expression on her face.
The male police officer had short black hair, grey eyes and a well-shaven chin.
As for the lady, she had her long hair tied into a ponytail. She looked dashing in her police uniform.
Currently, she had a cold expression on her face. As for whether she was listening to the blabbering of the guy beside her or not, that was something that only she knew.
She was seated on the passenger seat of the car. They were on the night patrol that day. She was Olivia Desmond, and the guy that was driving was her partner, Brandon.
The two of them were amongst the several others that were in charge of doing round trips to make sure that they would be able to reduce the criminal cases during the nights.
Brandon, being a partner of such a beautiful lady, he was of course happy. And, he would do everything that he could to make sure that he got to her good side.
If he could, he really would have wished to date her. But, he knew that he was not going to make his moves that easily due to Olivia's background.
Her father was the police commissioner of the police force of Kartu city. As such, whoever dared to mess with her, then that person was bound to not have an easy life in the city.
"They cannot be reforming. There is someone that is going around beating gangsters at this moment. I have done investigation and have found that, recently, the hospitals have been receiving a lot of visitors."
"Furthermore, most of the people that were taken there were the ones that had broken bones or something along the line." Olivia spoke.
Her voice was nice to the ears, other that the emotionless tone that the voice contained. It would make the person feel chills running down their spine rather than be impressed by the voice.
Brandon stared at Olivia with widened eyes. In his mind, he cursed, 'F*ck, there goes my chance that I could have used to look cool. Now, I look like a fool for not trying to investigate something like this before.'
As he cursed, he forgot to look at where he was heading to and he was the driver at that moment.
"Can you look at where you are heading to when you are driving? Try to make sure that you don't divert your attention from the road when you are driving. Otherwise, I will have to arrest you once you dare to do something like that again." Olivia stated coldly.
Only when he heard her words did Brandon remember that he was driving. Lucky for them, the road was quite clear at that moment.
'Damn, there goes another chance again. Why am I making a fool out of myself again and again? This can't happen again!' Brandon swore in his heart.
At the same time, he was wondering what type of partner Olivia was that she could actually arrest him, her partner. Weren't partners supposed to have each other's back?
"Stop there!" Olivia shouted urgently. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝐨𝐫𝗴
Because he was still deep in thought, Brandon failed to do as she had asked. So, Olivia and to repeat herself again, this time, she was louder.
"I said stop the car already!" Olivia shouted as she looked at Brandon with a frown on her face.
When Brandon came to his senses, he didn't think twice before he stepped on the breaks as he swerved the car to the side of the road.
The tires screeched due to the abruptness of Brandon pressing the breaks. Furthermore, he had pressed emergency breaks.
Once the car stopped, Olivia threw Brandon a displeased gaze before she unbuckled the seatbelt and jumped out of the car.
Since the car had stopped a distance from the place that she had wanted, she was forced to run.
Brandon followed behind her. And although he was a male, he was actually slower than Olivia. She was someone that was stronger than him because she had been training how to fight since she was young.
As a result, she was actually stronger than most men. Although he wasn't happy that he was weaker than she was, he had no choice but to run after her.
When they entered an alleyway, Olivia suddenly stopped as she looked in front of her.
Brandon was puzzled by why she had stopped. But, the moment that he looked in front of him, he actually saw something that made him have his jaw hanging wide open.
Just like any other day, Jack had taken Celine out for her usual combat practice. They had found that the number of gangsters in the streets had suddenly reduced. Although this was supposed to be something good, the two of them were not that happy about it because they would no longer have anyone that could be used to help Celine improve her combat experience.
"Where are all these people heading to?" Celine questioned with a puzzled look on her face as she looked at the empty alleyways. Normally, there would be one or two gangsters in each and every alley that they came through. But now, they had suddenly disappeared.
This was something that had never happened before even when the police had introduced the night patrols aimed at the gangsters. Celine was getting somehow frustrated at the fact that shew was no longer getting her sparring partners. Although Jack would have been the best sparring partner for her considering their relationship and his skills, there was no way that he could give her the best combat experience that she was looking for.
She wanted to have a fight where her life would be at risk. Although Jack could as well try ignoring the fact that she was his girlfriend and attack her with the intention if decapacitating her, there would always be the times that he would subconsciously hold back. This was just what she didn't want.
Jack who was walking beside her looked at her with raised brows. When Celine noticed that Jack was looking at her, she turned around to face him.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that? Could there be something on my face?" Celine looked at Jack as she questioned with a puzzled gaze. She wasn't in the know of why Jack was looking at her in such a manner.
Celine's questioned made Jack nearly roll his eyes at her. In the end, he could only reply, "My lovely Celine is so bright when it comes at grasping the fighting techniques that I'm teaching her. Burt in the end, she has suddenly become dumb that she can no longer analyze the situation normally again."
Reaching that point, Jack shook his head with slight dejection. He completely ignored the ferocious faze that he was receiving from Celine who seemed angered by his words. He simply continued with what he was saying, "I don't want my lovely future wife to be a brute barbarian."
Seeing that Celine was about to jump on him, Jack chuckled as he hurried to explain what was actually going on. "Alright, alright, I'll say what is going on here. You should know that, during the past month that you have been training, you have injured a lot of the gangsters that were present in the streets. As a result, unless they are healed from their broken bones, they would surely not come back here."
"And, every day, you will send more to the hospital. As a result, the number of gangsters on the streets is reducing while the number of those that are injured in the hospital is increasing with each passing day."
Jack didn't need to say more than that because Celine could already tell what he was trying to imply. Normally, she should have already realized this. But due to the frustration that came with the fact that she had been walking around without finding a single gangster, she didn't even think twice before she complained.
"Since there are no more gangsters in the streets as some are in the hospital and others are obviously hiding, then, you have got no choice but to be my sparring partner for tonight. And, let me warn you, if you hold back too much during the sparring, then I'll ignore you for the whole week!" Celine stated resolutely.
In the next moment, she attacked Jack with all her might. She knew that even if she went all out when she was attacking Jack, there was no way that she could beat him. As such, she didn't have to hold back as she always did when she was attacking the gangsters. This time, she had no fear that she might accidentally kill Jack as that was just impossible with her current abilities.
She threw a ferocious punch towards Jack's face. The power behind the fair hand that was clenched into a fist was one that could break several bones when a normal man received that punch.
But, Jack was no normal man as he easily evaded the punch that wanted to disfigure his face. He wasn't ready to have his face in a baa condition even before he married. After that, he didn't attack Celine as he took a step back.
Seeing Jack's action, Celine frowned. Though, she didn't stop attacking as she sent a kick towards Jack's chest. At the same time, she shouted with anger clear in her voice. "That's the last warning Jack! You better fight me seriously or I'm going to ignore you for the whole month!"
Jack's expression changed when he heard Celine's words. He then asked, "Wasn't it a week before?" Even as he spoke, he used his forearms to block the kick that was thrown his way. It wasn't that he couldn't take the fight seriously. It was just that he was messing around with Celine.
"Humph! Dare to ask again and it will be for the whole year that I will be ignoring you." Although her two attacks were deemed useless in front of Jack, she didn't give up as she continued attacking. And this time, instead of evading her attacks, Jack had resorted to blocking her attacks instead.
Seeing that his plans were not working, then Jack decided that he would be serious. This was the time that Celine was training and there was no way that he was going to hinder her. As such, he limited his strength to the same level as Celine's and attacked as well.
Although the two of them were having the same level of strength, Jack's skills and experience were on another whole level. He had managed to render all attacks that were coming from Celine useless by either dodging, blocking or parrying them.
"Make sure that you change the angle that you are using when you send a kick. Bend three degrees lower than the way that you are." Jack instructed as the fight went on. He was also attacking, giving Celine a very hard time for her to retaliate. But the moment that she made a mistake, then, Jack would correct her.
Jack's punches and kicks were nothing but light. He had managed to land several attacks on Celine, thus injuring her in the process. But all the same, he didn't stop simply because he had injured her or something like that. Instead, his momentum continued to increase as the fight went on.
As such, Celine was getting fewer and fewer chances of attacking Jack. But all the same, she didn't give up at all. The determination that she had to learn was so great that she completely closed off the thoughts that she was injured or she was at a disadvantage. She continued fighting as if her life depended on it.
It was also during this moment that Olivia and Brandon arrived at the scene. They had witnessed how brutal the fight between the two was in that, they even failed to know what they were supposed to do at that moment. For Brandon, he was stunned by how beautiful Celine was, although she was injured.
The expression on her face as she attacked or blocked Jack's attacks relentlessly would make any sane man fall into insanity. This was the vibe that Brandon got when he looked at the way that Celine was when she was fighting.
She was a beauty that was at a slightly higher level than that of Olivia. Furthermore, he could tell that she was strong, even stronger than Olivia was. But, what made him furious was the fact that she was being beaten up by someone, and a man at that.
On the other hand, Olivia was paying full attention on the duo that were fighting against each other. At this moment, there was only a single thought that was repeating itself in her mind. 'It's them! The demonic couple! They are stronger than those gangsters claimed! If they wished, they could have killed them all the moment that they faced off against each other!' 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝐨𝐫𝗴
Jack had already stopped instructing Celine as he continued giving her a lot of pressure so that she could make the necessary changes according to what he had taught her. She was a genius. As a result, it was better to let her adapt to the changes that she was supposed to make when they were fighting.
She had to improve her own fighting style so that she could be completely comfortable when she was fighting. And, it was due to this that Jack had thought that it was enough pointers that he had given, and it was thus a chance for her to evolve her fighting style to make up for the areas that she was lacking.
Although she was far stronger than a normal adult, that didn't mean that she was going to be so good at fighting. No! This all depended on her fighting style that then determined her area of focus, high attacking power, high speed or better defensive capabilities.
At this moment, Olivia's mind was running at an overdrive speed as she looked at the display of skills of the two that were fighting. At this moment, her fighting spirit was ignited as she had found someone that showed that he was stronger than her. She really wanted to fight him although she knew that she would lose at the end of it all.
Just then, at the corner of her eye, she noticed something that shocked her to the core. She saw that Brandon had actually taken out his gun and was already aiming at the duo that were fighting. The way that his finger was, it was clear that he had the intention of shooting.
"Brandon, stop it right now!" She wanted to stop him but she was a second late. Even before her voice fell, Brandon had already pulled the trigger. And in the next moment, the bullet charged out of the gun's muzzle.
"BAANG!"
Jack and Celine continued with their sparring. Although they had already noticed the presence of the duo, they had completely ignored them because they never thought that they had committed a crime at that moment.
So, even though they were having police officers as spectators, none of them cared at all. Although it was a criminal offense to fight in the streets, who said that they were fighting? They were obviously sparring.
Just then, from the corner of his eyes, Jack noticed the moment that Brandon took out his gun before he aimed towards them.
This made him frown. From what he knew, as long as he was not having a weapon and wasn't attacking to kill, then, the use of the guns was not allowed.
With this thought in mind, he simply thought that the guy wanted to use the gun to intimidate the two of them after he saw that their fighting prowess was out of the world.
Although he knew that he would shock the duo that were observing them with widened mouths, Jack cared nonetheless. As long as they didn't interrupt the training session that they were having, then, he really didn't care what they were going to think of him.
But then, his expression turned ugly then next moment when he realized that the police officer was actually not joking the moment that he aimed the gun at them.
Even from a little over a hundred meters, he could clearly see the actions that Brandon was taking. And from the movement of his fingers, the way that his eyes were sharpened, as well as the expression on his face, he could tell that this guy was going to shoot.
Jack knew that he had to react as fast as possible before the guy shot. Although he didn't know why the guy wanted to shoot at them, the first thing that he was supposed to do at that moment was to make sure that the bullet didn't escape from the muzzle.
But just then, he noticed that Celine was attacking him. Since she was so focused on improving herself, she completely ignored the actions that were taken by Brandon.
From the way that Jack could read Celine's moves, he could immediately tell that the place that she was going to be in the next second was the one that was in the path of the bullet.
He had already noticed that the guy was aiming at him all this time just from the shifting of the aim that was pointed towards him with every movement that he made.
This time, he completely ignored the restrictions that he had placed on himself as he moved at a very high speed.
The next moment, he managed to pull Celine as he took her position. And in the very same second before he took her position, he could hear the female officer trying to stop her partner from shooting.
But, she was too let as in the next second, the bullet charged furiously out of the muzzle the moment that Brandon pulled the trigger of the pistol that he was carrying on him.
BAANG!
Accompanying the loud sound that came with the shooting, Jack felt an immense force hitting him on the right shoulder.
The force of the bullet was so great that it managed to make Jack, who had only taken the position and had yet to stabilize himself, to stumble forward.
Although he felt pain coming from the wound that he had suffered, at that moment, his eyes were frosty cold as he turned to face the person that had shot at him.
The murderous Intention in his eyes could freeze someone. And, it had managed to make Brandon, who was also stunned by the sudden shout from Olivia, as well the inhumane movements that Jack had made, completely petrified.
At this moment, Jack was gnashing his teeth as the rage that was in his heart boiled to the extreme.
Had he not managed to make the hurried movements to remove Celine from the position that she initially was in, then she would have been hit by that bullet.
And checking the trajectory that the bullet had travelled in, had Celine been in her initial position, then, there was no doubt that the bullet would have hit her on the neck.
And, that was a very fatal position to be hit, especially with a bullet that came from a gun that was only a little over a hundred meters.
There were no bones that were strong enough to ensure that the bullet did not threaten her life the moment that it hit.
At this point, Jack was not only angry, but, he was also extremely scared. He was scared at the fact that, had it not been for the fact that he was fast enough to react, he would have lost someone that was completely important to him other than his mother.
Other than Jack, there was another inferno that was ready to erupt from rage.
The loud bang that came out from the shooting had immediately brought Celine from her completely focused state.
She looked at the shoulder that had just been shot, the blood was already coming from the wound, socking Jack's white shirt red.
Her heartbeat was already crazy high at that moment. Although she was completely worried about Jack, at that moment, there was only a single thought that was running through her mind.
"You are dead!" She muttered coldly as she stared in the direction that Brandon was. The guy was still holding the gun in the original aiming position.
The thing that she thought she was supposed to do at that moment was, to get rid of the danger that had threatened the love of her life.
As such, without hesitation, she dashed towards Brandon. It was also at this moment that her potential fully exploded. Although she was already tired and injured from sparring with Jack, at this moment, there were no other thoughts in her mind other than eliminating the threat.
She completely ignored the pain, as she managed to cover the distance of over a hundred meters in just four seconds, a speed that would easily break the world 100m world record.
It was also at this time that Olivia reacted. She had been stunned by Brandon's actions. But the moment that she saw that Celine was actually charging at the already petrified Brandon, she knew that she had to do something about it.
Although she too felt the chilling killing intent, she managed to move due to the fact that the killing intent wasn't aimed at her. 𝚋e𝚍n𝚘ve𝚕.𝚘𝚛𝚐
She managed to move just in time to stand between Celine and Brandon. At the same time, she tried talking to the already infuriated Celine.
"Calm down a little! Don't he so rash with your actions." Olivia shouted, trying to talk some sense into Celine.
"You dare try stopping me from killing the one that dared to harm my husband? Then, you too can follow him to the underworld." As Celine spoke in a cold tone, she didn't stop at all and attacked the obstacle that was placed between her and her target.
Olivia's pupils contracted when she saw the punch that was heading her way. She knew that she would not be able to match the strength that was behind that punch.
As a result, she decided to dodge. Lucky for her, although Celine at this moment was strong, she wasn't thinking much when she was attacking.
So, the moment that she missed her attack, she made a follow-up attack by kicking at Olivia that was just getting to her feet after she had bent down to escape the punch that was thrown at her.
Reacting as fast as she could, Olivia managed to raise her arms and blocked the kick that was aimed at her.
Since Celine wasn't holding back when she was attacking, Olivia's arms could not managed to contain the force that was behind Celine's kick.
As a result, she was flung away with the sound of cracking bones.
Olivia rolled on the ground as she grunted in pain. Though, she didn't scream as she managed to suppress the pain that came from the pain that she was suffering from the cracked arm bones.
She wasn't willing to let Celine kill Brandon. This was something that she thought that, as a police officer, she had to do. Although Brandon had done a mistake by shooting, there was still a court that could take care of the judgement for what he had done.
But, the moment that she raised her head, she couldn't help but be scared. At this moment, just the little time that she was down, Jack had managed to arrive before Brandon and was holding him in the air by his neck.
Aside from his speed, having the ability to hold an adult man in the air using a single arm was enough to demonstrate that he was far stronger than ordinary.
"Please, don't do it." Olivia said in a begging voice as she struggled to get back to her feet. She still hadn't given up on the fact that she was an officer and she thought that it was her duty to save a life.
Jack, who was staring into Brandon's eyes As he tightly clasped the neck of the guy that was still kicking his legs in the air, turned and looked at her.
"There are some of the things that I don't tolerate, no matter who it is. And the one that I can never tolerate is someone that tries harming a person that I care about, especially my wife." Jack stated coldly.
The next moment, he used the powerful strength of his left arm to throw Brandon towards one of the walls of the alleyway.
Bang! Thud!
With a loud sound, Brandon hit the wall before he fell onto the ground. He screamed from the pain that came from having several of his bones broken.
Blood sipped from his nose and mouth due to the internal injuries that he had suffered. Jack wasn't the least lenient when he threw him at the wall.
He had only made sure that the guy wouldn't die from having his head blown up due to the force of the collision.
Brandon who was on the ground screaming, was forced to momentarily shut up as he was forced to shuttle through the air after receiving a fierce kick from Celine. At this moment, he had already lost his gun.
Thud!
Brandon landed on the ground with a loud thud. Celine had not held back when she attacked this time.
She was completely infuriated. And since Olivia was no longer in her way, she took the opportunity to vent the anger that was in her heart as well as the fear that she was having.
Though, just like Jack, she thought that direct death was just an easy of a punishment for the person that had shot a bullet at the person that she loved the most.
Olivia on the other hand was dumbfounded by what she was seeing. Although she had already gotten broken bones due to the kick that she attempted to block from Celine, she had never expected that Celine was just that strong.
What she didn't know was the fact that, Celine had gone easy on her. And when she got to Brandon, she didn't even think of holding back her attacks at all.
What she did was to avoid the vital areas that would kill Brandon 'accidentally'. But, who the heck said that the guy was going to live after what had happened there on that day?
'They are so strong!' Olivia exclaimed in her heart. At the same time, a fiery passion lit up in her eyes as she looked at the duo that were throwing Brandon around as if he had no weight.
She was someone that had been practicing how to fight since she was young. So, she wasn't that much surprised that Jack and Celine were strong. What surprised her was the fact that, they were just strong, beyond her expectations.
At the end of the day, the two of them, Celine and Jack, were younger than her. So, according to what she had expected, it was that they were not that strong as compared to her.
At this moment, she had completely forgotten about the fact that, she was trying to save Brandon from the fate that was awaiting him. What she knew was the fact that, she would not be able stop them even if she wanted to do so.
In the end, she decided to do what she could at that moment, that was to watch the display that the two were putting on in terms of strength.
Although she could have used her gun to stop them, she wasn't as impulsive as Brandon. What's more, Brandon's current situation was caused by the fact that he had shot at the two of them when they had not done anything that had warrantied the use of the gun on them.
On the other side, Jack and Celine cared nonetheless about what Olivia was thinking. As long as she didn't interfere, then they would not care about her.
They were so into punishing the person that had nearly caused them to lose the most important thing in their lives.
Jack's fury was still at the top. It had yet to be vented even though he had already beaten Brandon to a pulp at this moment. The guy was barely breathing at this point.
As for the pain that came from the bullet that was still in the muscles of his shoulders, that was the least of concern to him.
By now, he had already confirmed that he actually wasn't invincible when he faced the bullets. Just the thought of this made him think of some crazy things.
At this point, he was thinking that, he would have to make sure that he used the system to the maximum so that, he could make sure that he got something like the body strengthening solution that he had gotten from the system.
In this way, not only would he be stronger than he currently was, but, he would also be able to make Celine the same. In this way, if the military didn't use the missiles, then, they would pretty much invincible. 𝒷ℯ𝒹𝓃𝓸𝓿ℯ𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Though, that was not the end of it all .he wanted to make sure that they could be even invincible to the missiles. This was something that he was looking forward to due to the fact that, the system had mentioned something in the lines of a millennium and so on.
Celine on the other hand had finally vented her anger. Though, she had yet to completely do that as she would only calm down when she had finally dealt with Brandon, by completely making sure that he was no longer in this world with her.
At this moment, she looked at Jack who was looking at her, standing just beside her, in front of Brandon who was sprawled on the ground.
The guy had already gone through a lot of beating in the few minutes that the two of them had been venting their anger.
"Jack, are you okay?" Celine looked at Jack as she asked, concern clear in her eyes. She had finally vented the anger that was in her heart.
Her initial intention when she attacked Brandon was due to the fact that, he was still having a gun in his hands. She didn't want him to shoot again.
And the moment that she saw that Jack was moving around and beating Brandon, she had finally calmed down a little and decided to continue beating the cause of the pain that her love was experiencing.
"I'm okay, for now at least. But, I will have to do a lot of things later to make sure that something like this will never happen again." Jack nodded his head as he looked at her.
Celine squinted her eyes as she stared deep in his eyes. She could see that he was sincere with her, just like he had always been with her since they were young.
Celine then shifted her attention to the shoulder that was shot. Her expression tensed up when she saw that the wound was still bleeding, heavily at that.
Without saying a word, she went ahead and used her strength to tear the shirt at the area where the wound was at.
Jack didn't say a word about what she was doing. He could already tell that she was very concerned about him. This was already something that he was happy about.
When the wound that was caused by the bullet was exposed to her, Celine flinched. She felt her heart tightening, it was as if she was the one who was experiencing the pain that came from the bullet wound.
Without saying much, she tore apart The sleeves of the tracksuit that she was wearing. After that, she used the torn piece of clothing to block the bleeding that was still ongoing.
And what she didn't know was the fact that, The way that Jack was bleeding was at a low level as compared to those that were inflicted by the wounds caused by the bullets.
Due to the professional combat ability that he had received from the system, his regeneration rate was higher as compared to that of normal humans. And as such, the speed at which his wounds would heal was far higher.
This was something that even Olivia had noticed. This was an abnormally that she had never experienced or heard of before. All the same, she herself had a lot of things to do, concerning the pain that she was going through due to the fracturing of the bones of her hands.
After she was done with making sure that the bleeding rate was reduced, Celine glanced at Brandon who was lying on the ground.
She gritted her teeth and took a few steps towards him. Then without a hint of hesitation, she kicked at Brandon's head.
Brandon who was already unconscious at that moment was thrown into the air. What followed next was that, his head hit the wall of a building.
Without any suspense, his skull cracked a little. And what followed next was that, he stopped breathing, he was dead.
Jack had already noticed what Celine was going to do. Although he would not have wanted her to have blood on her hands, he knew that this was something that was inevitable to happen.
It would be better If she got used to doing this as early as now, so that in the future, in case there was a need for her to take the drastic action of taking someone else's life, she would not hesitate.
After she was done, Celine was surprised that she didn't feel that much even after she knew that she had taken someone else's life.
At that moment, she was simply chanting in her heart that, whoever it was that dared to try to take the life of the person that she loved the most, that person was qualified to undergo the most painful death that she could grant at that moment.
Jack took a step forward when he saw that Celine was in a daze. Then without uttering a single word, he took out the body strengthening solution that he was having on him and fed her.
She was still having the injuries that she had suffered during their sparring moment. Since he had decided not to be holding back at that moment, he had done a lot of damage to her.
But, he had made sure that all the injuries that he had given her were just scratches, none of them was something fatal.
Celine accepted the feeding. After that, she immediately felt revitalized. The injuries that she had suffered due to the fighting, as well as the overexertion that she had done when she was attacking Brandon, waned off.
She took a deep breath as he leaned back on Jack's shoulder. At the same time, she took out the body strengthening solution that she was carrying on her, and fed it to Jack in return.
When Jack was taking the solution, he gritted his teeth before he pushed aside the clothing that Celine had used to seal the wound.
After that, he dipped his finger inside The wound and pulled out the bullet. This was so painful to him but he managed to get the bullet out of his body without making a sound.
After he was done, he felt the wound that was on his shoulder heal. He then took a deep breath as he looked at the small bullet that was in his hand.
In the end, he decided to keep it as this was the first thing that had wounded him to this extent. After that, he carried Celine princess style, ready to depart.
"Hold on a moment!" Just then, Olivia shouted from behind them.
Jack halted for a moment. Though he did that, he didn't even bother to look behind him. Without saying a word, He waited for Olivia to say whatever she had in mind.
"Who are you really?" Olivia struggled from the ground As she looked at the two of them who were already preparing to leave.
She was feeling complicated at this moment. According to her role as a police officer, since Jack had committed murder, she was supposed to arrest him so that he could face the law.
But then again, there was a fact that Jack was just retaliating from the attack that he had received from Brandon. It was also true that Brandon was the one who had attacked him although he had not committed any crime.
Just from the relationship between the two of them, Olivia could tell that, Jack and Celine were not in a conflict whatsoever. They really loved each other in that, no matter who it was that dared to mess with the life of the one that they loved, they would take the most drastic action that they could.
But, although she was someone who always followed the rules that were there to the latter, today it was going to be different.
Not to mention the fact that she admired Jack and Celine for the strength that they possessed, they were also the ones who were offended by them.
As for the pain that she was feeling at the moment, that was something that she could ignore. She had already noticed that Celine had gone easy on her.
From the way that she was handling Brandon, It was clear that, as long as he utilized the same strength as the one that she had used when she was kicking Brandon, then, she would not have been able to get on her feet.
With her arms crippled, there was no way that she was going to hold a gun so that she could point it at them. But even so, she had absolutely no intention of doing that.
"I don't think that we are that close for me to let you know about my identity. But still, if we ever meet again in the future, perhaps I might tell you about me." Jack stated nonchalantly.
After that, he took out the body strengthening solution that he was carrying around. Without looking back, he threw it at her.
And as he left, he spoke. "If you want your injuries to be healed, you can use that solution that is present in that bottle. But beware, don't reveal any information about it. Otherwise, you will be In great trouble."
After uttering those words, Jack, who was already carrying Celine, left the alleyway.
Olivia on the other hand, had my next to struggle to grab the bottle that was thrown at her. Although it was painful for her to stretch her hands, she had no choice as she felt that whatever it was that was being given to her, it had to have some meaning.
And the moment that Jack finished his words, she immediately understood what was contained inside that small bottle.
To say the least, she was absolutely shocked about what the small liquid inside the bottle could do. She had managed to see that Jack and Celine had taken the solution.
She was curious about what it was that they had taken initially. But, She knew that something like that was an absolute secret that people would not reveal.
That was the exact reason as to why she didn't question Jack about it. She didn't expect that Jack would actually hand her a sample.
She stared at Jack's back till he disappeared. After that, she withdrew her gaze as she focused on the small bottle that she was holding in her hands.
Although there was a hint of hesitation in her eyes, she gritted her teeth as she opened the cork of the small bottle before gulping the whole solution inside her mouth.
She had been thinking about bringing the small bottle back to her father so that they could investigate about what was present inside it.
But when she thought about Jack's warning, added to the miraculous effect of the small solution contained inside that bottle, she had no choice but to take the solution at that moment.
Just as she was thinking about what the effects of taking the solution were, she suddenly felt a surge of warmth coursing through her body.
The next moment, the same thing that she had seen when Celine had consumed the solution happened. She felt that the wounds that she had suffered on her arms heal a rapid pace.
And, that was not the end of it all. She felt that her body was gradually strengthening. This was exactly something that she had not expected.
Her eyes widened In surprise. At the same time, she couldn't help but think about Jack. She wondered what kind of figure he was that he could possess something as magical as the liquid that she had drunk.
In the end, She could only sigh. She finally understood the reason as to why Jack had warned her not to let others know about the solution.
The strength that was coursing through her body was enough to tell her that, this was something that would cause a great war between nations if it was revealed to the public.
She tightened the fists at the side. With determination in her eyes, she muttered in a low voice, "I will make sure that I find you. You have a lot to tell me. Even if you will not talk about the source of the solution that you have given me, I hope that you will be able to teach me about fighting."
Immediately after that, Olivia glanced at the corpse of Brandon that was currently headless. She could only shake her head at the fact that, Brandon had provoked the wrong person. bed𝚗o𝚟𝚎𝚕.𝚌𝚘m
Till this moment, she really couldn't understand the reason as to why Brandon had decided to use his gun, even though they were not in any kind of danger or situation that required a gun to be used.
From the way that she knew him, he was a person who was always cool headed. He was good at making decisions concerning the work that they were engaged in.
This was the exact reason that why her father had decided to partner her up with him. Even though she knew that Brandon had a crush on her, she had never cared much about it and focused on whatever had brought her out.
She took out her phone and called her father. She knew that the current situation was something that was quite difficult to handle.
A police officer had just been killed. And that was her partner. In other words, This is something that was going to involve her.
Since she wasn't going to reveal anything about Jack who was mysterious to her, then, she had to look for a way that she was going to handle the situation.
"Hello dad!" Olivia spoke. Her expression was quite gentle, as compared to the cold one that she always showed in front of Brandon.
"Hello my dear, how is the patrol going? Have you encountered any kind of problem?" A thick male voice replied from the other end of the phone.
Olivia took a deep breath as she replied, "Yes, there's a problem here. Brandon is dead." She tried to make sure that her voice was calm. But all the same, any person who was experienced could easily pick out the strangeness in her voice.
As a person who was in power for a good period of time, the man on the other end could already detect that there was something wrong.
Added to the fact that he was informed that Olivia's partner, Brandon, was dead, There was no way that he would not feel that there was something wrong.
"Are you okay?! Tell me at this moment, Where exactly are you right now? I'm coming there immediately!" The man on the other end of the phone panicked as he questioned.
"I am okay dad. I managed to find Brandon in an alleyway. He was murdered by the time that I arrived." Olivia had already created a story that she was going to tell.
Since there was no that she was going to reveal the presence of Jack or his actions, that was unless she had finally managed to know his identity, then she was better off telling a few lies.
She went ahead to explain about how Brandon had been acting weirdly. During the time that they were on patrol, they had managed to see a few crooks Who were causing trouble.
They went ahead to deal with them. But it was also at this moment that Brandon moved away from her. A few moments after he had left, she heard the sound of a gunshot.
She had no choice much to abandon the crooks to go over and see what had happened.
When she rushed to the scene, she didn't fight anybody else there other than the dead corpse on the ground. And that was the exact reason as to why she had called him.
Olivia didn't think that whatever she was saying was going to cause any trouble. After all, the alleyway that they had been in didn't have any cameras around.
On the other end of the phone, the man was heard letting out a sigh of relief. But, Olivia could still detect that there was a sense of sadness within it.
"Alright then, I would like you to get back at home. Let the other handle the patrol for the night, I'll be making an arrangement as soon as possible." The man stated before he hung up.
Olivia called already feel her lips twitching. This was just how her father was behaving. He would sometimes make decisions without even consulting her.
But this time, although he was the one who had made the decision, this was just what Olivia wanted at this moment. She was so eager to get back at home so that she could not only test the strength that she had received, but, so that she could investigate anything about Jack.
Before leaving, she had to wait for the police officers who were going to be sent to her location, that she had already transferred to the control center.
They were going to handle the investigation as well as the corpse that was present at the alleyway.
….
"Jack, when the hell are you going to come and see my mother?" Jonathan asked through the phone.
"No need for you to yell. I'll be coming there tomorrow." Jack replied in an irritated tone.
After leaving the alleyway, Jack and Celine went back to the villa in the Serenity residential area. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝘰𝑚
Since the two of them had engaged in a fight for a good period of time, they were exhausted. Even though the body strengthening solution could help them recover their physical energy, the same could not be said about the mental energy.
Their mental energy was depleted and needed some time of rest so that it could be recovered. But of course, The one that needed the most time to rest was Celine.
As compared to Jack, her mental capacity was far lower as compared to his. With the help of the system, Jack had managed to have a higher mental capacity due to the ability of the system to fuse several skills and abilities into his mind.
With each skill or ability that he gained from the system, the system enabled him to be able to have a higher mental capacity, so that he could accommodate the new skills that he had received.
After taking a shower, Jack was resting in his room, focusing on his next task. The next task that he was going to take care of was that concerning the lackeys that were involved with Collins.
The one month timeline had already ended but they had not yet fulfilled the part that they were supposed to. This was something that Jack considered unacceptable because, since they dare to make a move on his loved one, then they had to pay a considerable price.
Although he had given them an ultimatum, he had never expected that they were going to fulfill it. And as such, taking over all of their property was still less than enough to compensate the trauma that Celine had gone through on that night.
But since that was all that they had, Then Jack had no choice but to take it away. That was the only form of compensation that he could get from them. As for their broken limbs, that was just a piece of punishment that they had received for holding Celine on the ground.
But, as this moved on, Jack had come to think that whatever punishment he was giving them was not enough. And as a result, He had decided that they were going to face the same punishment as Collins did.
He was going to make sure that all of them went to prison. Since they had the heart to help Collins in whatever he was doing, then, who could say that they were not going to do that to another person?
He had already been doing his research since over a week ago. And now that the month was already in progress, it was finally time for him to unleash the punishment that he had in store for them.
Just as Jack was continuing with whatever he was doing, his phone rang. Jack took a look at it and found that it was Jonathan was calling him.
Although he wasn't sure why Jonathan was calling him at this time, he received the call nonetheless.
"What is it? You should know that it is already night time. At such a period of time, people are supposed to be sleeping. So why are you disturbing my night with a call?" Jack asked the moment that he received the call.
"Jack, when the hell are you going to come and see my mother?" Jonathan asked through the phone.
"No need for you to yell. I'll be coming there tomorrow." Jack replied in an irritated tone.
He remembered that he had talked to Anita at one period of time when Jonathan had been cornered by his mother to inform her about his whereabouts for the period of one year that he had disappeared from home.
At that time, he had promised Anita that he would pay her a visit in person, rather than speaking to her on the phone.
Although his initial plan was that, as long as he was strong enough so that he could take care of the whole Jesda family, he would pay them a visit so that he could make those who are involved in anything that concerned his mother's death paid.
But since Jonathan had disrupted his plans, Jack thought that it wasn't bad he called make a visit at this moment.
Even though it was true that his current assets could not compare with those that were owned by the Jesda family, the same could not be said about his abilities.
At this moment, as long as he wanted the Jesda family to be bankrupt, there was nothing that could stop him.
Additionally, he currently possessed three skills slots that he could utilize, so that he could gain skills that he wanted or needed.
Just his computer master was enough to make the whole just a family take a lot of damage.
"That's good to hear. At what time will you be arriving? No! In fact, I'll be coming to pick you up the first thing tomorrow morning. In this way, there's no way that you're going to forget about coming here even if you want to." Jonathan replied enthusiastically.
Jack on the other hand will stand by Jonathan's words. He was wondering what the reason behind Jonathan's agitation was.
'Could it be that there's something that has happened to his mother?' Jack questioned himself.
There was nothing else that he could think of other than that. It was not easy for Jonathan to be this easily agitated, especially for something as simple as him paying his mother a visit.
After exchanging a few words, Jack finally ended the call between the two of them. With that, he proceeded with organizing what he was going to do in the following days.
As for the matters concerning Olivia or the death of Brandon who was a police officer, that was something that he didn't care about.
Not to mention the fact that Brandon was the one who was at fault, He himself was currently a major. He had a badge that proved that he was part of the military.
And as such, for a police officer to suddenly shoot him, this was nothing less than treason. At the end of the day, Jack was not committing a crime. And as a pillar of the country's security, him being killed by a bullet was a loss to the country.
On the following morning, the moment that Jack opened his eyes, he was stunned when he heard the sound that was coming out from the living room that was downstairs.
Of course, this was the sound of Jonathan who was chattering around like a sewing machine. Jack could absolutely not believe that Jonathan was here as early as 6:00 in the morning.
Shaking his head, he proceeded to refresh himself before he headed downstairs.
He found that the guy was busy taking breakfast. He was eating happily as if he was in his own house.
"What the heck do you think you're doing here this early in the morning?" Jack question the moment that he arrived in front of Jonathan.
Celine was seated on one of the chairs in the dining room as she waited for him to come downstairs so that they could have breakfast together.
It seemed that it was Jonathan who was impatient, and had decided to start eating before even the owners of the house began.
"Why are you asking some useless questions when you already know the answer? You should know by now that I'm here to pick you up." Jonathan responded before he continued eating.
"It is not like I don't know where the Jesda family manor is located. What's more, why are you eating like a person who has been starving for several days." Jack retorted as he took a seat next to Celine.
"My mother denied me food yesterday night." Jonathan grumbled.
With raised brows, Jack asked curiously, "What could it be that you have done so that she decided to deny you food?"
"Of course this is all related to you. She kept on telling me to tell you to come and pay her a visit. But all this while, you have been ignoring me."
"I tried several times telling you that my mother needed to see you as soon as possible. And in the end, You always turned me down claiming that you were busy with something. This time, I'm not leaving not unless I leave here with you." Jonathan stated as he looked at Jack with begrudged look.
He was actually blaming Jack for all the sufferings that he had undergone. It was not that he had been denied food by his mother during the previous night only. But instead, she had always been doing this since the first time that Jack denied going back to see Anita.
It is not that Jonathan could not go out to eat. It was just that, it was a completely different feeling eating his mother's cooked food and eating the one that was cooked in the restaurants or hotels.
"You're talking as if I cannot kick you out of here if you don't want to get out yourself." Jack snorted. Then he continued, "Additionally, you actually have the guts to blame me, when you are the one who introduced me to your mother before the time that I had planned to visit her."
"…."
Jonathan was rendered speechless for a moment as he didn't know what to reply to Jack's words. Whatever Jack had stated was actually true.
Jack had the ability to kick him out of the house just by depending on his current strength. Additionally, he was the one who let Anita know about Jack's existence even though Jack had not had planned to reveal himself to her just yet.
"Humph!" In the end, Jonathan could only snort as he looked at the side.
Celine who had been watching the two squabble from the sides could not help but chuckle at Jonathan's reaction.
"My Jack is good at almost everything. Even when it comes to the word of mouth, it seems." She stated as she looked at Jonathan amusedly.
Jonathan's expression darkened at he looked at Celine. He then went ahead and complained, "How can you claim that you are brother-in-law is inferior?"
"Do you expect her to claim that her husband is inferior when the brother-in-law just lost?" Jack retorted on the side as he began eating his breakfast.
After having their breakfast, Jack didn't say much and accompanied Jonathan back to the Jesda family manor. He had no problems with visiting Anita.
From the way that Jonathan was behaving, it was clear that Anita wanted to see him. Jack could partly relate it to missing Anne.
Anne was Anita's sister and they had parted ways for more than 20 years now. It was obvious that she was missing her sister and that was the reason as to why he wanted to see Jack.
Although he was heading there at this moment, He was sure that his appearance would usually make a commotion rise in the Jesda family.
As for whether they liked or hated his mother, That was not something that concerned him as long as they didn't participate in the murder of Anne.
Jack didn't drive. Instead, since it was Jonathan who had come to pick him up, Jack thought that it was only appropriate for Jonathan to take him home. At that moment, he was considered a visitor.
After about 3 hours of driving, they had already gotten away from the capital city. The Jesda family manor was located outside of Kartu city.
Although it was outside of the city, it wasn't that far that they couldn't reach it. Just a few hours of driving was nothing to the people who would definitely enjoy the journey.
Jack had already seen the information about the Jesda family manor. This was not something that was kept as a secret to the public, it was just that they didn't reveal it to the public as well.
Though, if there was a person who was serious about finding information about them, they could easily find them as well as their location. It was just that their operations were always low key.
This was the exact reason as to why the Jesda family was considered as a family that was hidden.
They Jesda family manor was located in a certain forest that was just outside of Kartu city. The road that led to the family manor was located in between the forest.
The forest was quite huge for the central province. As for the reason as to why this forest wasn't cut down so that it could give space for more city development, Jack could only assume that this was due to the influence of the Jesda family.
As Jonathan drove on the road that was between the trees on each side, Jack was quite amazed about the environment.
Unlike the buzzing city, this area was quite serene. The lack of too much noise made the area a good place where a person could relax. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝐨𝐫𝗴
Jack didn't say a word until they arrived in front of a big gate. During his investigation of Nathan, he had already known of any information concerning the Jesda family as well as the location and how the area looked like.
In front of the gate, there was a small building where the security guards were. Jack could already see that the defenses of this place was top notch.
Not to mention there perimeter wall that was surrounding the whole Jesda residence, there were several CCTV cameras that could be used for security purposes as well.
The moment that the car stopped in front of the gate, one of the security guards looked into the car. The moment that he saw that Jonathan was the one who was driving, he nodded for him to continue forward.
Although he knew that this car belonged to Jonathan, there was a family rule that stated that no matter who it was, that person had to go undergo security check before they entered the residence.
Although the guard wasn't going to do anything, there were several security measures that could be used to make sure that there's no danger that was entering the family residence.
All of this was possible due to the current technological level. The car could be scanned the moment that it went through the barricade that was between the outer gate and another gate that was present inside.
Just after he had confirmed that it was Jonathan who was driving the car and was ready to let them in, the guard's movement suddenly froze. That was simply because he had seen something that he wasn't expecting to see.
Inside the car, there were two people who looked alike. He could confirm that the one who was driving was Jonathan simply because, he had been there when Jonathan left the manor in the morning. And as such, he had seen the types of clothes that Jonathan was wearing before he left.
Otherwise, in the situation where he was seeing two people who looked alike, there was no way that he was going to identify who was Jonathan and who the other person was.
All the same, there was nothing that he could do about the situation. Although he was the security guard there, and he was given authority to make sure that those who entered the family manor didn't bring any type of danger into the family residence, that didn't mean that he was going to be involved in those who were going to be brought in by those members of the family. That could be considered as him going above the boundaries of his authority.
As he watched as Jonathan drove into the compound through the first outer gate, he couldn't help but ask himself, 'Am I just seeing things or is it that there are actually two people who look alike inside that car?'
'Anyway, it doesn't matter to me. At the end of the day, I have already completed the task that I was given. The only thing that is remaining is for the security check that is coming next. As long as theirs is no danger such as a bomb or something, everything else doesn't concern me.'
The security guard taught to himself as he walked back into the room where his colleagues were present.
Jack who was seated inside Jonathan's car looked around curiously. Although he had already known about the security check that was present inside, he was also curious about how it was going to scan the car.
The moment that they passed by a small password is present immediately after the entered the outer gate, Jack saw that there were several rays that fell on the car.
Jonathan didn't stop driving and just continued driving. As for the erase that were falling on the car, they were completely harmless, but they were the ones that were used to scan the car for anything that was considered dangerous.
After they got past the security check, the inner gate was opened without any questions. And as they drove into the compound, Jack couldn't help but say, "The security here is very tight. I just wonder how many enemies the Jesda family has for them to be this cautious."
Jonathan who was driving looked at Jack strangely. Then he spoke, "Why are you speaking as if you're not a part of the Jesda family? And I'm pretty sure that you have many enemies that you have created by the time that you have reached here now."
"I don't think I have any names at this moment." Jack simply took his head. He didn't think that he had any enemy. As for the lackeys that were with Collins or the one who had colluded with those who had taken hostages in his hotel, those are people that he didn't consider enemies at all.
As long as he wanted or he got any information about them, with his current abilities, he could definitely deal with them easily.
Jack remained silent. He wasn't ready to enter into a squabble with Jonathan. Upon seeing that Jack was silent, Jonathan smiled triumphantly as he continued driving.
In front of them, there was a big manor. This manor consisted of a single big building with several other villas or mansions that were around it.
But all the same, none of the extra buildings were in front of it. Jack could see those that were at the sides but could not see those that were behind. It was just that he had already investigated this and that was the reason as to why he knew that there were several other buildings behind there main building.
Instead of heading for the main building, Jonathan drove towards the western side of the main building. That was an area where there were several mansions.
"That's the same way my family is. To be precise only my mother, father and one of my uncles are the ones that I consider as family. As for the rest, I don't really care about them. Although we are related by blood, there are no ties whatsoever between us." Jonathan stated as he continue driving.
