Ten minutes before seven in the evening, Scott arrived at the I Battalion military headquarters. Zach greeted Scott with a surprised look."General, as planned, the meeting with the Defence Minister will be held at eight tonight," Zach said."I know," Scott said. "I came earlier because I don't think I'll be able to meet him later. There's something else I have to take care of elsewhere.""Understood," Zach said, still looking at Scott in surprise.Honestly, he didn't know what was more important than meeting and talking directly to the Defence Minister to address the problem they were facing right now. But, as a very loyal and respectful person to the War God, he didn't dare express his surprise."Have you made sure that the Defence Minister is on our side?" Scott asked."Yes, General. You don't have to worry about that," Zach replied. "He's currently meeting with the Mayor at the Mayor's residence. This meeting itself is held in secret, far from the response of reporters' cameras."
A black SUV with government plates had just departed from Mildenbrough City Hall. Inside, seated in the luxurious passenger seat, was Xavier Wisconsin, the Secretary of Defense. His face showed deep contemplation."How long until we reach the First Battalion's military headquarters?" he asked his aide, who was also serving as his driver today."About fifteen minutes, sir. But we could be there in less than ten if you prefer," the aide replied."No need. Just drive as usual.""Yes, sir."Xavier knew that what his aide meant was to drive very fast, which would involve running red lights and ignoring traffic signs.Xavier was concerned that such driving would draw attention from the public, security forces, and journalists. He wanted to keep his visit to Mildenbrough as secret as possible.His visit to this small town was solely to fulfill a request from Zach, an old friend who now led the First Battalion, the most powerful unit in his hometown.His relationship with Zach had remained st
"Did you hear that, Luisa? Did you hear what he said? Isn't that the same as him admitting that he's the serial killer the police are looking for?"Keith said it in a provocative tone, and of course, loud enough so that not only Luisa and Scott could hear it, but also the people at the tables around them.Those people's eyes widened as they heard the words "serial killer" again. Luisa realized that and she became even more uncomfortable."Keith!" Luisa reprimanded in a whisper, rolling her eyes again.Keith ignored her, not even turning or glancing. His gaze was straight and focused on Scott.What was Scott's response? Well, he smirked slightly, lifted his chin slightly, then said, "We should talk somewhere else. What I want to talk to you about isn't something that's fit for public consumption."Keith furrowed his brow, then he smiled mockingly."You think I'm that stupid, huh? You think I'm going to say 'yes' to your invitation?" Keith said, sneering."Everyone, you heard what he ju
The red-dressed woman's response increased the tension in the Japanese restaurant. All eyes were on her. Keith felt his chest pounding."What did you see just now? Maybe you could explain it a little so everyone here knows," Scott suggested.The red-dressed woman looked at him for a moment, then looked at Scott's phone screen again, watching the video again. She took a deep breath while placing her palm on her chest, indicating how uncomfortable what she was watching was."In the video I'm currently watching," the red-dressed woman began, "a woman is in a hotel room, lying on the bed unconscious. All her clothes are stripped off by a man, then she is raped."Hearing the red-dressed woman's explanation, a number of restaurant patrons—especially women—immediately turned away and closed their eyes, unable to imagine the incident."Is that all?" Scott asked.The red-dressed woman shook her head."The man raped this poor woman repeatedly. Then, after he finished his game, he took a camera
People's gazes were focused on the television. On the television screen, the news anchor appeared to be presenting the latest findings about the suspected serial killer. He said that a Mildenbrough resident sent a video showing that the fugitive was at a well-known Japanese restaurant."Isn't that here?""Yes. And didn't that just happen?""The person in this video recording... isn't he..."The people at Kintsugi Table began to look at Scott with suspicion. After all, what the news anchor said clearly pointed them to Scott. So, Scott was actually the criminal on the run? Was what Keith said earlier true?Luisa looked at Scott in panic. Until a few moments ago, she tried to believe in Scott; she rejected the widespread rumor that Scott was the serial killer the police were looking for.But now, after listening to what the news anchor said on television, she could only remain silent and gape.Was what the news anchor said true? Was Scott really the person behind the serial killings that
People seemed curious about what Scott said. Honestly, they were still trying to digest the constantly changing situation, but they understood one thing: what Keith said about Scott earlier proved to be wrong.The sensational rumor turned out to be a hoax, a lie that was deliberately created and spread, and now they felt annoyed because they had once considered it the truth. Now they felt bad for Scott, especially those who had actively bullied and attacked Scott earlier.But Scott himself didn't seem to think about it at all. He knew people were watching him now, waiting for him to say or do something, but it meant nothing to him."You know, Keith," Scott said, only now did he mention his opponent's name, "actually, your fate doesn't have to be this bad. Your fate is this bad because you made things difficult. Blame yourself."Keith still stared at Scott in silence. Actually, questions were swirling in his mind that he wanted to ask, but his tongue suddenly froze.He didn't understan
