Fyren finished using the toilet, washed his face, hatched a plan, and walked out. He'd originally intended to outthink Sherry and send her back to Otto, but when he stepped out, she was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he spotted a small dart stuck in the doorframe.
"What's going on here!?"
He reached out to pluck it off, but Sherry's cold voice stopped him. "Don't touch it with your bare hands."
"Huh?"
Sherry walked over, slipped on a pair of deerskin gloves, removed the dart, and tucked it into a small pouch. "You really have no experience with the underworld, do you?"
"What is this thing?"
"I don't know!" Sherry snapped impatiently.
Fyren stepped into the living room and froze. Three men, tightly bound, knelt in the sunken lounge area.
"What's all this?"
"They came to kill you. I took care of them."
Fyren gaped. "Kill me!? That can't be!"
Sherry frowned, her tone rigid. "What did you do to the Crystalpeak City branch of the Mighty Syndicate? Why else would they hate you this much?"
"Me? What did I do to them?" Fyren retorted defiantly. "I only convinced their four kings to defect to me, swindled them out of 15 billion in cash to splurge on nonsense, and had each of them beat that bastard Otto a few times. What else? Is that really enough to warrant killing me?"
Sherry's frown deepened. "Fyren, you truly have no shame."
Barry was stunned. All three of them were rendered speechless, but their ears weren't plugged! The four kings had all defected? Their branch actually had over 15 billion in cash? And it all went to Fyren? No wonder they couldn't pay salaries or reimburse expenses... Wait, what? Young Lord Otto? He got beaten up? He's not... what's his name, that renowned prodigy? How could he possibly get beaten by Fyren, this spoiled rich kid?
Fyren himself realized his words sounded a bit off. "Ah, well... I... um... took some money..."
Sherry corrected him sharply. "Not just 'some'! It's a full 150 billion!"
"Fine, 150 billion. But I only poached four kings, one strategist, and seven or eight of their close aides. Just a handful of people, and they're coming to kill me!?"
The three men were practically driven mad. Is this guy even speaking 正常人话?How many Red Guards are there in total? You've cleaned out their entire core! Bought off the entire leadership!
Sherry chimed in, "The Red Guards only have four kings to begin with, you know? How unreasonable can you get? And on top of that, you had my young lord beaten!"
Fyren shot back angrily. "He deserved every bit of it! Give me fifty billion, and I'll have him beaten again!"
"Don't you dare speak ill of my young lord!"
"Let's be reasonable here," Fyren said. "Iron King broke dozens of his bones! The second time, they chased him down and beat him so badly he fell off a cliff—nearly killed him! Copper King pummeled him into a pig's head and kicked his legs out from under him as he left! And Silver King? Silver King beat him so relentlessly, he couldn't take it anymore, fell off a building, and landed on the first floor with multiple fractures..."
"But through all that, did I get angry? Lose my temper? Send people to hunt him down? No! I didn't! I stayed calm the whole time, didn't I?"
The three men were petrified by what they heard.
Are you even human?
How dare you talk to yourself like that?
You kidnapped our people, took our money, beat up our boss… and now you're the one acting wronged? Angry? Like we're the ones hunting you down!?
Sherry was intimidated by Fyren's aura, stammering: "Y-Yes, maybe my young lord was at fault too in this matter, but…"
The three men burst into tears.
Who even is this girl? Where did she come from?
Her martial arts are incredible, but what on earth is wrong with her head!?
This is just toying with people!
Being in her hands is pure torture!
Sherry sensed she was in the wrong. "Fine, you have a point. Can't I just admit I was wrong?"
Fyren took Sherry's hand. "Sherry, even though you're violent, love swinging that sword, and would kill without blinking for your young lord… I know you're a good girl."
Sherry blushed and squirmed a little. "You want me to be good? But you're always calling me stupid."
"I won't let you say that about yourself!"
Fyren gently pressed a finger to her lips. "You're not stupid. You're kind, pure, and full of heart! And with skills like yours—someone who trains that hard could never be stupid!"
A smile tugged at Sherry's lips. "Y-You're just smooth-talking. I'm not listening."
She blushed and tried to slip away, but Fyren pulled her back. "Hey, big sister—if you leave, what about these three?"
"I don't know. Aren't you going to interrogate them?"
Fyren rubbed his chin. "Let Silver King and Copper King handle it. They're their former lot; they can sort it out among themselves."
Sherry nodded. "All right."
When Silver King and Copper King arrived, they nearly lashed out at Sherry on sight.
Copper King especially—he'd nearly died at her hands when he'd tried to move her away.
Even though Sherry wasn't the sharpest, her martial arts far outstripped any of the Kings. Back then, Copper King hadn't been fighting—he'd been running for his life. If not for his years of training, he'd have perished by her sword that day.
Fyren hurried to defuse it. "Hey, easy. Sherry's my personal bodyguard now—my maid, too. Let's let the past stay in the past."
"Yes, sir."
Fyren went on, "These three are Black-Clad Guards from your old Mighty Syndicate. They came to kill me. Take them away, question them, and report back tomorrow."
"Yes, sir."
"Silver King, stay a moment."
"Yes, sir."
Everyone else left.
Fyren sat on the open-air balcony, enjoying the breeze and the city's night view. Silver King stood awkwardly behind him.