Jack had already done his investigation and already knew about this. The way that the manor was divided was simple. A long period of time before, the Jesda family had a total of three brothers.
They were the ones who had started the whole family empire. When they were building the residence, They had decided to settle on the four sides of the compass directions.
But since the main building was surrounded at three sides, they had decided that the person who was going to rule the family was done was going to occupy the center building.
Anne and Anita's ancestors had occupied the Western wing of the main building. And their elder brother at that time, was the one who had occupied the main building.
This had been always the way that things were in the Jesda family. The line that took control of the family was the one that settled in the central building.
But of course, since it wasn't good for the whole family line to move to the central building in every generation, then it was decided that, only the family that was going to be the leader of the whole Jesda family was the one that was going to take the central building.
And a such, Anita's uncle was the one who was currently occupying the main building of the Jesda residence.
After Jonathan parked the car at the parking lot of a mansion, the duo walked towards the house. Jack didn't feel strange at all even though this was his first time here.
This was supposedly his home. Had his mother not run away from here, and had actually made Dalton to move over here, then perhaps he could have been very familiar with this place.
But all the same, Jack didn't feel any shred of pity that he had missed being able to live here.
"What do you think? I already said that I'm the one who is going to occupy the position in the company. Do you think that you have the authority to take that position? You really don't deserve it! Not to mention that you are a mere woman."
Just as they reached in front of the door, They heard an arrogant voice coming from the mansion.
"What do you think? I already said that I'm the one who is going to occupy the position in the company. Do you think that you have the authority to take that position? You really don't deserve it! Not to mention that you are a mere woman."
Just as they reached in front of the door, they heard an arrogant voice coming from the mansion.
The moment that Jonathan had that voice, his expression shifted drastically. The initial relieved expression that was on his face at that moment vanished. What appeared next was a ferocious expression that was filled with rage.
Without seeing a word, Jonathan went ahead and opened the door. He didn't even bother to knock or to try informing those who are inside that he had arrived.
Jack didn't say a word and followed Jonathan inside the house. If there was anyone that perhaps he could have some kind of relationship with in the whole Jesda family, That could only be Anita.
And of course, this was only due to the fact that she was related to his mother as she was her twin sister. Additionally, she had a good relationship with his mother before she passed away.
Another reason as to why he could be concerned about her was of course, due to Jonathan. Although the two of them will always argue from time to time, that didn't mean that they didn't have a good relationship between the two of them.
Furthermore, Jonathan had done a lot of things for Jack and that was the reason as to why he had money to do a lot of things easily. Although even without Jonathan's help he could have managed to do that something, it would have consumed a certain period of time that was considered a waste to Jack.
And that was the reason as to why Jack was going to be involved in case Jonathan needed his help.
The moment that he stepped inside the house, Jack would see that in the living room of the mansion, there were three people inside.
The lavish living room was finished with several high quality furniture. Currently, two people were sitting facing one person who had an arrogant expression on his face.
Amongst the two that were facing the other person, Jack could easily point out to Anita as she was the only female in the house. Additionally, the striking similarity in appearance to that of his mother was enough to inform him of her identity.
When the two of them entered the room, Jack didn't say a word and decided to stay at the sideline so that he could see what was going on. He already knew the person that was facing Jonathan's parents at the moment.
This person was Jonathan's uncle from another line. He was from the Eastern part of the mansion.
He was of the same generation as Anita and Jack's mother.
Upon noticing the entrance of the two, the three people inside the living room looked at them. The next moment, their expressions shifted drastically.
Both shock and confusion appeared on the faces of the two male counterparts in the living room. As for Anita, She was just surprised that Jack had actually arrived.
Although she had always been putting a lot of pressure on Jonathan so that he could bring Jack along with him, that didn't mean that she was expecting that he would be here this soon.
Jonathan's father was a man who had a medium body stature. He had a well trimmed moustache. His black hair was cut short and it looked neat as it had been combed backwards.
He was currently wearing an official business suit with a white shirt inside. From the way that he was dressing, it was obvious that he had been getting ready to get to the office.
Jack could already tell the reason as to why he was still sitting there. It was definitely due to the person who wasn't a member of this house.
"Who are you? And why the hell are there two of you?" The person who had an arrogant face and a long nose questioned as he looked at Jonathan.
He had never expected the Jonathan was going to be back at this moment. From the way that he had always known, as long as Jonathan left the family residence, he would always come back in the evening or the following day.
All of this was due to his always busy schedule. As for what he was actually doing, that was something that he didn't care about.
Since the family was currently in a state of chaos due to the issues concerning Nathan, he had also decided to take this chance so that he could acquire something from Anita.
Jonathan's father, Gregory Terry had married Anita. Since his family background was at an acceptable level to the standards that were set to the daughters that were born in the Jesda family, he was allowed to marry Anita.
But of course, if the family background that the man came from was at a lower level as compared to the Jesda family, then it was required that the man was married into the family and not the other way around.
This was the exact reason as to why Gregory was currently present in the Jesda residence.
To say the truth, if he could, Gregory would have opted to have Anita in his family rather than him being married into the Jesda family. Had it not been for the fact that he actually had love for Anita, even if this was a marriage that was organized by his parents, Gregory would have surely not agreed to this.
He was a man who had his own pride. Had it not been for the fact that, had he not agreed to the condition that he was supposed to be married into this family, he would actually lose the person that he loved, he would have opted for another solution.
Currently, the long nose guy was here because although Gregory was accepted into the family, that didn't mean that he was favored.
In fact, amongst all the son-in-laws of the Jesda family, he could be said to be the person with the lowest status. That was simply because his family background was currently the weakest amongst all the son-in-laws.
Since Gregory wasn't favored in the family, the long nosed guy had decided that, he could perhaps use this chance to acquire a few shares or properties from the hands of Anita.
As a male child, he was obviously favored as compared to Anita. As long as he give out a reasonable reason, he was sure that the family was going to grant him whatever he wanted.
What he had come over to do today was simply pressuring Anita. What was going to follow next was a few plans and schemes that he had already organized.
No that the family was In chaos due to Nathan, he was simply going to use the storm to hide his actions.
In his family, there were over four boys. And amongst all of them, he was the least favored. This was the exact reason as to why he was the one who had the least amount of assets or things that were under his management.
This was of course something that he didn't like at all. He had looked into the family and saw that the only person who he could exploit and get a few shares or family property from was Anita.
And of course, he wasn't doing this all alone. He had already orchestrated a plan and had invited someone to help him. It was just that the part of the plan where that person was going to come in was not here.
Just like the person with the long nose who was looking at Jonathan and Jack in shock, Gregory too was shocked about the appearance of Jack in the mansion.
Unlike Anita and Jonathan, Gregory had completely no information about Jack's existence. After looking at Jonathan and Jack for a while, he shifted his gaze to his wife Anita, waiting for her explanation.
"I give you a lot of respect. But who the heck are you to think that you can actually come over here and shout as you like? Not to mention that you are not someone from the western wing of the family, You actually there to have the girls to say that my mother doesn't have the authority or ability to possess what she currently has?" Jonathan shouted as he looked at the long nosed guy.
Currently, he was really enraged. Had it not been for the family rules as well as the fact that the person who was seated in front of him was actually a senior to him, he would have rushed forward and beat the guy into a pulp for daring to shout at his parents.
"Jonathan watch your mouth when you're speaking to your seniors. Additionally, I just asked a d*mn question. And I am expecting answers from you, not questions." The long nosed guy said with a frown on his face.
He was completely displeased despite the fact that he was currently panicking inside. He need Jonathan all too well. In fact, there was nobody in the family who didn't know about Jonathan.
Jonathan was someone who many people didn't want to mess with because he was the person who had the highest shot was being the family head.
But, since he was desperate, the long nosed guy had decided that he could only bite the bullet and target Anita. That was the exact reason as to why he had decided to come over as soon as he got the information that Jonathan had left the family residence.
Jonathan's anger ignited further as he heard what the long nosed guy said. He really wanted to rush forward and beat this guy up. 𝚋ed𝚗𝚘𝚟e𝚕.𝚗et
He was just about to speak when suddenly Anita spoke. "So, you are Jack."
"So, you are Jack."
When he had her words, Jack let out a smile as he replied. "That's me Aunt."
"You look no different as the time that I saw you on the video." Anita continued with a smile on her face. And although she was trying to hide it well, Jack could already perceive that she was feeling sad.
This was something that didn't surprise him because he knew that his appearance reminded her of her sister. Having been separated for over two decades, it was just normal for her to feel sad after knowing the fact that her sister had passed away already.
As for Anita, she completely ignored the gaze that she was receiving from her husband. As for the girl who had come over to cause trouble, she had never taken him seriously at all.
According to her, the guy was just going to blubber around her before he finally leaves empty handed. She had never thought that the person was really going to take whatever she had in possession at all.
Perhaps this could have taken place if Jonathan was not around. But now the Johnathan was back, she wasn't afraid that there's anyone who could beat him. This was the confidence that she had in her son.
"Come and take a seat." Anita smile as she stood up from her seat and welcomed Jack.
Jonathan on the other hand had a shift in his expression. He couldn't talk but think that this was just too much. Weren't people just favoring Jack too much? Not to mention Celine, even his mother was now favoring Jack?
All the same, he decided to put that aside as he decided to focus on the person that had come over to cross trouble. This was something that he had to deal with as soon as possible so that he could get rid of the foul air that was in the house.
"Since you are not welcome here, why don't you leave?" Jonathan asked coldly as he looked at the long nosed guy.
"What do you mean that I should leave? Not to mention that I am your senior, and I am here to pay a visit, I have just asked you a question but you have not answered." The guy sneered.
But all the same, he was no longer arrogant as he was before Jack and Jonathan came in. This was such a drastic change because he knew the position that he was in was not favorable as long as Jonathan was present.
With Jonathan's abilities, it was a sure bet that the family elders would not there to try causing trouble for him considering that he was someone who had a good chance of taking over the position of the family head. 𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟el.𝚌o𝚖
Someone like Jonathan was very valuable to the family considering that the elders were nearing their end. They had been in the position of the family elders for a good while now.
They were supposed to have abdicated their position during the past generation. But due to Anne, They were left with no choice but to continue holding the position so that the family rules could be followed to the latter.
"I don't think I have any obligation to answer to any of your questions. And since I have stated that you are not invited here at the moment as we are going to deal with something private, I would like to ask you to leave." This time, As Jonathan spoke, he had a threatening days fixated at the guy.
The guy, although he thought that Jonathan would not actually there to make a move on him, he had no choice but to get on his feet.
To say the least, he was intimidated by Jonathan. Jonathan was well known in the family as the person who usually used his fists if there was I need for him to.
Knowing very well that Jonathan was well versed in combat abilities, he had no intention of trying them out himself. Although it was true that the family rules would protect him, that was only if there was evidence that proved that he was the one who was at the receiving end and not the other way round.
The fact that he was currently present in Jonathan's house was enough to make him at a disadvantage during the judgment. What was he doing there if he was not invited?
There was yet another fact that, he was only a single person while inside this room, there were four people who were not on the same side as him.
With a snort, he left after glaring daggers at Anita and Gregory. As for those who are the receiving end of the glaring, they completely ignored him.
After the guy left, Gregory could not hold it anymore and asked Anita. "Do you mind introducing me to this guest of ours?"
"Oh, I never thought that you are interested." Anita, Who was just chatting with Jack shifted her gaze towards him as she spoke sarcastically.
"What do you mean that I'm not interested? What part of me shows that I'm not interested?" Gregory asked as he looked at Anita with a stern gaze.
"Alright, I'll do the introduction." Anita rolled her eyes at him before she looked at Jack. "Jack, this is your uncle and my husband Gregory. Gregory, this one here is Jack. He is my sister's son."
Jack got to his feet and extended his hand for a greeting. Gregory received the hand and shook it. At the same time, he looked at Anita and asked, "By your sister, do you mean Anne?"
He knew about Anne. During the time that he was dating Anita, Anne had yet to leave the family. He had met her several times and they had made an acquaintance.
"How many sisters do you think I have?" Anita questioned.
Although he had a hunch about this, Gregory was completely surprised. He looked at Jack and he could see the semblance that he heard with both Anne and Anita.
"And where is Anne?" Gregory asked.
"Well, she passed away about 4 years ago." Jack replied. He said all of these plainly without showing much of emotion.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Gregory stated after noticing that he had touched on something that wasn't supposed to be talked about.
"No problem at all. It has been a while and I've already gotten used to it." Jack replied.
After that, Jack engaged himself into a long talk with what Anita and Gregory. They talked about a lot of things as they tried knowing each other.
Jack came to know more about them just as they came to know about him through the questions that he gave answers to. But of course, there were several things that he didn't reveal to them.
It was not like you had to say anything or had to reveal any secrets that he had to them simply because they were related. There are things that even Celine didn't know about despite the fact that she was his wife to be.
Jonathan on the other hand couldn't help but sulk on the coach as he looked at the three people who were engaged in a conversation.
They were talking and laughing at each other while completely ignoring about his presence as if he never existed at all.
His lips couldn't help but twitch at that. In the end, he could only check his head before he got up and headed for his room that was located on the second floor of the mansion.
After about 30 minutes of chatting, Gregory finally bid his good-byes as he left for work. He had a lot of things to do considering that there were several things or businesses that were under his management as a son-in-law of the Jesda family.
This was something that all the sun-in-laws that were married into the Jesda family had. They were given several businesses that were under the family for them to manage.
But of course, this was something that was not done blindly. Only those who had capabilities were the ones that were given the opportunities to keep more.
If one of the son-in-laws was just a wastrel, then, he might end up with nothing at all. This was just how the family worked.
On the other hand, after Gregory left, Jack continued spending time with Anita. He chatted with her and discussed a lot of things concerning his mother.
It seemed that that after Gregory left was when Anita had gotten a freedom to ask about her sister. She could finally show her saddened emotions.
In the end, Jack spent the whole day there. It seemed that Anita had enjoyed his company because he reminded her of her sister.
When it was evening, Anita had wanted Jack to stay over but Jack refused. He still had other things to do. Additionally, there was a round trip that he had to do with Celine for her training schedule.
Left with no choice, Anita could only agree. "You should remember to pay me a visit more often." She stated as she looked at Jack who was standing at the door ready to leave.
"Don't worry aunt. I'll make sure to pay you more visits as long as I am free." Jack replied with a smile on his face.
"Okay then, have a safe trip." Anita stated.
After that, Jack who was accompanied by Jonathan who was grumpy left the mansion. They got into the car and Jonathan drove away.
…
Somewhere else in the Jesda manor. Two men were facing each other. One of them was the long nosed guy and the other was a man who looked to be in his late forties.
"So, you are trying to tell me that there is another person other than Jonathan?" Nathan asked as he looked at the long nosed guy.
At this moment, his expression wasn't good at all. He was currently under house arrest. This denial of freedom was something that he never liked at all.
Now only people could come to see him and not the other way round.
Nathan had been in his villa all this while ever since the day that he was forbidden from leaving it.
Although he had yet to leave the room, that didn't mean that he wouldn't leave if there was a chance that he could
As usual, a big family was always full of schemes. And this was already one of them. The long-nosed guy was here because this was actually part of his scheme that he was currently planning.
Since he saw that he could not make a move on Anita and Jonathan with the family's current situation, he decided that he was going to find someone that would do the work for him.
What he currently wanted was, to make sure that one of the companies that was currently under Anita's family management, under-performed so that, the family elders would shift the management to another person.
And of course, he was the person who was going to be chosen. He had already made enough plans for that.
What he wanted Nathan to do was simply to do something that, would make sure that the company would underperform.
As for the method that Nathan was going to use, that was actually none of his concern. He knew nothing all too well for the fact that he was a person who was always scheming and could do anything.
Although he was currently on the house arrest, that didn't mean that he had lost connections that he had outside. What the long-nosed guy wanted was simply to use the connections that Nathan had to fulfill what he wanted.
If the family went on to investigate about what had occurred, all the blame would fall on Nathan. As for him, he was the one who was going to benefit without even lifting a finger.
Nathan could of course tell that there was a reason behind why this guy had come over to see him. He wasn't gullible enough to believe that there was anyone in the family other than the wife and children that he had that really cared about him.
But right at this moment, he really didn't care about what this guy was here to do or what his purpose really was. 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝐥.𝗻𝗲𝐭
In his current situation, he had really lost a lot. Not to mention the assets and the power that he had accumulated in the family over the decades that had gone by, he had lost even the chance that he had to the position of the family head.
Although the position was just indirect, he still thought that it was valuable enough for him to hold the power considering that his son Arthur wasn't someone who could make decisions.
Being the mastermind who was doing things from the darkness, that was just how he had initially planned to do things.
But all of this had been foiled by Jonathan, or so he believed. And as such, the current hatred that he had towards Jonathan was something that was incomparable to any that he had felt ever before.
Although he also hated his father and his uncle who were part of the current leadership of the family, as well as the rules that had completely prevented his rise to power, they were completely incomparable to the person who had used the family rules to make sure that he completely lost what he wanted.
"Yes, there's this another guy who looks exactly like Jonathan but he is called Jack. And currently I am assuming that he is a twin to Jonathan. Perhaps I need to heard he didn't all of these from the public eye that she had twins." The long-nosed guy said.
Nathan's expression darkened further. He now remembered what his son had told him back then. Arthur had told him back then that they were actually two people who were Jonathan.
With his eyes completely turning cold, the anger that was in his heart ignited further. His eyes turned blood red as he thought of something.
"It seems that I was wrong. It was not Jonathan who made a move on me. It seems that it is this Jack who was hidden in the dark that was making moves." Nathan muttered to himself.
He could already imagine that this was all part of a scheme that was planned by Jonathan and his family. They had planned to keep Jonathan in the dark so that in the future, they would utilize him to render his only competition out of the equation.
Just the thought of this made his anger seethe. Even the long-nosed guy who was seated in front of him couldn't help but shiver a little when he saw the ferocious expression that was on Nathan's face.
He gulped loudly as he looked at him. Although he was currently acting nonchalantly about the way things were, he had no choice but to be scared.
But knowing that what was at stake was extremely valuable to him, he had no choice but to hide the expression that was threatening to appear on his face.
"Good, good, just good," Nathan said good three times as he nodded his head repeatedly.
"Since you are trying to play a game with me, then I have got no choice but to play it with you further. Then, we are going to see who is going to emerge victorious at the end of the day." Nathan stated loudly.
He then shifted his gaze towards the guy who was planning schemes on him. He knew that whatever he was going to do next, as long as the family elders got a hint of it, there was no doubt that his punishment was going to be increased drastically.
But, none of that matter to him at this moment considering that he was already down. It was going to be something akin to a miracle for him to go back to the position that he was previously in.
And, since he was already down, then there was no harm if he was going to pull someone else to accompany him down there.
"Give me your phone." Nathan stated as he stretched his hand out.
He didn't even try to show the etiquette when he was trying to borrow something from the guy. He knew that this game was going to benefit from something and he had to do whatever it was that Nathan demanded.
Otherwise, all the plans that he had planned all these times would surely be for nothing.
With twitching lips, the guy took out his phone that he had already prepared in advance and give it to Nathan.
Nathan had already been denied all means of communication. And all those that came into his room to visit him were inspected to make sure that they didn't have any tool for communication.
But he on the other hand had already disassembled a small phone that was recently made. Although it looked like a phone, the only function that it heard was to make calls and send text messages.
It was something that had been created upon his request. And as such, it was not in the data system in that, the security check up could not notice it.
Nathan received the small cell phone that had been connected together by the guy before he dialed a number. Although the family had made sure to deny him all means of communication, that didn't mean that he was going to forget the numbers that he had already memorized.
After dialing the number, he made a call. When the call was received, Nathan spoke, "Gilmore, I would like you to do something for me…."
Nathan spoke a lot about his plans that were supposed to be carried out. He didn't even try hiding what he was saying to the other person from the guy in front of him.
After a long 30 minutes of talk, he finally summarized whatever he had and ended the call.
"I will be remaining with this phone for the time being. I need to make more preparations." Nathan stated as he stared at the guy in front of him.
The long-nosed guy thought about it for a moment before he nodded in agreement. He knew that some things and plans had to be made for a good period of time before they took effect.
And since Nathan was going to make a plan that involved a member of the Jesda family, he had to make a very thorough plan that would surely work.
"Okay then, I will be coming for the phone tomorrow." The guy got to his feet before he left.
Nathan who was remaining seated on his chair looked at the door with a cold gaze. In the end, he sneered.
'You think that you can actually use me as a tool? You better think about this twice. You are only starting to do things now but I am a master in this. Let us just see how this is going to end for you for attempting to do something like that in my face.' Nathan thought to himself.
….
During night time, Nathan was sleeping when suddenly, the lights inside his bedroom suddenly lit up.
This was something strange. It could have been normal if he was actually living with his wife and children. But ever since he was under house arrest, he had been living alone.
Not to mention the fact that it was currently night time, he wondered who it was that had just come over to disrupt his night. Although he was currently under house arrest, that didn't mean that he was going to let just anyone to come and bother him.
He opened his eyes as he snorted, "Who the heck do you think you are to come over and disrupt my night inside my own bedroom….?"
Nathan was forced to swallow the rest of the words that he was intending to say when he saw the silhouette of the person who was standing in front of his door.
When the person who was standing there noticed his gaze, he spoke, "Do you remember me?" At this point, there was a chilling smile on his face.
Jack looked at the shocked Nathan with a smile on his face. He had come over a moment after he had separated from Johnathan.
Johnathan had stayed over and had supper there. They then went ahead to chat for a long while before Nathan finally decided to leave.
As for how Jack had managed to sneak over here even though the security was tight in the Jesda family manor, that was something that related to the skills that he had on him.
Not to mention the fact that he was stronger and faster than any normal human, there was also a fact that he actually knew the Jesda residence like the back of his hand.
Although in the morning he was curious about the working of the security systems, that was only because he wanted to see the practicality of the things that he had seen.
When he was sneaking into the family residence, he had used all the loopholes that were present and easily got over here without anyone noticing him.
As for the cameras that could have recorded his arrival, that was something that Jack had left Denali to deal with. With her expertise, even the military had failed to do anything to the editing of the videos that she had done at the glaze hotel.
He had come over today simply because he wasn't yet done with the vengeance that he had to exact. The revenge that he had decided that he was going to deal to Nathan was not any less than the one that Brenda and her mother Marion had faced back in crystal city.
Yes, he was the mastermind behind the death of his mother. Although he was not the one that had actually done the deed, that didn't make him any good because both Marion had decided to kill His mother only after she hadn't gone pressure from Nathan.
Just the intention of killing her was enough for Jack to make sure that Nathan paid with his life. But the extent to which Nathan went and made sure that his mother died was enough to make sure that Nathan underwent a cruel death.
"Who are you?" Nathan rose to his feet from the bed as he questioned. Although he had a clue about who Jack was, He just had to make sure that it was the person that he actually thought he was.
As for the fear about just including into his house, that was something that he didn't care about at the moment. There was only one thing that he had to deal with at the moment, and that was to simply know the reason that's why he was here and not how.
"Now, now, now, are we pretending that we don't know each other again?" Jack questioned as he looked at Nathan.
The coldness in his eyes had never receded ever since he entered this room. The way that she was looking at Nathan was in such a way that sent chills down the spine of Nathan.
Having been involved in several schemes in his life, Nathan had obviously encountered several people who had stared at him with ferocious expressions. But the one that was on Jack's face at the moment was one that he had never encountered before.
"You are Jack, Anne's son?" Nathan stated. Although it was like a question, there was a hint of self-confidence in his voice.
"You should not dare to mention her name. The next moment that you dare to mention that name I'll make sure to tear off that mouth of yours from that skull of yours." Jack stated coldly.
For a moment, Nathan was intimidated as he took a step behind only to manage to stay his ground after remembering that he was actually the senior here.
He had to make sure that he wasn't going to show any type of weakness so that he could gain the advantage that there could be.
"Humph, so what's so special about her name? How I hate her. She's the main reason as to why I have never succeeded in my quest for power all along." Nathan retorted. There was clear anger in his eyes at the memories of what had happened over the past two decades.
Due to the family rules, the moment that Anne left the family, that was the time that the family rules dictated that the people in the same generation as Anne could no longer take position of the family head.
He had already begun making preparations earlier even before Anne decided to leave. Even the situation where Anne was going to be forced to marry another person was part of his schemes to gain more power.
At that time, his influence wasn't as high as it was currently. Back then, he had to depend on several people from outside so that he could gain a standing in the family.
That was the way he was, using others as tools so that he could gain whatever he wanted. Not to mention Anne, even those that were going to be engaged or marry Anne were going to be a part of his tools that were going to boost his rise to power.
But all of this came crashing down the moment that Anne left. The people that were supposed to have his back at that moment disappeared the moment that they realized that Anne was no longer there.
Why the heck would they help Nathan when whatever they wanted was no longer there? With that, they had decided to cut all the ties that they had with Nathan.
When he got the news that they had decided to cut off the relationship that they were already forging, Nathan was obviously infuriated.
But of course, most of the hatred was directed towards Anne. Although she was his younger sister, that was something that he thought that she could do as a younger sister, to enable him to gain power.
But what had completely infuriated him the most was the fact that, the family rule had completely denied his generation of the chance of getting the seat of the family head.
And of course, That was a rule that was always kept as a secret from them. And as such, even he only knew about it the moment that the family elders mentioned it.
Had he known about this earlier, He would have made sure that Anne would not have escaped. Even if he had to change the target, it would have been better than losing the chance of being the family held completely.
"It seems that you're not even willing to let my mother go even after you had been the cause of her death." Jack stated as he said at Nathan.
Nathan was slightly surprised at the fact that Jack actually knew that he was the reason behind Anne's death. But thinking about the fact that he thought that Jack was the one who had been leaking the information about the secrets that he had been keeping all along, He thought that it wasn't impossible for Jack to know about it.
All the same, he still sneered at Jack. With a contemptuous gaze, he spoke, "Had I known, I would have instructed them to kill you as well. Now I'm regretting not killing you back then. Had I known that you are going to cause me this amount of trouble in the future…" Nathan lamented.
Jack chuckled. He then said, "Well, there's nothing for regrets anymore. It's now time for you to pay for the crimes that you have committed. And, I'm going to make sure that you pay for every single pain that my mother underwent."
Although he was chuckling, there was nothing but anger on his face. And even without saying another word, He launched himself towards Nathan.
Bang!
A ferocious sponge landed on Nathan's face. Jack had made sure to control the amount of strength that was behind that bunch of his. And as a result, he only blew Nathan backwards.
But all the same, Nathan's nose had been broken. A copious amount of blood began flowing from the nose.
Tears had already welled up inside Nathan's eyes due to the sudden pain that he had experienced. At this moment, He actually couldn't understand the situation that he was currently in.
"I hope that you enjoy the ride. Don't regret your actions yet, this is just the beginning." Jack spoke before he finally left.
Nathan was still lying on the floor even after 10 minutes had gone by since Jack had left the room. He was still holding his nose trying to prevent the bleeding.
His mind was racing at that moment. He was wondering on what he was going to do. He wasn't surprised by the fact that he was blown away by a single punch from Jack.
This was actually not the first time that you had seen a person with superhuman strength. Even the time that he sent spider to assassinate Jonathan, He had already done his investigation and knew that the guy was a person with superhuman abilities.
The only surprise that he heard was the fact that even Jack had such amount of strength. Although he had not been keeping an eye on Jack for a long time, He had actually noticed that Jack was suppressed in the family that Anne was married into.
This was actually the reason as to why he had decided to leave Jack alive. He had thought that the experience that Jack was going to gain from that family due to the suppression that he was facing was going to be enough pain for him to exert his vengeance even though Anne had already passed away.
"It seems that I have to make contact with them. A person like Jack is not one that can be dealt with easily. Only them, they are the only ones who can actually deal with him." Nathan stated.
In his eyes, currently, other than they hope that he heard for his vengeance, there was also a hint of fear at the thought of the people that he was planning to contact.
Without wasting much time, He took out the phone that the long-nosed guy had left for him, before he began dialing a number with shaking hands.
Although his hands were shaking, there was the determination in his eyes as well as a hint of excitement as he made the call.
After he paid a visit to Nathan, Jack's life went back to the way that it was previously. He went on to help Denali in managing the companies as well as making the plans for the future expansion.
Considering that he had to monopolize at least five industries to make sure that he had completed the system's requirements for the upgrade, he had to lay a bigger foundation than the one that he currently had.
As for Nathan, he didn't spare him. At that time, he had only paid him a visit to at least remind him that, the house arrest was actually not the end of the punishment that he was going to receive.
And true to what he had said back then, Jack had released a lot of information to the police. To make things easier for him to avoid the usage of the connections that the Jesda family had, he had decided that he was going to use the media once again. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑒𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
He had made sure that, all types of media platforms had gotten the information about Nathan's actions that completely broke the laws.
In this way, after the news was exposed, even if the Jesda family intended to keep Nathan in the family, they would have no choice but to concede to the public outrage.
Of course, although he had revealed the information to the media outlets, he had instructed them that, they would only release the news when he wanted them to do that.
And if they dared not to do as he wanted them to do, he would be left with no choice but to hack their servers once again.
Yes, he had decided that he was going to blackmail the guys so that they would do his bidings.
With the fear that he had already installed in them the previous time that he had hacked their servers for two hours, these media outlets had no choice but to concede to him.
At the end of the day, if they refused, they were the ones that were going to suffer the losses. Once Jack controlled the servers and prevented the running of the programs, then, the losses that they were going to incur would be unimaginable.
Additionally, added to the fact that, what he wanted them to release to the public was actually some kind of information about a person that was supposed to face the law, they were going to comply to it anyways.
They could take this as an opportunity that had been granted to them. They could twist the facts in such a way that, it would no longer be that they were the ones that were being forced to reveal the information. But, they were the ones that had gotten the information through their hard work.
In this way, they would have soaring reputations that would wash away the humiliation that they had experienced previously when Jack had hacked into their servers.
But of course, although they were complying with Jack's demands, that didn't mean that they were not trying to find out who he was.
They would never like being controlled like that. Who could tell what Jack would ask of them in the future?
What the guys didn't know was the fact that, the information that they had gotten was on someone with a big background.
Their plans to hog all the credits would surely cause them a lot of problems in the future…
Jack had already foreseen that they might actually refuse to do as he wanted at the cost of some losses once they knew that Nathan was a part of the Jesda family.
Although it was true that most of the public didn't know about Jesda family, that was only applied to those that were in the lower levels. As for those big bosses, they knew about them.
They for sure knew about the fact that, these big families could resort to drastic means such as killing if it involved their interests.
With that to the side, Jack had continued dealing with a few other things. There was the one that involved the research Centre, the anti-leukemia pills.
Through the influence that Johnathan had, he had managed to help Jack to have the clinical trials go through faster than they should have initially.
And as such, by the end of this month, the first batch of the anti-leukemia pills were supposed to be entering the market soon.
This was something that Jack was actually looking forward to. Although it was true that the system had already granted him the first income reward in the first month that he had acquired the research Centre, that didn't mean that he wasn't expecting something soon.
Not only would the anti-leukemia pills be the first in the world that could actually grant a person immunity to leukemia. but, they would also be sold by only his research Centre.
For the sales that were to come, Jack had already made preparations for this by acquiring a few pharmaceutical companies. Although they were small, that didn't actually matter to him.
In the end, all these companies were under the process of being merged into a single entity. With his capital, there would be nothing for him to worry about when it came to competition.
Additionally, there was a fact that, there were going to be a few more types of medicines that were bound to be found only by him through the system.
As such, the pharmaceutical company that would be under him would be granted the monopoly power over those drugs.
As for what he was currently doing to deal with Nathan, that was to completely ruin the reputation that Nathan had.
And, all that information that was present with the media was amongst the ones that he was planning to utilize.
What he wanted was not only a painful death for Nathan, but also, even in death, Jack wanted Nathan's soul to be tormented.
The torment would of course come from the public outrage that would ensue the moment that they were going to be informed about what Nathan had done.
That guy, just to get to the position that he was in before Jack ruined it for him, he had committed a lot. There were many people that had suffered a lot and they would be more than happy if they could see him getting what he deserved.
….
Currently, a week had gone by since all those events had taken place during the week that Jack had paid a visit to the Jesda residence.
Jack was now seated in the living room of his villa, facing someone that, although he had expected that he would visit, he was still surprised by that visit.
The person that was in front of him was someone that was supposedly related to him. He was his maternal grandfather, Benjamin.
To say the truth, Jack had no sentimental value for the grandfather that was in front of him. Although he was his grandfather, the two of them were meeting for the first time.
Jack was currently nearing 20 years old. And although the old man in front of him was actually the father to his mother, to say the least, Jack cared nonetheless about him.
If truth was to be told, it could be Said that he had a grudge with him. Although he was actually his mother's father, He had not done anything when his uncle Nathan was planning some sinister schemes that would have landed his mother into trouble.
Although the marriage is that were involved were mainly political, there was completely no love in the marriage. And according to the information that Jack had collected, the person that was supposed to marry his mother at that time was actually a sc*mbag.
"It is nice to see you, Jack." Benjamin stated with an amiable smile on his face as he looked at Jack. He had a hint of pride on his face as he looked at him.
"Well, I can't say the same." Jack was blunt with his words, Not trying to sugar-coat them at all.
Benjamin knew that this was going to happen when he came over to meet Jack. The two of them had never met before and this was something that was bound to happen.
They didn't have any kind of interactions in the past and as such, they were no different from strangers other than the Blood bond that they shared.
"It seems that you are a straightforward person." Benjamin stated. Without waiting for just to say a word further, he asked, "So, how have you been all this time?"
"Fine, I guess." Jack replied sarcastically. He didn't want to believe that the old man before him didn't actually know the situation that he was in before he finally got the system.
Since Nathan could actually locate him, there was no way that Benjamin could not locate Anne with all the resources that the family had.
Jack had come to realize this after he had done his investigation on the family. He found that even the Alfonso family, his supposedly family, actually had people that were part of the Jesda family.
Although they were of the lower status in the family, Jack would tell that in case they wanted to find someone, their low status didn't actually matter.
Benjamin could easily pick out the sarcasm in Jack's words. He took a deep breath and spoke, "I am sorry, but I was completely bound by the family rules. Although it pained me when everything that happened, happened, I had no choice."
"If possible, I really would have done something about it. But as a member of the family council, there was no way that I was going to interfere with something that was prohibited by the family rules."
Jack looked at him and snorted. "It seems that the family rules are more important to you guys than the lives of others."
"You actually knew about what was going to happen but you never made a move to stop it. What is more, it is a fact that you actually knew what Nathan had done but you never punished him. So, tell me, why are you being so insincere?"
Jack's anger began boiling again. He didn't like it the moment that Benjamin talked about the situation that his mother was in when the two of them were in the Alfonso family.
His mother had been living in the Alfonso family for over two decades. And yet, during all that time, Benjamin didn't make any move to help her out. But now, here he was, claiming that he was feeling remorseful about what had occurred.
Benjamin looked at Jack and stated after a while of silence, "There are many things that you don't know. If she wanted to leave, there would have been nobody who would have been capable of stopping her from doing that."
"There are many things that you don't know. If she wanted to leave, there would have been nobody who would have been capable of stopping her from doing that."
Jack frowned. He looked at Benjamin, not completely understanding what it was that he was trying to imply. 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Although he knew the fact that, Anne could have left the Alfonso family as long as she wanted back then, things were different when they involved Nathan.
From the moment that Nathan had decided to make a move on her, it was obvious that it didn't matter whether she really left the Alfonso family or not.
"What are you trying to imply? Are you trying to say that Nathan would have decided not continue with his plans only because my mother left the Alfonso family?" Jack questioned with a frown on his face.
"You really don't understand and just like before, I'm tied in that I cannot tell you about that." Benjamin sighed as he replied.
A flicker of anger appeared in Jack's eyes but he managed to hide it in that even Benjamin could not see it.
"So, why are you telling me things that you won't be explaining to me anyway? Are you trying to make me curious about things that you won't even bother to inform me about?" Jack asked.
Benjamin could sense the dissatisfaction in Jack's voice. He felt helpless at that moment. He really had come over so that he could form some bonds with this grandson of his.
But at the end, things that he had always been regretting about were the same that were trying to create a gap between the two of them.
Just from this, he couldn't help but curse at the fact that he was actually an elder in the family.
To others who had yet to be in that position, they would think that the position was so prestigious in that, they wouldn't mind doing things that would create enemies for them just to acquire.
But, having been in that position for over three decades, he knew all too well that the position of the family elder was nothing that a person could be so proud about.
Although he was proud that he was actually doing something for the whole Jesda family, he was regretting the fact that, he was so busy that he had to ignore his own family.
Additionally, as an elder, there were several rules that he had to follow. In other words, as long as one became an elder in the family, then, their freedom would be taken away.
All their actions would have to consider the family rules first. And as such, this was no different from being denied the freedom of doing what they wanted. They were required to set an example for those that were below them.
"Jack, there are things that I cannot tell you even if I'm forced to. It's not that I don't want to, it's just that, being a family elder, there are several things that I have to do and there are others that I'm not allowed to do." Benjamin spoke in a low voice.
Jack's eyes narrowed. "So, to you guys, the family rules are everything. You can even sacrifice others simply because the family rules state so? Those were the rules that were created by men and they can be changed." Jack stated.
Benjamin looked at Jack helplessly. In the end, he said, "I've got no comment on that. But, I would like to let you know that, I myself am regretting the fact that I couldn't do anything for you when you were at the Alfonso family."
"But, as long as you give me a chance, I will make that up to you. I will try to do what I can so that I can cover the gap that had been hollow for years in your heart."
Jack snorted when he heard that. He chuckled in the end and said, "So, you are still an elder at this moment, and you can pay me a visit and you can do a lot of things for me."
"But back then, you were still an elder but you could do absolutely nothing even when my mother was facing her demise. And, she was actually killed by her own brother, your son."
"And, that guy that was responsible, although you all knew about what he had done, you have never taken any action against him. He has been living happily when my mother is currently in her grave."
Jack's voice got colder as he spoke of his mother's death. That was something that he would never come into agreement with.
Had her death been a natural one, then, he actually wouldn't have been the way that he was currently, full of resentment towards the ones that were involved.
But, she had died an unjust death. She was still young to say the least! Perhaps she would have been there to take care of some things like his marriage and so on.
But now, the only other person that he was close to that represented his mother's figure, that would be Katelyn. At least, he had spent a lot of time with her during his childhood.
Although Anita was his mother's twin sister and the relationship between the two of them was good, he and she were no different from strangers.
Just like Benjamin who was in front of him, the two of them had never interacted before to the extent that they would get to know each other well enough.
Although he had chatted with her during the previous week, that was not enough for him to actually know her character that well.
"The reason as to why I have decided to come over and ask you to give me a chance is simply because I'm about to abdicate my position as a family elder. With the new generation being almost ready to take over the position of the family head, I can with no doubt finally retire from the position." Benjamin stated as he looked at Jack.
Jack frowned. Although this grandfather of his was actually an elder, from what he had learned about the family, only those that were related to the current family head were the ones who were supposed to take the positions of the elders.
But with the past generation being banned from taking the position of leadership in the family, He was wondering who was going to take over the position of the family elders.
"I know what you're trying to think. But, I can inform you that, Although the family rules state that the generation can no longer be the ones who are going to inherit the position of the family head, that doesn't apply on the position of the elders." Benjamin said.
Jack finally got an understanding of what is going on. But all the same, He didn't care whether Benjamin really cared about him or not. At the end of the day, he had been living All this while alone with those that he considered close to him.
Even without Benjamin, His life was not going to change. With the abilities that the system was granting to him, there was no way that he was going to fall behind, He believed.
Upon seeing the uninterested expression on Jack's face, Benjamin could only shake his head as he sighed again.
"Can you be straightforward enough and tell me the reason as to why you really came over to see me?" Jack questioned.
"Okay then, I'll be straightforward with you. What I came over for was to ask you to come back to the family. Although your mother left the family back then, you still have the blood of the Jesdas running through your veins. And as such, you are qualified to be back into the family and you can even participate in the competition for the position of the family head if you like to." After a moment of silence, Benjamin replied.
Jack looked at him. He then stated without a hint of hesitation on his face. "I appreciate it. But you should know that I'm no longer part of the Jesda family. Even the Alfonso family Where my so, called father is, I cannot consider it a family of mine."
"With the fact that my mother had left the family, as well as the sinister schemes that are always undergoing in that family, I don't want to be a part of it."
Benjamin seemed to have expected something like that. He shook his head before he spoke again. "Can you take your time to reconsider the offer? Even if you don't want to come back to the family now, you can still come back when you feel like it."
"I know that you have already investigated about my current situation. And I know all too well that you know the way that I am right now. I do believe that you know that with my current situation, I can really support myself."
"As for the family, I don't think I can consider it my family after all, it was the one who was involved with the death of my mother, as well as the fact that we have never interacted before."
Jack wasn't going to coat his words. He was someone who was going to be straightforward with whatever he had in mind. Since he didn't want to be a part of the Jesda family, then he might as well tell the family elder in front of him up front."
Benjamin rose to his feet Before he looked at Jack. "The offer still stands. Whatever day you feel like you want to come back to the family, you are always welcome."
After saying that, he turned around to leave the villa.
"I don't think I will ever consider that offer. And I'm sorry that I cannot send you out." Jack stated.
After Benjamin left, Celine came from the upper floor of the villa. She had noticed when Benjamin left through the window that was in her room.
When Benjamin came, she had decided to give them a little space so that they could discuss whatever it was they wanted. And now that Benjamin had left, It was just finally time for her to spend a precious time with Jack.
"How's the training going?" Jack asked when he saw her.
"It is going good. But I'm not as you, it seems that I cannot help them to improve easily as you do. Perhaps I do need help from Denali." Celine said with a dejected voice.
Celine had already mastered several basics when it came to the fighting skills. With her determination as well as her genius abilities when it came to fighting, Jack didn't need to take a lot of time to enable her to grasp the basics of fighting. 𝚋𝚎𝚍n𝚘v𝚎𝚕.𝚗𝚎𝚝
Although he was referring to them as basics, that was only due to the standard that he currently had. As a professional combatant, Jack thought that whatever those people that were in the ultimate championship in Venture City showed, was nothing as compared to the basics.
In fact, although those people always called themselves as professionals, to Jack, they were rookies who had yet to master the basics of fighting. That meant that, even if the strength of both sides were equal, Jack would have surely dominated them with the skills that he possessed.
Due to the fact that Jack wasn't going easy on Celine during the training or during their sparring moments, Celine was able to improve faster than he had expected.
By now, she had mastered the basics of fighting and she was heading into the intermediate level. Even though she was so far from being a master in fighting, there were not many people who could actually match her in terms of combat abilities in the blue planet.
After the training schedule ended the previous week, Celine had decided that it was finally time for her to start training her mother and Faith.
But in the end of it all, she had found that it was difficult for the two of them to improve. Whatever she had taken only a few days to master, the other two would need almost 2 weeks.
Not thinking that Faith and her mother were subpar, she had ended up blaming herself that she was not good at instructing. This was the reason as to why her mood was so low lately.
"You are a genius my dear." Jack chuckled. The somberness that was present on his face during the time that he was facing Benjamin was already gone.
"You should know that not everyone possesses the capabilities that you do. Not only are you completely determined to learn about fighting, you are also a genius who can easily get whatever you are taught within no time." Jack continued.
Celine went ahead and sat next to him. She looked at him before she pouted. "Bah, are you claiming that my mother and Faith are idiots?"
"That's not what I meant. What I am trying to imply is that, you are so ingenious as compared to them. Additionally, they are not following the same training schedule as the one that I had arranged for you. Without practical experience, there's no way that their improvement can catch up to you." Jack replied.
The two then went on to chat a little before Celine left. She still had a lot of responsibilities to handle considering that now she had another company for her to manage other than the one that she was helping her mother with.
After Celine left, Jack decided that it was finally time for him to take action on those that were supposed to pay a debt. He had already given them a few days ahead of the one month period that he had given them. This was just enough mercy that he had shown, enough time for them to change their mind and do whatever he had asked them to do.
…
As Jack began making his moves, a group of youths were currently inside a bar in a private room. They had solemn expressions on their faces as they looked at each other silently.
After a moment of silence, one of them decided to speak. "Guys, do you think that all of this happened because of Jack?"
The guy with the tallest build -the one who had previously volunteered to beat up Jack back in venture City- replied, "I have a hunch that all of this is caused by that guy."
As he spoke, there was a hint of fear in his eyes as he remembered what had occurred during that night. That was actually the night that he really regretted whatever had happened.
Had they known that Jack was actually that formidable, they would have surely resisted the advances that Collins was making on them. Had they reported this to Jack, perhaps they could have gotten on his good side.
But now, it was too late for them. During that night, Denali had broken their hands. Till this day, they had yet to be fully healed.
They had also gotten the information that Collins had suffered a lot. Not only him, But his entire family had been taken to prison with all their assets being sold or being taken by the government or by other institutions due to the debts that they were in.
Collins's family was bigger than theirs. But all the same, it had fallen. And all of this, they believed that it was in the hands of Jack, the person whom they had offended for Collins.
"He gave us a one month timeline for us to submit at least half of the assets that are in our parents' possession. But all of this is just too difficult." One of them sighed.
The others also nodded their heads. To say the truth, they had never expected that the action that they had taken during that time will come back to haunt them.
Before Jack made his moves on them, they had only thought that they were only helping Collins and at the end of it all, they were going to benefit from the connections that they were going to forge with Collins.
But all of this came back and bit them on the very night of the action that they were taking. And it had followed them all the way during the past month.
They had already informed their parents during the time that they had been asked how they had gotten their hands broken. Of course, their parents were furious about what they heard.
They were not only furious that their children had their arms broken, but the perpetrator was also asking for compensation from them. What is more outrageous was the fact that, the person was requesting for half of their total assets.
Had it not been for the fact that their families were actually at a lower level as compared to the Gravy family, they were sure that their parents would have surely made moves on them.
Just the previous day, their parents had become depressed. This was due to the fact that the businesses that were under them had incurred several losses.
Even some of the deals that had already gone through had been somehow reversed. Some of their partners had already canceled the partnership, while some of those who were supposed to honor their contracts had even gone to the extent of willing to pay the fine, just to cancel the contracts that they had signed with them.
At first, each and every one of them thought that it was only their family that was facing such a catastrophe. But when they met, they came to find that only those that had had a hand in kidnapping Celine were the ones whose families was suffering.
This was the exact reason as to why they had congregated here today, to search for a solution. They knew that this was simply the beginning of what was to come.
Jack had previously contacted them to inform them that since their timeline had already gone by, they should be ready for the repercussions.
At first, they didn't take him too seriously. At the end of it all, they didn't know what Jack's background actually was. But upon seeing what had occurred the previous day only, they knew that they had messed with the wrong person.
"Ahem, Do you think we can talk to Jack so that he can let our families go? We can at least speak to our parents so that they can give away 50% of the total assets, so that we can save the other 50% rather than losing it all." One of the youth spoke.
"Are you sure that you received the same message from Jack as the one that I received?" The burly guy looked at him as he questioned with doubt clear in his eyes.
"Of course I did. He clearly stated that, since the one month period that he had given us went by without us doing the parts that we were supposed to, he was going to make sure that we lost everything." The guy retorted.
"Then how the f*ck are you trying to say that we can bargain with him? It is not like he didn't give us a warning." The burly guy rolled his eyes at he spoke.
"He gave us a warning, and we took it seriously. It is just that the assets that are under our family are not under our control, but under our parents. Without their consent, what can we do?" One of them complained.
"It doesn't matter what you're going to say, he has already began making moves. Maybe by the end of this week we'll have to sleep in the streets." Another said.
"What streets? If our families incurred several debts, do you think that the debt collectors will actually let us sleep peacefully in the streets?" One of them spoke again.
They had all seen the things that Collins and his family had undergone. Not only did all the wealth that they had accumulated over a long period of time disappear into nothing, they had also gotten themselves into several debts.
With the failure of their businesses, they had broken several terms in the contracts that they had signed before. Required to pay the fines, they were left with nothing at the end of it all.
"I guess it is all over for us. I really regret it, I shouldn't have fallen into the temptation that Collins had given us." One of the youths said melancholically.
Jack didn't put too much attention on making those who had collaborated with Collins to pay for the crimes that they had committed.
At this moment, what he was currently focusing on was the clinical trials that have already been completed.
The first batch of the anti-leukemia pills was about to be dispatched into the market. This was something that he was looking forward to due to the fact that, Not only was this going to boost the reputation of the research center, but it was also one way of him earning a lot of money.
Although it was true that he currently had more money than he could spend, it was always good to have enough money so that in case there was a time that he needed much more capital, he would have enough to dispatch.
Additionally, although he had already began merging the pharmaceutical companies that he had acquired they still needed something that was going to make sure that their foundation and reputation was solid enough.
With the current competition in the pharmaceutical companies, there was no doubt that his current pharmaceutical company was amongst those that were in the lower levels.
Since his plan was to exploit the system to the maximum, then he had no choice but to make sure that he did so to the maximum. And one way of that was to invest more so that he could earn even more.
With the ability of the system to multiply the income that he earned by 100 times, He didn't even have to worry about the risks that came with the investment. All he had to do was to make sure that the person who was taking care of the business was not someone who was suicidal.
"Have all the arrangements been made?" Jack questioned Denali.
"Yes boss, everything is in place at the moment. The only thing that we are waiting for is for you to give the order for the first batch of the medicine to be dispatched into the market." Denali replied.
Currently, they were inside the director's office present in the Brightway Medical Research Centre.
"That's good to hear. Any cases involved with the production or the marketing route?" Jack asked after thinking for a while.
"Boss, I have made sure that everything is in place. As for problems occurring, it can only be in the matter of the medicine not functioning of which is impossible as the clinical tests have already proved that not only does the anti-leukemia pills work, but they are not harmful to the human's body after consumption."
"Although they are supposed to be a few more experiments to be made so that they can be completely sure that there will be no long-term effects after taking the medication, basically, everything that is required to be checked has already been done." Denali replied.
Jack nodded his head. What he didn't want was to have some people getting the information about the pills that were yet to reach the market.
The situation that had happened during the attack of his hotel was something that he didn't want to repeat itself. As for the person who had been involved with the attack on the hotel, Jack had dealt with him on a personal level.
That's right, instead of just attacking the hotel as a form of competition, Jack had decided to go after the person himself. And of course, the result of Jack making a move was nothing to be happy about for the person who was facing him.
Since that guy had caused casualties that exceeded a dozen people in his hotel, there was no way that Jack was going to let him go.
Although it was true that the relationship that he shared with those deceased people wasn't that great, it remained a fact that, the people being killed were his customers and he was bound to protect them as long as they were in his hotel.
Their debts had not only caused the reputation of the hotel to diminish, but it had also just away several customers of his. Although his efforts had managed to restore the reputation of the hotel, there was still a good amount of people that had refrained from ever visiting the hotel.
Although the number could be said to be minimal, the amount of money that Jack could have earned from them was a big one considering that he had the system that could multiply that income by 100 times.
Yes, that guy had been killed off. And he died a really painful death due to the fact that Jack was angry at him.
Although he wasn't afraid of the competition, what Jack didn't want was the casualties or the side effects of the competitors using the underhanded tricks.
Currently, His research facility hosted some of the best scientists in the country. If it's so happened that some of his competitors went mad and decided to bomb the research facility, there was no need to think about the damage that would have been caused.
The number of scientists that may perish during the attack, as well as the facilities that would be destroyed would definitely make his progress slow.
Although he could always strike back, he was never really wanted to be hit before hitting back.
"Okay then, I would like you to manage all of this so that you can make sure that everything goes well. I don't want any accidents to happen as they are still more things that we are going to unveil in the future." Jack stated as leaning back on the chair that he sat on.
"Don't worry Master, I'll make sure that everything is in position." Denali replied confidently.
"That's good to hear." Jack nodded with a smile.
As expected, under Denali's lead, the presentation of the first batch of the pills went without a hitch. The moment that the public knew about the pills, there was a commotion that aroused.
It was a well-known fact that as of current, leukemia was a disease that had no treatment as long as it was not taken care of during the very early stages.
Several scientists have been racking their brains trying to find the solution to this. But all their efforts had bore no fruits to the present date.
But now, a very small research institute had suddenly invented medicine that could be used to prevent people from getting leukemia in the future even if they came into contact with radiation.
Although the reputation of the medical research center was low, during the press conference, the time that the first batch of the anti-leukemia pills were being introduced into the market, those top-notch scientists that were present in the medical research center were enough to clear several doubts that were placed on the research center.
These scientists were well known amongst the upper echelons of the medicine world. Since they were the ones who are involved, then there reputation was already enough to state that whatever it was that they had presented was not something that could have several doubts about.
Of course, Just the press conference alone wasn't enough to promote what Jack wanted. Since the first batch of the pills that he had produced was mainly to gather the reputation for both the hospital the research center as well as the pharmaceutical company, he had made several drastic moves.
He had made sure to spend a good sum of money so that the advertisements could be done. And that was not all, with the reputation of both The Rose and Kalmond Entertainment Companies, their reputation when it came to the advertisement was enough to boost their reputation of the companies and the hospital.
Another thing that had stunned a lot of people was the fact that the prices of the pills was very low.
A single person required two tablets to get immunity towards leukemia. And the price for each pill was priced at $5. As such, every single person that bought the pill would have to spend $10.
But of course, Jack knew that not everyone in the country could actually afford the price even though it was low. The rich could easily get the money to buy the pills.
But, there are those people who are at a very low level and had very low incomes. These people would struggle to have a single meal, not to mention to spend $10 for medication. Since they were not sick in the first place, why would they waste their money on that?
But all the same, Although Jack was intending to promote the reputation of several of his companies, that didn't mean that he was going to do a charity work. And as such, he stuck to the price of $10 for two pills.
Of course, there were a lot of people in the research center who were opposing the fact that the price of the pills was so low.
Since they were the ones who were maintaining the monopoly of the pills, they thought that this was a good opportunity for them to earn a fortune.
But since Jack was the one who owned the pill recipe as well as the director of the research center, he had the final say. At the end of the day, he was the one who was sponsoring everything there in terms of capital.
All those that dared to have a thought of trying to be profiteers by stealing the pills so that they could sell them at a higher price were all nabbed. As for those who are trying to hog the pills so that they could sell them later, Jack had of course come up with a strategy to deal with them.
Since it was his plan to sell the pills at a lower price, then there was no way that he was going to let anybody compromise that.
Jack had already thought of this problem. And as a result, he had decided to introduce a system where, every single person would be allocated two pills. Of course, the pills will only be deployed during the time that they would come and pay for them.
Either in the hospital or in the pharmaceutical company that he had started. There would be no situation where he would allow a person to be sold to more than two pills.
The reason that he gave for this was simply that, the production of the anti-leukemia pills wasn't something simple and as a result, only two pills would be allocated to each person.
Of course, he knew that this was something that was so hard to be enforced. But, that only applied to others and not Jack.
With the help of his computer mastery, he was able to create a program that would immediately notice the moment that a person left the area with more than a single dose that entailed two pills.
With this system in place, he had managed to get a lot of people that had tried sneaking a few pills from the warehouse that was used to store them.
All of these people were immediately taken away by the police. Jack had already made sure that all the police that were involved were those that didn't have any dirt on them.
But this was almost an impossible feat for the police force. And a such, just to make sure that everything was as he wanted, He had even resorted to blackmailing some of the top police officers, that he would reveal all that they had been sweeping under the carpet.
These people have been involved in several deals with criminals or some of the top bosses that were trying to hide their crimes. And as a result, Jack had easily investigated and gotten the information that he had wanted.
With this piece of information, none of those top brass in the police force that he had targeted had any choice of going against him.
While all of this was going on, although Jack was reaping benefits in terms of reputation as well as the income that he was receiving, that was supposed to be multiplied by 100 times by the end of the month, there were people that were currently suffering.
These were the owners of The different medical research centers, hospitals as well as the pharmaceutical companies.
The medical research institute had not only lost some of their best scientists to the upcoming Brightway Medical Research Centre, but now, with the boost of reputation that the Brightway Medical Research Centre was gaining, they were losing in terms of business.
Now, Since there were several top scientists present in the medical research center, several cases were being brought to them. The original people who were benefiting from these contracts were now losing.
As for the hospitals, the only hospital that was currently under Jack, the one that he had fully bought the shares to become the sole owner of it, The hope hospital, was gaining momentum as well.
The Hope hospital was the one that he had gotten after the shares that he had received from Ben, -the guy who had been present during the banquet that Celine had organized in Inchoate city-, was multiplied by 100 times.
He had received the shares of good health hospital previously. But he had returned the shares back to Ben and his family after they had given him the money that was worth those shares.
Initially, Hope hospital was only worth $500 million. But under Jack's consistent injection of capital into it, it had already reason into a multi-billion hospital.
Of course, that was only after he had acquired all the shares that were remaining, the remaining 30% shares.
Just like he did with GVSL, Jack had instructed Denali to help him in managing that hospital. She had gotten several staff members that were qualified in that area.
With their skills in terms of management, they had money to acquire several talents in the medicine path. As for the equipment and buildings, What Jack did was to simply transfer the whole hospital from the previous location to another.
Since construction of new buildings would have taken a lot of time, Jack had opted to buy a new building instead as this was faster.
And now, it was also amongst the few that were given the permission to sell the anti-lukemia pills. Since they were mentioned from time to time in the advertisements, several people got curious about it and they had paid the hospital a visit.
After they got there and saw the way that the facilities in that hospital were, many of them had decided to make that hospital their place of treatment.
Back to the pharmaceuticals, the company that Jack had started was called Prosperous pharmaceutical. Jack had managed to acquire several deals for the supply as well as acquiring of the medicines from several producers.
All of this was due to the connections that he currently had as well as Jonathan's. And with the addition of the anti-lukemia pills, the reputation of the pharmaceutical company had shot upwards.
With many people visiting the pharmaceutical, that had already opened several branches in different cities, to acquire the anti-leukemia pills, they had managed to see that the prices of several medicines inside the pharmaceutical were lower as compared to the other pharmaceuticals.
And as a result, the pharmaceutical had finally gotten several customers. With that, the profits that were bound to come from that pharmaceutical company were bound to be high.
Although Jack had lowered the prices, he had only lowered them by a small margin that would surely not compromise the market.
But all the same, although he wasn't making as much profit as the other pharmaceutical companies that were selling the medicines at a higher price as compared to his company, those people didn't have the Hundred Times Income Multiplier System.
Even though it seemed that he was the one who was suffering losses, the profits that he was receiving were just unimaginable.
Those that were competing with the three institutions that were under Jack were at the brink of exploding with anger. The anger of course came from those who suffered from the fact that Jack was offering goods and services at a lower price as compared to them.
This had led to them losing several customers. The customers were their source of profits and as they left, the profits that they were receiving reduced as well.
Currently, Jack was inside the prosperous pharmaceutical headquarters. He had been asked to come over because there were several people that wanted to meet him.
Although he was not interested, he had no choice but to come over. This was simply because he was the only person who was capable of handling that type of people.
Although Denali could have also dealt with them, the way that she could have done so would have surely been more severe as compared to him dealing with them.
Facing Jack currently was a group of three people. Two men and a woman, all of them dressed in official business suits.
On their faces, there was a solemn expression. They were really trying to hide the surprise that was in their hearts. Never in their lives had they expected that the big boss of the new pharmaceutical company was actually a youth.
This was an unprecedented occurrence. But since they were here for business, they had decided that they were going to think about this after they left.
"Mr. Jack, what do you think about our offers?" The lady who seemed to be the leader of the group asked. Her group was just one amongst the groups that Jack had seen so far.
"Do you take me for an idiot or something?" Jack questioned with a frown on his face. He was currently feeling irritated about these people.
"We are trying to offer the best we can. You are the only person who can get connected with the real owner of the Brightway Medical Research Centre. You can consider our offer as this is something that will benefit both of us." The lady stated.
"You should know that although I may be young, that doesn't mean that my thinking capacity is low. From your point, you are trying to imply that, you, getting 70% of the profits while I rip only 30% of the profits is considered beneficial to me?" Jack sneered as he looked at her.
"We are the ones who are going to offer the capital that is going to be used to purchase the pills. All you need to do is to connect us to the real boss behind the scenes." The lady insisted.
In the end, Jack could only laugh. He shook his head as he looked at the lady before questioning, "Do you think that I lack enough capital to acquire the pills?"
Before the lady could reply, Jack continued, "Additionally, I don't see the benefit of surrendering my advantage of being a monopoly in supplying the pills by sharing the market with you. This is a one-time thing at the end of the day."
What the group had proposed before was that, as long as Jack connected them to the boss of Brightway Medical Research Centre, they would try to acquire a contract so that the institution could supply them with the anti-lukemia pills.
As for the profits, they were willing to share 30% of the profits that they were going to earn with Jack as a form of payment and compensation for the reduction in the size of the market.
Jack had of course seen through their scheme. They were obviously planning to sell the anti-lukemia pills at a higher price in the market. By doing so, even if they removed the 30% that they were supposed to give to the prosperous pharmaceutical, they would still benefit a lot.
As for the one time thing, since when a person got the dose for the anti-lukemia pill, that person would not have to take any other medication for leukemia, that meant that, in the future, the market for the anti-leukemia pills would drastically drop.
The expressions of the three changed. They were completely displeased by the fact that Jack wasn't willing to cooperate with them.
"Are you sure that you want to do this?" One of the men asked.
"What can you do if I don't agree to this?" Jack asked contempt clear in his eyes as he looked at the man. At the same time, there was a chilling air around him.
The three remained silent as they looked at Jack. The coldness that had appeared around him made them frightened a little. For a moment, they really didn't know what to reply to Jack's question.
This was actually the first time that someone was daring to ask them what they could do.
One of the men wanted to refute Jack's words but he was stopped by the lady. Even though they had done a lot of investigation about Jack, they had not managed to find anything.
That meant that his background was something that they could not access information into. This in itself created a mystery about the young man who was in front of them.
Since they could not come into an agreement, then the best way to solve things would be to take a step back before deciding on what to do next.
It wouldn't be too late as long as they got enough information about Jack. Although the first investigation had yielded no results, that didn't mean that the deep check wouldn't do so.
"Okay then, since this is the way that you want to play, then let us entertain you." The lady spoke plainly. Since they could not be on the same side, then they had no choice but to face each other.
Even more, the two sides were already competitors and as such, since they could not share a single bond, they might as well look for a way to eliminate Jack from the market.
They were sure that as long as they managed to kick Jack out of the market, then the business of selling the anti-leukemia pills would fall to them.
As for looking for the owner of the Brightway Medical Research center, that was something that they had not given up on it. Although it was true that Jack was the one who could get into contact with that boss, that didn't mean that he was the only one.
That was also the hope hospital that they were planning to head to. Since they were given the permission to supply the medicine, then they must have some connections with the boss behind the scenes.
With those thoughts in mind, the lady hinted for her partners to leave. Jack looked at them as they left the office with a sneer.
He couldn't help but think that these people were a bunch of idiots. No matter what they did, they would have to come back to him.
They were looking for the big boss Who was the owner of the Brightway Medical Research center. He was the one, and no matter whatever means they used to get information about him, as long as they were interested in the deal concerning the anti-leukemia pills, it was him whom they were supposed to meet.
Of course, Jack had no intention of sharing the things that he was planning to utilize to improve his reputation with others. Not to mention that they were planning to profit from this, but since this was a way that he was using to gain reputation for his companies and hospital, He was not going to give it to another person.
Since they had decided that they were going to make moves against him, Jack had to make preparations for this. This is just what he didn't want, he wouldn't allow them to make the first move.
What he was going to do was to first investigate them before beginning to monitor them. As long as they showed any sense of trying to make any underhanded moves, He would take action to make sure that the regret ever trying to make an enemy out of him.
As for the matter of them investigating him, since he had become a soldier, and a major at that, almost all information about him had been wiped out by the help of the military.
By now, even if others used the metals that Valnaro had utilized to acquire information about Jack, they would no doubt get nothing about him. This was a request that Jack had made to major Alonso.
Shaking his head, Jack decided to put this aside. Since his plans were already in progress, he decided that it was finally time for him to take action in another part.
There was someone that he had to meet, He had to take action personally so that he could make sure that, that person paid proportionally to what he deserved.
That's right, His plans concerning Nathan had already reached the breaking point. Currently, Nathan's reputation had completely been ruined.
Jack had made sure that, Nathan wasn't related to the Jesda family. It wasn't that he was afraid that the Jesda family would retaliate against him, it was just that he was protecting the family from getting stained due to the fact that Jonathan was going to take over it very soon.
Since the two of them had a good relationship, there was no way that he was going to ruin the reputation of the family that he was going to lead.
Since he had already done what he had planned initially, it was finally time to make the perpetrator pay with his life.
Jack got out of the office and drove his Bugatti Veyron that was parked in the parking lot of the company. He was heading straight for the location that the police vehicles were going to pass through.
He was going to hijack the police cars that were transporting Nathan to prison. He wasn't going to let that guy go to prison because that was a very small punishment for the crimes that he had committed.
Currently, Nathan had been sentenced by the court to a lifetime of prison with hard labor. But since the guy was going to simply work, eat and sleep, Jack thought that this was going to be an easy life for him.
At the end of the day, that guy had committed a lot of crimes that concerned several people's life.
Jack had already done the investigation and made enough plans on how he was going to tackle the situation.
When he reached a certain forest, He parked away the Bugatti Veyron before he met up with Denali who was waiting for him.
She had brought over a car, the one that was going to be used for the heist. It was just that the heist wasn't for money or jewelry, but for a person.
Since Nathan was going to be sent to the maximum-security prison, there were bound to be many police officers that were guarding him to prevent him from running away.
The car that Jack was going to use for the heist was one that he had organized for it to be customized. Not only was it bulletproof, but even the tires were well protected to ensure that the bullets would not penetrate them.
"Take this car back with you. I should be back in about 3 hours. I hope that you can make enough preparations to receive our guest." Jack said as he got into the car.
"Yes master." Denali replied.
After that, Jack drove away the heavily armored car, leaving behind Denali who drove the Bugatti Veyron away.
Inside the car, Jack's eyes glinted as he looked at the small screen that was in front of him in the car's dashboard. This was a system that he had added to the car because it was going to help him gather information while driving. 𝐛𝐞𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗰𝐨𝗺
Although he had already done enough investigation and plans for the heist, he still had to make sure that things were still the same. At the end of the day, humans could always change their minds.
The screen in front of him was a laptop that had been fixed there. The laptop had a small screen but had several functions just like a normal computer.
As he drove, he began typing while making sure that he got enough information on what he wanted. After a while, He nodded his head with a smile on his face.
'It seems that the party is going to be interesting this time. I wonder how he is going to react when I arrive there.' Jack thought to himself as he stepped on the accelerator of the car, drastically increasing the speed of the car.
….
On a road around 3 km away from Jack's location, a convoy of three cars was moving at a high speed. All of this car had a logo of the police force of Azime.
Having been painted black, the color of the prison cars, the car in the middle was the one that contained the prisoner who was going to be sent to his new home.
Nathan was seated inside the car, currently wearing a blue prisoner overall. His hands had been already handcuffed while the legs had been chained together by a short chain that only allowed him to make short steps when he walked.
Sitting inside the car with him were three police officers, each one of them carrying a gun. Of course, the three of them were not the only police officers who were escorting Nathan to prison.
The two cars that were sandwiching the pick up in the middle were full of police officers.
Inside the car that was leading the convoy, Olivia sat there lost in mind. At this moment, she was thinking about Jack. The mystery surrounding that man was something that she had yet to unveil.
'I wonder where he disappeared to.' Olivia thought to herself.
'I wonder where he disappeared to.' Olivia thought to herself.
To say the truth, she had been thinking about Jack since that night that he had given her the body strengthening pill. The strength that was surging in her body was enough to remind her about him.
It wasn't in a romantic way, but more due to the fact that he was stronger than anybody that she had ever seen before. She had previously made her father her Idol because he was stronger than any man she had ever seen before, other than in the cinemas and movies of course.
But when she came to see that Jack was strong, and not only him but even Celine, who was very strong as compared to her father, she had no choice but to change the idol figure.
She had been trying to use all the means that she could, to try and find him, by even asking around for those people who might have any information about him after she had gotten someone to draw Jack's image.
But in the end, she had not gotten any information. It was as if Jack did not exist at all. She had even tried using the CCTV cameras to try and track him around, to try and see if she could find him in any place in the city.
With the city full of CCTV cameras, she was sure that she was going to get him. But in the end, she didn't find him. It was as if he never appeared in front of a camera before.
But what Olivia didn't know was the fact that, Jack had already made preparations for that. He had already hacked into the security systems of the city in such a way that, the moment that he appeared in front of the camera, his image will not be shown.
This was of course an impossibility with the current level of technological skills. But to Jack, who had computer mastery, this was nothing to him. Just like the program that he had made for the anti-leukemia pills, he had also made a program in form of a virus that he had injected into all security systems in the city.
So, no matter if it was a private security camera or the public security cameras, they would not be able to record his actions.
The fact that Jack could not be found wasn't a great surprise to her. Since Jack had superhuman strength, if he had several means that could actually hide him from being detected would not be a surprise.
But she was getting frustrated at the fact that Jack was not being found. Although she was now strong, stronger than she ever was before, she didn't appreciate it.
The reason for this was that, she knew that although she was stronger physically, her skills were not good enough in front of a person like Jack.
The reason as to why she had been looking for him all along was so that, she could ask for his guidance. She was sure that as long as Jack gave her guidance, she would manage to rise to a new level.
Due to her frustrations about not being able to find Jack, she had decided to take on the assignment of escorting a prisoner to prison.
At least in this way, she could finally relax. Although this was actually the job of the prison police, with her father's influence, she had managed to get a position here.
While Olivia was thinking of other ways of finding Jack, Nathan on the other hand was looking at the three police officers who were flanking him on the sides and in front of him.
He smiled as he saw that they had finally reached near a forest. The prison that he was being taken to wasn't located inside the city, but outside. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝘰𝑚
"What are you smiling about old man?" Amongst the three police offices that were seated inside the cabin of the pickup alongside Nathan, looked at him as he questioned.
He was actually displaced with Nathan. Since he was amongst those who were in charge of taking him to prison, it was obvious that he knew the charges that Nathan was judged against.
He had joined the police force because he was a person who liked Justice the most. He had once faced injustice before and as a result, he had lost a family member, a person that he loved the most.
The ones that had actually done the deed were criminals. Since he hated them the most, and the only way that he could actually punish them was by being a police officer, he had joined them.
Since Nathan was no different from those that had actually been involved in the murder of his father, his only parent, no, Nathan was even worse than the people that were involved, he really hated him.
"What is it now? Am I not allowed to laugh again? Where is my freedom?" Nathan looked at him as he questioned sarcastically.
The young police officer looked at Nathan with anger clear in his eyes. In the end, since there was nothing that he could do about the situation, he simply snorted before saying, "What freedom do you deserve considering what you have done? You had all the freedom, but you had to look for a way that your freedom would be restricted."
"What restrictions are you talking about? I am about to get out of here in no time. So, you shouldn't be worried about me laughing, but you should be worried about what you're going to tell your superiors about the fact that you never took me to prison. "
This time, all the three police officers present couldn't help but frown while they looked at him. In the end, they thought that Nathan was simply trying to mess with them.
Considering that the convoy that was escorting him to prison consisted of 14 police officers. And each one of them was heavily armed, they didn't believe that there was actually a person who could actually rescue a person from them.
Although they were not present in the city, that didn't mean that the security had dwindled too much that people could actually sneak an attack on them.
Just as they were about to shut him up, a commotion suddenly rose behind them. Behind the car that was following behind the pickup, there was another vehicle that was charging towards them.
If this car was ordinary, there wouldn't be any problem at all. But the problem was that, the car was heavily armored. And from the windscreen, they could see that there were several people inside the car.
And each of them had a bulletproof armor on them. Their faces were covered by a mask. Just this alone was enough to make them suspicious.
Added with what Nathan had told them, it was enough for them to guess what was going to happen next. And true to their expectations, a gunshot was heard.
Bang!
What followed the gunshot was that, the car that was holding fort behind them, had one of its tires punctured. Since the car was moving at a high speed, it immediately lost control as it headed off the road.
Since they were in the middle of the forest, the car only stopped when it hit a tree. The intense force that the car hit the tree with, made the tree to almost be uprooted on the ground.
As for the car, the hood was immediately forced to bend inwards. This happening had immediately caused the driver and the police that was seated on the passenger seat to have their heads hitting on the dashboard of the car with immense force.
As for their condition as of that time, nobody knew. Since nobody came out of the car even after a while, it was obvious that they might have lost their consciousness due to the powerful impact.
The expressions of all the police officers who were on duty changed drastically. Each one of them immediately prepared for a fight. Since a gun was being used, it was obvious that they had to use whatever they had.
There was no way that they were going to allow a criminal like Nathan to escape. Just as they were planning on how to deal with the car that was following them behind, another car came from the front.
This made the expressions of the police officers to sink. As for Nathan, he was already laughing like a maniac. Since he knew that he was going to be rescued, then, he had to get excited because he was going to achieve his freedom soon.
And what was going to follow after that was obvious that, he was going to take his revenge on all of those that had landed him in the current situation that he was in.
Now, it didn't matter to him whether they were part of his family or not. Since they were against his interests, they had to be eliminated.
Olivia, who was seated in the front most car was immediately brought out of her thoughts by the sound of the gunshot. Her senses immediately heightened to the maximum level.
"Stop the car immediately! Don't give them a chance to shoot at the tires." Olivia shouted at the driver. At the same time, she hurriedly pulled out the pistol that she had with her.
Screech!
The tires of the car slid across the tarmac due to the emergency brakes that had been applied. The car suddenly turned to the side as it faced the forest. Luckily, It wasn't moving at a very high speed and it had managed to stop without rolling.
Without wasting a moment, using her high reflexes, Olivia dashed out of the car as she headed towards the car that was carrying the prisoner.
Her mission This time was to make sure that the prisoner reached the prison safely. Since she wasn't sure whether the people who were here were keen on rescuing him or killing him off, she had to ensure that none of them laid a hand on him.
The car that was carrying Nathan was forced into an abrupt stop as well. Since there was no way that they were going to evade the bullets while in the car, it would be better if they could use the car as a shield.
Without wasting any more time, the three police officers immediately opened the door of the cabin. After that, they pulled Nathan with them as they hurriedly exited the car.
Just like Olivia, since they didn't know the intention of the people who were attacking them, they had no choice but to protect Nathan as well as prevent his escape if it was true that he was to be rescued by the people who were attacking them.
Nathan had no strength to resist the three police officers who were pulling him with them. Since the car had been stopped across the road, when they exited the car, they were not in the direct line of sight of the attackers. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝗼𝐫𝗴
As they hide behind the car, the police offices began shooting at the car that was following them from behind. As for the ones that were present in the car that was in the lead of the convoy, they were the ones who are shooting at the car that was coming from the front.
But what stunned them was the fact that, although they had shot several bullets at the car, there was no sign that the bullets had penetrated the car.
As for the tires of the car, they couldn't even see them, not to mention try shooting at them.
"F*ck this car is bulletproof! Who the heck has all these resources that can be used to forge a car that is bulletproof other than the military?" One of the police shouted with frustration clear in his voice.
Since they were being shot at, the people who were here to attack didn't dare to get their bodies out of the car so that they could retaliate by shooting.
During this situation, the only thing that they could do was to drive forward, towards the police that were hiding behind the car.
Olivia had already arrived and had taken Nathan into her custody. With her strength, she didn't have any problems dragging Nathan with her around while shooting at the enemies.
She too had noticed that the cars were bulletproof. This had made her frown. According to her knowledge, bulletproof cars were not things that could be easily accessed.
The cars were only gotten by those who had a good amount of wealth. When she was coming for the mission, she didn't check on the person whom they were supposed to transport to the prison.
She had thought that it was just another criminal who was supposed to be taken to prison. But from the way things were running at the moment, it was obvious that his background ran deep or his crimes were more hideous than they had thought.
After all, if the people who are attacking them were actually Nathan's enemies, then it will be obvious that they were people with deep backgrounds. For Nathan to be capable of provoking them to spend that huge amount of money to acquire the cars, it was obvious that whatever he had done was unforgivable.
But it was not easy to provoke those big shots. For a person to go against them, that person had to have abilities that could match them or could do some kind of damage to them.
With her eyes cold, she looked at Nathan squatting by her side. From the way his expression was, she could immediately tell that he was not panicking. In fact, he was actually happy about what was going on.
This was already enough to tell Olivia that, the people who are here were actually here to save Nathan and not to kill him.
This made her anger boil. Nathan was a criminal who was sentenced for life imprisonment added with heavy work. This in itself indicated that he was a normal criminal.
Although it might be true that he was not the one who had directly committed them, he was the one who had actually instructed each and every one of them.
Since she was a police officer, it was obvious that she was not going to allow a criminal like him to escape. At the end of the day, even if he was rescued from here, that didn't mean that he was going to change.
It was almost a sure bet that he was going to look for vengeance after he was released. This was something normal as she had already seen it multiple times already.
Just then, she heard a person screaming in pain. When she looked at the side, she saw that one of the police officers was holding his arm while screaming in pain.
There was a large amount of blood that was leaking from his shoulder. The way that the arm was hanging was a sign that the arm had become useless at the moment.
From the fact that the bullet had actually gone through his arm, she could immediately tell that the power behind that bullet was immense.
'You've got to be kidding me! They also have a sniper?' Olivia frowned as she thought of this. It is currently a fact that, the people that were in the cars would not attack them due to the barrage of bullets that they were receiving from the police that were attacking them.
But now, with the addition of the sniper, the situation had just gotten worse. It was worse than it was before. Previously, the only problem that they would have faced during that time would have been the lack of bullets after their continuous shooting.
But with the addition of the sniper, now their lives were at stake, although it was the same before, now they could die faster.
'I'm not sure if it is the sniper who doesn't want to kill the police, or it is the fact that he is not skilled enough, or it is just a matter of luck for the guy to be shot on the arm.' Olivia thoughts to herself as she looked at the police who was wailing on the ground.
The police officers were are not part of the military. So, although they carried guns around with them, they were mostly used against a bunch of criminals that were not skilled.
But from the way that the group that was attacking them was coming at them, it was obvious that they were incredibly skilled and they had already been prepared for the attack.
A police officer who had not undergone any kind of pain or training that would make him in a good state of mind during a life and death battle, was no different than a sitting duck.
Gritting her teeth, Olivia looked at Nathan who was squatting next to her. The perilous situation that they were currently in was all caused by the person that was next to her.
Now, they had been surrounded from both the front and the back. No matter how she saw it, there was no way that they were going to leave this place if they didn't manage to fend off the group that was attacking them.
Crash! Bang!
Just before she could say a word, a loud noise was heard as a car was sent flying in the air. What followed next was a barrage of bullets that landed on the police officers that were hiding behind the car.
The police were already scrambling for safety due to the fact that they had been hit by the car and throne to the ground before the car was sent flying in the air.
The attackers had decided to use their car that was bulletproof to hit the police car that was being used as a shield.
Olivia's eyes turned red as she saw the police that were part of her team being murdered in front of her eyes. This was actually the second time that he was seeing a police officer that was on duty with her being killed.
Although the first time she had let it slide due to the fact that it was Brandon who was at fault, there was no way that she was going to let this go again.
She picked up Nathan from the ground and held him by the neck as she pointed the pistol towards his head. It was obvious that she was using him as a shield.
She had already used her detection skills to notice the side that the bullet from the sniper came from. And as a result, she had stopped in a position where she was sure that even the sniper couldn't see her.
"Better stop attacking right now or I'm going to blow his brains. "Olivia shouted at the car that had halted in front of them.
Since several police offices had already been killed, then, even if she had to kill off Nathan, she didn't care. Since he was the real cause behind their deaths, then she was going to make sure that he paid for it.
Currently, Olivia was much stronger than any of the people who were present there. And as a result, her observation skills, added to her strength as well as her speed, she was sure that she could take out a few of the people who were attacking them.
The moment that her shout echoed, there was a moment of silence in the surrounding us the gunshots stopped. It was obvious that her plan had worked momentarily.
Olivia maintained her gaze on the car that was in front of them. Her ears were completely alert, listening for the sound that could come from behind her.
There was a moment of stalemate as none of the people made a move. But just then, there was a sound of an approaching engine.
The roaring of the engine was enough to tell the people who were currently facing each other that the car that was coming towards them was not ordinary.
All of a sudden, the situation tensed as none of the sides knew who it was that was heading their way. It was either their enemy or ally. But, they were not sure who it was not unless that person or people appeared.
Jack was driving the car that he had gotten customized at a high speed. With his professional driving skills, the road didn't look like one that had bends and hills on it at all.
It was just like a straight tarmac road. With his good judgmental abilities, he managed to maneuver the car to the extent that people wouldn't imagine that it was possible.
Currently, on the screen that he had been using to track the location of Nathan, he could see that there were several red dots.
Other than the red dots, there were several green dots as well as a blue dot. The screen was a map on where the dots were scattered, showing Jack the current happenings at that location.
Although he couldn't actually see what was exactly happening, he could tell what or who had died. He could also tell if Nathan had already been rescued or not.
His current aim of heading there was to take Nathan with him so that he could administer the punishment to him personally.
Although he had been expecting that there would be several people who were going to rescue Nathan, he had never expected that they were going to be this skilled.
Although they were skilled, Jack wasn't actually afraid of them. It was just that, the amount of casualties that was occurring in the police force that was in charge of transporting Nathan to prison was higher than he had expected.
On the other hand, there wasn't even a single casualty amongst the attacking group. This in itself showed that they had come over well prepared.
Although it was true that the police officers that were getting killed were not of his concern as long as he got Nathan, for the first time since he got the military badge, he decided that he was going to use it.
He had always been carrying the badge with him all the times. This was simply because he never knew when he might come to need it.
Since he had actually known that Nathan was going to escape, then he was going to make sure that he might as well not cause unneeded deaths.
With that thought in mind, Jack stepped on the accelerator of the car as he sped up even faster than he was driving before. Although the car was fully armored, that didn't mean that it wasn't fast.
Currently, it was moving at a speed of 123 km/h. This was a speed that he was using no matter if it was the corners or just the plain road.
Not long after, he saw that he was actually approaching the position of the dots that were being shown on the screen. But what made Jack's brows furrow was the fact that the number of the green dots was reducing.
Currently, the blue dot represented Nathan, his current target. As for the green dots, they were the police officers that were in charge of escorting him to the prison.
The red dots were the ones that represented the people that had come over to rescue Nathan.
The method that Jack had utilized to sort out all of this information was simple. During the time that he had paid Nathan a visit at the Jesda residence, he had made sure to leave a small thing on Nathan's body.
That was a small tracking device that he had made. Due to his computer mastery, he had been capable of altering the tracking device in such a way that it could show the life force of the people who were around it.
The program that he had injected into that small device was one that could easily identify the people who were on the same side as Nathan and those that were against him.
The way that the device ran was by simply detecting those who had been close to Nathan for a longer period of time as green dots. As for those who had only recently arrived at the scene closer to Nathan, they were identified by the red dots.
…
Olivia was forced to look at the car that was arriving at the scene. She was actually getting anxious at the moment. Amongst the 14 of them that had come over, only four of them were left.
All the others were dead, except for those that were in the car that was following from behind, whose conditions were currently unknown.
If the enemies were to outnumber them even more than they were already now, then she wasn't sure that she was going to be capable of escaping.
Even though she was currently stronger than a normal human by almost two times, that didn't mean that she was actually invincible in the face of bullets.
Moreover, she wanted to save the lives of the three police officers that were with her. As for Nathan, she had no intention of giving him up.
But the question was, how was she going to do it? What she was hoping for at the moment was that, for the car that was coming towards them, for it to be related to the military or the police. b𝚎dn𝚘v𝚎𝚕.𝚘𝚛𝚐
If the car was not related to the police force or the military, then there was no doubt that she was going to be forced to abandon the others so that she could escape.
Although this was something that was the most shameful thing that she could do at the moment, she knew that even if she decided to stay and die with the group, there was nothing that she was going to help them with.
Everyone's gaze was now focused towards the direction of the sound of the car's engine roar.
From the corner of the road, a majestic looking car appeared in front of their vision. The car was a Humvee. These types of car were well known to be used by the military for troops and cargo transportation.
But the car that had appeared in front of them was an overkill. The way that the car was designed, it was as if it was made for the battlefield.
Unlike the Hummers that the attackers had used when they were besieging the police cars, the Humvee was just a junk of metal while looking at it from a far.
Normally, a car that was full of metal wasn't known for its high speed. But now, in front of them was a car that was full of metal in almost every part of it, but its speed was incomparable to any that they had seen before.
The group gulped loudly because they actually didn't know the aim of the car that was heavily armored appearing where they were fighting.
The real reason behind the contracting of their pupils was due to the fact that the car was heading towards them, without showing any hint of stopping.
"Attack that car immediately! Take it down before it arrives in front of us and causes us problems when the mission is almost completed. " One of the attackers who was just coming down from the car shouted to nobody in particular.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
But just then, as soon as his voice faded, several loud gunshots were heard. It was obvious that there were people that were shooting at the car.
Upon seeing this scene, Olivia's pupils contracted to the size of a needle. She actually couldn't believe that there were more than a single sniper who had come over.
It seemed that these people were simply playing around with her. Had they had the intention of killing her, then they would have already done so because they were the ones having the advantage.
She gazed at the Humvee car that was heading their way nervously. From the reaction of the attackers, she was sure that the person who had arrived at the scene wasn't on their side.
And since that was the case, perhaps she could utilize this chance to eliminate the attackers that were here to take Nathan away. What she had to do was to wait for a suitable chance that she could utilize to eliminate as many as possible.
As they were looking at the car expecting for something to happen, they were surprised to see several sparks coming off the armor of the car. At this moment, their eyes widened in surprise as this was enough evidence that the car was bulletproof.
'Come on, another bulletproof car? You have to be kidding me! Just how far are people going to make sure that they can get this guy?!' Olivia screamed in her mind as she looked at the numerous bullets that were causing sparks to erupt on the car that was still moving despite the attacks.
Just as she was surprised, something that she had never expected happened. The car suddenly increased its speed.
Nobody had been expecting such a thing to happen. And as a result, they were all caught off guard.
Bang! Boom!
The Humvee rammed into the car that was in front of it. This was the car that had rammed into the police car previously. It seemed that its retribution had come over sooner than expected.
The collision of two bulletproof cars was nothing to be underestimated. There was a loud noise that shook the surroundings when the two cars collided.
What happened next surprised the attackers who had already jumped out of the car the moment that they saw that the car was going to be rammed into by the Humvee.
The car that they had been so proud of for a long time was suddenly turned into a scrap metal. Although it was true that it still maintained a shape that a person could identify it as a car, it was now bent in a certain way that they couldn't drive it anymore.
As for the Humvee, there was only a small bend in front of it. It was clear that the metals that were used in making the bumper of the car was of high quality as compared to the ones that were used for their car.
There was a hint of fear in the attackers' eyes as they aimed their guns at the Humvee. Since the bullets from the sniper gun couldn't penetrate the armor of the car, then they decided not to waste their bullets trying to shoot at the car.
What they were waiting for was for the person who was inside to step out of the car. But that was something that they weren't sure about.
At the end of the day, who was idiotic enough to leave a shelter only to go and confront several bullets?
Unexpectedly, the door of the car opened. And without wasting time, all the attackers who were present, closer to the car or far away, began shooting at the opening of the car's door.
Chapter 268 There's Nobody Inside
When the door of the car opened, there was no delay at all as all the attackers shot at the opening that had appeared. None of them had seen the target and neither could they see inside the car due to how special the windscreen was.
But, that didn't matter to them as their aim at that moment was to deal with the person that had appeared. The mission that had been assigned to them this time was something that they would never want to fail in.