Fyren picked up a cigar, hesitated, then said, "Sit."
"N-No, I wouldn't dare sit while you're standing, sir."
Fyren laughed. "I'll say it again—I'm a merchant, not some young lord who cares about rank. Sit. Let's both be comfortable."
"Thank you, sir."
Fyren said, "Once you've questioned these three, send them back. Go easy on them."
Silver King paused. "Young lord, the Black-Clad Guards aren't like us Red Guards. They'll never defect."
"I don't care if they defect. Anyway, you do this, this, and this..."
Silver King looked up at Fyren. "I think I see what you're planning, sir."
After Silver King left, Fyren fell deep into thought. He stood, stretched lazily, a weight pressing on his chest.
Sherry stood silently behind him, her thoughts churning:
This guy! Did he just trick me again? No matter how I twist it, something feels off! The young lord really messed up this time—how could he send me to protect him? Now I've been forced to act against the Branch's men! And the Branch is just as foolish! The young lord clearly said not to kill Fyren, yet they still sent people. They obviously don't take his orders seriously! I need to find a chance to tell the young lord about this.
Fyren had no idea Sherry was there. With his martial arts, he couldn't detect her presence at all. He clamped a cigar between his teeth and paced back and forth.
[This won't work! The Branch's hatred runs too deep—they're clearly ready to go down swinging.]
[In that case, Sherry really does need to stay by my side. If I take those kings along, it'll be too noticeable. They should stay back as my "black gloves" to handle the dirty work.]
[Sherry's beautiful, capable, and loyal. Most importantly, she's easy to handle. I can keep her in line.]
Sherry seethed inwardly.
Of course he thinks I'm stupid! This Fyren—not a single word he says is trustworthy! I'll eventually… No, I can't. I swore to protect him, to treat him as my master. Ugh, it's so infuriating! Now I can't kill him. Not only that, I can't let anyone else kill him either! Young lord, young lord, Sherry is so torn!
Fyren kept pacing, lost in thought.
[I can't die, at least not yet.]
[I came to this world, lived in wealth and luxury. These past two months have been more thrilling than my entire previous life. I'm not afraid of death!]
[But the shantytown project has to be finished. At the very least, we can't leave it in ruins. If something happens to me, the stock price of the entire Dasheng Group will crash.]
[If Dasheng collapses, it won't just be our family's problem. The whole shantytown project will descend into chaos, and no one will take it over.]
[The four major families will take losses, sure. But the worst hit will be the twenty or thirty thousand shantytown residents—who knows when they'll get their homes? Before I die, I have to make sure those twenty or thirty thousand households have a roof over their heads.]
[Besides, the shantytown project is draining the local finances. If this goes on, it won't just be one district in trouble—the economic development of all Crystalpeak City will be held back. The impact is too huge.]
Sherry tilted her head, confusion creasing her brow.
This man isn't even thinking about himself? He wants to build houses for that many people?
I don't get it.
But from the way he's thinking, it seems like if he dies now, things will get really messy. The young lord said the same thing.
Could his death really have such terrible consequences?
He's just a rich guy, isn't he?
Ugh, this is so frustrating. Everything about this man is nothing but trouble.
Fyren sighed, slamming one hand down on the railing.
[The shantytown project has to speed up!]
[I refuse to believe I can't outwit Otto and his lackeys!]
Sherry flared up instantly.
He's insulting my young lord again!
But Fyren's next thoughts left Sherry utterly stunned.
[Otto and I—only one of us will make it out alive in the end!]
[He wants to be the sole ruler of everything under heaven! I just want to protect the people around me as best I can!]
[Otto! When it comes to this, I'm not afraid to die—I won't back down even an inch!]
[If you want to wipe out everyone in your way to become an emperor, you'll have to step over my corpse!]
Sherry was bewildered.
She stared at Fyren's profile.
She looked into his unwavering eyes.
Suddenly, something stirred in her chest.
She realized she wasn't stupid after all. She saw that Fyren's eyes were nothing like the young lord's.
The young lord had always been ruthless, killing even gods and Buddhas without hesitation.
He'd always sought to destroy heaven, earth, even the very air itself!
But Fyren?
This man who'd smiled and groveled before her young lord, with no backbone to speak of!
This weakling who ogled pretty women and fawned over them.
His... his eyes... why were they so bright?
Fyren pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"Maggie, you're resting, right?"
"Fyren? Is something wrong, this late at night?"
"If we launch full-scale construction on the shantytown project, what would happen?"
There was a distinct pause on the other end. "Fyren. If we go all in, the entire project could finish two years ahead of schedule—that would be a huge time advantage. But pushing forward like that would require over 100,000 workers, and the investment costs would be astronomical!"
Maggie continued, "The materials alone would be a fortune. Then there's engineering equipment, vehicles, supplies, labor, re-planning... it's all going to cost a fortune!"
"Starting tomorrow, you'll lead the team to research this."
"Fyren, please think this through! We aren't that pressed for time, and the risks could cripple Dasheng Group's finances overnight! The deficit might be bigger than we can even imagine..."
"What I need is time. No more arguing. We start tomorrow."
Fyren hung up.
He smiled faintly. "Now everyone will call me a madman."
Sherry clutched her sword tightly to her chest, her heart racing.
She didn't notice that the way she looked at Fyren was now filled with admiration and respect.