The reason for that being the fact that, the one that had assigned the mission to them was someone that they would never want to mess with. Nathan was a person that shared a kind of relationship with that person. So, they had to make sure that he was saved even if their lives depended on it.
Olivia on the other hand wasn't going to let the chance that had been granted to her to go just like that. And as a result, she immediately began shooting at the guys that were coming from behind.
The ones that were shooting at the car were those that had come from the car that had besieged them from the front. As for those that had taken care of the car that was following behind in the convoy, they were the ones that she had to deal with.
With her great reflexes, she was able to easily take out two out of the six that were coming after them. These six were caught unprepared as they had never expected that Olivia would actually dare to attack them even though she was surrounded.
But even before the others could get over the fact that their partners had been taken out, Olivia didn't stop shooting. Currently, she was using the police car that had rolled over as cover. She had taken Nathan with her because he was her only bargaining chip. If he was released, then there was no doubt that she would be in trouble.
Nathan too was surprised by the fact that there were actually some of those that had come over to rescue him that had been killed off by Olivia. This time, he looked at her in horror. He had never thought that the beautiful lady that was holding him captive would be this skilled and could kill without even blinking.
At this moment, he was thinking about something that would have completely shocked Olivia if she had heard him. 'How comes he has only sent the weakest batch to come over and rescue me? Am I not that important anymore or what? Once I get out of here, I'll have to settle the scores with him. How could he send those that can be easily killed?'
As Nathan was still lost in thought the exchange of bullets on both the sides continued with even greater intensity. None of the sides was willing to be killed or fail the mission. The police officers that were remaining had also began the confrontation.
It was just that their skills were lacking as compared to anyone else in the battle that was ongoing. As a result, two of them were shot dead after managing to take out one of the attackers. As for the remaining one, he had already been wounded and was heavily bleeding. If the wound wasn't taken care of as soon as possible, then he would bleed to his death.
On the other side where the newly arrived car was, the five that were attacking stopped shooting. At this moment, they wanted to confirm that they had killed the target of their gunfire. As for the sound of gunshots that were coming from the other side, they were not at all worried that their compatriots would fail to take care of the four police officers.
They were skilled when it came to such confrontations as they had already taken on such kind of missions before today and they had succeeded.
"Open the door and confirm who it was that came over. I would like to know of that person's origin so that they can pay for ruining my car as well as wasting our precious time to deal with them." One of the five that were attacking the car ordered. Although he believed that they had already killed the person that was in the car, he never let his guard down even for a single moment.
"Roger that captain." One of the members of the team spoke as he closed in on the car. His gun was still pointing towards the car's door, ready to shoot in case there was a need to do that. His muscles were tense as he held the handle of the car's door.
Then with one swift motion, he pulled the door as he aimed the gun inside the car. But then, his expression changed. He didn't see what he had expected!
"What is the report, seven?" The captain questioned when he saw that the guy's expression had shifted when he looked into the car. He didn't believe that the guy with codename seven was surprised by the grotesque scene of a person that was made into a sieve by the bullets.
"C-Captain, there's nobody in the car." Seven replied as he stammered. There was still the confusion as well as surprise in his eyes as he looked into the car.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. If he has turned into something that doesn't resembles a body, there's no need for you to say that there is no body in the car. Just say that the person is dead." The captain said sarcastically as he withdrew his gun. He was now sure that they had done a very good job by taking care of the person that had come over to disrupt the mission.
Getting that he had been misunderstood, seven hurriedly shook his head as he spoke once again, "Captain, what I'm trying to say is that there is no soul inside here."
"Come on seven, what are you trying to say now? You are even capable of seeing souls? That's new, are you perhaps related to the underworld or something?" Another guy joked as he approached the car and looked in, as if he was trying to see if he could see souls as well.
But the next moment, he was shocked that he took a few steps backwards with horror clear in his eyes. He was completely shocked that he stood in the same position as he muttered, "Impossible...impossible...impossible. This is just impossible..."
The others also frowned and approached the car. When they looked inside, they were completely stunned. They had never expected that they had shot so many bullets towards a car that had nobody inside it.
"Damn it! We were actually played in such a way?! This is unacceptable!" The captain roared furiously. He couldn't believe that their mighty team that was supposed to be indominable in such a simple rescue mission would actually be toyed with.
Now, they had just wasted both their time as well as ammunition. Just then, his heart skipped a beat as he looked towards the other battlefield. It had been a while now since the sound of the bullets being fired stopped. There couldn't be any problem, right?
What he saw next shocked him to the core. The group of six, that was supposed to take care of the four police officer and take Nathan with them was nowhere to be seen. Well, at least for the real people. But, their corpses were scattered around the area.
What shocked him the most was the fact that, the ones that he could see, were all killed by a headshot! This kind of precision when it came to the usage of the guns was something that he had only seen in the elites amongst the elites of the mercenaries.
He gulped in fear as he thought, 'Could have an elite made a move? That's just impossible! How can they make a move against people of our level? Additionally, how can the police force have such an elite?' The captain had many questions but the answers were the ones that he lacked.
He wasn't the only one as the other members of his team looked around, looking for the culprit. At this moment, they were completely alert of anything that would seem suspicious.
At the same time, the captain looked around for Olivia and Nathan. He could already see the corpses of the remaining police officers. But, Olivia was the only one that was missing. He had a bold idea that even he himself couldn't believe it although he was the one that thought about the possibility. 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝐥.𝗻𝗲𝐭
'Could that young lady be the elite that we have been underestimating all along? But how can that be? She's so young to be an elite.'
While he was deep in thought, Olivia suddenly shouted. "You will allow me to leave here or I'll end the person that brought you all here!"
Olivia was currently behind the pickup that was used to carry the prisoner. She had taken action when the captain and the others were dealing with the empty car. She had managed to kill all the six that were attacking them. Although this could be a chance for her to get away, she knew that she couldn't.
Not to mention the five that were still present, there was an invisible threat in the form of the snipers. That was the only thing that was worrying her at the moment. Though, she found it strange that none of the snipers had made a move yet even when she was killing all the six.
The captain was also wondering what was going on with the snipers. They were the ones that were supposed to take care of the situation like this by killing Olivia so that they could avoid so many casualties.
BOOOOM!
Just then, a tremendous sound came from the forest. What followed that was the rising of a thick cloud of smoke and dust. The trees in the forest swayed violently while others broke due to the huge shockwave.
Chapter 269 Killing the Snipers
When he got close to the location of the action, Jack decided that he had to take care of some of the problematic people present first.
The time when Brandon had shot at the two of them, when he and Celine were training, he had come to know that although he was almost seven times stronger than any other normal human, that didn't mean that he was invincible in the face of the bullets.
Although he could currently get himself healed as long as he took the body strengthening solution, things wouldn't be the same if he was shot in the heart or on the head.
He had already had into the satellites and had managed to get some images of the situation where Nathan was. From the way that he had seen it, there was several snipers that would surely cause him trouble if he appeared.
That was the reason as to why he had decided that he was going to take care of them first. After they were going to be taken out, he would then face the rest of the people.
Since he was the one who was in the dark at the moment, then he had the greatest advantage and that was what he was going to use to deal with the group that had come over to rescue Nathan.
Just as he was closing in, he suddenly had a shift in his expression because the number of the green dots had dropped to only four of them. He could Immediately tell that there were only four people that were going to be engaged in the fight against over a dozen people.
Since that was the case, Jack decided that he was going to help them. Since the group was already surrounded, he was going to abandon the car and let it give the four a chance to turn the situation around.
Since he wasn't familiar with any of the four people, as well as the fact that Nathan wasn't going to be killed, then he could utilize this chance to kill off them snipers before dealing with the others.
With this in mind, he planned a way that, he left the door in such a way that it would open upon impact with something.
Just as he arrived at the corner that led to the scene of the battle, he jumped out of the car as he left it moving forward. He had set a small block that would fall in just a few seconds on the accelerator to increase the speed of the car.
As he watched as the car rushed towards the scene, he himself entered the woods and began the snipers hunt.
Since he already knew the location of the snipers, it didn't take him a long time before he arrived in the position where one of them was located.
It was on a slightly raised ground, an area where there were several bushes that were acting as his cover.
Jack wasn't there to waste time. So he acted immediately and killed off the guy who was still aiming at the empty car by breaking off his neck.
He had made sure to snatch a way the gun to ensure that the guy wouldn't fire the bullet and startle the others. After that, he rushed towards the location of the other sniper.
There were a total of four snipers. This was an extremely large number of snipers considering that the whole team that had come to Nathan's rescue wasn't even made up of 20 men. b𝚎dn𝚘v𝚎l.𝚌𝚘m
All the same, Jack really didn't care about the numbers. What he wanted to do was to kill them off as soon as possible so that he could get his hands on Nathan.
The second sniper was on top of a tree. Though, he had not planned at a very high height. And as a result, Jack had managed to use his incredible strength to throw a dagger at him.
The dagger pierced through the guy's heart. The sniper was in disbelief at the fact that a person had actually sneaked on him.
Additionally, this person actually knew the location that he was hiding in. The team had made earlier preparations for the mission that they were going to take.
This was the reason as to why the road was almost empty, apart from the three police vehicles, their two cars as well as Jack's Humvee.
In the end, the second sniper died with a grievance, not knowing what had actually occurred. Perhaps there was someone who had betrayed them? That was a question that he would never get an answer to.
Jack went on to the location of the third sniper. He made sure that he came from the blind spot of the snipers.
With his incredible speed, as well as the fact that the snipers were not that much scattered in the forest, he managed to get in the location of the third sniper in less than 2 minutes after moving at the maximum speed that the forest allowed him.
The third sniper was also on top of a tree. He was currently aiming towards the road, ready to take a shot.
Jack's expression shifted because he knew that, if this sniper managed to shoot, he would definitely be killing a certain police officer amongst those that were remaining.
He looked onto the ground and saw that there was a stone. Without hesitation, he picked up the stone and hurled it towards the sniper just in time before he pulled the trigger.
The stone didn't head for the sniper himself, but for the gun that he was about to use. Due to the incredible speed as well as the strength that was behind the arm that threw it, the stone managed to knock the gun from the guy's hand.
Even though the sniper was holding the gun firmly, he had never expected that there would be an impact from the side.
Luckily for Jack, the angle that he had hit the gun from was one that prevented the guy from pulling the trigger.
The sniper reacted immediately after he lost the gun. He tried pulling out the pistol that was at his waist, but Jack was one step ahead.
Since he could already hear the sound of gunshots coming from the location of the battle, Jack didn't hesitate to pull the trigger off the pistol that he was holding.
That was the pistol that he was given by the military when he became a major. With a loud bang, the sniper fell from the tree onto the ground. His body twitched for a second before it remained still.
"It seems that this gun is quite useful after all." Jack thought to himself as he looked at the gun that he was holding in his hand.
Wasting no more time, he rushed towards the location of the final sniper. He wasn't sure if that person had already shot at the police that were still in the confrontation with the attackers on the road.
When he got to the location of the last sniper, the sniper had noticed him because he was just looking in the direction that Jack was coming from.
That sniper had found it suspicious when he heard the sound of the gunshot. He was very familiar with the sound that the sniper rifle would make when they shot.
But he had clearly heard that the sound that came was that of a pistol. Since they were both snipers, they normally used the sniper rifles to attack.
Although they always had a pistol as a means of backup, it was only used during the moments when they faced someone who didn't have good intentions towards them.
Now that his partner had used the pistol, it was obvious that there was someone who had actually found out his location. The forest that they were currently in wasn't inhabited by any ferocious wild animals.
This was the reason as to why he was so cautious when he was looking at that direction. He had already prepared a pistol, ready to take action in case there was a person who appeared in front of him.
When he saw Jack appearing in front of him, holding a gun, he didn't hesitate at all as he aimed at him, ready to pull the trigger.
But, his reaction speed was very slow as compared to Jack's. Jack was a person who was expecting anything when he came over. So, when the sniper noticed him, he took action and immediately pulled the trigger of the gun and killed the guy with a headshot.
After he was done, Jack decided that it was finally time for him to move towards the road. He looked into the backpack that that sniper was carrying with him.
He was surprised to find that there was actually a small bomb inside that backpack. It was one that could use a timer to go off.
Since he was a professional combatant, Jack had already gotten the knowledge about the guns and several other types of weapons. It was only a pity that, although he knew how to use them or put them together, that didn't mean that he actually knew how to manufacture them.
Had he been knowledgeable in the way of making guns, perhaps he would have designed his own types of guns for the GVSL special unit. As for the certification from the government, he would have gotten it with the help of the connections that he had currently.
With a smile on his face, Jack took the bomb before he said a 2 minutes timer. After that, he activated the bomb as he left it at the scene where the sniper's body was.
He Immediately rushed towards the road, as he was planning to use the bomb as a distraction.
2 minutes later, a loud explosion was heard. What followed next was a huge shockwave that blew against the trees, breaking some of them in the process.
Using the chance that the crowd was stunned, he rushed to the scene and began shooting at the remaining five of the attackers that had come over to rescue Nathan.
With incredible precision and speed, the five were taken out by him before they could even react to what was happening.
After that, Jack looks towards Olivia. She was the only surviving police officer at the moment. Her presence here had greatly suppressed Jack as he had never expected that he was going to meet her so soon.
"Can I get the guy that you are holding?" Jack looked towards the stunned Olivia as he asked.
"Can I get the guy that you are holding?" Jack looked towards the stunned Olivia as he asked.
Olivia finally came back to her senses. She stared at Jack for a while before she spoke. "Thank you for saving me." As she said that, she looked at the dead bodies of her colleagues and couldn't help but feel remorseful.
She wasn't an idiot. She knew that if Jack had not appeared, with more than three snipers present, there was no way that she was going to escape from here alive.
Furthermore, he was the one that had given her the body strengthening solution that had boosted her abilities by more than a single fold. It was only due to this that she had managed to deal with the six that had been attacking them from behind.
But then, there was something that she couldn't understand. What was the relationship between Jack and Nathan?
At the thought of Nathan, she glared at Nathan as he was the cause of all the deaths that had occurred in this place. Had he not have gotten the people to rescue him, then, there would have been no deaths as they would have successfully managed to get him to prison.
But, she was surprised when she saw the stunned expression that was on Nathan's face as he looked at Jack who was in front of him. There was even a hint of fear in his eyes.
This surprised her the most. After all, even when the rain of bullets was being exchanged, Nathan didn't seem scared at all. It was as if he believed that there was no way that a bullet would mistakenly land on him. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝗻𝗼𝘃𝐞𝗹.𝗻𝐞𝘁
But in the presence of Jack, this brave guy was actually scared? Olivia was greatly surprised that even her anger went down a notch.
But even then, who was Jack? This was a person that had the body strengthening solution that could improve the strength of a person. This was something magical in the current world.
"Ahem! Are you there?" Jack saw that the two seemed lost in thoughts and couldn't help but try garnering their attention.
He knew that there were several police officers that were coming as a form of backup and they were supposed to be there in about three minutes.
Although he had a military badge, that didn't mean that he was ready to start an argument with the police that would be coming over.
Olivia wanted to ask something but was cut short by Nathan. "Jack, what are you doing here?"
He knew all too well that, if Jack had not appeared, the 'weaklings' that had been sent over to rescue him wouldn't have been killed off. By now, he would have been a free man.
He had seen Jack and had known by now that, Jack had skills or had a group of people that were skilled in terms of information.
But, the thing that was unexpected to him was the fact that, Jack was this skilled when it came to the usage of guns. He had come to a face-to-face confrontation with five armed men but he had killed them off easily.
"What are you expecting? That I would let my 'uncle' simply disappear? I had to do something. After all, we still have some unfinished business, don't we?" Jack spoke. He made sure to emphasize on the word uncle, though he wasn't even serous about the relationship that they shared.
Olivia's eyes narrowed at the mention of the relationship between Jack and Nathan. But then, she managed to notice that, although the two of them were related, it didn't seem that they were in a good relationship at all.
Nathan felt his lips twitching at the mention of the fact that they had a business that had yet to be taken care of. He of course knew what Jack was talking about. Since he was capable of knowing that he had done a lot to get to the position that he was in before Jack exposed it, he wouldn't be surprised if Jack actually knew that he was the one that was involved with the murder of Anne.
After thinking for a while, the fear that was inside Nathan's heart dispersed. "I'm sorry but I don't think that there is something that you are supposed to do to me. at the end of the day, I have already been sentenced by the court and I'm supposed to be taken to prison now."
That was something that had given him the confidence. He was sure thar Jack would not lay a hand on him considering that there was Olivia at the scene. He believed that she wouldn't allow Jack to have his way with her, the representative of the law enforcement.
Jack ignored what Nathan had said as he looked at Olivia. He wanted to get her opinion on the matter. But all the same, he was going to take Nathan with him whether she liked it or not.
Seeing Jack's gaze, Olivia knew that Jack was waiting for her response on the matter. She thought about it for a while before she asked, "Who are you really, Jack?" This was not the first time that she had heard Jack's name.
She was curious about this person that was covered in a cloud of mystery. She had tried looking for him but she ended up finding nothing in the end. It was as if he never existed before. That was something that no ordinary man could achieve, to hide his information from all the connections that she had.
"I guess that I'm just an ordinary man. As you can see, other than my personality, there is no difference between me and the other men." Jack spread his arms as he responded. He didn't think that he was obliged to answering any of her questions at all.
Olivia frowned at his response. But when she thought about t carefully, a person that had hidden the information about himself, how could such a person be willing to give out that information to others simply because they had asked him?
"Alright, if you cannot tell me about your identity, then I have a request to make. Can you take me in so that you can train me in terms of combat? I'll pay for it." Since Jack was in front of her, Olivia decided to use this chance to ask for what she had been looking for Jack all along.
Jack at first thought that she was joking. But when he saw the burning passion in her eyes, he was stunned for a while. In the end, he shook his head. "I'm sorry but I don't really have time to spare to train you. What's more, I don't lack money at all."
Jack was getting impatient as the time wasn't on his side considering that the police backup that had been sent was going to be there soon.
Olivia pursed her lips at Jack's response. But, she wasn't willing to give up on the training. She had actually been looking for Jack all this while because she wanted him to train her. So, how could she simply give up that easily? That was something that wasn't going to happen, no matter what.
She took a deep breathe before she finally asked, "What do you want in return to training me?" She was willing to pay a huge price to get Jack to train her. But of course, there was a limit to what she could offer to Jack for the training.
Jack saw that the lady was determined to get him to train her. It wasn't that he couldn't train her. It was just that, he wasn't interested in this. At the end of the day, there was nothing that he was going to gain from training her other than spending his time that he could have used to be together with Celine.
Without further ado, he stepped forward to grab Nathan so that he could get on his way. But then, Olivia stepped in front of him, preventing him from reaching Nathan.
She could tell that Jack had no interest in what she had to offer. If he didn't lack money, he didn't lack beauty and neither did he lack skills, there seemed that there was actually nothing that she could give to him at the moment.
But, she was completely unwilling to let go of Jack that easily. She had to make sure that he trained her even if it was only for a while.
Jack frowned when she acted like that. Although he was being polite with her, that didn't mean that he was actually going to joke with her when it came to serious matters.
"If you are not going to accept training me, then, I'm not going to let you take him away from here." Olivia stated determinedly. Her heart was beating faster, not sure on what Jack was going to do next if she blocked his interests.
She knew that she was being ungrateful, but she had no choice at all. This was the only way that she was going to get Jack to train her. Since that was the case, she might go ahead and be shameless here.
But the next moment, she was stunned when she saw something. She couldn't utter a word as she didn't have any that she could say at that moment at all. Her heart raced as she was in complete disbelief, while at the same time, the hope that was in her eyes was shattered.
At this point, Nathan who was standing behind Olivia couldn't help it at all but speak. "Children nowadays. They can actually ignore their seniors while they continue flirting with each other. They have no shame at all."
At this point, Nathan who was standing behind Olivia couldn't help it at all but speak. "Children nowadays. They can actually ignore their seniors while they continue flirting with each other. They have no shame at all."
He had no choice at all, this was simply because the two have been talking to each other, completely ignoring his existence. From his point of view, this was just how youths flirt with each other.
The moment that he spoke, the two of them glared at him ferociously. None of them was pleased with the words that he had said.
"I guess I have to leave." Jack stated as he retrieved the military badge that he had showed to Olivia.
Olivia wasn't a rookie when it came to things concerning the police as well as the military. Although she didn't have that much knowledge about the military as compared to the police, she actually knew about the rankings.
The badge that Jack had with him was one that only the majors in the military carried with them.
To say the least, she was completely shocked that Jack was actually a part of the military. But in the end of it all, she somehow felt relieved. At least he was not part of some organization that would actually have the intention of harming the country.
If a person like Jack was from an organization that was an enemy to Azima, then there was no doubt that he would be a formidable enemy. Although he was not invincible in the presence of the guns, his ability of using the guns was at a level that she had never seen before.
She herself had experienced the improvement that came with taking the body strengthening solution. She believed that since Jack was the one who had given her the body strengthening solution, perhaps he had other solutions that were way better than the one that he had given to her.
Without saying a word, Olivia more to the side as he let Jack get Nathan. Since it was the military that was involved, then there was no doubt that Jack had higher authority as compared to her.
Additionally, added to the bad blood that was present between Jack and Nathan, she didn't believe that Jack wanted to save Nathan. In other words, Nathan was going to face his punishment, whether he was in prison or not.
Moreover, she wasn't sure that she could protect Nathan until he arrived at the prison. The attack that was launched on them was an example of the power that Nathan had although he was currently in the hands of the police.
Jack took a step forward and grabbed Nathan by the handcuffs. He wasn't the least lenient with Nathan. At the end of the day, he hadn't come over to take him so that he could go and entertain him.
Nathan panicked when he saw that Jack was actually allowed to take him away. He had full confidence that Olivia wasn't going to let Jack take him away.
He himself hadn't seen the badge that Jack had showed to Olivia. Had he seen it, he would surely have known what was going on.
"You can't do this! This is against the law! I am currently a prisoner and you taking me away is no different as helping me escape from prison!" One after the other, Nathan began shouting frantically as he tried resisting the pulling that Jack was doing.
Jack looked at him strangely before he asked, "Is it only now that you remember that there is actually law in this country? Perhaps had you know that there was law, you wouldn't have done what you did."
Nathan panicked even more when he heard Jack's words. He was sure that, since the two of them weren't on the good side of each other, as well as the fact that he had been the mastermind behind the murder of Jack's mother, there was no way that Jack was going to let him go scot-free.
"Jack, you should think over what you're going to do. Even if there is no rule in the government that you're going to follow, you should know that there is the family rule. You can never escape from it as a member of the family." Nathan stated as he staggered forward due to the abrupt pull that Jack had applied.
"Hehe, you should know by now that I'm not a member of the Jesda family. So, whatever rules it is that you're talking about, they don't actually involve me." Jack chuckled coldly as he replied.
Before Nathan could say anything else, he continued. " What's more, you are not the one to talk about family rules when you actually broke the family rules several times already. And since I found out that it was you who had been doing that, you have to face your punishment and stop blabbering about rules this and rules that."
"Okay then, since you want to play it this way, I should let you know that, there will be people coming for me. It won't be the weaklings that you have killed off." Nathan stated in a threatening tone as he looked at Jack.
He knew that there was no way that Jack was going to reason with him. When he was back at the family residence, he had been attacked by several people despite there being the rules.
In the end, he was the only one who was punished by the family, despite there being several people that had broken the family rules. And he was the only one to blame for them breaking the rules. They called it instigation.
"Oh, is that so? Then I will wait for them. But I wonder if they will get to you in time." Jack stated with raised brows.
He had already done his investigation on Nathan. And as a result, he knew that there was actually a person who had sent the people that came over to rescue Nathan.
But that person was well hidden, he was hidden in such a way that even with Jack's mastery in computer, he didn't manage to get that much information about that person.
But what he knew was that, that person could be considered an underworld king. A boss of the crime world.
All the same, Jack wasn't actually afraid of him. If that person dared to make a move against him, Jack wouldn't mind entertaining him.
After saying that, Jack immediately knocked Nathan unconscious. He wasn't ready to continue the bickering with Nathan. At the end of the day, the police are enforcement was just about to arrive.
After that, he simply continued dragging him towards his Humvee. He wasn't the least bit lenient with Nathan. He could consider the punishment that Nathan was going to face to have already began.
After throwing him in the backseat of the car, Jack entered into the car. Although there I was a rain of bullets inside the car when they were attacking it, the damage wasn't something that could prevent him from driving.
He had already made sure that the car was enforced in such a way that, those important parts of the car were protected.
The moment that he got In position, he drove away at the maximum speed that he could.
Olivia watched as the car departed from her sight. Although she hadn't managed to get Jack to accept training her, that didn't mean that she was actually going to give up on that.
Of all the people that she had come across, Jack was the person with the most combat skills. And as a result, she had to get and his training.
At least for now, she had gotten a piece of information that would actually give him a link towards finding Jack. Other than the name, she had the family name as well.
All that she had to do was to investigate Jack, a member of the Jesda family. She was sure that with this piece of information, she would perhaps be able to find him.
What's more, she had just image drawn already. This was just enough.
As she was still deep in thought, a loud blaring of the police car siren brought her back to the present. She looked towards the opposite direction that Jack had left in, and so that there were several police cars that were heading her way.
In less than 5 seconds, over 10 police cars had arrived at the scene. Armed police officers immediately charged out of the cars, their eyes looking from side to side, obviously looking for the enemy that they were supposed to face.
Some even approached Olivia, because she was also wearing a police officer uniform. But all the same, she was forced to show her police identity.
While the others looked in the surroundings for the enemies that they were informed about, the leader of the group of police officers that had come over as reinforcement came in front of Olivia.
"What happened here officer Olivia?" He questioned sternly. He was actually angry at the fact that, over 10 police officers had been killed. 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Even those who are in the car that had its tires blasted were killed off during the time that Olivia was facing off against the six that were attacking her.
Olivia didn't waste much time and began telling them about what had happened. But of course, she had hidden several pieces of information, like Jack's real identity.
What she simply mentioned was that, a person from the military was the one who had saved her, and he was the one who had taken Nathan away.
"Although what you are saying doesn't seem to have any kinds of loopholes, we will have to do further investigation about this. After all, you are the only person who is left alive amongst all the police officers that were part of the escort." The police captain stated.
Olivia didn't protest. As a police officer, she knew that this was part of routine. Additionally, with her father's position in the police force, she didn't believe that she was going to go through something that would be disadvantageous to her.
"Let's get going then. I still have to do some investigations." Olivia stated. She had to hurry up so that she could get to know of Jack's whereabouts as soon as possible.
When Nathan woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. He couldn't help but panic when he remembered what had happened before he lost his consciousness.
He could tell from the fact that he was lying on the floor at the moment that, he wasn't saved but was in the hands of Jack.
He hurriedly got to his feet as he looked around the place that he was in. He found that he was in an empty warehouse. The warehouse seemed to be old and there was dust almost everywhere he looked around.
Even his clothes, the prisoner overall, it had been dirtied by the dust as he was lying on the ground.
Knowing that he wasn't in a place where he had any advantages, Nathan looked around, intending to see if there was a chance that he could seize so that he could get out of here.
"It seems that you have had a nightmare looking at the way that you are looking around vigilantly." A voice echoed in the empty warehouse as Jack walked in.
He had been waiting for Nathan to wake up by himself. During the time that he was unconscious, Jack had utilized that opportunity to deal with the car.
Since he found that the car was useful in the situation such as the one that he had encountered when he went over to get Nathan, then, he had to at least be prepared.
Since the car was damaged, he had to do some repairs on it. Although the damage at that moment couldn't be considered something big, there was a fact that, the damage would lead to a bigger problem if left unsolved.
He looked at Nathan who was looking back at him. There was a hint of coldness in his eyes that he didn't even bother to hide from Nathan.
Since the two of them were enemies, there was no need for him to play good with him.
Nathan took a step backwards when he met Jack's eyes. He was scared. And, he was scared by a small boy, whose mother was even younger than him.
Just thinking of this made Nathan furious. It was not only at Jack, but at himself as well. How could he let himself be intimidated that easily?
"Jack, you better think twice about what you're about to do. Once the two of us fall out, there is no coming back." Nathan spoke through his gritted teeth.
Currently, he knew all too well that he was at a disadvantageous position. So, even if he was not going to buy his way out of the situation so that he could make a comeback in the future, then he had to make sure that he bought enough time, so that, that person could find him.
He was sure that that person was going to find him, no matter what happened. At the end of the day, Nathan had what that person wanted the most.
Had it not been for this fact, not to mention having that person send his people to come over and rescue him, that person wouldn't even want to meet him.
"What is there for us to fall apart now? I thought we already fell out the moment that you had a hand in the murder of my mother. That was the day that you decided that our relationship doesn't matter at all." Jack sneered as he continued approaching Nathan.
Since things were not going to play the way that he wanted, Nathan decided that it was time to change the tactics.
He looked at Jack with his eyes cold. He then said, "Now, it doesn't matter if our relationship exists or not. What I want to inform you is that, it doesn't matter if I am your friend or your enemy, but you will have to let me go."
"Is that so? Why don't you enlighten me on the reason as to why I am supposed to let you go?" Jack asked. Although he could already guess what Nathan was going to say next, he wouldn't mind getting more information about what he was supposed to deal with in the future.
Upon seeing that Jack was not making any more moves, Nathan thought that Jack was finally intimidated. So, his courage was boosted as he continued. "Just in case anything happens to me, you will have to know that, you will be hunted for the rest of your life. It doesn't matter if you run from this country to another, or from this continent to another. At the end of it all, they will still get you."
As he spoke, Nathan's eyes shone with great intense. He had admiration in his eyes as he thought of the people that he was talking about. The people that were not considered normal, people who were beyond the limits that bound the normal human beings.
"I myself I'm considered something important to them. This was the reason as to why they had decided to come over and save me. And since you dared to interrupt their plans, they are going to make sure that you pay for that." Nathan continued rumbling about this and that, about how that person was backing him up was strong beyond strong.
When he was given a threat, Jack didn't say a word and immediately moved. His speed was so fast that, Nathan who was still talking about how they were going to find Jack, find those that he loved, make sure that he suffered more than he thought possible, was suddenly grabbed by the neck and was forced to stop speaking.
Nathan's pupils contracted as he was greatly surprised that he was actually easily subdued by Jack. One had to remember that, Nathan wasn't actually bound in the presence of Jack.
He had Initially thought that he could actually try competing with Jack in terms of strength and wit, so that he could find a chance of getting out of here.
But he had never expected that, Jack was more than seven times as strong than a normal human.
Nathan used his hands as he tried to pry the hand that was grabbing his neck open. But no matter what he did, not to mention removing Jack's hand, there wasn't even a shake in Jack's posture.
Jack looked his eyes with Nathan's. Then, word by word, he uttered, "You can do whatever you want, you can see whatever you want, but, you should know your limits. Nobody dares to mention those that I love."
"I hope that you don't forget that your current situation is caused by the fact that you dared to lay a finger on a person that I love. Perhaps, had you not done that, you might still be there rich and mighty member of the Jesda family."
After saying that, Jack didn't allow Nathan to say a word. He threw him away as if he was throwing a piece of garbage.
Although it was only a small part of his strength that was used, Nathan was still flung away. When he landed on the ground, he landed with one of his hands landing fast. And as a result, it was dislocated by the wrist.
"Aaah!"
Nathan screamed in pain. This was the first time that he was experiencing pain of this magnitude. He had never expected that he would actually find himself in such a situation one day.
The other times, he was the one who was looking at others as they crawled on the ground, screaming in pain as they looked at him in fear.
That was the life that he was used to. But now, facing the pain, He really felt like killing himself just so that he could relieve himself from this pain.
But just thinking about the benefits that were going to come, as long as he was rescued from this place, away from Jack, he greeted his teeth as he endured the pain.
Hatred was burning in his eyes, as he looked at Jack. He was thinking that, as long as he managed to get out of here, he would make sure that Jack paid a heavy price for the humiliation that he had made him experience at this moment.
But, that was just if, it wasn't a sure bit that he could actually survive until the people that were supposed to be sent over arrived.
Jack didn't say another word again. He approached Nathan slowly. He didn't want to do things fast, as he wanted Nathan to pay for what he did to the maximum possible.
That meant that, Nathan did not only have to experience the physical pain, but the mental torture as well.
Unlike Marion who had to see her daughter murdered in front of her, Jack wasn't going to involve a person who wasn't involved in terms of murder.
Although he would really have wanted to add Arthur to the equation, all that Arthur did was to try to force Celine into being his girl. But, had he decided that he wanted to do something extreme, Jack would definitely not have spared him.
As he watched as Jack approached, Nathan's eyes widened in horror. Just a casual throw from Jack had made him experience such kind of pain, then what was going to come next?
Just thinking of this made Nathan panicked. "Let's talk about this, shall we? We are all civilized people. There's no need for us to be brutes." Nathan hurriedly said.
"But I don't mind being called a brute. Because that is maybe what I am. After all, I am strong." Jack stated. 𝙗𝒆𝙙𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙚𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝒎
"If that is the case, I would like to test that strength of yours." As soon as Jack finished speaking, a voice came from the entrance of the warehouse.
"If that is the case, I would like to test that strength of yours." As soon as Jack finished speaking, a voice came from the entrance of the warehouse.
Both Jack and Nathan looked at the entrance of the warehouse only to see that there was a thin man standing there.
All of the man looked so thin, as if he was malnourished, the aura that was exuding from his body at that moment would definitely tell someone that hidden within that small body was great power.
This was actually the first time that Jack was seeing a person, other than those that he had given the body strengthening solution, exuding such a powerful aura.
His eyes flickered for a moment as he thought to himself, 'Could there be others who have a recipe like that of the body strengthening solution? If that is the case, how comes they are well hidden, in that even the military cannot actually contain such important information?'
Jack had already done some investigation in the military, but he had not gotten any information about a person who was super powered.
Considering that the military was actually rushing for the body strengthening solution that he was giving them on a weekly basis, he believed that the military actually had no information about the body strengthening solution other than the one that he had.
Perhaps they had even more secrets, but those were the things that Jack couldn't access. But all of this was just his suspicion, and it was a matter of doubt whether he was actually true or not.
When Nathan saw the person, he had at first been shocked that a person had actually arrived here without even him noticing him.
But the next moment, he became excited. The only thought in his mind at that moment was that, for a person to come over, not having any good intentions towards Jack, that implied that this person was sent here to rescue him.
"You should have been sent here by Antonio. Hurry up and rescue me so that we can get out of here as soon as possible. I want to get my revenge as well. We made a deal, remember?" Nathan spoke hurriedly.
But all that he received at that moment was a single glance from that thin man. After that, the thin man ignored him as he looked at Jack.
He felt that Jack was actually covered in a mist. No matter how hard he tried to see into Jack, he actually couldn't find anything of help to him.
That was of course other than the amused expression that was on Jack's face as he looked at him.
This made the thin man to frown. He wanted to ask what it was that was amusing Jack but Jack spoke first.
"It seems that you are finally tired of hiding in the dark." At this moment, Jack finally spoke up.
With his current abilities, it would be disappointing if he actually failed to notice a person had arrived at the warehouse. It wasn't just a matter of his perception abilities, but his expertise when it came to the computers.
He had already noticed that a person had intruded the surroundings of the warehouse that was located in the forest, over 2 km from the city. He had at first been surprised by the fact that there was a person who was capable of finding his location.
But when he remembered about the person who could actually hide his information from him, he thought that it was normal. He couldn't help but want to know who that person is.
"Oh, you actually noticed my presence? This is a surprise to me because I never expected that someone as weak as you, could actually be able to detect me." The thin man spoke.
"Weak, you say. This is actually the first time that I am being told that I am weak. Although I was said to be useless in the family back then, nobody actually died to say that I was weak physically." Jack said with a faint smile on his lips.
"Hehehe, it seems that you have been living in a well all this while. Well, it's actually doesn't matter to me. Are you willing to show me what you are made of?" The thin man asked as he looked at Jack.
Although he didn't believe in the first place that Jack was actually strong, he thought that it wouldn't be bad for him to test him out. He wanted to see what it was that Jack was hiding.
And never, even for a single second, did he think that he would actually lose in a fight with Jack. He was completely full of confidence about his abilities. At the same time, he believed that he knew his opponent well enough although they had just met.
"I don't think that I am good enough for you to try out your strength on." Jack said with a slight shake of his head. He was completely disappointed at this moment.
"What? Are you afraid or have you come into terms that you are weak?" The thin man asked with a raised brow.
"Not at all. It is just that you are too weak to actually dare to try competing with my master." At this moment, another voice echoed in the warehouse.
Both Nathan and the thin man were surprised by the sudden appearance of another person into the warehouse. The thin man's eyes contracted as his heart shook.
He looked at Denali who had just entered the warehouse with a frown on his face. He had actually not detected the presence of Denali until she spoke. This was just out of his expectations.
That meant that, if Denali were an assassin, she would have dealt the first blow on him by attacking him when he wasn't on guard.
"It seems that you people have some skills. But, for you to actually dare to say that I am a weakling, you will have to pay for that." The thin man spoke as he looked at Denali with a chilling gaze.
He had never expected that in this mission that he was given, he would meet a person who would call him a weakling.
Although it was true that Denali had managed to get into the warehouse without his notice, that didn't mean that she was stronger than him.
What he hated the most was the fact that, there was a person who dared to call him a weakling. Weakling, that was the word that he never liked being referred to. But of course, he would enjoy calling others that way.
Without saying another word, the thin man immediately charged at Denali. Although he was surprised that she was actually a beauty, he could tell that, just like Jack, she was covered in mystery.
And for that reason, he decided that he was not going to hold back his punch at all. Even if he mistakenly killed off Denali, there was still Jack that he could utilize to get the information about what he was hiding.
For Denali to call Jack master, it meant that she was his subordinate. And for that reason, he didn't believe that Denali had any important information that Jack lacked.
Nathan was already back on his feet, still clutching on his dislocated arm, was excited to see that the thin man was finally making a move. He was now counting the time that was remaining till he was finally free.
He could tell that, although It was true that the person who had been sent over was an elite, as compared to the 'weaklings' that were sent previously, there was no guarantee that he could actually take on both Jack and Denali.
If this was Jonathan that he was facing, he would have perhaps been sure that he would have won. But Jack was another thing.
During the time that Jack was attacking him, using the information about the dirtiest things that he had done, he himself had tried as much as he could to stop him. 𝘣𝘦𝘥𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘰𝘳𝘨
But in the end, he failed miserably. Additionally, other than the information that he had gotten during the time that he was keeping an eye on Jack and his mother, he actually had no information about the current Jack.
Anything about him was completely deleted or hidden. This in itself had added more mystery to Jack and his abilities. Even at this moment, he knew nothing about Jack's current abilities.
All he knew was that, Jack had the abilities to force a police officer to back off. But the reason as to why he could actually do that, that was something that he had no clue on.
On the other side, the fight between Denali and the thin man began. The two of them were both strong that they greatly surprised Nathan as he had never seen anything like that in his life.
The thin man was the first to attack. But, Denali's response was nothing but graceful as her movements were extremely agile.
This would actually be the first time that Jack would see Denali taking action for real. Although he had been there when she took care of the young men that were aiding Collins back then, those guys were nothing to Denali.
As for the attackers on his hotel. He only met up with her on the second floor of the hotel after she had taken care of the ones on the lower floors.
The fight between Denali and the thin man was nothing less than a one-sided beat down. Denali, with her immense physical prowess, dominated the fight from start to finish.
The thin man, with his frail body, stood no chance against the brute force of Denali. Although he was strong, he was still nothing in the face of Denali.
Blow after blow, Denali pummeled the thin man, leaving him battered and bruised on the ground. The fight was over just after it began, and Denali walked away without a scratch. It was a clear display of power, and the thin man was no match for the sheer strength of Denali.
The thin man couldn't believe that he had actually lost. And, he had lost so badly that he couldn't even touch the helm of his opponent's clothes.
This was humiliating to him, considering what he had initially said before the fight even began.
"I can't believe that there's a person as strong as you in this place! Which organization in the stronghold do you belong to?" The thin shouted as he questioned.
Jack and Denali frowned when they heard his words. Although it wasn't a surprise that he could perhaps be surprised by the fact that there was actually a stronger person than him in this place, but there was something that he had stated that didn't ring any bells in Jack's mind.
Jack himself had seen that, the thin man wasn't weak at all. If it came to comparison, he could currently be compared to three adult men. But that was all it was to him.
Although it could be said that he was weaker than either Jack or Denali, that didn't mean that he was a weak person. The thin man could currently be compared to Jonathan.
"What stronghold are you talking about?" Jack asked with narrowed eyes. He really wanted to get the information about this stronghold and organization things.
He actually wouldn't be surprised that there were several organizations that were hidden in the country. But, the word stronghold was something that aroused the curiosity in him.
When the word stronghold was mentioned, it would be related to a structure or city, that was built with the main aim of acting as a form of defense.
From his current perspective, there was no need for such strongholds in the fight where countries were involved. If it was true that there were several strongholds that were present, then there was supposed to be a secret that he didn't know about.
When the thin man had what Jack had asked, he was surprised that Jack actually didn't know what he considered as a basic knowledge.
Could he have mistaken? But how was that possible? Denali was far stronger than a person that was supposed to be found in such an area. Not just an area, even the continent where she was, has strength was unprecedented.
And since she said that he was too weak to face Jack, didn't that mean that at least, Jack was as strong as her. Just thinking of this, the thin man couldn't help but wonder how this was possible, to find a person not just one, but two of them at that, that were far stronger than him.
Upon seeing that the thin man was suddenly quiet, Jack frowned. Could it be that the information that he was just about to get, was going to be hidden from him again?
There was no way that Jack was going to let that happen. Since he had gotten a chance to get the information about something that was so hidden, he had to make sure that he got to the end of it.
"Are you going to talk or not?" Jack question as he looked at the thin man with a frown on his face. He was getting impatient.
"What does it matter? Since you don't know anything about the strongholds, then you are nothing than a frog in a well." The thin man sneered at Jack.
Denali's eyes turned cold when the thin man actually did to show contempt at her master. Jack was the person that she valued the most. And as a result, she wasn't going to let just anyone to dare or to devalue him.
Without uttering a word, she stepped forward and kicked the thin man on the jaw, sending him flying across the warehouse. She had made sure to limit her strength so that, the thin man wouldn't die of when he hadn't answered what Jack had questioned.
Although she wasn't talking, she too was actually curious about the stronghold that the thin man was mentioning.
"Gah!"
The thin man was forced to speed out some of his teeth. The kick that Denali had delivered on his jaw, although it wasn't using her maximum strength, it wasn't gentle at all.
The thin man glared at Denali. There was great hatred in his eyes. This was the first time that he was being humiliated in such a manner. Even though he was the weakest from where he came from, he wasn't treated in such a manner at all.
And when his eyes landed on Jack, the hatred in his eyes intensified further. Jack was Denali's master. And since that was the case, he should have easily stopped Denali from humiliating him. But all this while, he did nothing other than watching from the side.
"Let me ask again, are you going to talk or not? If you are willing to talk, then better spit out all that you know. And if you're not going to talk, it is better if you let me know as early as now so that I can deal with you as I please." Jack spoke again.
The thin man glared at Jack but he didn't say a word. He wasn't going to say what he knew simply because the Jack stated. That was something that he considered below his level. At the end of the day, he wasn't Jack's lackey.
Seeing the silent man, Jack looked at Denali before nodding at her. Since she was a professional combatant, she was good at torture as well.
While he left the thin man to the devices of Denali, he shifted his attention to Nathan who was standing there, completely lost.
The person that he had expected to save him, was easily beaten up. And he was beaten by a servant, in a one-sided fight. He had thought that since a strong person was sent over, he would be free.
But now, his hope so was completely shattered. What he hoped for the most was for that person to send over a person who was even stronger than the one that had appeared.
But, he thought that this was unlikely. After all, it wasn't that easy to get the strong people like the thin man to arrive here in Azima.
Even for the thin man, it was obvious that he was within the country when the elites that were sent over failed to rescue Nathan.
"Okay then, you have been here for a long time enough. I guess it's time for me to deal with you so that we can settle our scores." Jack's voice echoed in Nathan's ears, bringing a shiver down his spine.
Nathan slowly raised his head as he looked at Jack who was now standing in front of him. He knew that the chances of getting saved was now as low as it could be.
But, he wouldn't be a fool to allow Jack get the upper hand in the situation. Perhaps, if he managed to stall for enough time, he might actually be rescued. After all, what he had was far more important to that person. He was sure that, that person wouldn't give up on it.
"Jack, you should be careful. You should know that, that guy over there is the weakest amongst the troop that the person backing me up has." Nathan began.
"And since that is the case, there will be…." This time, Jack didn't allow him to continue blabbering nonsense. He immediately made his move, and began attacking Nathan.
Since he wasn't going for a direct kill, he went ahead and broke several of Nathan's limbs. He wasn't lenient with him at all. He made sure that Nathan passed through the greatest pain that he would have ever had in his life.
This was just away that Jack was going to make sure that, Nathan's death would be worth it. Although it was true that even if he killed Nathan off, his mother wouldn't come back, Jack didn't care.
Since Nathan was involved in the death of his mother, then he too didn't deserve to be alive. Even the crimes that he had committed wouldn't allow him to be alive. Who knew what he was going to do next when he was free?
Nathan laid on the ground, completely given up. The pain that he had gone through had made him give up on his life. What he wanted the most at the moment was for Jack to end his miserable life.
But no matter what he did, Jack didn't do as he wanted. Since nothing was no begging for death so that he could be relieved from the pain that he was experiencing, Jack was going to let him continue experiencing the pain for a while longer.
Completely ignoring Nathan who had already lost his voice due to the screaming that had been ongoing for more than half an hour, Jack headed for the thin man.
When he arrived in front of the thin man, Jack couldn't help but get stunned by what he saw. It seemed that Denali was too serious in getting the information from the thin man that he tortured that guy, even worse than he had done to Nathan.
The reason as to why he had not had the screaming, was simply because Denali had gagged his mouth.
Just looking at the thin man who was bleeding all over, Jack couldn't help but have a shiver running through his spine. For a moment, he couldn't help but give Denali a glance.
But when he saw the cute expression that was on Denali's face, Jack couldn't help but lament that, sometimes, women were just too good at acting and shifting in emotions. Women are dangerous.
It was just a good thing that he wasn't on Denali's bad side. For now, Jack was now curious about the organization that the system had mentioned before. The one that had actually trained Denali.
Although it is true that Denali was getting the skills that Jack wanted, the system had forged a background for her. And as of now, the system had forged that, all the skills that Denali had learned till this moment were the ones that were taught to her since she was young.
"Any information from him?" Jack asked as he looked at Denali.
"Yes master." Denali replied. Although the thin man was pretending to be tough, in the end, he was just a weakling. Not only in terms of physical capabilities, but even his mind was weak as well.
And as a result, due to the torture that he had gone through under the hands of Denali, he was forced to reveal everything that he knew.
There was a time that he had tried lying to Denali. But in the end, she easily noticed that he was giving her false information. And as a result, she had tortured him even harder than before.
The ability that she had, the one that she was able to tell whether a person was going to be loyal or not, was the one that had enabled her to easily identify that the thin man was actually lying to her.
When he was discovered the second time, the thin man was forced to say the truth. The only solution that he could remain with was to not disclose all the information that he had on him.
But with the question from Denali, "Is that all the information that you have?" He was forced to reveal others as well. After all, there was no way that he was going to say that, that was all the information that he had, when it is true that he was hiding a lot of information already.
"So, do tell me what he told you." Jack asked.
Denali didn't waste any time and begin telling him all the information that she had received from the thin man.
It turned out that the thin man was a part of an organization called The Panthers. They were a part of stronghold 11. There was a total of 382 strongholds.
As for the aim of the strongholds, no matter how much the thin man wanted to say it, it was as if he was blocked by something. Not only that, he even underwent immense pain as long as he dared to try revealing that information.
Denali came to find out that, there was a restriction that was placed on every member of the stronghold, so that they could not reveal any information about the strongholds to others that were not part of the stronghold.
This was the reason as to why that thin man couldn't reveal any information about the stronghold. But, he had revealed that it was the second in command of the Panther organization that had sent him on a mission to come and look for Nathan.
They had sent him alongside some ordinary members that were easily hired outside of the stronghold. These were the people who wanted to enter the stronghold because not just anyone could enter the stronghold.
As long as they completed the mission, they would be given a chance to undergo a test, and those who passed the test would receive the option to enter the stronghold.
He himself was the weakest amongst the troop of the Panthers organization. The organization itself contained thousands of soldiers. And each of the soldier was at least at the level of the thin man.
But, there were several other people who were incredibly strong, and they could easily crush the thin man with a single finger.
Although he was considered the weakest member of the Panthers organization, that didn't actually mean that he was the only one who was at that level. There were several others, who numbered in thousands that were in the same level as him.
All of them what those that had just recently joined. The number of deaths in the organization was something that couldn't be underestimated. And as a result, there would be new replacements on regular basis.
The thin man himself had only recently joined the organization. He had managed to gain the favor of the deputy organization leader by doing him a favor.
In order to repay the favor, the deputy commander had given him this mission. As long as he completed it, he would be promoted and be given benefits that would enable him to grow even stronger than he was.
In the organization, strength was what determined a person's rank. The week will always be bottom feeders, they were the cannon fodder that were usually sent out first during the war with other organizations or the enemies of the organizations.
When Jack received all of this information, he was stunned speechless. One thing that he had come to realize was that, the thin man and the organization that he was talking about were all not present in the current military of the country.
That was simply because, when Jack presented the body strengthening solution, Valnaro was so ecstatic. Furthermore, due to the fact that Jack would produce the body strengthening solution, the military had thought that it was better to have him as a member of the military as well.
That simply meant that, a person at the thin man's level could be considered as an elite in the military. This was actually part of the trump card that the Aziminian military was planning to use to launch a surprise attack on their enemies.
Since that was the case, it was obvious that the stronghold, as well as the mission of the fact that the stronghold was located out of this continent, then this wasn't part of the military.
But the question that was running through Jack's mind at that moment was that, who were the people at the stronghold fighting against? And how was it that they had been hidden all along, without any of the information leaking out?
Jack wanted to get all this information. But it was just that, the thin man couldn't actually give him any more information other than the one that he had already released.
The seals would make sure that the thin man would experience severe pain the moment that he dared to reveal the information that was considered confidential.
Jack could somehow relate this to the moment that his memories were sealed. Just like how it was a mystery to him on how his memories were sealed, that was just how it was a mystery for him to understand how it was possible for the seal that was placed on the thin man to easily identify that he was actually trying to reveal the information that was supposed to be hidden.
According to the information that the thin man had revealed, it was that, the seal would annihilate him the moment that he dared to endure the pain and reveal the information. Of course, he would die even before he revealed the information.
Jack shook his head. He then asked Denali to get the location of the stronghold so that he could pay them a visit one day. Since there are people who wanted to join the stronghold, then it was obvious that these people were not part of the stronghold before.
And since that was the case, Jack could utilize the chance to try and get into the stronghold, so that he could perhaps understand what was going on. He never liked the situation where, his life was being controlled by another person, or he was in the dark about some of the important things in life.
As of now, he thought that it was finally time for him to end Nathan. This guy didn't deserve to be alive any longer.
As he watched as Jack approached Nathan, the thin man shouted at Jack, "You can't kill him! If he is dead, then you are going to face the worst problems that you can ever encounter!"
"It doesn't matter what kind of problems you are mentioning. But to me, anyone who dares to offend me must pay the relevant price. And since he took the life of the person that I love, he has to repay that with his own life as well." Jack didn't even turn around as he replied.
Even though he had heard that the stronghold contained several strong organizations, that did it mean that he was afraid of them.
Even if they decided to come after him, he was sure that they were not going to come over, all of them. Additionally, there had to be a reason as to why they didn't send a person who was even stronger if what Nathan and had was that important.
As for what it was that they wanted from Nathan, that was none of his concern. Since he was going to kill Nathan at the end of it all, since that's something that they wanted when Nathan was alive, that meant that he will be first to keep Nathan alive if he wanted to get what it was that the organization wanted.
Without saying another word, Jack took out the gun that he was given by the military and aimed it at Nathan.
"I hope that you rest in no peace." Jack said as he looked at Nathan who was looking at him with lifeless eyes. It was as if he didn't even notice that Jack was there.
Without hesitation, Jack pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet penetrated Nathan skull, ending his miserable life.
"You! I told you all the information that I had so that you could at least allow me to complete the mission that I was given. But now that you have not only stopped me from completing the mission, but you have even destroyed the mission, you have to prepare for the price that is to come." The thin man shouted at Jack hysterically.
Immediately after that, he began twitching on the floor. When Jack looked at him, he noticed that the thin man was actually suffering from a type of poison. b𝚎𝚍𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎l.net
His skin turned purple, before it finally turned black. After that, the thin man disintegrated into nothing but ash, that was left there, indicating that there was a figure that was lying on the floor previously.
Jack was surprised that the person actually had poison. And he didn't even hesitate to kill himself the moment that he knew that he had completely failed the mission.
Since his mission was to save Nathan, and Nathan was dead, then there was no way that he was going to complete the mission. And to the organization, failing in such an important mission was nothing more than a guaranteed death.
To the thin man, it is better to die in honor, rather than getting killed when he got back after failing the mission.
Thousands of kilometers away from Azima country, there was a gigantic stronghold that was surrounded by a very thick and long perimeter wall. The wall was as high as 300m and as thick as 5m.
Behind those walls, there was a group of buildings that scattered around. The area that was covered by the huge perimeter wall was several tens of kilometers in that, if one stood at the other side of the wall, he or she wouldn't manage to see the other end.
The buildings inside here were magnificent and were made from special material that made sure that, these buildings would be able to manage to go through a disaster like an earthquake and so on.
In the streets of the stronghold, there was several people who were walking around. Each and every one of them carried a weapon.
At some corners, there were several conflicts that were happening. Fights easily began between people of different organizations that could be easily told about from the badges and insignias that were on their clothing.
Just outside the stronghold, there were several buildings that were surrounding the perimeter wall. It was like another town that was located just outside the perimeter wall.
Several people were present there as well. In fact, the number of people that were found outside the huge perimeter wall could be said to be almost 10 times that found inside the perimeter wall.
Each and every person that could be seen outside the perimeter wall could be considered an elite in a country like Azima. These people were all armed.
And just like in the perimeter wall, fights would erupt from time to time. Thievery was something that was considered at that normal in this place.
In other words, here there was no law. Only strength was the one that determined if the person was right or wrong.
Currently, in all the surroundings of the huge perimeter wall, there was no person that could be considered normal. Each and every one of them was an elite mercenary.
If all these people that were present in the town that was formed outside the perimeter wall, decided to attack the nations like Azima, those nations hold surely be taken down easily.
Inside the perimeter wall, inside a majestic looking building, there was a man who was seated on a throne like chair.
He was a man with short brown hair, radish eyes, thick brows as well as a body that was well toned. Just from looking at him from a distance, one could easily tell that he was a strong person due to the domineering aura that was surrounding his body.
This person was called Antonio Philips. That's right, this was the person that had sent over the thin man as well as the several elites to go and rescue Nathan.
He was the current second in command of the Panthers organization. He was the one who wanted to get something from Nathan.
Currently, a frown was etched on his face. He was getting impatient as time went by. In the end, he looked at one of the five people that were standing around him.
"Has Yona come back? This should have been a very simple mission considering that he was sent to the continent with the weakest nations." Antonio asked, addressing no one in particular.
"Although that nation could be said to have some strength in that continent, compared to Yona and the troop that he took with him, it shouldn't be a problem for him to get someone and out of the country easily." He continued.
"Vice supreme leader, I'm not sure we should trust that person. Although I understand that you are returning him the favor for giving you 'that' opportunity, since what he was sent to bring back was very important, we should at least send a person who can easily overpower the whole nation so that the mission can be a guaranteed success." One of the men spoke.
Each of the five people present in the room were currently wearing armors that could be considered very high tech to the current technological level.
They all were black in color, with a diagram of a panther on their backs. Currently, each and every one of them had an emblem that consisted of eight stars. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝗻𝗼𝘃𝐞𝗹.𝗻𝐞𝘁
These were considered some of the very best of the Panthers organization. Of course, that was in terms of combat strength.
If Jack were to face them, he would be shocked to find out that, each and every one of them was just as strong as the current him. And what was even more shocking, was the fact that, their strength wasn't dependent on the armor that they were wearing, but the real body strength.
In the whole panther organization, there were only 12 people with the strength of their level. But of course, that didn't actually mean that they were the strongest.
Antonio for example, was wearing a white armor that had a black panther drawn on the chest. As for the emblem that was embedded on his chest, it had 10 stars.
That simply meant that, in terms of strength, he was at least two levels ahead of the five that were standing in front of him.
"You should know that I always honor my words. Additionally, we are currently in a very tight situation. If we dare to lay off any strong person, it will attract the attention of the other forces in the stronghold." Antonio shook head as he spoke.
The organizations in the stronghold always kept an eye on each other. If one organization made any suspicious move, they would always try to find out what it was that they were trying to do.
Although all the organizations present in the stronghold had the same aim and goal, that didn't mean that there were no competitions among themselves.
Currently, what the Panthers organization wanted from Nathan was something that they wanted to keep it a secret. This was something that was related to something that they found about 5 years ago.
They had always been looking for ways to utilize that 'something' but they had always failed. Of course, that was until the previous three months where they found some clues about what would enable them to use what they had found.
But, it had been tough for them to locate what they wanted considering that they could not send the strongest people out of the stronghold.
"I understand that, but if one of us left and went to look for that person that is supposed to give us the information, I am sure that nobody will be able to detect us." Another man, who had long red hair spoke.
"At the end of the day, all those that are keeping an eye on us are all in the low levels as compared to us. So, it shouldn't be something hard for us to easily sneak out of the strong hand with our current level of strength." He continued.
Antonio thought about it for a moment before he nodded his head. What that man had said was actually true.
It was just that, he wasn't willing to risk anything. Additionally, there was the supreme leader who was in charge of the whole Panthers organization.
If he dared to mobilize some of the strongest warriors of the organization without the consent of the supreme leader, they will surely be some problems for him. Perhaps he could even be replaced from his position.
There were several people that were currently aiming for his position. If they manage to find anything that they could use to ditch him out of that position, they would surely do that.
Antonio knew that his current position wasn't guaranteed. And that was the main reason as to why he had actually been keeping an eye on what was required by the supreme leader.
What the supreme leader wanted the most was that, for them to find something that they would use to enable them to utilize what they had found.
If they managed to use what they had found, perhaps they were going to be the reigning force of the whole stronghold.
Antonio had walked himself off for a very long time before he managed to find the clues on what they were looking for. And as a result, he wasn't willing to risk anything that would expose that what he wanted was important.
That was the reason as to why he had sent some of the weaklings to go over and look for Nathan. He was sure that nobody was going to believe that, anything important would be assigned to some of the weakest members of the organization.
Just as he was contemplating on what to do, another person entered the room. From the expression on his face, it was obvious that he wasn't bearing any good news.
"What is it?" Antonio asked with a frown on his face.
The person who had entered was a lady. She had a temperament that showed that she wasn't ordinary. And of course, there was no ordinary person present in the whole stronghold.
Just like the five people that were present in the room, she was amongst the most trusted people of Antonio. And what's more, she was a person who was pursuing Antonio.
That's right, it wasn't Antonio who was pursuing her, but the other way around. Due to the fact that she loved Antonio, she had decided to stay by his side till the time that he would agree to be with her.
"Vice-supreme leader, Yona and all those that were sent out are dead. It seems that they have failed the mission." The lady stated.
"Who dares to kill a member of the Panthers organization?" Antonio jumped to his feet as he shouted in rage.
It had already been more than a week since he had sent off Yona to go and bring Nathan to the stronghold. Although it was true that Nathan was a weakling, he had secrets for that were very important to him.
The death of Yona wasn't something that enraged him. But, their deaths meant that the mission that was supposed to have been completed by now was a failure.
The longer the period that the mission took to be completed, the higher the risks of others finding about what he was doing.
Even if it was not the other organizations, there were some of the people present in the same organization that were aiming for the position that he was in.
As long as they managed to complete the mission that he was aiming for in front of him, they surely were going to replace him in the position of the vice supreme leader.
What this meant was that, the mission, the secrets that were supposed to be gotten from Nathan was something so meritorious to the organization.
And when it came to strength that he currently possessed, that wasn't something that couldn't be achieved by others. Although the current five were some of the strongest members of the organization, there were some that was stronger than them.
There were currently three people that were just as strong as he was. And amongst these three, two of them were already eyeing his position. As for the last one, that was his friend, and was the one that was supporting him.
"We haven't gotten the information about who exactly killed him and those that he had selected to go with him for the mission. But I am trying as much as I can so that I can get the information." The lady stated.
She too was getting frustrated by the fact that the mission that was supposed to be a breeze had suddenly become hard.
She wasn't sure about what was going on. At some point, he had noticed that Yona wasn't at the location that Nathan was in. That was the reason as to why he had contacted him to inform him to head there as all those people that he had sent over were dead.
But, not long after he went over, she had noticed that they both of them were in the same location. But a while later, all indicators of their locations disappeared. It first begin with Nathan, before it finally followed with Yona.
For Nathan, she wasn't sure if he was dead or not. But for Yona, she was sure that he was dead because there were several indicators that were used to track the life force of all the members of the organization.
Since the indicator showed that Yona was dead, then that indicated that the mission was a failure.
According to her estimation, she was sure that this was somehow related to the stronghold. It was either stronghold 11 or another stronghold that had somehow come across Yona and his group.
Not even for a single second hand she thought that there was a person who was far stronger than Yona outside the strongholds.
"Things are not looking good." Antonio stated as he tried to calm his rage. He didn't want to act on impulse as this was going to reduce the chances of his success.
"What are you guys suggesting?" After feeling that he had calmed down for a moment, Antonio looked at the six people in the room as he asked.
"Vice Supreme leader, I still have the same opinion. If possible, I would like to personally take on this mission. As long as I make a move, I am sure that there's nobody that is going to stop me that easily from completing the mission." The guy who had spoken first, who had thick beard, spoke again.
"Even if it is true that our moves would alarm the others, by the time that they react, I will have already completed the mission." The man continued.
The others thought about it for a moment and saw that what he had said was actually true. If the man was going to act, then it was a guaranteed fact that, as long as he got into contact with Nathan, he would be able to complete the mission.
Since that was the intention, then there was no need for them to hold back anymore. As for the people who are responsible for killing off the ones that he had sent over before, Antonio wasn't going to spare them.
"Okay then. I will let you do this. But please, make sure that you do this fast. I don't want to alarm the others before we complete the mission. Even if we can alarm those that are in our organization, that should be the limit." Antonio stated as he got back to his seat.
The man with the thick beard nodded his head as he replied, "Don't worry about this vice supreme leader. I promise to complete this mission as soon as possible."
"I hope so. It has already been over a week since we began the mission. And I am sure that there are several people who are already getting suspicious about our moves. With you moving out of the stronghold, their curiosity on the matter should rise to the peak."
"I should be able to hold them back for a good while to give you enough time to complete the mission." Antonio stated.
"Thank you for your trust vice supreme leader." The man with thick beard gave Antonio a deep bow before he strode towards the entrance of the room.
But the moment that he arrived at the door, Antonio's voice stopped him.
"If you manage to find out who was the one responsible with the murder of Yona and the others, take care of them as long as it doesn't hinder the progress of the mission." Antonio stated coldly.
It was obvious that he wasn't happy that Yona was killed off. As for the elites that had gone with Yona, he cared nonetheless about them. It was just that they were together with Yona that he even talked about them.
The favor that Yona had done for Antonio was something that Antonio would not forget about. That was the reason as to why he wasn't going to let his death go easily.
"I promise vice supreme leader, I will find him and kill him. The man would take beard swore with determination." Immediately after that, the man walked out of the room.
The six people in the room remained silent for a while. Then, noticing that there was a certain change in the atmosphere in the room, the four people that were colleagues with the man with thick beard gave excuses and left one after the other.
After a short period of time, only Antonio and the lady were left in the room. Antonio did not react and remained seated on his throne like chair, thinking about what he was supposed to do next to ensure that his position wasn't compromised.
All this while, he had never thought about taking over the position of the supreme leader of the Panthers organization. That was something that could be considered impossible unless the supreme leader of the organization passed away.
But, that was something that was hard to come by considering that, the supreme leader of the organization was someone who was far stronger than Antonio.
And currently, Antonio himself was full of admiration for the supreme leader. And as a result, although the supreme leader didn't favor him even if he admired the leader, Antonio never showed resentment.
Just as Antonio was lost in his thoughts, the lady approached him.
"Vice supreme leader, should I help you relax?" The lady questioned. 𝘣𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝘤𝘰𝘮
Antonio raised his eyes as he looked at the lady. In the end, he shook his head as his sighed. "Patricia, I already told you that I'm not interested in you. You should stop thinking about me and look for someone else who can stay with you."
Although Patricia was rejected, she didn't show any disappointment on her face. She was acting more calm than a person who was rejected by the person they loved the most.
"It doesn't matter if you don't like me now. But that doesn't mean that you won't like me in the future. And that is what I'm waiting for. I will wait for you until you love me, even if I have to wait for decades." Patricia stated with determination clear in her eyes.
Although it was true that she wasn't showing it on her face that she was hurt, that didn't mean that she wasn't. It was just that, she had learned how to hide her emotions in front of others.
Antonio looked into Patricia's eyes and stared at her for a few seconds. In the end, he shook his head and said nothing. He knew that no matter what he said or did, there was no way that he was going to change Patricia's mind.
He had tried it several times but he had failed to do that. In the end, he could only decide to let her do as she pleased. At the end of the day, he wasn't going to lose anything.
He only reminded her about this simply because she was an important part of his team and strength in the organization. He wouldn't want to see her defecting to another side due to something like that.
Patricia gave Antonio one last glance before she finally left the room. She still had to take care of other things as she was an important person in the organization.
Although she loved Antonio, that didn't mean that she was going to forget about her duties in the organization.
Jack didn't know about the disaster that was about to arrive. The person that had been sent over was very strong, at the same level as he was currently. But, there would be definitely several people that would come after the one that had left the stronghold.
But that was going to be left aside for the moment as Jack was planning on going back to Crystal City.
If it was according to his wishes, he really wouldn't have wanted to ever go back to that city because there was nothing that would have made him to stay there, other than his mother.
There was going to be a Memorial Day for his mother during this week. And as a result, Jack had to go back to Crystal City where she was buried. Had it not been for the fact that his mother had been buried for more than 4 years now, he would have really wished to move her corpse away from that place.
All the same, whether he liked it or not, he had to go back.
'I guess I can utilize this chance to completely take over their Companies and assets that I had acquired from the Alfonso family.' Jack talked to himself as he got into his private jet.
Gabriel was of course his current pilot. Gabriel had managed to find another person, whom he had been acquainted with a long time ago during the time that he was working in an airline.
Jack wasn't alone in the jet. He was currently accompanied by Celine and her mother Katelyn, Jonathan and his parents, as well as Denali.
Since it was going to be the time where he was going to remember his mother, then Jack thought that he had to give Denali a break.
Although Denali wasn't willing to be free, when she heard that Jack was going to pay his mother's resting place and visit, she enthusiastically decided to accompany him.
It wasn't that she was happy about it, but it was just because she wasn't willing to let Jack be alone in such a situation. Although she knew that Celine would be there, she went there just to make sure that things would be okay.
As Jack was musing about what he was going to do, Celine who was seated beside him poked his cheek. "What is in your mind at this moment?" She questioned with worry clear in her eyes.
Jack was stunned for a moment before he noticed that he had somehow lost his focus. In the end, he coughed a little as he faced Celine. "Not much, I'm just thinking about what I'm going to do when I arrive there after dealing with my mother's memorial."
"Is that so?" Celine looked at him suspiciously. It was obvious that she didn't believe what he was saying. But since Jack didn't want to say what he was actually thinking about, she decided not to pursue the matter for the moment.
After about an hour, the plane finally landed on the airport in Crystal City. Jack and the group immediately alighted and headed for the clearance before leaving the airport.
As for Gabriel and his friend, they were left there to take care of the plane. They had already found a group that was taking care of the plane and the hostesses that would take care of the passengers.
This was the first time that Jack was in Crystal city's airport. After they got out of the airport, they found that there were several cars that were waiting for them.
This was an arrangement that had been made by Denali. Since she had connections due to the involvement in business, she had easily managed to find some of the people who were in charge of taking care of the businesses that were previously owned by the Alfonso family, to come over and pick them up.
Just as Jack was about to enter the car, he was surprised to see that there was a familiar figure amongst the group that had come over to receive them.
That was none other than his half-brother, Steve. He had always been together with Brenda. But since Jack had killed her off, together with her mother, Steve was basically alone.
Although he had an elder brother who was called Arnold, the two of them were not that close although they were siblings. Although the familiar love was present between the two of them, it wasn't that deep.
Even by the time that Jack destroyed the Alfonso family, Arnold was not in the country. And currently, Jack knew that Arnold wasn't back yet. This was simply because he had already known that Arnold wasn't going to come back no matter what he did or happened.
After looking at Steve for a moment, Jack decided to completely ignore him. At the end of the day, even though it was true that Steve was his half-brother, since Steve never treated him well, then Jack would also completely ignore him.
Even though it was true that Jack was the one who had landed Steve in the current situation that he was in, he wasn't in the least bit guilty. This was all caused by their actions.
As if noticing Jack's gaze on him, Steve turned and looked at Jack. But the moment that he looked at him, Jack had already turned around and was already getting in the car. And as a result, Steve only managed to see his back.
He couldn't help but find Jack's back familiar. But in the end, he shook his head and thought that this was impossible.
After the family went down, Steve had tried to go over to the Off-track racing competitions like always to try and use his skills to earn money, but he found that he was banned.
The reason for this was simply because, after he lost the bet with Jack, he was supposed to never step in Inchoate City. But when his father went to look for Jack, Steve had no choice but to accompany him.
And not surprisingly, the information that he had stepped his foot in Inchoate City reached the Off-track racers. Since he had violated the bet that we had lost on Mount Bright, he was banned from ever participating in any competitions that were organized by Off-track racers.
Although he had already tried the other types of racing organizations, all of them refused. This was all due to the influence of the Off-track racers.
In the end, he had come back to the previous family-owned businesses and applied for a job opportunity. He had applied for the position of a driver.
Although he was a member of the Alfonso family, one of the managers thought that his skills were good enough and decided to give him a job as a driver. He was tasked with the job of driving the company cars.
On this very day, he had been informed that the big boss, the one who currently owned all the businesses that were previously owned by the Alfonso family was going to come over.
Although Steve currently resented the person who had taken over all the properties that were previously Alfonso's, there was nothing that he could do about it.
Not to mention the fact that his father and grandfather had decided to sell off the assets and companies or shares that they owned to this person on their own will, there was also a fact that, his current self couldn't actually compare to the person who had taken over the business.
Even the previous him, he might have perhaps not had the capital to compete with that person.
Shaking his head to dispel all those thoughts from his mind, he got into the car and began driving after everyone was supposed to enter that car had gotten in.
Jack who seated inside a car looked at the buildings as they flashed by. He got somehow nostalgic about this place because, after he had regained the memories that had been sealed, he had at least found some of the best moments that he had spent over here in Crystal City.
At this moment, he couldn't help but think of the childhood that he had spent with Celine. Perhaps, that was one of the best times in his life, other than after he had received the system.
Not long after, they finally arrived at the mansion that was previously owned by the Alfonso family. This was something that Jack had bought over from them through Denali. 𝐛𝗲𝗱𝐧𝗼𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝐧𝐞𝘁
And this was the first time in three months that he was coming back here after he had left. He saw that nothing had really changed even after he had left.
Those who were in charge of the cleaning and so on, were mostly those who had been here previously. But of course, those who were in charge were the ones who had been shifted. At the end of the day, their loyalty had always been lying on the Alfonso family.
Since they had just gotten here from the capital, Jack and the rest decided to take a break and relax. Additionally, it was already evening. So, they were going to take a rest before finally taking their dinner.
While Jack was back to his room, the one that he had always been in when he was present in the Alfonso mansion, Anita had decided to take over the room where Anne had stayed in.
She had missed her sister and as a result, she had decided to go into her room and stay there simply because, perhaps there would be some of the things that would remind her of the time that she had spent together with her sister.
Anita looked around the room. She couldn't help but feel emotional when she found how familiar the room that she was currently in, was to the one that Anne had spent her childhood back in the Jesda residence.
She didn't even notice when tears began trickling down her cheeks. She sat on the bed, feeling the somehow familiar but unfamiliar atmosphere of the room that she had missed for a very long time.
Although it was true that she had been informed by Jack that Anne was currently gone, when she looked around the room, Anita couldn't help but wish that her sister was here.
The scent that was in the room, was just like how she remembered it. Although the scent was currently faint due to the passage of time, Anita could still detect it.
Anita had somehow forgotten to lock the door when she entered. And as a result, as long as a person passed by the door and looked in, that person would be able to see that Anita was sobbing.
Just then, as Anita was lost in her thoughts, thinking of the times that she had spent with her sister, the times when the two of them would do everything together, some of the servants came over to look for her so that she could go over and take dinner with the others.
She had actually been sitting in the same position for a very long time, and she didn't even notice the passage of time.
The ones that had come over to look for her were two ladies. One had blonde hair while the other had brown hair. The two of them, could be considered as ordinary when it came to appearance.
These two ladies were working in the mansion back when Anne was present. In fact, they were the ones who had always been taken care of Anne's room.
Even though they were not given the duty to do so, they did that on their own accord. This was simply due to the relationship that they had with Anne.
Since there was nothing that they could do for her as she was already gone, they had dedicated themselves to set aside the time when they were free to come over and clean her room.
This was something that had continued even after the Alfonso family sold off the mansion. When they were retained as the workers, they continued with what they had always been doing.
Just as the two ladies stepped into the room, they were suddenly stunned when they saw a person who was seated on the bed.
Their blood froze as they didn't know what to do. They stared at Anita for a very long period of time, their eyes widened from surprise and horror.
It was only after a few seconds that one of them shouted. "Aaah! A ghost!"
That was the youngest of the two. The two of them knew Anne all too well. Furthermore, they have been there during the time that she was being buried. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝒏𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙣𝒆𝙩
Now, seeing that she was present in the room, they were of course surprised as well as frightened. They currently wanted to run out of the room but they found that they actually couldn't move as they were scared.
The scream had managed to bring Anita back to the present. She blinked her eyes as she looked around in confusion. Looking at the somehow unfamiliar environment, she was at first not understanding what was going on, until she remembered that they had actually traveled to Crystal City.
Then, she gazed at the two ladies who were present in the room. Looking at their attire, she easily identified them as maids.
"Eh? What's going on?" Anita questioned as she looked at the two ladies. Although they had screamed and brought her back to her senses, she actually didn't understand what was going on.
The two ladies gulped when they saw that Anita was looking at them. One of them, the blonde-haired lady, managed to gain some courage as she spoke. "A-are y-you a...a…ghost?" She asked as she stammered.
Anita was dumbfounded by the question. She blinked her eyes as she looked at the lady who had questioned if she was a ghost or not, without knowing what to say.
At the same moment, she touched her cheeks just to make sure that she was there in flesh and not in spirit. When she felt her skin, she suddenly heaved a sigh of relief as she was actually alive.
"What do you mean by asking me if I am a ghost? Can't you see that I'm alive?" Anita questioned back.
"Y-you are alive? But how is that possible? Didn't you die about 4 years ago?" The other lady asked.
"I died?" Anita asked in surprise. It was only after a moment that she finally realized what the two ladies were talking about.
"Oh, you've got the wrong person. My name is Anita, Anne's twin sister. Anne is the one who died 4 years ago." Anita stated. There was sadness in her voice as she spoke about her sister.
ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
When the two ladies heard what she said, they were surprised. But when they saw Anita's expression, they immediately believed what she has said.
After all, they had always been taking care of this room for almost 4 years now since Anne's death. But never, even once, had they seen her ghost.
The two finally got relieved. But the fear of ever meeting with a ghost was still lurking in their hearts. Just as they were about to tell her about what had brought them there, another person appeared at the door.
"Mom, what is going on here?" Jonathan who had just appeared questioned worriedly. He had just been passing by, heading towards the dining room, when he suddenly heard a scream coming from here.
Since he knew that his mother was here, he had rushed over thinking that something had happened to her.
"Ah? You are young master Jack?" The black hair maid questioned in surprise.
When Jack and the others arrived, they didn't make much of a commotion. And as a result, the maids continued with what they were doing while Jack and to the others entered the mansion.
So, there were several people who had not seen them when they came in. The two maids were an example of those people who had not seen them coming over.
"What Jack? I'm Jonathan." Jonathan shook his head as he said. Then he looked at his mother who was still seated on the bed.
He looked around, but he didn't find anything that was abnormal. And as a result, he couldn't help but wonder what had really occurred for someone to scream.
"There's nothing here. It was just a simple misunderstanding and it has already been solved." Anita stated that she got to her feet.
She looked out of the window and was surprised to see that it was already dark. She couldn't believe that she had been in the room for almost 3 hours now.
"So, you are a young master Jonathan?" The blonde hair made gave Jonathan a bow as she spoke.
She could already relate it to the fact that, although Jonathan looked like Jack, just like Anita, he was related to Jack. Since Anita and Anne were twin sisters, it wasn't a surprise that Jack and Jonathan looked alike.
But it was indeed rare to find that, two children who are born from different mothers, with different fathers, actually looked alike even if they had mothers who were twin sisters.
"Mom, let's get going. Dinner is ready." Jonathan stated, completely ignoring the maid.
"Okay, let's get going." Anita left the room with Jonathan. Since it was time to take a meal, the two of them had to join in as well.
During the past week, they had interacted with the others. It was more so Anita who had interacted with Katelyn and Celine.
When she found out that Celine and Jack were planning to marry in the future, she had decided to take on Jack's mother's role. She could also take this chance to forge a bond with Jack and know him well.
Jack also didn't push her away. He interacted with her and the relationship between the two of them had grown. But, it of course couldn't compare to the relationship that Jack had with his mother.
All the same, Anita didn't mind that. Since the two of them had met, there was still a lot of time that she could utilize to get even closer to Jack.
Back in the room, the two maids looked at each other. They clearly had never expected that Anne had a twin sister. As for Jack, they weren't even sure about what was going on anymore.
They had been at the Alfonso mansion for a very long time now. And as a result, they knew how Jack was being treated in the family. So, for him to come back now with a higher status, they were of course stunned.
When the two of them arrived at the dining room, Jonathan and Anita found that others were already there. The food was already getting served by the maids.
The two of them joined the rest of them at the table and began eating as they chatted. They talked about several miscellaneous things. But of course, it was the ladies who dominated.
They will occasionally talk about things that would throw the men off balance as they couldn't understand the topic that the ladies were talking about.
Just like that, the evening was spent. And, the preparations for the Memorial Day immediately began that very night.
Two days later, the Memorial Day finally arrived. Jack and the rest of the group immediately went at the resting place of Jack's mother.
They carried out all the procedures that was supposed to be taking place during the Memorial Day. They talked about Anne, reminding themselves about the time that she was present.
Although it was a sad moment, they were also happy to talk about her. They talked about the happy memories that they had shared with the deceased.
It was also at this moment that Jack finally felt at comfort. He was finally relieved even after his mother was gone.
During the time that his mother had passed away, there was nobody who was there to console him. And as a result, he had gone through all the pain of losing his mother all alone.
And of course, it wasn't just the pain of losing his mother that he had to endure. He was also forced to go through torture by his half siblings who used this chance to tease him.
At that time in the past, he really wished to have left the family. But, since his mother's resting place was present in the Alfonso's property, he had no choice but to stay there.
Additionally, at that time, he was still in school. He wasn't capable of taking care of himself at that time. And as a result, he was forced to depend on the Alfonso's for his school fees and among other things that he required in school.
The Memorial Day ended late at night. At that time, people were supposed to be truly exhausted. But in the end, only two people were drained amongst the group had that Jack had brought over from Kartu city.
Of course, these were none other than Anita and her husband Gregory. The two of them had not taken the body strengthening solution. As for the rest, each and every one of them had taken a body strengthening solution.
Jack rested for the night. He recalled all the moments that he had spent with his mother. In the end, he slept with a smile etched on his face.
The following morning, Jack got out of his room after he had freshened up. He went downstairs to the dining room to take breakfast with the others.
Anita and Gregory had decided that they were going to go back to Kartu city on that very day since they still had a lot to take care of in the family.
Katelyn took this chance to say that she was going with them. She too had a lot to handle and couldn't leave everything to Faith. And as a result, the three traveled back to the capital city on that very day.
Jack had of course asked Gabriel to take them back. Since Jack had already paid for the services that was supposed to be offered by Gabriel, then Gabriel had to be used to the maximum.
Jack had paid a lot of money to acquire the services offered by Gabriel and the company that he was working for. So, he had decided that Gabriel was going to make around trip.
He was going to make a round trip back to the capital city, before coming back to Crystal City to await for the rest of the people who were going to go back to the capital city in 3 days. 𝘣𝘦𝑑𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝘮
This is the only thing that Jack thought of. Although it seemed that it might be expensive to travel like that, especially if the plane was going to fly from the capital city to Crystal City without carrying anybody, Jack really didn't care.
At the end of the day, he wasn't the one who was going to deal with the fuel consumption and so on. All of that was supposed to be taken care of by the money that he had handed over during the time that he was acquiring the services of Gabriel.
Jack had decided to remain in Crystal City for the following 2 days simply because he had to deal with the companies that were previously owned by the Alfonso family.
Although it was true that the companies were currently under his control, he had yet to officially take over the businesses.
This is the main reason as to why these companies and businesses were not included during the monthly income report from the system.
Since his plan was to exploit the system to the maximum, he had to make sure that all the things that could be utilized were used to the maximum potential.
Jack first made his way to a company that was in charge of rubber supply. This company had several cooperation with several companies that were in charge of the production of rubber.
Since Crystal City was previously dominated by the Alfonso family, that company was the biggest supplier of rubber in the whole city.ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
And since they were the ones supplying rubber, of course, they had an industry that was utilizing that rubber to make several products from rubber. And just like the rubber supplying company, the top company that was in charge of production of rubber manufactured products was owned previously by the Alfonso family.
When Jack arrived, he didn't waste much time and decided to head for the main office. He was accompanied by Denali. Since she was the most familiar here, she had decided to come over and show him around.
As for Celine, she had decided to venture the city, and visit several of the places that she had visited when she was young. She wanted to re-live the memories that she had in her childhood.
Just as Jack got out of the car, he was surprised to see that Steve was present again. It seemed that he had just arrived with an executive of the company.
Since he was working as a driver, he was now in charge of transporting the top echelons of the companies that were under Jack currently.
It was also at this moment that Steve also noticed Jack. His brows rose a little as he looked at Jack in surprise.
Since that day when they had gone over to inchoate city to look for Jack due to the engagement with Wendy, Steve had never seen Jack again.
Even during the time that the Alfonso family was suffering, Jack never appeared. But of course, Steve had completely forgotten about Jack because he never thought that Jack would help them.
But when he saw that Jack was present here, he couldn't help but be stunned. He wondered if Jack was here to work or just for a business cooperation.
He wasn't an Idiot to believe that Jack was just like them, who had lost everything that they owned. When he saw that Jack was previously living in there Prince and princess Palace in Inchoate City, he knew that Jack must have found a backing.
Jack glanced at Steve for a moment, before finally ignoring him. There was nothing that the two of them could talk about even though they were brothers.
When he saw that Jack was leaving, Steve hurried forward. "Wait a moment Jack!" He shouted as he rushed towards him.
Even though he heard Steve shouting at him to stop, Jack didn't halt his steps at all. He continued heading towards the entrance of the building that was in charge of the management of the company.
Seeing that Jack was actually ignoring him, Steve got frustrated. Just thinking about the life that he was currently living in, the way that he had lost all the previous glory that he had, he couldn't accept letting Jack go like that.
Even if the fall of the family didn't actually happen due to Jack, he wasn't willing to let Jack continue living a lavish life while they on the other hand suffered.
"Jack, I am calling you but you are completely ignoring me. Have you forgotten that I am your elder brother?" Steve shouted. The next moment, he stood in front of Jack and Denali as he blocked their path.
Jack frowned when he heard this. He wasn't willing to engage Steve at all. But it seemed that this guy wasn't willing to let go of him.
"Please, I hope that you don't mention the relationship between me and you as brotherhood. I thought that I left the Alfonso family about 3 months ago." Jack responded.
"You left the family but that wasn't official. Even now, you are still a member of the Alfonso family. So, how can you let our family continue suffering while you enjoy yourself?" Steve retorted.
"Oh, now you remember that I was related to you previously? I thought that you never wanted to relate me to the Alfonso family. As long as I remember, I was a disgrace to the mention of the Alfonso family." Jack stated sarcastically.
"It really doesn't matter what happened back then. Since the Alfonso family did a lot for you when you were young, you have to pay back by helping us as well." Steve stated. He didn't care about what shame was.
Jack looked at him for a moment as if he was looking at a retarded person. After a while, he shook his head before continuing on his way. He of course just passed on the side of Steve.
While he was leaving, he muttered coldly, "I don't think I owe the Alfonso family anything. You should know that I owe you nothing for what you did to me and my mother."
Steve was left dumbfounded when he heard what Jack said. He couldn't believe that Jack wasn't going to help them at all.
As for what he was talking about, how they had treated him and his mother back during the hey days of the Alfonso family, he didn't think about that at all.
"You ingrate! I don't believe her that you really have the blood of the Alfonso family running through your veins. You really disgrace us the Alfonso family." Steve shouted at Jack in anger.
The next moment, he immediately rushed towards Jack with the intention of beating him up. He was fully angry at Jack, that he completely ignored to comprehend why Jack was present here, as well as the fact that Denali, the person whom all the top management knew as a real top dog was actually following behind Jack.
In his anger, he actually forgot about anything like that. In front of him, Jack was still the bastard that he was used to bullying back then. Even if he had little money now, that didn't change the fact that he was just a bastard.
Since he could beat Jack back then, then he would do that just now as well. "It seems that I have to teach you some manners." Steve stated as he approached Jack at a high speed.
But just as he was about to reach Jack, he suddenly felt immense force hitting him on his stomach. And before he could react, he was blasted backwards.
He rolled on the ground in an embarrassing manner as he screamed in agony due to the pain that he was experiencing.
He looked up only to see that Denali was staring at him angrily. It was only after he was beaten to the ground that he regained his thought process.
When Jack had appeared, Steve had completely ignored all those that were around and focused mainly on Jack. It was only now that he realized that Denali was actually present with Jack.
This made his eyes shrink rapidly with fear. He knew Denali. She was the person who was in charge of running the businesses that were taken over when the Alfonso family went bankrupt.
She was a big shot that he couldn't dare to offend. And now, this big shot was staring at him angrily. It was obvious that she had already been offended by him.
"Do you think you are worth it to try and teach my boss about manners?" Denali asked coldly.
Steve's mind immediately went blank. He couldn't actually comprehend what Denali was saying. Jack was her boss? What did that mean?
Didn't that mean that Jack was the person who had bought over all the assets that previously belonged to the Alfonso family?
Just thinking of this, Steve couldn't help but exclaim that all of this was impossible. How could it be that Jack, the most unfavored person in the family, had actually managed to acquire wealth and ability to acquire all the assets that were previously owned by the Alfonso family?
This was something impossible in his mind. The Alfonso's family total assets were worth over $500 million. Even if the value of the assets that were previously owned by the Alfonso family had plummeted due to the effect of the fall in reputation, that didn't mean that the amount that was required to acquire them was small at all.
Then, he thought of something as he looked at Denali's beautiful face. At that thought, he clutched his stomach that was still paining him, as he first himself of the ground.
Then, he chuckled as he glanced at Jack was just about to enter the building. Even when Steve was attacking him, Jack had actually never paused his steps.
"I never thought that you would actually go around to be a toy boy for a woman. So, that's where all your wealth is coming from? Humph! You are now being arrogant just because you're being used for your pretty face." Steve sneered as he said.
Jack didn't stop at all. He just spoke as he continued entering the building. "Why don't you go and use your pretty face as well to get into the position that I am in and let me see?"
Immediately after he said that, he disappeared into the doors of the building, not willing to continue entertaining Steve for a moment longer.
Steve was flabbergasted again by Jack's comment. He never thought that Jack would actually react like that. He had expected that Jack would actually try to defend himself.
But just as he was about to continue lashing at Jack even though he was already away, he suddenly had a harrumph coming from the side.
"How daring of you to try tarnishing the reputation of my boss! Since you don't know your place, I will help you know it." Denali stated coldly.
Immediately after that, she looked at the security guards and instructed them to throw Steve outside. As for the job that he had previously been holding as a driver, he had of course have been fired at that exact moment.
The security guards that were present were obviously not from any other company other than GVSL. This was one of the arrangements that Jack had made.
Each and every company that was under him, had the security department being taken care of by GVSL. And amongst each of the security guard team that had been sent over, there were at least two mercenaries that Jack had hired previously.
Of course, for the small companies like the ones that were previously owned by the Alfonso family, he hadn't sent any of those that had taken the body strengthening solution.
But even so, the mercenaries that was sent over were not to be messed with.
Jack wasn't going to let the small companies continue existing for a long period of time. He was planning on merging all the companies that dealt in the same line.
But of course, he wasn't going to do that unless he received the first income reward from the system. That's right, he had already found a way that he was going to exploit the system.
By buying several small companies, he could easily earn several first income rewards. And after that, these small companies would be merged into one so that they could dominate the market.
Steve wasn't given time to comprehend what was going on before he was grabbed by the security guards and dragged out of the compound of the company. 𝒷ℯ𝒹𝓃𝓸𝓿ℯ𝓁.𝒸ℴ𝓶
None of the security guards were lenient with him at all. And as a result, as he continued to struggle, he had received a punch or two that made him quieten.
But when he was thrown out of the gates, he finally regained some of his confidence. He shouted at the security guards fiercely, "You guys don't know me well. Your boss is my younger brother. When my father comes over later, I will let you know what happens when you dare to offend me."
The security guards looked at him with contempt clear in their eyes. They had been staying with Steve as he worked as a driver for over a month now. How could they believe the nonsense that he was spouting?
And even if it was true that he was actually related to Jack, then there was nothing to worry about because, Jack didn't seem to be in favor of this supposedly elder brother of his.
Without even looking at him, they turned around and went back to their posts. As for Steve, he had no choice but to take out his phone and contact his father, Dalton.
He was sure that when Dalton arrived, he was going to easily handle Jack.
While all of this was going on, it had obviously attracted the attention of several employees of the company. Some of the employees were there when the Alfonso family was holding a high place in Crystal City.
And as a result, they had also seen Steve when he was all high and mighty. And of course, his reputation was anything but good. He was someone who utilized his family's authority to bully the employees.
And as a result, he had actually attracted the hatred of many people.
"Hehehe, look at him now. The young master of the Alfonso family is now nothing but a dog. He is barking around, making so much noise that it is getting irritating."
"Stop disgracing the dogs by relating this person to them. He is obviously worse than a dog. Look at him. He doesn't know the meaning of shame at all."
"That's right. When he saw that he couldn't get anything from our big boss, he only resorted to trying to use and underhanded tricks by saying that he was a toy boy."
"Since he can't get anything from the boss, he only thought of tarnishing his reputation. I think what happened to his family was really deserving."
"You guys, wait a moment. About the new boss. Have any of you guys ever heard of him?"
"That's right. Previously, it was Miss Denali who was taking care of everything here. But now, she suddenly has a boss?"
"But why can't I make sense of what is happening here? If I heard correctly, Steve referred to him as a bastard. Do you think he could be that bastard child that was always mentioned in the Alfonso family?"
"The one that was born of a mistress?"
"But how is that possible? How did he become so rich all of a sudden?"
"Could it be that he had actually become a toy boy?"
"Hey, shut it up. It doesn't matter what he did. You should know that he is the current boss. If news reaches his ears that you are actually talking behind his back, you surely will be in a lot of trouble."
Since he was there to take over the business, he didn't stay there for a long time. After he had signed a few documents that he was supposed to, he finally decided to leave.
He still had other companies to pay a visit to. Although it was true that the companies could have sent the documents over to him so that he could have completed everything at once, he decided to go and pay them a visit still.
The reason behind this was simply because, he actually wanted to know the situation at the companies that he was owning. He didn't want a situation where he didn't even know what his company did.
When Jack got out of the building, he was surprised to find out that there was a commotion at the entrance of the company.
This made him raise his brows as he wondered what had happened. According to his thoughts, something like that should not have happened considering that there were security guards.
All the same, he wasn't interested in something like that. He got into the car that they had come over with. Denali got into the driver's seat before she immediately drove towards the exit.
When they arrived at the gate, the security guards immediately parted the crowd that was there so that they could allow Jack to leave.
But it was just then that a shout rang through the air. "Dad, that's the car! Jack is inside there!"
Although he was inside the car, Jack could immediately tell that the voice belonged to his half-brother Steve. With his sharp senses, he could easily hear what Steve was saying from a distance.
Although he wouldn't have wanted to stop, there were still a lot of people who were standing in front of the car and as a result, the car couldn't leave yet.
Before he could say anything, he suddenly saw a middle-aged man pushing through the crowd. Steve followed behind him.
Jack could of course immediately identify the man. It was none other than his excuse of a father, Dalton. He was looking now way older than when Jack saw him back at inchoate city.
Jack didn't need to guess to know that Dalton had been undergoing a very difficult life.
As a person who had always been living a life where he had everything that he needed, to suddenly be dropped to the lowest position, where he was being hunted for debts, it was indeed depressing.
Nonetheless, Jack didn't care about that. When he and his mother were undergoing a lot of problems back in the Alfonso family, Dalton, as the family head as well as his father, actually did nothing to help him and his mother.
Since he had ignored him back then, then Jack was going to do the same. Although he was the one who had made him fall into that position, Jack considered this as a payment that he had to pay for facilitating the death of his mother.
Even though it was true that he didn't intentionally or unintentionally want to kill her, his ignorance of her had led to her being poisoned by one of his wives.
"Jack! Get out of that car right now! How dare you enjoy your life there while I, your father is suffering out here?" The moment that Dalton approached, he shouted.
Jack, who was in the car, immediately rolled his eyes. He wondered if Dalton had a screw loose in his head. The guy was shouting with all the authority in his voice as if he could actually command him.
Jack looked at Denali through the rearview mirror. "Just ignore them and continue with where we are going. We don't have that much time to waste on them." Jack stated.
Denali nodded her head before she looked at the guards who were confused on whether to continue opening the path for the car or to allow Dalton to see Jack.
Although it was true that they didn't like the way that Dalton was behaving, if it was true that Jack shared a relationship with Dalton, then they would be in trouble if they caused him problems.
"Open the way." Denali stated calmly to the leader of the security guards.
The guard immediately nodded before he instructed his subordinates to immediately open the way.
Since this was another from above, the security guards became even aggressive as they dealt with those that continued standing in the path of the car.
As for Dalton, he was pushed back by the security guards, completely preventing him from approaching the car.
It was obvious that Dalton wasn't willing to let go of this chance to meet Jack. According to him, Jack had to at least fulfill his duty as a son.
Since he was currently going through a lot of trouble, having a very difficult time to even have meals, Jack should immediately take care of that since he was currently rich.
"You unfilial son! How dare you ignore your father when he is in this current condition? Or has that little wealth that you have gotten, gotten into your head?" Dalton shouted after Jack, with veins popping up on his forehead.
Of course, since he wasn't affected, Jack completely ignored him. It didn't matter to him what nonsense Dalton spouted. At the end of the day, he was going to continue with what he was doing everyday.
Upon seeing that his words had no effect on Jack, Dalton changed his strategy. "Your mother will definitely be disappointed if she were alive. I'm sure that she would even cry when she saw what kind of a son you have become…."
Just as Dalton was about to continue speaking, he saw that the car had suddenly halted. He was ecstatic, thinking that his words had actually affected Jack.
At that moment, he had already began fantasizing about how he was going to go back to his peak.
'Humph! You traitorous people! Just you wait! Since I'm about to go back to the peak that I was in before, I will surely make all of you suffer.' Dalton thought to himself.
Unknowingly, a smile had suddenly emerged on his face. He was already looking smug even before he received what he was yearning for.
Just then, the windows of the car went down to reveal Jack's face. His face was currently stone cold. Anger could be seen within his eyes only if one looked closely.
He stared at Dalton for a moment. Immediately after that, he spoke, "I hope that you don't dare to mention my mother ever again. Let this be the last warning that I'm going to give you. Otherwise, perhaps the current situation that you are in won't be the worst that you will have experienced."
Dalton's eyes widened in this belief when he heard Jack's words. He had never expected that Jack had actually stopped only to warn him. What was going on?
He couldn't help but blink his eyes a few times. In the end, in both anger and embarrassment, he looked at Jack with reddened eyes.
"How dare you scold me you bastard! I am your father. And I am going to give you a piece of my mind so that you can know how to respect your elders in the future." Dalton roared in anger as he tried to approach Jack's car.
But in the end, no matter how hard he struggled, he didn't manage to get through the security guards. These security guards were all strong and there was no way that Dalton could deal with them.
In the end, Dalton could only shout at Jack from a distance. But his anger at Jack never diminished for a moment. Even Steve who had been following behind Jack was angry at the fact that Jack had no respect for his father.
And as a result, he too had begun throwing expletives at Jack.
Jack stared at them for a while. In the end, their was never affected him as long as they didn't mention his mother. "You should disappear. I hope I won't see you around my companies in the future."
When Jack's words reached their ears, Dalton and Steve trembling in anger. Had it not been for the fact that they were being held back by the security guards, they would have immediately rushed at Jack and beat him up. But of course, that was only if they really had the ability to do that.
After saying his piece, Jack immediately decided to continue with his journey. At this moment, the security guards had already cleared the path for the car.
And as a result, the car then left the company's premises as it headed in another direction. They were heading towards another company that was in charge of production of toothpaste.
Both Dalton and Steve were left stunned and angry at Jack. But in the end, they could do nothing at him at all. This was not the time where Jack was inferior and they could pick on him.
The only thing that they could do at that moment was to stare at the car as it left with resentment clear in their eyes. They swore to themselves that, if they got an ability, they would surely take their revenge on Jack for embarrassing them.
What they actually didn't know was the fact that, Jack didn't like leaving loose ends behind. And in order to tie them up, he had actually sent a group of people to keep an eye on their moves. 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡.𝙘𝙤𝙢
As long as they dared to do anything that would affect Jack or anyone who was closer to him, they would be immediately dealt with. Of course, this would be before they took action.
Jack didn't stay in Crystal City for a longer period of time than he had already planned. And as a result, after he had managed to visit all the businesses that were previously owned by the Alfonso family, he decided to go back to the capital city.
It was finally time for him to start his plan of setting up his own enterprise. Since he had already gotten a collection of companies that dealt in different lines, he decided that they had to share central management.
In this way, perhaps he might be able to know which property of his did what. Additionally, he would as well start his plan of monopolizing several markets as early as possible.
He was sure that with the power of several companies merged into one, the competition that he was going to receive would definitely be decreased.
Although it was true that having several companies would attract several people who were going to compete with him from different sectors, his strength was also the determinant on who was capable of competing with him.
Apart from that, Jack had already began the merging of the companies that he had acquired from the Alfonso family and the youths who were Collins's lackeys.
When he had taken over the businesses that were previously owned by their families, Jack had decided to hand them over to Celine and her family.
But in the end, Katelyn and Celine actually disagreed. The excuse that they gave was that, having more companies would bring them more problems when it came to management.
Of course, Jack knew that this was just a way that they were using so that they wouldn't receive too much from him.
Although this was the compensation that Jack had planned to give to them due to what had happened to Celine, since they didn't want to take them, Jack wasn't going to throw them away either.
He decided that, he might as well improve their worth before handing it to them in the future in case they needed them. And of course, he wasn't going to let them continue being small companies.
Just like the other companies that were currently under him, they were going to be merged with those that were dealing in the same goods or service.
Currently, the number of businesses that were under Jack could be said to be many. And currently, some of them had already become widely spread in the nation.
And one of them was the grocery department that was currently under Grace. The lady had been so diligent in her duties in that, she didn't need supervision from Jack.
Her speed of expansion had increased during the previous two weeks. Currently, the grocery department was well known in the country.
It was amongst those that were feared. The expansion speed of the company was just fierce that it had sent shivers down the spines of those that were in the grocery business.
They were getting frustrated at the fact that, the groceries that were expanding rapidly were reducing their markets.
As long as they appeared in a city, all the other groceries would definitely fail. This was simply because, it was as if the owner of the groceries was deciding to do a business that would bring him losses rather than profit.
As people who had been in the business world for a long time, they could immediately tell what the boss of the groceries was thinking.
He was deciding to deal with them as early as now, so that he could monopolize the market in the future. Although it was true that he was suffering losses at the moment, the same couldn't be said about the future.
Although they would have really wished to compete with him, they couldn't do it. Their pockets weren't heavy to keep up with the losses that they were going to incur as long as they dared to do as he was doing.
The end of the month was approaching and Jack was definitely looking forward to the surprises that were going to come.
At the same time, he was also looking forward to another event that was just about to happen. It was going to happen during the following month.
It was going to be Celine's birthday soon. And as a result, Jack had already began making preparations to surprise her. Since that was a special day for her, Jack was willing to make it even more special for her.
Currently, Jack was inside his villa in Serenity Residential area. He was having a visitor again. Benjamin had come over to visit him once again.
"What is it this time?" Jack questioned. During the last time that Benjamin was here to visit him, the old guy had been acting all mysterious. This had certainly made Jack dislike him.
If you are not willing to say something, or you are not willing to give the details about something, then it was better to not mention it at all.
Benjamin lips twitched. He was now wondering if the young man in front of him was actually his grandson or a stranger that he was meeting.
In the end, he could only shake his head as he released a sigh. This was the price that he had to pay for following the family rules to the latter.
"Ahem, I wanted to ask you about what I told you last time. Have you considered coming back to the family?" Benjamin questioned.
Jack looked at Benjamin silently. Since the day that his mother was killed by someone from the Jesda family, he had never wanted to go back there.
Additionally, it was a sure bet that, that as long as he went there, he would be bound by the stupid family rules that were made. He wasn't ready for such stupid restrictions.
Although it was true that the family rules were meant to protect the family members, for someone like Jack who liked to be free, that was just a prison.
"I already told you last time that there's no way that I'm coming to join that family. I'm good just the way I am." Jack stated calmly.
Benjamin sighed once again. Although he had already been expecting such an answer, he was actually still disappointed.
After taking a deep breath, his expression turned serious as he looked at Jack. Then, he questioned, "Are you the one involved with Nathan's disappearance?"
Jack wasn't surprised by that question. He knew that something like the disappearance of Nathan wasn't going to be hidden from someone like Benjamin.
The disappearance of Nathan was definitely something that involved several deaths of police officers. And as a result, this was a big matter although it had been hidden by the higher authorities in the government.
As for Benjamin suspecting that Jack was the one who was involved, Jack wasn't surprised about that as well. At the end of the day, Benjamin knew that Jack had a grudge with Nathan.
And as a result, he was sure that Jack wasn't going to sit back as he watched as Nathan disappeared. He must have done something.
"Yes, I was the one." Jack wasn't afraid to admit that he was involved with the disappearance of Nathan. Even if the Jesda family wanted to come after him, there was nothing that they could do to him.
His current power wasn't something that the Jesda family could handle. They had to be careful when they tried handling him.
Jack was currently sure that they had already investigated about him. And he was sure that they had already found some of the information about him as well.
Although it was true that his information had been hidden away, for someone like Benjamin who had always been keeping an eye on Jack ever since he was young, there was no way that some of the details could be hidden from him.
"Where is he?" Benjamin questioned. Although it was true that Nathan had committed a lot, and was also involved in several things that were against the law, he was still his son at the end of the day.
And as a result, Benjamin still wanted to see him. Even though he wasn't going to let him go scot-free, he thought that the punishment that had been placed on him by the court was enough.
"He is dead." Jack stated bluntly.
Benjamin opened his mouth for a moment, as if he was intending to say something, but he failed to do so.
There was great surprise in his eyes as he stared at Jack blankly. Although he had expected that Jack was involved with the disappearance of Nathan, he had never expected that Jack would actually execute Nathan that easily and fast.
It would be a lie to say that Benjamin wasn't angry at Jack. But, just like the time when he watched as Jack and Anne went through a lot in the Alfonso family, there was nothing that he could do at the moment.
He himself knew about Jack's abilities. Not to mention him, even the whole family would definitely have to pay a lot if they wanted to have a fight with Jack.
But of course, this was only because the old man didn't actually know the full capabilities of Jack. Had he known about that, he would have definitely known that the Jesda family didn't stand a chance against Jack.
"I can understand that you are angry at him. But was it really necessary for him to be killed?" Benjamin asked after a long sigh.
"Since he was involved with the deaths of many people, even his death was definitely not enough to repay the countless number of people that he had killed in his life." Jack responded.
Benjamin was currently undergoing great struggle within his heart. He really wanted to say something but he was tied. At this moment, he had really come to start hating the family rules.
'If not for the family rules, perhaps Nathan would still be alive at this moment.' Benjamin thought to himself.
Jack remained silent and didn't say a word. He was waiting for Benjamin to continue or leave.
"Where is his body?" Benjamin asked despondently.
"His body disappeared." Jack replied.
Benjamin remained silent for a moment as he didn't know how to react to Jack's words. He stared at Jack for a moment as he wondered if Jack was joking or he was serious about what he was saying.
But when he saw that there was no hint of mischievousness on Jack's face, Benjamin's expression darkened.
"Jack, I can understand that you have already killed your uncle Nathan. But that doesn't mean that you deserve to destroy his body. I told you I want to see his body, and this is not the time for you to play such games." Benjamin was serious at this moment.
He could accept that Jack had a dealt with Nathan and had killed him off because Nathan had already done so many crimes that were unforgivable. But, he couldn't accept that he actually couldn't bury his own son.
Even though it was true that Nathan had committed a lot, he was still his son in flesh and blood. Since there was nothing that he would do previously to save Nathan, then the only thing that he could do was to give him a decent burial.
"I don't think I have time to joke around with you. I told you that his body disappeared because it really disappeared." Jack stated.
At that time, he had seen that the thin man had poisoned himself. After that he had become ashes. An idea came into Jack's mind at that moment.
And as a result, he looked into the things that the thin man was carrying. And as a result, he had managed to find that the thin man was carrying a poison like the one that he had taken.
Well, Jack didn't actually know what type of poison that the thin man had taken as it was in his mouth. But of course, there was always the trial-and-error period.
After several attempts of trying the poison on Nathan's dead body, Jack had finally found the poison that he wanted.
But since Nathan was dead, his circulatory system wasn't working. And as a result, Jack was forced to dilute the poison before pouring it on Nathan's body.
And just like what had happened to the thin man, Nathan's body also turned into ashes. And just like that, Jack had managed to clear the scene.
When Benjamin saw that Jack wasn't relenting, he began getting angry. Although the person in front of him was his grandson, the relationship that they shared wasn't that deep as the one that he shared with his son.
And as a result, as long as Jack didn't hand over Nathan's body, Benjamin was willing to go all out to make sure that Jack did that. He didn't believe that there was a way that Nathan's body could disappear. Jack must be hiding it somewhere.
Benjamin's face had already turned red due to the anger that he was trying to hold in. He looked at Jack for a moment, before questioning once again. "Jack, are you going to hand over Nathan's body or not? You know, I allowed you to do as you pleased without interfering with anything. But now, you have to hand over Nathan's body. Otherwise…."
Benjamin didn't finish his words but Jack could immediately understand the underlying meaning. He looked at the old man in front of him before snorting, "It doesn't matter what you say. I already told you that Nathan's body disappeared and there's no way that I can find it even if I want to."
"Furthermore, I hope that you don't try threatening me. This is simply because I don't like threats." As Jack stated these words, he looked directly into Benjamin's eyes.
It was obvious that he didn't care whether Benjamin was his grandfather or not. Since the two of them never shared any kind of relationship other than the blood relationship that they shared, Jack wouldn't hesitate to take action if the old man pissed him off.
Benjamin stared at Jack's eyes for a whole minute. When he saw that Jack wasn't retreating his gaze even after all this while, he shook his head as he decided to relent.
"I hope that you are right about what you're doing. Otherwise, you're going to be in deep trouble. This world has hidden a lot that you don't know and understand." After saying his piece, Benjamin got to his feet before he left the villa.
He needed to get some time before he could finally calm down. It was true that he was angry, but there was no way that he was going to vent the anger.
Jack didn't escort him out of the villa at all. Since Benjamin was an uninvited guest, there was no need for him to be so polite considering that the two of them were not parting in good terms at that moment.
After seeing that Benjamin had left, Jack went back to his room. He had decided to finally analyze the businesses that he was currently having.
He had already made Denali to prepare the data and send it to his email.
After getting into his room, he took out his laptop and began looking at the information. Since he was planning to integrate several companies, Denali had simplified the information that she had sent over.
The very first company that was leading was definitely the grocery department. Although it was true that the grocery department didn't have a name currently and was referred to as a grocery department, its reputation wasn't to be messed with.
This was after all something that Jack had started with. It really held an important position to him. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑒𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Currently, the grocery department had already spread to over 20 cities in the country. And the expansion was still ongoing.
Due to the influx of capital that Grace was receiving, she had managed to easily stabilize the new groceries that were being opened in the new cities.
And since she was buying out the groceries that were present in that particular city, she didn't have to deal with a lot of issues like advertisement and so on.
Since the groceries themselves already had customers, all they had to do was to do a promotion by lowering the prices and giving several offers. In this way, they were able to easily deal with the competition that was present in those particular cities.
But all the same, the influence of the grocery department was only in smaller cities that were present in the other four regions. As for the central region, Grace had not yet made a move.
The people who were found in the central region were definitely not easy to deal with. It all came to not only having a good amount of money, but even the connections mattered. This was the reason as to why Jack had instructed grace to deal with the other regions first before finally dealing with the central region.
The following company was GVSL. This was his security company, the Good Vision Security Limited. Just like the grocery department, this company had been improving ever since Jack came to the capital city and completed the merging of three security companies.
Currently, it could be said that this security company was definitely ranked among the best in the country. It was not only in terms of net worth, but even the services that were being offered.
Having managed to recruit several mercenaries, the impact that they had caused in the security sector had definitely caused the reputation of the company to shoot up.
With that, Tracy had been so busy dealing with the new contracts that the company was receiving day in and day out. But with the help of Ayush, the two of them had managed to handle the security company well.
Since the two of them had already taken the body strengthening solution, they were able to work overtime without too much worries.
With the acquisition of the guns from the military, the private team that Jack had instructed to be formed was already in place. As for the three helicopters that Jack had received from the system during the first month of his income, they had already been taken over by the team.
Livingstone was currently considered the real leader of the whole security team. With his experience as a soldier, as well as the comrades that he had brought over, the mercenaries were currently well disciplined.
With the benefit of getting stronger, these mercenaries dared not to mess around when they were on duty. Since Jack had promised them that there might be future benefits, they had been so diligent when working.
What followed was The Rose and Kalmond Entertainment Companies. These two companies were currently performing well enough. But still, Jack thought that this was not good enough for a person of his level.
Since he had already pointed at the entertainment companies as amongst those that were supposed to be monopolies, then they had to perform better than they currently were.
And, Jack was considering the merging of the two companies. Each of the company on its own was already a big one in the country. As long as he managed to merge them into one, he was sure that he would perhaps dominate the entertainment sector.
Currently, for The Rose Entertainment Company, he was the major shareholder while Celine was the other shareholder. Only the two of them were the real decision makers of the company.
As for Kalmond Entertainment Company, Jack currently owned 90% of the shares. As for the 10% shares, they were currently in the hands of Jonathan. These was the shares that Jack had given to Jonathan.
Jack had only done this simply because he was in a good mood. At that time, it was Jonathan who had handed him 10% shares of the entertainment company. And with the help of the system, he had managed to acquire the remaining 90% shares.
"With that aside, let's look into the hotel." Jack stated as he continued scrolling down the screen towards the information about the hotel.
The glaze Hotel. This hotel, when he had taken over, it was amongst the top hotels present in the country. Additionally, it had already spread its roots in several parts of the country.
He had managed to receive the hotel from the system due to the fact that it was his first month reward. And as a result, Jack owned all the shares of the hotel.
And ever since he had taken over the business, he had managed to push its further. Additionally, with the increase in reputation that had occurred after the attack and the compensation that Jack had given to the victims, the hotel was now flourishing.
Just like the grocery department, The Glaze Hotel had also been expanding. This time, it was under the supervision of Denali. With her expertise business management skills, she was able to make decisions that impacted positively to the hotel.
When he was seeing her handling several issues of the company easily, Jack had at one point been tempted to get the professional business management skill from the system.
But, since his life wasn't going to depend on managing the business, Jack managed to prevent himself from falling into the temptation. Otherwise, he would have wasted a good opportunity to get a good skill in the future.
Apart from the Glaze Hotel, there was also The Eden residential building. Since that building was a fixed asset, Jack hadn't made any changes to it. He wasn't willing to enter the real estate markets this soon.
For the serenity residential area, he had managed to have three more villas being sold. This was due to the advertisement that Jack had organized with the two entertainment companies.
Since currently, Jack wasn't using those villas, he thought that he might as well sell them out as soon as possible and acquire the money.
Since he was going to splash the money soon, the more the money that he had, the better his plans were going to go.
He had managed to sell one villa that was worth $96 million, another that was what $118 million and another that was what $130 million. This had brought him a total of $344 million.
Thanks to the system multiplier, he had managed to acquire $34.4 billion. This had in turn drastically boosted his account balance.
His current balance was $391,774,170,138. He was currently approaching the trillionaire section. And this is just in terms of his current liquid cash. If the other fixed assets were added to the equation, his value will definitely skyrocket higher.
Then there was the hope hospital. This hospital had already been improved by Jack. Currently, it was already considered amongst the very best hospitals in the country.
The reason for that was simply because, Jack had not only managed to acquire a good place for the hospital, but even the facilities and the equipment that could be found in that hospital were top notch.
Due to the availability of this equipment and facilities, many doctors had opted to join the hospital. And as a result, the hospital had also done what the Brightway Medical Research Centre had done, poaching experts from others.
As for Andis corporation, the one that he had received 21% shares of from the system after the shares that he had received from Ben had been multiplied by the system, Jack didn't really care about it.
Additionally, ever since he had taken over those shares, he had actually never received anything from it. This was simply because the dividends were being given out on an annual basis. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙚𝙡.𝙤𝙧𝒈
The Brightway Medical Research Centre was doing well as well. Other than the anti-leukemia pills that Jack had given out the recipe of the experts that were currently in the facility had managed to make several breakthroughs.
Although none of the breakthroughs could deal any huge impact to the current medicine world, it was a good improvement as it showed that in the future, the institute would definitely give better results.
Due to this, the reputation of the institute had increased. This was just another way that Jack was planning to market some of his businesses in the future.
As for the prosperous pharmaceuticals, since it had been involved with the selling of the anti-leukemia pills, it had been getting more and more customers as days moved on.
Due to the low price that the medicines were being offered in there pharmacy, there are many people that were visiting it. And as a result, there are several pharmacies that were losing their customers.
But even so, Jack wasn't bothered about them. This was the business, and competition was a must. And since he wasn't doing anything in particular that would affect them directly, he was still doing things according to the business ethics.
Finally, all the other companies that he had managed to acquire from the Alfonso family as well as those that were Collins's lackeys.
None of this companies were really big enough to cause a stir in the business market. For that exact reason, Jack had decided to merge several of them to remain with only three companies.
One of the most called World foods. This was the company that was going to be formed after several companies that were involved in anything that was related to consumables.
His plan was to deal with anything that was related to food. Of course, this didn't involve the groceries. It simply dealt with things like noodles, rice, fish, and so on.
Then, there was another one that was called, The Future Techs. This was going to deal with anything that was related to technology.
And finally, there was another company that dealt with miscellaneous things. Although they are being called miscellaneous things, these were always important when it came to safety and so on.
This was something that was related to rubber and plastics. It was called, Green World. Its purpose was definitely to ensure that all the plastic materials were recycled ensuring that the environment stayed clean.
Other than recycling, it also dealt with production of several rubber and plastic products. It didn't matter what line it was, Jack had decided that he was going to deal with everything that he could.
Finally, with all these out of the way, Jack had to begin with what he was planning. Since he was planning on being a monopoly, focusing on a single one at a moment while leaving the others to Denali would be the best option.
His current best auction was definitely the entertainment sector. This was something that he had decided on. Since he already had a big advantage by owning two entertainment companies, he might as well give them a head start so that they could be easily handled even if he focused on another thing in the future.
But, for the entertainment company, it wasn't just a matter of having many stars, or having so much money to sponsor several activities.
The entertainment companies all cared about creativity. Without creativity, there was no way that the entertainment company was going to rise to the top.
And for that particular reason, Jack had decided to involve himself in the entertainment company. But, he wasn't going to involve himself directly as an actor or a singer.
The plan that he was having in his mind at the moment was, to start providing the company with the materials that could be utilized to boost the reputation of the companies.
The first one would definitely be the merging of the two companies. Once the two companies were merged, not only would the company that will be formed would contain the most popular actors and singers in the country, but even the directors and other staff members will definitely be amongst the best.
And apart from that, there was also a matter of content. Since he thought that the movies and series that were being produced at the moment were just subpar, he thought that he might as well write the script for them.
That was the reason as to why he was going to use one of his slots. If possible, he really wouldn't have wanted to utilize the slots. At the end of the day, the longer the period that the slots remained, they better the skills that he was going to achieve in the future as long as he wanted.
But now, with the main aim of completing the system condition for the upgrade of his authority to the second level, he had no choice but to do so.
'System, I would like to get the professional script writing.' Jack said in his mind.
[Please confirm.] The system's voice sounded in his head.
'Just do it already. I've already thought of it.' Jack responded.
[Confirmed. The host has decided to use one of the free skill slots to acquire the professional script writing. Since the skill is coming from the free skill slot, the host doesn't need to complete any mission to own the skill.]
[The host should prepare himself for the information that is about to come in.]
Immediately after this system prompt, Jack felt somehow dizzy as if someone had hit his head hard. In the next moment, a very huge bulk of information was poured into his mind.
At this point, it wasn't just a matter of his creativity, but his thinking capacity had also been increased. Even his observation skills had been improved as well.
Just like that, Jack felt that he could actually write a very good story that many people would fall in love with.
After he had gotten the professional script writing skills, Jack didn't delay any longer and decided to contact the person who was in charge of The Rose Entertainment Company.
Not long after, the call connected and a man's deep voice came through the speaker of the phone. "Hello boss."
"Yes Alex, how was your day?" Jack questioned. Alex was the current CEO who had been appointed by Jack after Denali had approved of him. He was the one who was currently taking charge of The Rose Entertainment Company.
His abilities could not be doubted because Jack had seen it himself. Alex was definitely a man who was decisive enough to make decisions concerning the company.
His capabilities could not be doubted since Denali had actually acquired him from somewhere. And since she had taken him away, the place where Alex was working before was definitely crying.
This was due to the fact that, ever since Alex took over as the CEO of The Rose Entertainment Company, there had been so much progress in the company. It wasn't just a matter of music, but even the movies and TV series that were being produced what definitely being at a good level.
Unlike some of the CEOs who could easily allow any kind of script in the entertainment company for their own benefits, Alex was different. As long as the script was not on par, he would definitely not allow it in the company.
This was something that Jack loved about this guy. It definitely wasn't easy to get a person who was capable as him.
"My day has been good boss. What about you?" Alex replied in a cheerful voice. Although he was somehow tired due to the heavy duties that he was taking care of, he was still happy about the position that he was occupying.
Moreover, his boss was definitely a person that many people would have dreamed of getting as a boss for them. As long as his actions were for the good of the company, the boss was willing to support him fully.
This had made him be in a good mood ever since he had taken over the position of the CEO for a month now.
"That's good to hear. Tomorrow, I will be coming over because I need something to change. Currently, the main problem that the company is experiencing will definitely be the lack of quality scripts. You have to be prepared to start acting on the scripts that I'm going to present to you soon." Jack stated.
Alex was stunned for a moment as he had never expected that his boss was going to take care of the problem that had been disturbing him for a very long time now.
It was just that, he had been afraid that his boss would say that he was incompetent if he was not capable of getting good scripts.
Who knew that something like this would happen? The boss had decided to come forward on his own to solve the problem that had been eating his mind all along.
But still, he was quite skeptical about the quality of the scripts that Jack was going to bring over. At the end of the day, he wasn't sure about Jack's character just yet.
The two of them had not met for a very long time yet. And since he was always busy and Jack rarely visited the company, the interaction between them was limited.
What he currently hoped was definitely for Jack not to be just like some of the bosses who would use this opportunity to bring over scripts that were basically trash just to please someone.
"Okay then. I will be making preparations as early as now." All the same, Alex replied. There wasn't any way that he was going to go against his current boss.
Previously, before he was taken by Denali to come and work for Jack, he had been in a small entertainment company. The reason as to why that company was small was not due to the lack of capital or stars.
The main reason for that was simply because, the boss of that company was a moron. He had actually taken over the company from his father after he passed away.
But the guy was a person who liked vanity. And as a result, he would actually bring any kind of script as long as he got the benefit that he wanted from the other party. It didn't matter if the movie or TV series performed well, as long as he got what he wanted, he was satisfied.
Since Alex was currently the CEO of that company, he had been depressed. No matter how much he tried to advise that guy, he would be ignored. At the end of the day, Alex was just a CEO who could be replaced at any time.
But, due to the behavior of that boss, the company had began losing several of its stars. And the main reason for this was due to the fact that, the boss was misbehaving. None of the female stars in the company were safe from him as long as they were working in that company.
As usual, a person like him was shrewd. During the time that he was signing the stars, he had made sure to include several clauses that would bind that particular star to the company for a very long period of time in the contract.
And the breach of the contract was going to result into that particular star paying a remuneration that was just impossible to imagine. It could be outright said that it was unreasonable.
But since the stars were happy to get the job, they had no choice but to swallow their dissatisfaction and get the contract. But when the boss began misbehaving, they were in deep trouble.
He had been getting desperate about the job. If possible, he would have quit long ago and looked for another opportunity. But, since he was in urgent need of money, he had no choice but to stay there.
Additionally, just like the stars, he too had signed a contract that if breached, he would have to pay a compensation of $500 million. This was an amount that he couldn't afford as he himself was already in need of money.
Just as his hopes were about to be crushed, Denali suddenly appeared and offered him an opportunity to work for Jack's company.
Additionally, she had even offered to pay for the breach of contract penalty. And since he had been granted such an opportunity, of course, Alex accepted.
And when he got to know that he was actually going to be the CEO of The Rose Entertainment Company, he was completely ecstatic.
During the time that he was signing the contract, he found out that the contract that he was being offered was definitely the best that he had ever dreamed of.
That was the exact reason as to why he had been working diligently during the past month that he was in that position. And due to his efforts, the performance of the company had definitely shot up.
It wasn't just a matter of releasing new movies and so on. It was also a matter of entertainment, as well as the treatment of the stars. This had definitely created a good working environment for the people in the company.
And as a result, the performance of every department of the company had definitely increased. This was something that had made him happy.
Added with the support that he received from Jack in terms of finance, Alex couldn't be more happy. But, the only thing that he wished for was definitely for Jack not to be like his previous boss.
After he ended his call with Jack, he immediately got out of his office and headed straight for the secretary.
The secretary was a young man who seemed to be in his early twenties. He was diligent in his work and he had been recommended to him by Denali.
Since she trusted him as she had been able to give him this opportunity, as well as the fact that she was good at identifying people with capabilities, he had decided to trust this secretary that had been recommended.
That was the reason as to why he had hired him although he was young. The young man's name was Patrick. He hadn't entered the society for a long time now. In fact, it wasn't long since he graduated.
"Patrick, begin making preparations that are necessary for production. The boss is going to bring several scripts that will need to be produced as soon as possible. So, contact all those that can be found and inform them to be ready in case they are needed." Alex stated.
Patrick was quite surprised to see that his boss actually came over to pass that piece of information. If it were any other time, just a phone call was enough to let him know about this.
All the same, he didn't dare to delay and decided to contact all those that could be contacted through the email. It wasn't just those who were supposed to be the stars, but even the staff members.
As long as they were not busy currently, they were contacted that they might be needed soon.
When he saw that Patrick was making the communication, Alex nodded before he got back into his office. He too needed to make some preparations because Jack was going to come over the following day.
The following day, Jack began writing the script. Since he didn't want to go there empty-handed, he decided that he was going to prepare one script before he arrived there.
The script that he had basically prepared to write this time was simply about a planet that was being invaded was fighting against some alien creatures.
It had always been prosperous, kingdoms and empires appearing in every part of the world. Of course, since many people wanted power, there were fights that happened now and then.
The soldiers of each kingdom or empire were strong beyond the measure of the normal human capabilities. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝗼𝗿𝐠
And as the result, each and every empire and kingdom was proud. Even each of their soldiers were arrogant. After all, they could be said to be at the top of the food chain.
Enmity had already been developed between the different powers. But before they could even deal with the internal problems that they were having, something happened.
During that time, they had spotted alien creatures. These alien creatures were invading the world. But even so, none of them took them seriously.
These empires and kingdoms were all arrogant, thinking that they could easily deal with the alien creatures.
And since that was the case, they decided that they were not going to join forces to deal with them. In fact, they decided that the one who was going to deal with them was the one who was going to get the resource that they were fighting for.
So, it was decided that the kingdom or empire that was going to be attacked first was the one that was going to deal with the alien creatures.
In the end, the first empire that encountered the alien creatures was the strongest empire in the world. And as a result, all the other kingdoms and empires in the world thought that this would be the end of the descent of the alien creatures. They couldn't help but feel sad at the loss of the resource that they were fighting for.
But, the results that came after that were greatly surprising. Not only had the greatest empire in the world failed to deal with the alien creatures, but they had been exterminated!
The most horrifying thing was definitely the fact that, they had been dealt with, in only a single day. By the end of that day, not a single soul could be found in that empire.
This definitely included all the human beings, as well as animals, either wild or domestic. It didn't matter what type of creature it was, but all of them were wiped out.
This was a shocking news to the other kingdoms. And as a result, knowing that the situation wasn't something that they could joke around with, they decided that they were finally going to join forces to deal with the alien creatures.
But in the end, they were too late in taking action. The moment that they were trying to come together so that they could deal with the alien creatures by creating one army that consisted of their strongest soldiers, the alien creatures attacked.
The most surprising thing was that, they didn't attack a single kingdom. They attacked all of them at once. And, the soldiers, or the so-called warriors of the alien race, were not only strong, but they were having a numerical advantage as well.
In other words, even though they were fighting all the kingdoms in the world, they still had a numerical advantage of 1:20. This had made all the forces in the world to fall into despair.
At this moment, they were definitely regretting their arrogance. Their lofty attitudes had already disappeared. In their place, there was only despair.
Of course, they were not going to sit down and wait for them to be eliminated. Since they were going to die anyway, they had decided to go all out. In their minds, it was that they were going to die with the alien race.
Even if they were not going to eliminate the alien race, then they would simply make sure that they suffered heavy losses.
With that, they used suicide means to try and reduce the numbers of the alien creatures. But, who would have thought that the moment that they started to do so, another powerful force would descend on the world?
To the despair of the human race, the ones that had arrived were also part of the alien creatures. These were the generals of the alien creatures that had attacked.
It turned out that the alien creatures that had been troubling them all along were just foot soldiers! Nothing worth more than cannon fodders in the battlefield.
As for the generals, although they were considered generals by the soldiers that had arrived, they were actually the normal elite soldiers of the alien creatures.
And, there were actually millions of them in the world where they originated from. And this time, they had sent only 20 of them.
In other words, the world had been invaded by 20 elite soldiers and the cannon fodder of the alien race.
In the end, even though they had decided to resort to suicide attacks so that they could deal with the alien creatures, they only turned out to be the weakest amongst the whole race.
So, what could they do even if they dealt with some of the weakest soldiers of the alien race? That would be like doing nothing at all.
Since they had already lost their fighting spirit, even if the kings and emperors of their particular kingdoms tried to motivate them and rise the fighting spirit amongst the soldiers, none of them responded positively.
Eventually, all the troops as well as the civilians that they were fighting hard to protect were wiped out completely.
The alien race began celebrating as they had already conquered the planet. But just then, they were surprised to find out that the end result of their conquest was not acknowledged.
Their mission this time was to wipe out every life form on this particular planet. This was the order that they had received from their superiors. They were promised to be rewarded immediately after they completed the mission.
But even after a week had gone by and they thought that they had completed the mission, they didn't see any of their superiors making any moves. This was strange to them.
As a result, one of them couldn't hold it back anymore and decided to contact back the headquarters that was on their planet to question about what was going on.
But, the news that they ended up receiving was that, they had not completely erased all the life forms that were present on that particular planet.
This piece of news had completely stunned them. How could it be possible that they had not erased all the lifeforms that were present on that planet?
They had tried searching for any kind of life-form on the planet, but they never found any. This was strange. But no matter how they told their superiors that they had completed the mission, their superiors said that they could detect several life-forms present on that planet.
And, it wasn't just a single or maybe 10 life forms. But, it was a huge number of life forms that counted up to millions.
The 20 elite soldiers that had been sent over couldn't believe that there were several life-forms that had hidden from them. And to make matters worse, it wasn't just one or a hundred, but millions!
With great determination, they searched the whole planet, turning mountains and caves upside down, trying to look for anywhere that these lifeforms were hiding.
They didn't believe that such a large number of life forms could hide from them easily. Considering that millions of alien creatures were searching for them, they believe that they were going to find them soon.
However, no matter how long they searched, they never found the life forms that they were looking for. This had greatly frustrated the 20 elite soldiers.
The mission that had been handed over to them, the one that they had thought that was just a simple piece of cake, was surprisingly getting difficult without them expecting it.
Additionally, considering that the number of life-forms that was remaining, could only make up around 1.3% of the lifeforms in the whole planet, they were of course angry at the fact that only that small number of life-forms was troubling them.
How could they allow only such a small number of life-forms to make them fail their mission? They knew that as long as their superiors made their moves, the mission that they had been given could be said to have been failed.
Even though they didn't know the purpose of their superiors wanting the life-forms of the planet cleared out, they knew that they were not supposed to question it.
What's more, their race wasn't one that conquered other planets easily. They could actually be considered a peaceful race. But this time, they had actually set out to conquer a planet.
And not only that, but to erase all the life-forms that were present on that particular planet. This could be said to be a drastic shift in their normal character.
But since they had resorted to doing something like that, the superiors of their race must be having something important that involved this particular planet.
They search for a whole month but they didn't find any trace of human activities, not to mention any other kind of life-form.
Even if it was an animal, since it didn't have the kind of intelligence like that of human beings to be able to know that they were in danger and they had to hide, they would have shown themselves by now.
Since when they were dealing with the other human empires, they had plundered all the resources that they could find, they didn't believe that those that were hiding really had any kind of resources that they could utilize for a long time.
As a result, they decided that they were going to keep an eye on the whole planet for the following months. They didn't believe that the life forms that were hiding would continue hiding without getting food.
And so, they continued waiting while they continued searching at the same time. But the results continued disappointing them as 2 months went past but there were no traces of any kind of life-forms on that planet.
They couldn't help but be skeptical about their superiors. Could it be that they were simply messing with them? But how was that possible? In the eyes of their superiors, they were nothing at all.
Even the 20 elite soldiers that had descended on this planet could be said that, they were the weakest amongst the elite soldiers.
So, how could it be that their superiors really had time to entertain them?
It seemed that time was not on their side. The superiors who had been waiting patiently for a long time finally decided to make a move. Without caring about the dissatisfaction among the 20 elite soldiers of the alien race, they decided that they were going to use their abilities to finally detect where the life-forms were hidden in that planet.
But what surprised them was the fact that, even after the superiors descended, they didn't actually detect the exact location where the hidden lifeforms were currently at.
Although they had the ability to detect that there were several life-forms present on that planet, they couldn't detect where they were located.
This had cost a commotion amongst the higher-ups of the alien race. They were getting anxious as time went on. And in the end, even the very top echelons of the alien race was forced to make a move.
After about 2 weeks of searching, they didn't find the location where the life forms were hidden.
In the end, due to the anger that was boiling in their hearts, they decided that they were going to destroy the planet. The planet was no longer going to be useful to them since it had the life-forms in it.
For the purpose that they themselves knew, they couldn't allow any kind of life-form to be present on that particular planet before they took it over.
Without waiting, each and every one of them decided to attack at their full strength. Of course, they targeted the core of the planet. As long as they destroyed it, they were sure that they were going to be able to destroy the whole planet.
But just after the first attack landed, something unimaginable happened. A ripple appeared and the attack that was supposed to land on the ground suddenly disappeared.
It was as if a small pebble have been dropped on the surface of the ocean. Other than the small ripples that were caused on the surface, there was nothing that occurred.
The alien race higher-ups wouldn't believe it. And as a result, they decided to attack again. But in the end, the same result appeared.
But, at that moment, they were completely confused. After all, when the 20 elite soldiers and the millions of the normal soldiers attacked the land previously, they had definitely destroyed the landscape.
But no matter how hard or how fast they attacked, they couldn't get anything out of it.
After several days of research, they finally realized that there was a certain level of power that when used, the result of the ripple appearing on the surface of the world would definitely appear.
This was the first time that they had encountered something like that. They were not sure about what they were going to do next.
In the end, they came to a decision that, since it was not necessary for them to destroy this planet, they could as well use their energy to conquer another planet that might be useful to them.
A such, the higher ups of the alien race decided to leave that particular planet. As for those who had been in charge of attacking this planet, they were given the task of trying to look for the life forms if they could find any clue about them.
Since the planet was currently unoccupied, they, who were going to stay here, were the ones who are going to get the resources that were going to appear on this planet back to their home planet.
After the higher ups left, they immediately decided to take action rather than sending a troop to attack another planet. And as a result, they easily conquered another planet that was just the same size as the one that they had failed to conquer completely.
And after that, they finally heaved a sigh of relief. As for the reason for why they had done that, only they themselves knew.
Back on the planet that they had attacked first, these 20 elite soldiers didn't want to give up on the mission that had been given to them.
Perhaps if they succeeded on getting the life forms that were present on that planet before destroying them, they might as well be rewarded for that.
As such, they continued searching and searching for any kind of life form on that planet day in day out. It didn't matter how many times they had searched a particular place or point, they continued searching that point the following day.
And, since there were billions of them, they easily covered the whole planet. But, they always shifted their positions in such a way that, if one searched a certain area, he or she wouldn't be searching that position any longer until he or she had covered the whole planet.
2 months went by and, the higher-ups had finally completed what they were planning. But, the end result wasn't what they had expected.
For that reason, they decided to conquer yet another planet. And although they had not succeeded in what they had intended to do previously, it had still bought them a few months time for them to complete what they wanted.
Back to the planet that was their first target, the 20 elite soldiers were getting frustrated as time went by. Since they were currently on that planet, they couldn't get the benefits that they could have gotten when they were back on their home planet.
This had made them think about trying to go back. They had previously thought that they might succeed in getting the life-forms that were hidden on that planet.
But the end result was that, even after months of searching, they couldn't get anything.
"How much I hate this!" One of the 20 elite soldiers shouted as he kicked a rock that was on the ground.
Boom!
The moment that he did that, the ground shook. It was as if a high magnitude earthquake had suddenly occurred. But to the warriors present, something like this wasn't threatening to them at all.
But, what occurred next perplexed them. A ripple, just like the one that had appeared when the higher ups were attacking the planet, suddenly appeared.
Immediately after that, something akin to a shield or barrier appeared. It was hemispherical in shape. And an inside this particular barrier, there was something that shocked these alien race warriors.
Inside that barrier, there were actually several life-forms. It wasn't just human beings, but even different kinds of animals and plants were present.
It was as if another world had suddenly sprouted out of the ground. And, the human beings and the creatures that were present in that barrier that had appeared, were also shocked about the sudden change in the environment out of the place where they were.
Outside the barrier that they had always known about, there was a desolate land. It was as if there was no life at all. Not to mention animals or human beings, there wasn't even a small plant.
What had appeared was well known as the mini-kingdom. This was something that, if the alien race had taken their time to read through the historical books that were present in the empires and kingdoms that they had destroyed, they would have found the information about this mini-kingdom.
Mini-Kingdom, this was the name that had been given to this piece of land that was contained inside a barrier. Although it was said to be a mini-kingdom, if a person looked at it now, they would find out that it wasn't any small as compared to the biggest empire in this world before it had been destroyed.
The word mini-kingdom had been granted to it during the time that it had disappeared from the world.
Before it was sealed away, it was the most prosperous kingdom in the world. But due to human greed, the other kingdoms decided to attack it so that they could plunder the resources that were present in that kingdom.
Back then, they didn't care about the life of those who were present in that kingdom. Whoever appeared in front of their soldiers was killed without mercy. 𝐛𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝐯𝗲𝗹.𝐜𝐨𝐦
The population of the kingdom began plummeting at a higher speed. What followed was rivers of blood flowing from village to village.
The king of the kingdom at that time was infuriated by the actions of the other kings and emperors. But, knowing that he couldn't fight against the whole world, he had decided to take the drastic action that could save his people.
By sacrificing his own life, he used a relic that had been left by his ancestors to seal away the kingdom. And as such, the kingdom suddenly got enveloped by a barrier before it completely vanished as if it never existed before.
As for those soldiers who were attacking them at that time, they had been expelled from that kingdom by a strange and mysterious force.
It had remained like that, the kingdom had been sealed away for about five centuries. Generations after generations appeared as they went by.
The population recovered to what it was before they were attacked, and even surpassed it. The crown Prince at that time took over the position as the king and continued strengthening the kingdom.
Since their kingdom was the most resourceful one, they could be independent. So, without needing any assistance from the other kingdoms, they had managed to survive till this day.
As for the reason as to why they had suddenly appeared, it definitely wasn't due to that soldier kicking a rock. It was simply because, the time had finally come for them to come out of their sealing.
But, none of them had ever expected that, what greeted them wasn't the big and flourishing world that they had always been told about, but a desolate place filled with creatures that they had never seen before.
When they appeared, the current king, who was of the sixth generation, ever since they had sealed themselves in that space using the relic, was dumbfounded.
From the information that he had received from his father and grandfather was that, after five centuries, they would finally appear back to the normal world.
They had all been informed about how they normal world looked like. There wasn't the barrier that surrounded the other world just like the one that they were in. Additionally, it was big and beautiful.
Since their population was already high, they had been forced to cut down several trees in order to create plantations for the sources of food.
So, when they appeared, they were expecting that they were going to see the beautiful forests and so on.
But now, even though the land was desolate, it would have been better if they would have seen their fellow human beings. But, the figures that they were seeing after they had exited the sealing space were not something that they had ever seen before.
And to make matters was, it seemed that these creatures were looking at them as if they were a piece of lost gem.
"Could it be that the humans who were supposed to be on this planet have undergone evolution or something?" The humans who had just appeared couldn't help but wonder.
None of them dared to step out of the barrier. They had to make sure that everything was okay with the strangers that they were seeing before they stepped out.
If their fellow humans could attack them, they definitely couldn't trust these aliens. As such, the current king of the mini-kingdom took a step forward and headed towards the barrier.
He looked at the alien warriors before he asked about what happened out there. But in the end, the alien warriors spoke in a language that he couldn't understand at all.
And before the current king could make out on how to communicate with them, these alien warriors actually rushed towards the barrier. They had already drawn out their weapons ready to attack.
The excitement in their eyes couldn't be hidden away as they charged towards the barrier.
This had not only startled the current king, but all the other humans who were already anticipating on going out of the barrier.
Since they had never been in a war for any period of their lifetime, they were not used to seeing such ferocious faces. Other than a few people who were part of the kingdom higher ups, the rest were frightened.
They weren't sure if the barrier could hold out the thousands of alien warriors that were charging at them.
But just then, they were informed that, there were other alien warriors that were charging towards the barrier from all directions. In other words, this mini-kingdom was surrounded.
The current king couldn't help but be exasperated. But, since he was the current head of the kingdom, he had to maintain his composure in front of his subjects.
According to the information that he had received from his father and grandfather, he knew that the barrier was strong enough to block attacks from those who were going to attack them for at least 1 year.
But immediately after 1 year, the barrier would dissipate. At that time, they would be on their own.
Although the barrier could definitely block others from coming in, all those who were members of this kingdom couldn't be blocked from going out and coming back in.
But, he was currently skeptical if it was true that the barrier could hold out these warriors that were charging at them. At the end of the day, the information that they had received, that the world that was outside, although it was dangerous, it was also beautiful, was definitely false.
There was nothing beautiful out there other than the danger!
Taking a deep breath, the current king prepared himself to take action. Although they had been isolated from the world for a very long period of time, that didn't mean that they were weak.
They had always been training, in preparation for the time that they would be coming back to the real world. It was just that, they lacked the horning of the battlefield.
This was the reason as to why they were not courageous enough in the face of the attacking army. Even so, the king was getting ready to engage in the fight as long as the warriors that were attacking them breached the barrier.
The first warrior arrived at the barrier before striking. Although the warrior wasn't sure if the barrier was solid or not, it wouldn't hurt if he missed because the barrier was not solid.
That warrior was carrying an ax as his weapon. The moment that it came into contact with the barrier, it was as if he had hit a cushion that was made of cotton.
The attack didn't cause any kind of damage on the barrier. But the warrior who was attacking was suddenly flung away. As he flew away, he screamed in agony as several bones in his body were suddenly broken.
Just like that, a warrior that had been giving the previous empires and kingdoms a hard time to defeat was suddenly defeated.
Both sides were left stunned. It was true that none of them had expected the result. And of course, it wasn't just that single warrior who had attacked at that moment.
There were several hundreds of thousands that had attacked at that moment all around the barrier. The end result was the same, they were left on the ground wailing as bones in their body were completely broken. In other words, they were no longer fit to fight in the battlefield.
Of course, as these warriors that were attacking were being sent away flying, they had definitely swept away a good number of their fellow warriors.
For a moment, both sides didn't make a move as they looked at the barrier. None of them could explain what just happened.
After about 10 minutes, the people who were present inside the barrier couldn't help but celebrate. At the end of the day, they were the ones who were being attacked. As such, they saw the barrier as their life saving grace.
The 20 elite warriors of the alien race finally arrived at the scene after using their battleships. These battleships were at a high level. They could easily go around this planet in just a matter of minutes.
Since the elite warriors were not that far from the area that the barrier had suddenly appeared, they had arrived in just about 20 minutes since the mini-kingdom appeared.
One of them immediately attacked the barrier. In his mind, he believed that, if the weaklings couldn't handle it, that didn't mean that he too couldn't do anything to the barrier.
Using his spear, he attacked fiercely. But, the result that appeared next startled his companions.
Just like the other normal warriors, he was sent flying while screaming in pain. The moment that he landed on the ground, he didn't make any more moves or sound.
In other words, the result of his attack was definitely worse as compared to the attacks that the normal warriors had received.
This elite warrior had died just like that. This had definitely made all the alien warriors around not to dare making any move on that barrier.
The current king on the other hand heaved a sigh of relief after seeing that at least, the information about the barrier wasn't false. Otherwise, they would have to face this strong warriors immediately after they came out of the sealing.
They themselves hadn't prepared themselves for a war like this. They had been living peacefully for centuries. How could they handle the creatures that had attacked them?
The current king called the council to discuss on what steps they were going to take next. As for those subjects of his, he had made sure to instruct all of them not to dare to take any step outside the barrier.
Since they had all seen what had happened to all those that had attacked the barrier, these people were all frightened to dare approach it lest they were killed.
Outside the barrier, the elite warriors didn't know what step to take. In the end, they decided to inform their superiors about the appearance of the life-forms that they had been looking all around for. 𝗯𝗲𝐝𝐧𝗼𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝗰𝗼𝐦
Immediately after that, the higher-ups who had suddenly received the information came to the planet hurriedly. It seemed that even after gaining a few months time, they couldn't do what they had originally planned.
Since this planet was the most compatible with the plan that they were intending to carry out, they wouldn't lose a chance if there was one to acquire it.
When they looked at the barrier, they couldn't help but frown. They could detect the same energy that had been preventing their attacks from reaching the core of the planet.
In other words, it was the same thing that had created this barrier, that was preventing them from destroying this planet before.
Even though they were not sure that they could destroy the barrier, one of them stepped forward and attacked. But, the result was just like the elite warrior that had attacked before.
This person was also killed. Unlike the others, he was blasted into a bloody mist. Just like that, he was also dead. And, he didn't even leave a body behind.
The others were frightened when they saw this. They couldn't react for a moment.
After some contemplation, the higher-ups decided to start studying the barrier. They were getting anxious as time went by.
After about 2 weeks of their research, they came to a conclusion that, if they continued attacking the barrier, it would dissipate in just 3 months.
But, attacking the barrier would definitely require sacrifices to be made. And after a long period of contemplation, they decided to sacrifice their cannon fodder. To them, they could always nurture another billion warriors like them.
And just like brainwashed maniacs, these warriors actually charged at the barrier fearlessly. Although they knew that they might die when they attacked it, none of them hesitated as long as they were ordered by their superiors.
One after another, the alien race warriors sacrificed themselves to attack the barrier. None of them dared to hesitate making a move although they knew the end result.
This situation had definitely alarmed the higher ups of the mini-kingdom. They had never expected that these creatures would definitely try launching several attacks, although they knew that they wouldn't succeed in destroying the barrier.
The current king was also flabbergasted. He had never expected that these alien creatures would be cruel to themselves like that. After all, in a matter of minutes, there were already several mountains of bodies that were scattered outside the barrier.
Upon noticing that these bodies were causing them inconvenience, the higher-ups of the alien race made a decision. With a single wave of their sleeves, they managed to emit a strange energy that decomposed the bodies of all those that were on the ground.
Although it was true that none of them had already died at that time, but they had already lost their combat abilities. And as such, they were practically useless for the mission that they were supposed to carry out.
Even though they saw that their comrades were being treated in such a manner, these warriors who were charging forward didn't hesitate at all. They continued charging forward as if they had not seen anything happening.
In fact, they thought that this was a privilege that they could die by the hands of their superiors. And as a such, they charged towards the barrier with even more vigor.
The current king was worried at that moment. Unlike his subjects who thought that the barrier would always prevent these creatures from getting in, he knew that these alien race warriors were continuously consuming the energy that was supporting the barrier.
He was getting anxious on what he was supposed to do next. If possible, he really would have sacrificed his life, just like his ancestor did, to seal the kingdom away again.
But, there was a limitation on the relic that was used. It couldn't be used twice, unless there was a cool down period of five decades.
Knowing that the barrier was going to be broken sooner than he had expected, the current king began making preparations on what they were going to do next. 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝘮
He ordered all the soldiers to get ready for war. Although he himself wasn't sure at what period the barrier was going to break, he had to make enough preparations as early as possible.
Although the soldiers were confused about why the king had ordered them to prepare for a fight, they still obeyed.
Though, none of them was that much serious about the alien creatures that were charging at them. At the end of it all, they were all being blocked by the barrier.
Just like that, 3 months went by. And during the first day of the fourth month, ever since the alien creatures had been attacking the barrier relentlessly, a crack appeared on the barrier.
This was something that had been noticed by both sides of the barrier. While one side was celebrating, the other side was definitely panicking.
Even though the residents of the mini-kingdom were praying so hard so that the barrier wouldn't break, the alien warriors on the other hand attacked even more ferociously.
Since it was a situation where a single warrior only needed to attack once, each and every warrior who was attacking the barrier was at his full strength.
The higher-ups had already brought all those who had been scattered around the world. Billions of them had already perished but there were several reinforcements that were coming to the planet from their home planet.
The superiors of the alien race who were already getting impatient had their eyes glinting with excitement. After a long period of waiting, they had finally managed to start breaching the barrier.
Without even caring anymore, since they wanted to speed up the process of the barrier being broken, they began sending their elite warriors. Not only would these warriors be able to deal a great deal of damage on the barrier, but, they would also ensure that the barrier broke faster.
Although this was going to be a loss for them, there were still other millions of elite warriors that were present back at their home planet. And as long as they succeeded in their plans, they would be able to nurture even more elite warriors.
Surprisingly, just like the normal warriors of the alien race, as long as these elite warriors were ordered to attack the barrier, although they knew that they were going to perish, they too joined the fray.
In just a matter of minutes, the barrier was fully enveloped by cracks. And then, with a loud bang, the barrier broke into several fragments that scattered in the air before vanishing.
This time, the superiors of the alien race didn't wait for the elite warriors to charge forward and destroy the life-forms that were present on the planet. Instead, they had decided to take action by themselves.
They had already been getting impatient after waiting for several months now. Since they themselves could easily destroy these humans as well as other life-forms present faster, they were going to do it themselves.
The first superior of the alien race stepped forward. He wasn't the top most superior, but he was definitely far stronger than any elite warrior.
When he got close to the kingdom, he attacked by throwing his spear. The power behind that spear was tremendous, in that, it gave an illusion that it could destroy the world.
The ones at the receiving end of the attack were startled. They had never expected to be attacked by those who were supposedly the strongest of the alien race.
Even so, one of the generals of the kingdom took a step forward. Although he was currently feeling uneasy about the attack that was heading his way, he still collected his courage and decided to face the attack.
In his heart, he was currently thinking about all those people that he was supposed to protect. He wasn't going to let his wife and children to perish under the hands of the alien race.
With great determination in his heart, he unleashed an attack with his great sword. The air was sliced by the sword momentum.
Clang! Crack!
The two weapons collided in the air causing a massive shockwave to erupt. And in the next moment, something unimaginable happened.
The spear that had been charging ferociously towards the kingdom suddenly cracked. In the next moment, it crumbled as if it was a piece of dry clay that had been smashed on a stone.
But that was not all. The airwave that had been created by the swinging of the great sword didn't stop at all. It charged towards the large group of alien warriors that were still charging towards the kingdom despite knowing that an attack was going to land on it.
As if they were made of sand, anyone who was within the range of the airwave, was immediately crushed into pieces. A huge space was immediately created amongst the charging wave of the alien warriors.
After that attack, both sides remained silent. None of them could actually believe such a result. Who would have thought that the people who were hiding behind that barrier were very strong.
As for the generals as well as those who were behind him, they looked at the general in both surprise and excitement. Although they had never thought that the general was this strong, they were still happy that he was able to easily handle the alien creatures.
The ones who were the most excited were definitely those who were stronger than that particular general. In their minds, they were thinking that, if their fellow was that strong, then how strong were they?
But just as they were about to charge forward so that they could test their strengths, the current king spoke. "It is not that you guys are stronger! It is just that they are weaker than us! Charge forward! Destroy them who are aiming to destroy our homeland!"
The momentum within the army was immediately raised to the highest level. Although such a statement would have definitely made some of the soldiers to underestimate their opponents, that would have only applied to other soldiers.
These soldiers had never been in a battlefield before. And as a result, what they lacked the most was courage. Knowing that their opponents were way weaker than them, they all charged forward with the aim to destroy.
Once a bullied person got a person who was way weaker than him, he will definitely do everything he could to vent out.
During the past 3 months, all of them had been afraid that the barrier would be broken and they would have to face some of the strongest opponents they ever had in their lives.
But now that they had known that their opponents were weak, they were planning to vent out their anger on them.
Although they were at a disadvantage numerically, when it came to personal strength, it didn't matter how many enemies they faced at once. Each and every soldier attacked and killed an opponent with each swing of their weapon.
The superiors of the alien race had never expected something like this. No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't understand how these people were way stronger than those that have been living outside the barrier.
What they didn't know was that, inside the barrier, those who were living inside were having a hard time as compared to those outside due to the harsh conditions inside there.
Of course, the changes had never happened only once. Instead, during the course of the first two centuries, there had been adaptation of all the humans and other life-forms that were present inside the barrier.
For that reason, these soldiers had all developed a very strong physique. So, they were way stronger than any of the soldiers that were present in the previous kingdoms and empires.
Even though the superiors of the alien race interfered, none of them managed to change anything. They were utterly defeated.
In the end, they were forced to abandon the plan that they had been waiting to carry out. They were forced to flee in order to save themselves.
But, although they had managed to escape, the losses that they had suffered were uncountable. It wasn't just the elite warriors, but even some of the superiors had been killed off.
What's more, the humans who were present in the barrier were not willing to give up. They had decided to attack the home planet of the alien race after they had made enough preparations.
"Whew!" Jack finally laid out a deep breath after he completed writing the script. He had never expected that writing a script would take him a very long time.
It was already midnight. It was just now that Jack had completed writing the script. Well, had there been any other script writer who had gotten a chance to hear what Jack was thinking, he would definitely spew a mouthful of blood.
While they had to take 2 months or even more to be able to create a good script, Jack had just taken a few hours. And in the end, he was complaining about taking a lot of time to write the script? This was complete madness!
Jack had definitely used the advantage that he had gotten from the system. With the professional script writing skills, in his mind, there were several scripts already. All that he had to do was to transfer it somewhere.
And that was what had definitely consumed a lot of time for Jack. But, it was only thanks to his professional combatant abilities that he had managed to type such a long script in a very short time.
Had it been another person, even if they were given a script, they would have taken several days to complete writing it. Add end of it all, a script wasn't just a storybook or something.
Feeling somehow exhausted, Jack immediately took out the body strengthening solution. Although he couldn't be strengthened by that body strengthening solution anymore, it could at least help him in relieving the fatigue that he was suffering from.
After taking the body strengthening solution, Jack felt a warm current running through his body. And in the next moment, he felt refreshed. It was as if he had never been typing for several hours continuously at all.
After he was done, Jack decided to sleep early. After all, he was heading to the company the following day. As such, he will have to wake up early.
Even though it was true that, he was currently strong and could have easily stayed awake the whole night, he wasn't a person who was going to abandon his sleep just because he could. He did something like that because of necessity.
….
A few hours while Jack was continuing to write the script…
Several well-known stars were making moves. Some of them who were on vacation had already booked their tickets back to the country or to the capital city.
They had already received information that, they would be needed soon. Since it wasn't known when that soon was, they had to come back to the company as soon as possible.
Even those who had taken a leave, as long as they weren't dealing with anything important, they too were told to go back.
After all, it was the big boss of the company who had instructed for that. And, since they were all being treated well in the company, although there were some who were somehow dissatisfied by being called back to the company, they were the minority.
The Rose Entertainment Company was lively that evening. All those who were present in the city at that time had already gone to the company to report.
And as such, the company had experienced one of the rare moments where most of their top stars were present in the company at once.
"What could be the reason as to why they would need us to come back this soon?"
"Who knows? But, this is something related to the big boss!"
"Anyway, have you ever seen the big boss? I heard from one of my friends that he is young and handsome."
"Is that true? Do you perhaps think that I can have a chance?"
"Get lost! How shameless of you to think that you can be able to catch his attention? It is definitely only a person of my caliber that can catch his eye."
"A pot calling a kettle black. What is the difference between the two of us? We are both B class stars."
"You bums, stop arguing about something like that and focus on what brought you here. You were told to come over because there's something that the CEO wants to discuss with us."
"Hey, stop being so uptight. We can relax sometimes, you know?"
"Hah! I was just enjoying myself out there. It was actually the time that I had just taken my leave and I was on my vacation. Now, my vacation has ended prematurely when it had just began."
"Why are you lamenting? You are always free. You can always go on a vacation when you are not working."
"Are you stupid or something? Do you think I enjoy not being given an opportunity to perform? I always stay around because I hope that I can be given a chance."
Several discussions were going on inside the conference room of The Rose Entertainment Company. This wasn't where the higher-ups meeting was held, but where several stars were meeting with the top echelons of the company.
Ever since Jack took over control of the company, as well as the hiring of Alex, there had been several stars who had already been given scripts that they were going to act on.
It was just that, some of them had yet to start and that was the reason as to why they were currently present inside the conference room. Filming was something that required ample preparations. Otherwise, they might be forced to stop midway.
Just as they were talking to each other, the door leading to the conference room suddenly opened.
Patrick came in following a man who was wearing a black suit. The man's hair was cut short but was neat. He was wearing black shiny shoes and a white shirt inside his suit.
Most of the stars present were familiar with Patrick. After all, he was the one who was mostly in charge of communicating with them in case there was anything that the company needed to inform them of.
As for Alex, since he had just recently come in, there were many that had not yet met him in person, though they had already heard of him.
Of course, they had already seen him on the screens during the time that the media was being informed that he had taken over the position of the CEO of the company.
His stern face immediately made the rowdy conference room to be quiet. It was not only a matter of his current prestige, but due to the respect that these people had for him.
Although they knew that the treatment that they were receiving was related to the new boss who had taken over the company, they also knew that it was Alex who was in charge of distributing the resources.
And ever since he had taken over the position of the CEO of the company, most of the actors and other stars who had been idling around had been given a chance.
Although it was true that some of them had not yet began the production, they had already been given the roles that they were going to play.
After taking a seat in front of these stars, Alex didn't waste their time and began informing them about what Jack had told him.
He gave them an example of the character that Jack had displayed by distributing the resources that were required easily. And as a result, Alex stated that he hoped and believed that the scripts that Jack was going to bring were of high quality.
He told them to be prepared so that, whenever they were called upon, they would be ready to act.
After that, since this was the first meeting that they were having, Alex decided to talk to them about a few more other issues.
He asked them to raise their concerns so that they could be handled. Patrick on the other hand was taking short notes on what was being said there. In this way, he would be able to present to Alex these things so that he could take care of them later.
….
The following day, Jack, who was accompanied by Celine headed for the entertainment company. Since the two of them were the current shareholders of the company, Jack had decided to bring Celine along.
Jack had decided on using The Rose Entertainment Company to begin distributing the scripts because he was planning on dismantling Kalmond Entertainment Company by merging it into The Rose Entertainment Company.
He had already discussed the matter with Jonathan because he was the only other shareholder of that particular company other than himself. Even though he was the one who had given Jonathan the 10% shares, he still had to notify Jonathan about what he was planning.
He had decided that he was going to give Jonathan 5% shares of the newly merged entertainment company. In this way, although the percentage of the shares that he was holding would reduce, the same couldn't be said about the worth of the shares.
When they arrived at the company, Jack and Celine immediately headed for the top-most floor of the building where the company was located.
When they got there, they found that Alex was already waiting for them. In fact, he was just preparing himself to go down and receive them.
"Boss, you are here." Alex went forward and greeted Jack. Immediately after that, he looked at Celine, not knowing how to address her. This was after all, the first time that he was meeting her.
"Alex, this is Celine, my fellow shareholder. Otherwise, you can as well refer to her as my wife to be.
"Greetings madam." Alex hurriedly stretched his hand as he greeted Celine. He had never expected that Jack was going to pay the company a visit with the other shareholder.
Additionally, he had never expected that there was such a relationship between the two of them.
Anyway, that didn't really matter to him. As long as the two of them were in good terms with him, he was willing to work for them whole-heartedly.
"Let's get going. I have already brought the script that I had told you that I was bringing today." Jack stated.
"Let's get going. I have already brought the script that I had told you that I was bringing today." Jack stated.
"Alright." Alex replied somehow expectantly. Although he wasn't sure that the script that Jack was bringing over was good, he decided to believe him anyway.
He then led Jack and Celine to the office that was set aside for the chairman of the company. Before Jack took over the rose entertainment company, there were already a few shareholders in the company. That bald guy, other than being the largest shareholder, he was also the chairperson of the company at that time.
But then again, once Jack took over the position of the chairperson of the company, there were no any other shareholders other than he himself and Celine. As such, the office for the chairperson had been vacant during the past month. Even Jack had not come in here due to the fact that he didn't see the need to do so.
The office was a lavish one. The decorations inside here were really eye catching. It was obvious that the one who was in charge of renovating the room was a top-notch designer. And, that baldy guy was also an extravagant person.
After taking his seat, Jack didn't waste much time. He took out the flash disk that he was carrying in his pocket before he inserted it. After that, he began operating the computer and before long, he managed to open the script that he had already uploaded into the flash disk.
After that, he turned the monitor of the computer to face Alex before he spoke, "This is the script that I was talking about. I hope that you can get our chief scriptwriter to come over and take a look at it. In this way, they can at least verify that what has been brought over is not something that can be used to waste the resources."
"Immediately boss." Alex replied before he rushed out of the office to call over the scriptwriters. Although he had been expectant that the script that Jack would bring over would be of good quality, he had not dared to call over the scriptwriters. The reason behind this was that, he was already used to that.
In the company that he was working in previously, the boss there had always made things this way. As long as he brought over the script, nobody was allowed to inspect it. Instead, the production of that specific script had to start right away.
Not long after, Alex came back with an old man that was wearing glasses. Although he was old, nothing about his posture showed something like that. This old man was the one who was in charge of almost seventy percent of the scripts that had ever been produced by The Rose Entertainment Company.
Of course, just like any other entertainment company, some things were beyond his reach. That was the main reason as to why he only dealt with seventy percent of all the scripts. As for the rest, it was either due to the demands made by the higher-ups or due to the lack of seriousness in the department.
"Welcome boss." The old man gave Jack a slight bow as he greeted him. Although it wasn't that long ever since Jack took over the position of the chairperson of the company, the old man had seen several changes that came by. 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.𝗻𝗲𝐭
"There's no need to be so uptight." Jack waved his hand as he dismissed the old man's gesture. Although it was true that he valued respect, that didn't mean that he liked something so excessive.
After chatting for a while, Jack came to know that the old man was known as Andrew. He was here in the company for over a decade and he was amongst the few higherups that had been retained by Denali after she did the shift in the management.
After that, Andrew went through the script that Jack had brought over. As he continued reading the script, Andrew was getting impressed. He even forgot that he was currently in the chairperson's office and began commenting on the script. He was showing emotions that he had never shown in front of the other colleagues of his.
He wasn't the only person who was reading the script as even Celine was curious about it and so was Alex. As such, the duo also continued reading alongside Andrew. To them, this was really a good story. It was just that, there wasn't a single lead character. It was a fight between a kingdom and the alien race.
Alex on the other hand had seen several scripts already. But, he couldn't help but get impressed by the script that was presented by Jack. He could already tell that, as long as things went well, this was going to be a hit.
"Boss, who is the one that wrote the script? I would like to meet that person to be learn from them." Immediately after he had gone through the script the umpteenth time, Andrew looked at Jack as he questioned, his eyes shining with great expectation.
He wasn't the only one as even Celine and Alex were looking at Jack, curious about who it was that had created such a script.
"Well, I wrote the script yesterday night after I completed the call with you." As he spoke, Jack looked at Alex. He was currently surprised by how enthusiastic these people were. Since he had gotten the professional scriptwriter skill, he had casually decided to write a script that could be brought over.
In other words, this was not a masterpiece at all. But, the way that it had been received was way more than he had expected. All the same, he was glad that the script was okay.
After hearing Jack's words, silence reined in the room for about a whole minute. None of the three could actually believe that Jack was the one that had written the script.
Jack had been writing the script in an impromptu and didn't inform Celine about the matter. As a result, she was surprised to find out that he could also write script. In her mind, she couldn't help but wonder what he couldn't do. He was good at basketball, driving, even scriptwriting, not to mention the fact that he was good at business…. although he leaves almost everything for Denali to handle.
She couldn't help but feel proud that Jack was her man. And at the same time, she was determined to get herself even more useful to Jack. She didn't want to be a person that only depended on Jack for everything.
As for Alex and Andrew, the two of them were slack-jawed. They had never thought that their boss was this skilled. Additionally, when Jack said that he was going to bring over some scripts to deal with the lack of quality scripts, Alex had never thought that Jack was the one that was going to write them!
Andrew on the other hand was already beginning to doubt himself. He was already this old but couldn't actually compete with a youngster? It seemed that the old had to take retirement seriously. But still, he wasn't going to give up on his passion. This was something that he had loved ever since he was young.
At the same time, he was wondering if what Jack had said about writing the script in a single night was true. But in the end, he dismissed it as one of the ways that Jack was using to brag in front of the beautiful lady in the room.
He looked at Jack with shiny eyes as he asked, "Boss, can you take me in as your student?"
Jack had never thought that Andrew was serious about being taken in as a student by the scriptwriter. But looking at the expression that was on his face at the moment, he was sure that as long as he nodded his head, this old man was going to jump in happiness.
But still, he didn't like having such an old man calling him teacher. So, he shook his head in response. And upon seeing that Jack's reply was negative, Andrew was somehow crestfallen.
"Hah, I guess that I was getting ahead of myself. I'm currently too old and my potential has already been eroded by my age." Andrew shook his head as he sighed in dejection.
Seeing how dramatic the old man had become, Jack took a pity on him and said, "Although you aren't going to be my student, I can set some of my time aside so that I can teach you a few things that I know about."
"Yes!" Immediately after he said that, the pitiful expression that was on Andrew's face immediately vanished as he punched his fist into the air. He was currently ecstatic that he forgot that Jack was still in front of him.
For a moment, Jack could swear that he saw a mischievous glint flashing in Andrew's eyes. It turned out that this guy was simply trying to get him to agree teaching him all along!
If possible, Jack would have been shameless enough to take his words back. But as the chairperson of the company, his words carried a lot of weight and he couldn't just speak freely. 'I guess that I'll have to be careful when I'm here. This is an entertainment company where almost everyone is good at acting!' Jack thought to himself internally. At the same time, he made a mental note to look out for the words and actions of this crafty old man.
"Okay then. I hope that the preparations can be made as soon as possible so that the script can be dealt with. Once this one is completed, I'll bring another incase you have yet to find good scripts." Jack stated.
Finally, both Alex and Andrew knew that there was a lot that they had to deal with. As a result, they agreed with Jack and were immediately dismissed from the office to go and handle their own issues.
When only the two of them were left in the office, Celine sat on top of the desk as she gazed at Jack deeply. "It seems that you are good at keeping secrets." She stated after a moment of staring into each other's eyes.
"It seems that you are good at keeping secrets." She stated after a moment of staring into each other's eyes.
Jack was silent for a moment. Although it was true that he loved Celine, it was also true that he wasn't going to reveal everything to her.
There were some of the things that had to be kept as a secret considering how they were. An example of this was the system. Even he himself currently didn't know the mysteries that laid behind the system.
He wasn't sure that if Celine came to know about it, things would continue going well for him or not. Additionally, even the existence of the system itself was something unbelievable.
And sometimes, it was always good not to reveal all your trump cards in front of even those that you trusted the most. After all, maybe Celine wouldn't want to reveal his secrets to his enemies, but who knew if his enemies had ways to get the information out of her?
If there existed methods like sealing the memories of a person, who said that there couldn't be methods that could be used to extract memories?
Just like a cliché line, 'I am doing this to protect you,' was the reason as to why Jack had managed to prevent himself from telling her about this. Of course, this was a self-forged reason. As for whether it was true or not, that remained unanswered.
"Actually, I simply had an impulse to start writing a script yesterday night. I had thought that the entertainment companies weren't performing well enough. And, the shortcoming that they were currently experiencing was the lack of scripts, quality scripts. So, I decided to give it a try. Who knew that I was this skilled?" Jack blubbered.
Celine squinted her eyes at Jack for a moment. She knew that whatever Jack had stated was not true. But since he was not telling her the truth, then she wasn't going to force him to do so.
In her mind, she currently thought that, perhaps this was a skill that he had acquired during the years that they had been apart due to the sealing of their memories.
And perhaps, during this period, the way that he acquired the skills of scriptwriting reminded him of something that he didn't want to remember. Or perhaps, he didn't want to describe it at the moment. As such, she decided that she was going to wait until the time that he was ready to tell her what happened.
"Are we done here?" Celine questioned. For some reason, on this specific day, she had been quite impatient. In fact, she had been acting all mysterious ever since they left the villa.
This was something that Jack had never seen her doing. All the same, he wasn't ready to invade her privacy by questioning about something that she didn't want to tell him about.
"Not yet. I should be handling a few more other things as the chairperson here. After that, I think I will be done in about an hour." Jack thought for a moment before he replied.
Celine heaved a sigh of relief when she heard that he was going to be done with what he was supposed to do here in an hour. It seemed that she was also racing against time.
"Okay then. Just complete what needs to be done as fast as possible. After this, I need to take you somewhere." Celine stated mysteriously.
Jack was perplexed for a moment. But in the end, he only shook his head as he agreed to her suggestion. In the end, he trusted her. Perhaps there was going to be a surprise.
Jack and Celine stayed at The Rose Entertainment Company as they continued taking care of some of the things that could be handled by only them.
Since it was true that The Rose and Kalmond Entertainment Companies were going to be merged soon, they themselves were already starting to handle some of the things that would help speed up the procedure.
Although the merging of the two companies was being handled by Denali, Jack thought that he might help as well. But of course, all of this was done during the last moment after he had completed making arrangements with Alex about the production of The Mini-kingdom.
According to Alex, if they used all the resources that they had, they could perhaps complete the production of the script in about 2 months. This was if quality was considered.
Furthermore, this contained the production, marketing, advertisement and supply into the market of the already produced movie. This was the efficiency of the entertainment company.
According to Alex's estimation, had the movie contained simple things, perhaps they could have completed it in less than a month. But all the same, Jack really didn't care about a month or two passing by. As long as the script that he had given was produced at a high quality, that was enough.
When they got out of the company, Celine decided to drive. As for the stars who were eagerly waiting for Jack's arrival, they were going to be disappointed as Jack wasn't going to show himself in front of them.
Of course, this was not part of his plan. But, this was due to a certain jealous someone who was hurriedly snitching him away from there.
As she drove the car, Jack looked around. He was wondering where Celine was taking him. As he looked at the streets, he found out that he was quite familiar.
In fact, he found that the area that they were heading towards was a place that he had been before. It was just that, he had not been visiting that place for a while now.
The two of them came to stop nearby a lake. This was the very same lake that Jack and Celine had come to during the time that they had become serious about the relationship between them.
He could already see that there were several boats that were floating on the lake. Just like before, he could see that at some certain corners, there were a few couples who were sneakily whispering to each other sweet words.
His brows rose a little bit as he wondered what was the reason as to why she had brought him here.
Unlike the last time, this time, Celine wasn't sneaking glances at the other couples that were around the lake. Instead, she looked at him with glittering eyes as she smiled mysteriously.
Immediately afterward, she grabbed his hand and pulled him impatiently towards the lake. She seemed to be in a hurry, just like how she was back at the company.
Jack didn't put in any efforts to resist. In fact, he wasn't surprised by how intimate she was with him. As such, he followed behind her as she led the way towards the area that they had picked a boat previously.
Unexpectedly, unlike the last time that they had to pay before they took a boat, this time, it was as if she had already reserved a boat for this trip.
Furthermore, although it wasn't night time yet, the scenery around the lake was still beautiful.
After the two of them got into the boat, Celine began paddling the boat towards the center. Ever since she had taken the body strengthening solution, she was strong, stronger than any normal male.
That was the reason as to why she had refused totally to let Jack do the paddling although he was a man. This time, she stated that this was special.
The lake this time wasn't full like the previous time that they had come over. In fact, Jack suspected that this was due to the fact that it was still midday.
Not long after, they arrived in front of Couple's Paradise Restaurant. This restaurant was well decorated, even more than it had previously been. In Jack's eyes, it was obvious that this was the work of someone, intending to make the place look cooler.
Even then, he was still suspecting that this was still related to Celine. Not to mention the fact that she had brought him over, but she had also already booked a boat that was supposed to bring them to the center of the lake.
But even so, he wasn't sure about what she was planning. At the same time, he was getting a certain nagging feeling that this might perhaps ruin his plans. But even so, he wasn't sure about what plans of his were going to be destroyed.
When they got into the restaurant, he found that the restaurant was almost empty. In fact, other than the attendants of the hotel who were working as waiters, there were no other customers present.
Even though it was true that this restaurant was always busy during the evenings, that didn't mean that during the day it was empty. But today was an exception.
After the duo got out of the boat, they headed straight for the entrance of the restaurant. And the moment that the two of them reached the entrance the restaurants staff members immediately arrayed themselves in two lines.
After that, they gave Jack and Celine a bow as they welcomed them into the restaurant.
This was yet another thing that Jack saw that was different from the last visit. Even if it was true that there was a change, could it be perhaps that there was a change in ownership of the restaurant? 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝑙.𝘰𝑟𝑔
Otherwise, how could there be such drastic changes that had occurred in such a short period of time? And, without any notice?
Still, Jack wasn't given time to deliberate about what was happening. Celine pulled him into the hotel. It was as if she found what had happened normal. This made him continue relating what was happening here to her.
After that, the two of them headed for the very familiar room that they had picked during their last trip. When they got to the door of the private room, Celine moved to the side and pointed towards the door for Jack to enter first.
Without any kind of hesitation, Jack pulled the doorknob and opened the door. The moment that he stepped his foot inside, he was forced to stop.
""SURPRIIIIIIIIISE!""
""SURPRIISEE!""
It was true that Jack had noticed that there were people inside the private room. But, he wasn't able to tell what they were doing inside there.
But still, he was greatly surprised by what he saw inside the private room. This was completely out of his expectations as this was something that he had forgotten about ever since his mother passed away.
Inside this private room, there were some of the people that Jack had already made an acquaintance with, as well as those that he was already well familiar with.
William and the troop from Inchoate city was surprisingly present. And that was not all. There was his aunt Anita and her husband Gregory, his cousin Johnathan, Katelyn and her husband, Wendy and even Angy.
But, what had surprised Jack the most was the fact that, Denali was also here. Before he headed for the entertainment company, she had requested to be free for the day and Jack had granted her the permission.
He had initially thought that she was going to use that chance to go back to her own home. It had already been a while ever since she came over and had been working for him.
Although she could communicate with her family, sometimes, it was better if they could meet in person.
But what was he seeing? She was here instead of being where he had expected her to be at.
Still, Jack looked at the words that were written all over the private room in a daze.
'Happy Birthday To You Jack.' One of the writings said that. This was something that Jack had almost forgotten about, his birthday.
Ever since his mother passed away, that was the time that Jack completely came to forget about this issue. To him, it didn't matter whether it was his birthday or not.
At the end of the day, age was just a number to him at that time. Previously, although he wasn't liked back at the Alfonso mansion, he always held a small party with his mother to celebrate his birthday party.
But, ever since she passed away, and having nobody that cared about 5hat, he too threw that out of his mind as he was distressed about what he was going to do after he left the Alfonso family.
Now, Jack was wondering how Celine had come to think of something like that. He himself had already been preparing to give her a surprise during her birthday. But in the end, she was the one that had beat him to it?
What Jack didn't know was that, ever since Celine's memories were unsealed, she had finally gotten the information about Jack that she was missing.
During the times that the two of them had been spending together when they were young, they had engaged in birthday parties of each other several times already.
As a result, Celine already knew about the day that Jack's birthday was. So, she had began the preparations the following day after she had regained her memories.
She had done her investigation and found all those that Jack had a good relationship with. After that, she invited them over so that they could celebrate the occasion alongside Jack.
This was something that she had decided to do so that Jack would know that he wasn't alone. Although his mother was gone, that didn't mean that he was supposed to be cold to the others.
He had to be cheerful. She didn't want to see him losing the cheerfulness that he had always been with during his childhood. That was something that Celine had greatly loved about that Jack who was young and carefree.
To remind him of all of that, she had decided that she was going to invite all those that shared a good relationship with him.
But of course, she didn't just invite anyone. She specifically chose those that Jack had interacted with before and they treated him well in return.
That was the reason as to why George, William and the others from inchoate city were here. As for Johnathan and the others, those were the ones that Jack shared a deep relationship with. 𝚋𝚎dno𝚟𝚎l.n𝚎𝚝
Celine came into the room with a smile blossoming on her face. She was happy to at least see the stunned expression on Jack's face. This was something rare to see.
"What do you think about the surprise that we have organized for you?" She questioned as she held Jack's left hand and pulled him completely into the room.
Jack was silent for a while. The surprise had thrown him back to the memories that he had about the time that he had been celebrating his birthday.
Back then, although he and his mother were oppressed at the Alfonso mansion, at least, during that time, he could see that there was a genuine smile on his mother's face.
Just thinking about that bright smile on his mother's face, Jack's mood was completely elevated. He looked at Celine gratefully and said, "Thank you so much for doing this."
At the same time, he looked at all those that were present in the room and expressed his gratitude to them.
Although it was true that some of them were here just because they had been invited, there was still a fact that, they had come over since this was a matter that was related to him.
This was something that Jack appreciated. He was always cold towards those that were against him, but was warm towards those that were with him.
Since these people were here because they wanted to celebrate his 20th year with him, then Jack decided that, if there was a time that they needed his help, he would surely grant them without holding back.
"There's no need for you to thank me. As your wife to be, this is something that I will always do even if I'm taken back in time." Celine was happy to see the genuine smile that was on Jack's face.
If she remembered well, the first time that the two of them met with lost memories, his smiles had always been on the surface.
Although it was true that he had somehow been trying to be genuine when it came to her, it was still visible to her that he was still restricted.
But here, right now, the smile that was on Jack's face at that moment was the same smile as the one that he had always shown to her during the times that they were together back then.
That's right! At this moment, the coldness that was covering Jack's heart had been completed melted due to the arrangements that Celine had made.
Although it was true that his personality remained, the same couldn't be said about the way that he treated things. His enemies would always be treated harshly. But for his friends, the treatment that they were going to receive from. Jack was definitely bound to improve a notch after today.
The group then sat down. They still had to do some other things like cutting the cake and so on.
But, since the private room wasn't spacious, Celine had already made arrangements on what they were going to do next.
She had already organized for the initial chatting to take place here. And when evening came, they would find another location.
As such, the group chatted and laughed with each other. Those that didn't know each other and were meeting for the first time got to know each other.
Apart from that, the group also indulged in limited eating and drinking, saving enough space in their bellies for later on.
William and the others that came from Inchoate city approached Jack at that time and caught up with him. To say the least, they were still surprised about Jack's abilities and the way that he had handled the Dante family back in Inchoate city.
Still, they were not going to let Jack go simply because he was more powerful than they had expected. In fact, they found that this was their chance of playing with someone of Jack's caliber without any retribution.
"Tsk tsk tsk! Jack, I can't believe that you actually managed to get Celine to be your girlfriend." William spoke in an exaggerated manner as he looked at Jack.
"What are you saying? Didn't you hear her saying that she is his wife to be? I just wonder what type of medication Jack fed her." Anderson chimed in with a smile on his face. But to say the truth, he too was surprised that Jack and Celine shared such a deep relationship.
"It's obviously his charm, what else? Just know that you guys are not as charming as him. So, there's no need for you to be jealous of him." Kelly stated calmly.
To say the least, she was currently jealous of Celine. But still, there was nothing that she could do. She knew that she had no chance in front of Celine.
Furthermore, it wasn't that she had fallen head over heels for Jack. It was just that, she was wondering where she would get a person as good as Jack.
"Hehe, that's right. I'm the one that comes second after Jack. So, why don't you agree being mine instead of being secretly jealous?" Benjamin, the burly guy in the group chuckled as he suggested.
Although he was burly, that didn't mean that he was brainless. In fact, he was smart to be able to easily detect that there was jealousy in Kelly's voice.
"Bah, even I'm not as shameless as you. I'm obviously more handsome than you. How can you claim that you are coming second?" Ismael couldn't take it anymore and interjected.
"I'm wondering why you are fighting for the second position when the range from the first to the second position is unimaginable." William stated with squinted eyes.
"I'm wondering why you are fighting for the second position when the range from the first to the second position is unimaginable." William stated with squinted eyes.
The others were silent for a while as they thought that what William had stated was true. But still, there had to be a person that took over the second position, right?
The gap really didn't matter when it came to the numerical position. Even if there was a difference of sky and earth between the first person and the one that came after, that person would still be termed as the second.
"Why are you guys behaving like that? It's not like you have the abilities that Jack has even i
f you can match his handsome face. So, np matter what you do, there is no way that you can compete against Jack." Kelly stated when she saw that the guys had gone silent.
"Whatever you say. In the end, I'm still the one that won over your heart even though I'm not Jack's match." Anderson chuckled as he stated.
"Do you perhaps want me to dump you right now? If that is the case, then try saying something along that line again." Kelly looked at Anderson as she said ferociously. Though, there was a slight blush that was on her face as she threatened Anderson.
"Hehehe." The other three boys laughed when they saw how silent Anderson had gone after the threat from Kelly. It seemed that the guy had completely fallen for the girl and wasn't willing to let her go.
In fact, the relationship between the two of them didn't start long ago. It was just like a joke when it all began after the banquet that Celine had organized in Inchoate city.
The two of them got together somehow, under the confused and suspicious friends of theirs. The reason that the two of them got together wasn't even visible in the first place.
Although it was true that Kelly was a beauty on her own level, Anderson wasn't to be underestimated either. In fact, he was a hedonistic guy, though of a low proportion.
Still, they couldn't understand how the two of them got together and even the two families were not against it. It seemed that two of the big five families in the city were going to have a cooperation that would have been formed from marriage.
Jack and Celine who were seated next to each other at this moment simply smiled as they saw that these five were bantering.
Although their five families would always compete against each other, these five progenies of the five families were in good terms all throughout.
Jack gazed at George who was seated silently while observing the conversation. It didn't seem like he was going to join in anytime soon.
To say the least, he was the most mature amongst the five. As such, he didn't think that it was going to give out a good impression of him in front of the adults if he engaged in the useless banter.
All the same, the youths had definitely completely ignored the adults that were present in the room and chatted casually.
As for the adults on the other hand, they too discussed with each other, albeit in low voices as they observed the juniors laughing around.
They were trying to get to know each other better as they all shared some kind of relationship with Jack.
Back to the group, William looked at Johnathan who had been silent all this while before he questioned, "Jack, is this Johnathan your twin brother?"
Upon hearing the question, all the others stopped making noise as they paid attention. Ever since they had seen Johnathan, they had been wondering about his identity.
All the same, none of them had the courage to ask about the matter until William did.
"Humph! How can I be a twin of this guy? I'm obviously older than him." Johnathan snorted.
"Eh? Is that so? But I thought that your birthday is still one month from now? How can you be older than me? You can only be my little brother." Jack on the other hand replied.
Johnathan was rendered speechless a to how Jack came to know about his birthday. He had always been trying to keep this as a secret from him.
But thinking about it, ever since Jack had informed him that he was about to merge two companies, Kalmond and The Rose, he had to submit all his information as he was going to be a part of the shareholders in the newly formed company.
Since there was nothing that he could say about it, he could only snort and turn his head to the side.
As for the ones that were curious about the relationship between Jack and Johnathan, they were left speechless.
Although it was true that they now had the information that Jack and Johnathan were not twins, then what were they? There was only one month difference between the two of them when it came to age.
So, how could it be possible for them to be brothers? But, if they were not brothers, what was the relationship between the two of them?
Celine, Wendy and Angy had already gotten used to such a situation where Jack and Johnathan would argue about who was superior to the other.
So, Celine spoke up to clear their doubts. "Jack and Johnathan are not twins but cousins. It's just that their mothers are twins. Jack's mother is not here, but as you can see, Johnathan's mother is over there."
As she spoke, she pointed towards Anita. In her eyes, there was a strange glint as she still couldn't get used to the fact that Anne was no longer there.
The two of them had spent a lot of time together when she was young before her memories were sealed off. And after she came to see Anita, she was getting it difficult to adapt to the fact that, the one in front of her was Anita and not Anne.
"Oh, I see." The guys nodded but there was still some doubt in them. Could it be that the twins were married by the same person? Or how else could it be that, twin sisters that were married by different people have children that looked the same?
"Hehe, it is just that the genes of us women are getting stronger by the day. That's the reason why Jack and Johnathan took over the appearance of their mothers instead of their fathers." Wendy chuckled as she spoke.
What she didn't know was the fact that, while the women in the room got proud about themselves, there were a few men that were sulking, especially so for Gregory.
Wendy's words were no different from stating that his genes were weaker than Anita's. As a man, how could he accept that? But, how else was he going to refute that when the truth was there for everyone to see in the form of Johnathan?
In the end, he could only shake his head in slight dejection. But at that time, he felt someone holding his hand below the table. It was Anita. She was looking at him lovingly.
It was obvious what her meaning was. 'Even if you are weak, I still love you the way that you are ' 𝗯𝐞𝗱𝗻𝐨𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝗼𝗿𝐠
Gregory couldn't help but feel even more depressed. Something like that was supposed to make him happy. But how comes he wasn't feeling comforted at all? In fact, he felt that he had just been punched when he was down.
The small party finally ended when evening was approaching. After that, Celine had already made arrangements on what they were going to do next.
They left the restaurant and headed for another hotel that was booked by Celine. This was currently the best hotel that was present in the country at the moment, Royal Dish Premium Hotel.
Even though it was true that they could have used the Glaze hotel, Celine felt that they were going to compromise the business if they booked the whole hotel.
This was something that she had learnt from the time that she had spent with Jack. To him, it really didn't matter the amount of money that he was going to spend. But, they had to make sure that the income was continuous, no matter how small it was.
Jack nodded his head in appreciation when he realized this. Thanks to the hundred times income multiplier system, every cent was the same as ten dollars.
So, if they had distracted the business of the headquarters on that specific day, wouldn't that have been a massive loss to him?
Furthermore, since he was intending in making sure that his hotel became the best in the country, he might as well utilize this chance to get the information about the hotel that they were visiting at the moment.
Inside the hotel, although they didn't take over all the floors due to the limited number of people, but at least, the number of people here this time was way higher than the one that was in the restaurant.
Celine had organized with Denali and invited all those higher-ups that knew about Jack. This obviously included Tracy, Grace and others that had met with Jack previously.
Celine and Denali knew that Jack was a low profile person. But all the same, there was no way that they were going to have very few people taking over the entire hotel for the evening, right?
So as to make sure that the banquet was going to be enjoyable, they had invited several people that would help them in filling the numbers.
There were even others that were not part of the higher-ups, but simply because they were known to Jack, they were invited over. A good example would be Tim, the one that had been In charge of security at the business overload building.
Since GVSL had been taken over by Jack, this guy had been given a promotion due to his efforts. Jack had never ignored all those that worked hard as long as he noticed them.
Just like that, a small private banquet was held in the best hotel during the night. And although it was true that the hotel was getting a lot of money due to the booking, they were also losing customers to the glaze hotel and other hotels.
This was something that Denali had decided to use. She was the one that had advised Celine to choose this hotel as it was currently their biggest competition.
While the higher-ups of the hotel thought that they were getting easy money, in the long term, they were losing.
After the banquet, not many things changed. Jack and the rest continued with what they were normally doing.
George and the rest from inchoate city and other parts of the country also headed their own ways so that they could take care of the duties that were on them.
Back at Jack, he hadn't completely lost his attention on the entertainment companies. As the merging was being done rapidly with the help of Denali, Jack was getting closer to the target.
At the same time, he had already began preparing a few more scripts. It was just that, unlike the last time that he prepared a movie script, he decided to prepare a tv series script.
In this way, as the production went on, if the first season was completed, they could already release it to the market. And at the same time, they could start utilizing them so that they could begin fighting the other entertainment companies.
His plan was to complete what had to be completed as fast as possible so that he could manage to get to see the benefits that came with the upgrade of his level of authority to the second level.
Although this was something that was supposed to take a long period of time, to Jack, that was something that he had to hurry up with.
Although he had previously thought that he had become stronger, he had come to find that, there were even more mysteries that were hiding in the dark that could not be explained by science.
A good example would be the one where his memories and Celine's were sealed. This was something that was obviously targeted.
He couldn't understand how it was possible for the memories about a specific person or event could somehow be sealed. But that was not all.
There was also a fact that, his mother had the information about the sealing of his and Celine's memories about each other. But, he still couldn't understand how his mother had managed to get his memories sealed.
Additionally, what could be the reason as to why the memories had to be sealed? He couldn't believe something like, in order to not involve Celine in the mess, he had to forget about her.
That was something that he really couldn't believe. After all, Anne was his mother at the end of the day. And since he wasn't involved in anything strange like the sealing of his memories after that time when he lost his memories, he thought that there had to be something fishy about all of this.
What's more was that, Benjamin, who was supposedly his grandfather and Anne's father, could actually stand at the side and watch as she got killed by his own son, her brother.
This was yet another thing that didn't make any sense to him. And, Benjamin's words that, if Anne wanted to be free from the Alfonso family, then there would have been nobody that would have been able to stop her from leaving.
From Jack's memories, as long as he remembered, his mother had gone over to Dalton due to the fact that she loved him. Even more, she was running away from the arranged marriage that had been planned by Nathan.
According to what Jack thought when he saw his mother shedding her tears, was that, she really loved Dalton and there was no way that she was going to let him go, especially after she had given birth to his son.
All that aside, Jack had still had to focus on what was currently urgent. Although he had already dealt with a lot of people that would have caused him troubles, the same couldn't be said when business was involved.
Since he was planning on exploiting the system so that he could complete the final condition from the system as soon as possible, then it would be better if he did that now.
That was the exact reason as to why Jack had bought over several companies. This was him setting his sight on the first income reward that came with every first income that he earned from the new businesses.
He had decided to exploit the system. Since the system really didn't care about how many businesses of the same type were bought over by him, then that was what he was doing right now.
Although he had already integrated several companies, this was due to the fact that, he was trying to reduce the burden that would fall onto him when it came to the management.
Still, his current plan was that, after he receives the first income reward, he would merge the companies that were of the same industry.
In this way, he would already be on his way to the monopolization of the markets.
Of course, currently, Jack's targets were not small. The lessons that he had learnt from the first income reward of the grocery stores that he had bought over were enough for him to change his mind.
When he bought over the small grocery stores in Inchoate city, the reward that he had received back then was a motorbike. Although it looked cool and all, but, that wasn't something that interested Jack at all.
That was the reason as to why, to this specific date, the first income rewards that came from the newly acquired grocery stores were yet to be retrieved by him. He was simply bidding his time, like the free skill slots, to be able to acquire better rewards in the future.
Now, Jack was going to buy bigger institutions. If they were small, he would merge them before he earned the first income from them. This way, the first income reward would be at a higher level.
Currently, what he was really looking forward to the most was the monthly report that was approaching. This was something that he had been preparing for a good while after he had managed to acquire a few more companies.
….
While all of this was ongoing, Jack had no information that, there was a danger that was approaching.
At this moment, at the international airport of Azima, a person finally took a look at the surroundings. He took a deep breath as if he was trying to get used to the sudden changes in the environment.
'Finally, I'm here. I do wonder who it was that was involved with the hindering of the mission that had been organized by the vice supreme leader. Even so, since I have taken action by myself, I'll have to make sure that everything is as it's supposed to be.' The man thought to himself.
He walked towards the area where there were several means of transportation. Since this was the first time that he had arrived here, he was obviously almost clueless about where he was supposed to go.
But still, he had already gotten some clues about where he was supposed to start his investigations. That was, the last known location of Yona and Nathan.
Their disappearance was mysterious and had to be solved as soon as possible. Taking into consideration that the competition back at the organization was getting fierce, and with a move from a person like him, it was obvious that there would be several people that would be alarmed.
So, he had to make sure that he completed the mission as fast as possible.
That's right. This was the guy that had been sent over from the stronghold to come over and look for Nathan's whereabouts.
His name was Erick. He was strong and currently believed that, other than those that might have followed him from the strongholds, there was nobody that was capable of stopping him from doing whatever he wanted to do.
'I guess after I complete the mission, I'll start doing what interests me the most. Since this is the only chance that I have gotten to get out of the strongholds, I might as well use it to the limit.' Erick thought to himself as he boarded a taxi. 𝘣𝑒𝑑𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Since he didn't have a residence in Azima, he had no choice but to get into a hotel. But, that was going to be a hotel that was located closer to the area where he was supposed to start his mission from.
….
As soon as he left, a lady also looked in the direction that Erick had left in with narrowed eyes. At this moment, her mind was racing, wondering what was the reason that could have brought someone like Erick here.
'Good thing that I always kept my eyes on him. Otherwise, there would have been no way that I would have noticed that he was making such a move.' The lady thought to herself as she got into a taxi.
"Where to miss?" The taxi driver questioned happily. He had just gotten a pretty customer after a very long break that he had due to the injuries that he had suffered.
"Follow that taxi. Make sure that you keep your distance." The lady, whose name was Samantha stated with a cold voice.
"Eh… Okay." Although the taxi driver wasn't sure about the intention of the lady following someone, he decided that he was going to do it all the same.
After all, the person that he was carrying was a lady. And since she was coming from the airport right now, he didn't believe that she was carrying anything dangerous.
He thought that at most, the lady could be considered a stalker. As for whether she was stalking her lover, friend or enemy, that he didn't know was he wasn't sure about who was inside the taxi that he had been instructed to follow.
At the same time, Samantha was just thinking. 'I wonder what the Panthers organization is thinking about to send Erick out of the stronghold. Aren't they afraid that they would be discovered?'
'As long as they break the agreement that was issued to all the forces of the strongholds, the punishment that would come their way would be something that they can't handle.'
'But still, if he makes a mistake and breaks the agreement, things will be better for me. Maybe I can help him break the agreement in case he is too careful…' As she reached this point, Samantha's expression turned icy. It was unknown what kind of grudge was there between her and Erick.
On the other hand, Jack didn't know about the presence of either Erick and Samantha. Even of he knew about it, there was nothing that he could do as they had already arrived in Azima country.
Currently, Jack was doing some script writing. Since the end of the month was coming by, and he had planned to have all the two entertainment companies merged by the following month, he had to get over with some of the things as soon as possible.
Currently, he had already managed to accumulate over ten scripts that were supposedly for TV series. These were unusually long and would really take a long time to be fully produced.
As he was deeply engaged in the scriptwriting, he suddenly heard the sounds that were coming from downstairs. It was obvious that there were some people that had come over, and it wasn't a single person.
He frowned a little. Although he had been expecting that Celine was going to come over, he didn't expect that there would be someone else that would be coming along.
Still, there was nothing that he could do about it. He could only set aside the issue of writing the script so that he can deal with the normal routine that he had organized with Celine.
The training that he had organized for her was still going on despite the fact that Celine had improved by much. To him, her managing to grasp the basics was not enough.
Since there were so many things that were hiding, of would be better of she could become strong, ready to handle any type of danger that could come from the shadows at any moment.
That was the reason as to why Jack had decided to start by buying a fighting club. Unlike the illegal underground fights, this was something that involved legal fights that were approved by the government.
He had spent a good amount of money to be able to set up something like that as not only did the prize money have to be there, but even the staff members like the referees and the judges had to be involved.
Although it wasn't part of his grand plan, Jack was planning on using this method to exploit the system. He was trying to see if there was a possibility that he was going to gain something like the body strengthening pill recipe.
If it was possible, he might be able to get even stronger. Although he was currently strong, that didn't mean that he was invincible. If he faced the bullets, and other hot weapons, he wasn't sure that he could survive.
A good example would be the time that he had been shot by the bullet that was shot by Brandon. That time, although the bullet didn't penetrate that deeply into his muscles, that could not be the same in case it was aimed at his eyes.
After getting out of the room, he headed downstairs. But, the moment that he saw who it was that had come over, he couldn't help but blink.
Other than Celine, there was yet another person that was familiar to Jack, yet at the same time unfamiliar.
Olivia. She was the person that had come over with Celine. Although he had already met the lady two times, Jack had never bothered to try and investigate about her.
According to him, although he had made her get stronger through the body strengthening solution, that was something that he had merely decided on impulse due to the fact that she was injured by Celine.
But still, although she was going to be stronger than normal, Jack knew that there was no way that she was going to get above him. Not only was he currently incomparable to her when it came to the matter of strength, but in the future, he was bound to get stronger.
But, it seemed that there had to be something with this lady. After all, the first time could be said that they had met by coincidence.
The second time would have been due to her luck that Jack appeared to save her. But what about now? This was obviously her coming to look for him.
After thinking about how she managed to find him, Jack could easily guess it. Since she knew the information about Nathan, then, it would have been easier for her to get the information about him with the relationship that he shared with Nathan.
Although his information was currently discreet, that didn't mean that she was going to miss some of the basic information like the place where he lived with all the clues that she had on her.
Upon seeing that Jack was coming downstairs, Celine spoke. "Jack, you have a guest here. I found her at the entrance of the residential area as she was trying to confirm where you were living."
When Celine was coming over for her training session, she had found Olivia when she was still at the entrance, still trying to get into the residential area.
Since Celine had seen her the last time, and she could still remember that the lady was the better apple of the two that had been there during that night, she decided to bring her over.
Well, that was only due to the fact that Olivia had spotted her. Otherwise, she would have simply ignored her and went on with her plans.
Jack raised his brows when he heard that. It seems that he would have to look into the background of this lady. After all, even when others were given the information that he was related to Nathan, they would definitely find it hard to find about his residence.
With the fact that there were very few people in the Jesda family that knew about him, there was no doubt that she had to go through a lot to get information about his whereabouts.
Jack looked at Olivia with raised brows. He was now wondering what would have brought the lady to look for him. Although he had a guess that it might he related to the request that she had made the last time that they met, he hoped that it wasn't.
It was already a favor that he had done her by granting her the body strengthening solution. So, he hoped that she would be content with that.
"Let's take a seat." Since she was a guest this time, he decided to at least be polite enough to welcome her to have a seat rather than chasing her away right then.
Celine was quite curious about what Olivia was here for. And as such, she decide that she was going to listen on the conversation.
Jack didn't mind and neither did Olivia mind. In her opinion, what she wanted to talk to Jack about was something that wasn't supposed to be much of a secret when facing Celine.
After they had settled in the living room of the villa, Jack looked at Olivia as he waited for her to speak.
"Ahem. I'm sorry to intrude upon you. But, I'm serious about what I said last time. Can you give me a chance?" Olivia cleared her throat as she asked.
Her eyes were filled with determination as she looked at Jack. At this moment, her heart was already racing, wondering if there was a chance that Jack was going to accept her request.
At the same time, she had also planned of a way that she was going to use to convince Jack to accept. She absolutely wasn't willing to be refused this time.
At this moment, Celine's expression turned a little weird as she looked at Olivia. Then, she looked at Jack as she was wondering what was going on as she had just jumped in the middle of the negotiation.
"No." Jack was resolute with his answer. There was no way that he was going to agree to that considering that he already had a busy schedule.
"I know that you are a busy person. But, can you please help me out here? Currently, I'm sure that there is nothing that I can offer that you don't have. But still, I hope that you can accept the little that I have as well as my request." Olivia tried again.
She was a smart person. Although she was a fan of fighting, that didn't make her an idiot. So, for the last few days, she had been doing her own research about Jack and had managed to find several things by finding nothing.
Since there was a lot of information about Jack that was hidden, it was obvious that he wasn't a simple person. Additionally, with the fact that Jack could stay at a place like Serenity residential area, that meant that he wasn't poor as well.
As for the honey trap that she didn't even think about, what was the use of that when Jack had a beautiful girlfriend that was not only strong, but she also deeply cared about him? That was something that was bound to be impossible.
Celine who was listening from the side looked at Olivia strangely. She was wondering what was going on.
Jack just so happened to see her expression and immediately knew what was running in the mind of that girl. 𝚋e𝚍n𝚘ve𝚕.𝚘𝚛𝚐
He looked at Olivia and couldn't help but grumble, "Why don't you be a little straightforward? You are now making my wife to be to think that you are actually trying to be my woman."
There was silence in the room for a moment. Olivia was struck speechless at that moment while Celine was blushing slightly at how direct Jack was. She was now wondering if Jack had the ability to read her mind.
Olivia blinked her eyes several times. She was wondering if she had heard what Jack had said correctly. So, she couldn't help but ask, "Are you trying to say that, for you to help me, I'll have to be your woman?"
Jack: "?!$?$&"
Celine: "?"
Jack was now beginning to doubt the intelligence of the lady that was before him. Even if there was supposed to be a misunderstanding, why can't simply read the atmosphere?
To say the least, Jack had never thought along the lines that Olivia had spoken about. He was already content with being with Celine and had the intentions of pushing the relationship further.
Olivia seemed to have noticed that there was a sudden shift in the atmosphere after her words. As she looked at the expressions of the two as they looked at her with judgmental eyes, her mind began working rapidly and she managed to grasp the reason for that.
"Ah? I'm wrong about that?" Olivia tried to confirm. What she had just said was something that she did out of impulse. That was what she had thought the moment that Jack talked about being straightforward. 𝑏𝘦𝘥𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝑐𝘰𝑚
It wasn't like she had never experienced a situation where she was asked to trade her body for the benefits that she wanted. This was also the main reason as to why she had joined the police force when she grew up.
Although she was training in fighting skills ever since she was young, that was only because she was being forced by her father. When she came to encounter such a situation, she was just in high school. That was the time that she had become motivated to practice so that she could become stronger.
So, when Jack talked about being straightforward, that was the first thought that came into her mind and that was just what she spoke.
But now that she thought about how Jack seemed to care about Celine, there was a very small possibility that he would want to get another woman, mostly when he was in the presence of Celine.
"Come on! What kind of impression have I given to you so that you have such a kind of image about me in your mind?" Jack couldn't help but explain when he saw her asking.
But upon seeing that there was both an innocent and sorry expression on her face, Jack decided to give her a leeway. He sighed and said, "It really doesn't matter what kind of benefits that you'll try offering. But the answer still remains the same as before, NO!"
"Ahem! What topic are you guys talking about?" feeling that she was being left out, Celine couldn't help but want to know what this agreement that they were talking about was.
"Actually, ever since the first day that I met you guys, I was impressed by the fighting skills that you possess. That is the reason as to why I have been looking for Mr. Jack to see if he could take me under his tutelage when it comes to combat skills." Olivia took the initiative to explain.
Still, there was something that she had left out. That was the fact that she had managed to meet Jack once again and he had saved her. She wasn't sure if Celine knew about his identity of being a soldier.
And since most of his information had been kept in the dark, she decided not to expose them. That was the reason as to why she hadn't thanked Jack well even though he had saved her back then. She wanted to talk about something like that in private.
Furthermore, what really happened on that day was something that had to be kept as a secret. There was no way that she was going to disclose it considering that the information may reach the higher-ups of the police force.
She had given them false information about the incidence. And if they came to know that she had lied, then, even her father would not be able to help her to get out of the problems that she would have landed in.
Celine thought about what Olivia said and found that this was indeed reasonable. From her view, although Olivia was a lady, she had actually taken the duty of being on patrol at nights to deal with the gangsters that were always causing trouble in the city.
That heroic appearance was something that Celine had managed to see in only a few women, herself excluded. And now, apart from the fact that Jack had given her the body strengthening solution, the lady had also not talked about the fact that they were the ones that were involved in the murder of her previous partner.
Currently, Celine was thinking about the crucial thing here. The body strengthening solution was something that was offered by Jack only to those that were part of the special security team or the topmost management staff that had acquired his trust.
And to her, Olivia was no different from a stranger. In other words, she didn't trust that Olivia would always keep the secret about the body strengthening solution. She had previously talked to Jack about the matter, but he had told her not to worry.
But there was no way that her little heart could take on the pressure that the secret might be exposed, and Jack might have to face several people with dark intentions. Although she knew that Jack was strong, there was no way that she was going to ask him to continuously engage in battles.
"Why don't you allow her to join the training schedule that you planned for me. I can at least get some company when I'm training." Celine suggested.
Jack looked at her for a while, thinking about what she was aiming at. Perhaps managing to see through her worries, he nodded. He then looked at Olivia and said, "I'll send you the training schedule after you leave me the contact information. You are free to start at your convenience."
Jack could already tell that Celine was worried about monitoring Olivia. That was the reason that he had decided to accept. Perhaps he too might try using this chance to get to know a little more information about this lucky lady.
When Olivia saw that Jack had actually accepted, she was greatly surprised. But at the same time, she was obviously happy about it. Still, she couldn't help but think about how Celine was different from other ladies.
They would have definitely chased away any kind of woman that would attempt approaching their men. But on the other hand, Celine was actually asking for a chance so that she could get closer to Jack? She didn't understand that at all.
All the same, she threw those thoughts out of her mind as she decisively focused on the present. "Thank you for giving me this chance, sir and madam. I promise that I won't disappoint you." Olivia got to her feet as she stated excitedly. This was a chance that she had been yearning for in a while now.
"There's no need for you to be so polite about that." Jack casually waved his hand as he dismissed her. Then, he thought of something and asked, "When are you going to start the training?"
Olivia sat back on the seat before she responded, "I can start right now if that's possible."
Jack was slightly stunned by her almost instantaneous answer. He had never thought that the lady would be this decisive when it came to the combat training. "Aren't you a police officer? Are you sure that the training won't be affecting your work schedule?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Not at all. Currently, I have been suspended from duty indefinitely. I'm not sure when I'll be back on duty but I'm sure that it won't be any time soon." Olivia casually replied.
Due to the fact that there were two incidences that involved the deaths of police officers, this matter had caused an alarm to erupt within the police ranks.
Since she was the center of it all, where her partner died and all the others that were alongside her got killed off, and she was the only survivor, doubts had already been risen about her. Some people even thought that she was cooperating with the dark gangs in the city.
But, due to how she had always been cleanly performing her duties as a police officer, rather than detaining her when they continued with the investigation, they decided to suspend her from her duties.
That was the only thing that could be done due to the fact that there was no evidence that had been found that indicated that she had switched sides. Furthermore, there was still the fact that her father was also a big shot in the police force in the city. That was the reason as to why they gave her a leeway.
Previously, Olivia was not in a good mood due to that fact. But now that Jack had agreed to train her, then she was more than happy about the suspension that she received. After all, she now had a lot of free time that she could utilize to train under Jack.
Furthermore, she took this as compensation from Jack. After all, during all these incidences, Jack was still involved in one way or the other. So, although she didn't talk about what she wanted to offer to Jack for him to agree to teaching her, she didn't feel the slightest guilty.
Jack and Celine were surprised by the fact that she was suspended. But after they thought about the matter, they thought that this was a somehow lighter punishment that she had received after all the incidences.
After that was out of the way, the three of them engaged in casual chats as they tried to get to know each other.
But after about twenty minutes, Jack's phone rang. When he looked at the contact information, he found that the person that was calling him was Valnaro.
Jack frowned as he wondered what the reason for the call could be. He had always made sure to fulfill his part of the deal about the body strengthening solution. As for the missions, that was something that he had yet to consider since he himself was busy at the moment.
After a moment of pause, Jack still received the call. "Yes?" He asked the moment that he received the call.
A few hours before…
At the military base that was located in the central province of Azima, there was a lot of tension. The soldiers in the camp were quite restless as they moved around. Several commands were being issued by those that held high positions.
None of the soldiers was idle at all. Weapons were being moved from the armory and so on. In other words, the camp looked no different from one that was preparing to face a great enemy that they had ever before.
Inside the conference room in the garrison, several soldiers that held the highest positions in the central region were gathered around a rectangular table. There was a total of six people with five seating at the side of the table and the last one occupying the head of the table.
All of these were the six supreme leaders of the garrison that was situated in the central province. The five were majors that led their respective companies and finally, there was the colonel who was their head.
Amongst the present majors, there was a face that Jack would be familiar with. It was major Alonso. This old man was seated here, not showing any airs as those that were present here were all of the same rank as him or his superior.
These were all those that were in charge of the companies that were situated in the area close to Kartu city. There was a total of fourteen companies, each major leading four companies combined. But, the first and second companies were an exception as they were special.
Not only were these companies the largest amongst the fourteen companies, but they also contained the most capable soldiers. The majors that were leading these companies were always the most skilled amongst the majors.
Of the current five, three of them were in charge of the last twelve companies, each one of them leading four. The last two each held a single company but their positions were better than the others that headed four companies.
Currently, the expressions of all those that were present were all solemn. None of them was in a good mood and their faces indicated that they would punch whoever dared to irritate them.
The one that was seated at the head of the table was a man who seemed to be in his early fifties. He was currently wearing a military uniform that had a badge that was blue in color. He had short blonde hair and a well-trimmed moustache. His eyes were slightly sunken but were deep and bright.
There was a tinge of black below his eyes, though hardly visible, indicating that he had not slept well the previous night. His expression was solemn as he swept his gaze across the table.
After a while, he released a deep sigh as he asked, "Give me a report about the current situation." From his voice, one could easily tell that he was fatigued mentally and was someone that needed to get some rest.
One of the majors that were present immediately got to his feet and gave a military salute before he spoke. "Colonel, the situation is now so bad. Ever since the attack began, things have been getting out of control recently. It doesn't matter who it is that we send over, the results are the same, that person would be killed off.
Not only that, but even though we had tried surrounding that person to use our advantage in numbers, we did nothing but to increase the number if soldiers that we are losing. To make matters worse is that, the enemies have joined his side the moment that they came to know that he was attacking us."
When he reached this point, there was an expression of anger that was on the major's face. It was obvious that he was simply trying ton restrain himself. Otherwise, he would have rushed out of the room to got out and vent by killing a few enemies.
He wasn't the only one as all the others in the room wore the same expressions on their faces. They were not happy about the current situation that they were currently in.
They had been at odds with the neighboring country for a long time now. Most of the times, they were the ones that had been suppressing them due to the many advantages that they had.
But recently, there was someone that had come over and asked them to handover a soldier. Furthermore, that person was so impetuous that he killed several soldiers the moment that there was disagreement.
If it was a normal situation, they would have already eliminated the other party. But, that was something that they really couldn't do at all. It was not just a matter of skills that the other party possessed, but he also had a strange type of armor on him.
That armor was able to block even the high caliber bullets that were used against it. Furthermore, there would not even be a scratch on the armor after the attack. Furthermore, the bullets would be crashed to powder the moment that they came into contact with the armor. 𝙗𝙚𝙙𝒏𝙤𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝒄𝙤𝙢
To make matters worse was the fact that, to deal with the numerous soldiers that would have gone after him, the only thing that he had to do was to wave his hand and a beam of light would appear and destroy all these soldiers.
It was as if he was equipped with high level attacking and defensive equipment. That was something that had brought terror on the soldiers. And for that reason, they were already contemplating on whether they were supposed to start using the bombs against that person.
They had already tried getting to know who it was that the guy wanted. But in the end, they were left speechless after they heard that he didn't even know who it was that he was looking for. What he wanted was for the military to figure out who was the soldier that was involved int the matter concerning a certain prisoner.
But, no matter how they investigated, they really couldn't find anything that was related to a soldier that saved a prisoner. Although they had done a lot of investigation, they couldn't find anything. From the report, the only surviving police didn't know about the identity of that soldier as that was the first time that she was seeing him.
As for their enemies, the moment that they got the information about what was happening over here, they rushed over and decided that they were going to work for that person, to help that person in acquiring what he wanted.
And to show their sincerity, they had brought over their soldiers and stationed them at the border of the two countries. Their meaning was simple, they would attack the moment that the Azimian military dared to try to take the soldiers that were stationed at the borders to deal with that person.
For that reason, the Azimian military was under a lot of pressure. That person would kill a few soldiers every now and then, saying that this was an indication that he was getting impatient.
Due to the losses that they were suffering, the colonel had no choice but to visit the military headquarters to look for a way out of the situation. That was the reason as to why he was asking for the report about the situation.
Taking a deep breath, that particular major continued giving reports about what was going on. "That person stated that we only have the end of this week to hand over that soldier. Otherwise, he would start by massacring the civilians that are located in the capital city."
When he heard that, the colonel couldn't help but get even more angry. Currently, he had already lost many soldiers. That was something that he was furious about. But now, if that person began killing civilians, then that would be something that he couldn't agree to.
He was now wondering about what he was supposed to do in the current situation. He couldn't deal with that person with his current strength and skills. Furthermore, there was no way that they were going to launch a bomb in the middle of the city as well.
Just as he was deep in thought, major Alonso spoke. "Colonel, I have a suggestion. What about bringing over the new major? He is a skilled person and I'm pretty sure that he might have a way to deal with that person in one way or the other. And if it is impossible, perhaps he might be able to contain him."
The moment that Alonso's voice fell, there was silence in the room. Everyone looked at Alonso with a weird expression on their faces, except for the colonel who was deep in thought.
After a moment of silence, one of the majors stood up and spoke. "What nonsense are you saying Major Alonso? You have to know that this is a serious matter and we definitely cannot joke around with it. You are expecting that we are going to put our trust in a person that became a major due to a favor rather than merits?"
He wasn't the only one that thought in such a way. After all, who amongst them hadn't worked off during their youth years to get to the position that they were in? So, they were obviously displeased when suddenly, a person came out of nowhere and became a soldier of the same rank as them.
"That's right. Although the colonel does have a good impression of that person, that doesn't mean that he can be given the role of handling something like this. This is something that needs experience to handle." Another major, the one that was in charge of the seventh to tenth companies stated.
Alonso looked at him and asked, "Experience you say? Why is it that an experienced person like you cannot handle the situation when you are claiming that experience is needed? Doesn't that imply that there is no difference between the two of you? Not experienced enough to handle the matter?"
"Y-You…you!" That major was so stunned that he could only point his fingers at Alonso, not knowing what he was supposed to say in such a situation.
"Alonso, it doesn't mean anything for you to say something like that. It is a fact that the other major doesn't have any military experience. Although he was selected by the colonel to become a major, that doesn't change anything about his skills." The major who was in charge of the second company spoke up.
Although it was called a company, its size was enough for it to be called a battalion. But, since it was grouped amongst the special companies, then the major had no choice but to be referred to as a major of a company.
"That's right. It doesn't matter how he is favored by the colonel. But the same fact remains that he is not experienced enough. Although even we, are not currently capable of dealing with the problem, at least we can do better than he can." The major who was in charge of the first company spoke up as well.
Alonso on the other hand didn't reply. He knew that the matter didn't depend on what these people were saying. It only depended on what the colonel was going to decide.
The colonel who had been seeing his subordinates arguing about, raised his hand to prevent the others who were about to begin speaking.
"The matter concerning the new major doesn't need any kind of discussion. I made a decision and I hope that everyone of you acknowledges it. Otherwise, doesn't that mean that you mean that I was stupid by selecting a person who was not capable enough to become a major?" The colonel spoke.
After his words landed in the ears of the majors, each and every one of them kept quiet. The main reason as to why they were against Jack even though they had never seen him before, was simply because of their dissatisfaction.
Although it was true that they respected the colonel, that didn't mean that they would carry the respect that they had for him and place it on Jack.
Additionally, after a long period of time of working hard for them to get promoted, they really couldn't believe the fact that there was a person who had been given a military rank the moment that he joined the army.
When he saw that everyone was silent, the colonel shook his head again. He knew that although these people were silent, it was simply because of the respect that they had for his military rank.
Since he didn't want any kind of disharmony in the military unit that he led, he decided to clarify things.
"I know that most of you have several questions about why I gave Jack the rank that is equal to you people. And even though he doesn't have any soldiers under him, he can actually command any soldier that is under any of you to do something as long as it doesn't break the rules."
After a moment of silence, the colonel continued, "You should know from my actions for a very long time that I don't favor anyone when it comes to things that concerns military. I do value the lives of all the soldiers that are under me."
"For that particular reason, there's no way that I am going to hand over the soldiers to any irresponsible leader. And I am sure that you are quite curious about the reason as to why I gave Jack that position."
Immediately after saying that, the colonel looked at Alonso and gave him a nod. 𝐛𝗲𝐝𝗻𝗼𝘃𝐞𝗹.𝗻𝐞𝘁
When he saw that, Alonso couldn't help but feel bitter in his heart. He knew that at this moment, the secret that he had been keeping for about 2 months was going to be revealed.
Without wasting time, he stood up and went towards the projection that was used during strategy meetings. After that, he did some connections and managed to play the video that was taken back from Glaze Hotel.
This was obviously the video that had been recorded during the assault that had been made on that hotel.
Although they were confused, all the majors focused on the screen. And as time passed, they could immediately tell that this was the incident that concerned the loss of 15 lives.
Since they were not the ones that were placed in charge of that case, they didn't know much details about that issue. But now, they could see what really happened.
In the video, they could see that the people who had taken hostages who were being killed off one after the other by an invisible person.
Then, what followed was the fact that all those that had gone to attack the hotel had been cleared off. The hostages had been rescued.
At this moment, the eyes of all the majors present apart from Alonso, were widened in surprise. They actually couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"Are you sure that this is not a fiction movie?" One of them couldn't help but ask.
"That's right. Alonso, where the heck did you get this sci-fi movie from? I don't think I have ever watched it or heard about it." Another one spoke.
"But guys, don't you think that this video looks like the one that records had the incidence in the hotel?" Another one who was keen couldn't help but ask.
"Now that you mention it, I think that this film was actually produced here in our country. I just wonder what kind of director was needed for such a high quality movie to be produced."
"But, what that director destroyed in this movie was the fact that the angles that they had used to record are all bad. None of them can give us a clear view of what is really happening."
"Silence!" Upon noticing that the crowd was chattering about, the colonel couldn't help but frown a little. He had never expected that these majors were going to have such a reaction when they saw the video.
When silence reigned in the room, the colonel took a deep breath before he continued, "I don't really know where each and every one of you got the thoughts that what you have seen is a movie.
What you have just watched right now is the recorded video of the incidents that happened here in our country. Moreover, it happened in the capital city.
This is something that we should be ashamed of considering that we are the ones that are supposed to be keeping the peace of the capital city that is located in the central province.
As you can see, an invisible person was taking care of each and every one of those who had attacked. And, none of those people had a chance to use the guns that they had, even though there was a situation where there were more than one of them.
The one who is behind the actions, is someone that you have all been asking about. The person who had taken care of that incidence is Jack, the new major.
Since all of you have been questioning about his capabilities, I believe that you have seen them. And I can believe that none of you can actually match the level of his skills.
And although it is true that he was not part of the military, and he might really lack the experience of being in the military, that doesn't diminish the skills that he possesses.
As for why he is invisible in that clip, that is simply because of the team that he possesses. There are actually several skilled people that can be considered the epitome of IT. none of those on our part who attempted to see how the video was edited managed to find anything.
These two are already enough reasons as to why I had decided to discuss with my superior to grant Jack that position.
Of course, there are other reasons but I cannot talk about them at the moment. So, just like Alonso had said, I do believe that perhaps this person might actually have a chance to deal with the current problem that we are facing."
There was a long moment of silence as the majors began digesting the information that they had received. This was something completely unbelievable to them.
A person who was that skilled? Even the special forces that were present in the first and second companies couldn't actually do something like that.
Although they wanted to be doubtful about what the colonel had said, considering the current situation that they were in, they didn't believe that the colonel would feed them with false information.
"Ahem! Colonel, although I can understand that he was given the position due to the fact that he has capabilities, but why is it that during such a period of time, when we are facing a catastrophe, he is not actually present?" The major who was in charge of the first company questioned.
"That is a matter considering the agreement that we had with him. He is not just a person with skills. Otherwise, why do you think that they are other reasons that I gave him the position of a major?" The colonel replied.
Although there were several questions running rampant inside the minds of these majors, they didn't ask as they waited for the colonel to continue.
The colonel looked at Alonso and gave him a nod. "Contact him and see if he can come over. Make sure that it is done as soon as possible."
"Yes Colonel." Alonso nodded deeply before he left the room hurriedly. He knew the importance of the matter and wasn't ready to delay it even for a moment.
He knew that the relationship between Jack and Valnaro was quite close. Even though it was only official, at least, Valnaro and Jack had communicated for a long period of time as compared to him.
So, the moment that he got out of the conference room, he immediately contacted Valnaro and informed him that he had to contact Jack and inform him that he was needed at the headquarters of the central province.