Being slapped like that, by someone he didn't know at all, Keith should have been furious, even slapping the slapper back.But that's not what happened. Keith could only gape, letting his mouth open like a fool. The men were still holding him tightly. Keith no longer tried to break free. He gave up. He was desperate.Keith never imagined that he would end up like this. Not only did he lose his dinner date with Luisa, his reputation and name were instantly destroyed in a flash. Now the people at Kintsugi Table—and maybe other places in the city—labeled him as a rapist.Once again, when he thought about it, he didn't understand how Scott could know about those video recordings of his, about what he did to those poor women.Even his sister-in-law, whose experience was extensive in the world of information dissemination in this city, he was sure she didn't sniff out his hidden hobby. Scott must have hired a detective or something, so he could track down the cloud address where Keith store
At the Batalion I military headquarters, in the center of Mildenbrough... "With this, everything is done," Xavier said. He was in Zach's office. Almost an hour ago, it was Scott who stood there and talked to Zach. "Yes, everything is settled. Thanks for the help, buddy," Zach said. "No problem. But you're not lying to me, are you, Zach? Are you sure he's the long-lost War God?" Xavier asked. "Of course, buddy. I'm not lying to you. Scott Goodman is the War God." "You don't believe me?" "It's not that. It's just that I was actually hoping to meet and talk to him tonight, here, but you said he was taking care of something else." "It's a shame, but that's the way it is, buddy. I hope someday you can meet and talk, in a better situation." There was no response from Xavier. He still looked disappointed. After all, he was really hoping to have a private conversation with the legendary War God. "You don't know when he'll be here again? If I stay here tonight, can I meet hi
Not wanting to waste time, the bald man quickly tidied up the tools he was using to steal private information from Scott.He didn't forget to take Scott's phone and put it in the inner pocket of his winter coat. After putting those tools back in their original place, he took his motorcycle key and turned off the lights.Kraaank!He heard a loud noise from above. There was no mistake, someone (or several people) had just broken into his house.The bald man quickly walked towards the special elevator in his basement. While in the elevator, he took out his phone and checked the display of the surveillance cameras he had installed inside and outside the house. His eyes widened."Soldiers?"His suspicion that the people who had broken into his house were related to Scott's phone grew stronger. Earlier, he had checked the chat history on Scott's phone and found someone calling him General.Initially, he thought it was just a prank call. But it seems he was wrong. Connected to Scott's extrao
At the Battalion I military headquarters in downtown Mildenbrough....In his office, Zach couldn't sit still. He repeatedly stood up, sat down, and stood up again, also pacing back and forth. He was made anxious by Scott's mobile number that suddenly couldn't be reached.'What happened? Maybe his phone ran out of battery? But surely it hasn't been charged for hours? Or maybe he blocked my number? But, why would he do that? Did I do something wrong?'For years, being Scott's right-hand man and trusted person, Zach had always been able to contact him, in the sense that his phone calls always connected and his chat messages always went through. But this time, neither happened. It was only natural that Zach would be restless.This morning, he tried to contact Scott to report the latest situation about their counterattack against Lisa, the mastermind behind the misleading rumors that had caused Scott and him so much trouble. Initially, he tried to call, but his call didn't go through. He t
It took a few seconds for Lisa to regain her composure and finally dare to ask, "W-what do you mean, Dad?"Lisa's gaze at this time was a combination of confusion and anxiety. Her brothers also looked confused, although they didn't look anxious."Did you not hear my words clearly? I said starting today you are no longer part of this family. You are no longer my daughter," Daniel said.Lisa was no longer as stunned as before, but she was still very shocked. Her eyes blinked while her mouth was open. She couldn't believe her father was making such a painful decision for her, so quickly."B-but, Dad..."Before Lisa could finish what she wanted to say, Daniel suddenly stood up. With his gesture showing that he was the leader among them, he looked at each of his sons one by one and said,"I agree with you. We do have to formulate a plan to deal with this situation, but we'll talk about it tonight at home. Now let's just focus on our work tasks for the whole day. Imprint in your minds that
As agreed, Scott got out of the car not far from the Dominion Group office. He let Luisa drive his black McLaren, while he himself would take a taxi home later.On the sidewalk where people were passing by, Scott stood watching his black McLaren head towards and enter the Dominion Group office area. After making sure everything was safe, he turned his face, and also his body, towards the road. He felt like he was pretty hungry.Scott was about to look for a cafe or restaurant in the area through his phone, and it was only at this point that he realized his phone wasn't in his pants pocket.'Where's my phone? Did it fall in the car?' he thought.He tried to remember if maybe his phone had fallen out of his pants pocket while he was driving earlier, or when he got out of the car, but he couldn't get a clear picture of either.He then thought, maybe his phone was left at the motel, but he didn't remember if he had put his phone on the bedside table or in another place in the motel room h
Luisa was startled by Lisa's raspy voice, as if she had just been crying all night. But she was even more surprised by what Lisa said. Even though she didn't see Lisa's facial expression and the look in her eyes, she could feel the towering anger that was controlling Lisa.Hearing those words of threat made Luisa uncomfortable. Her hands suddenly trembled and her chest pounded. Finally, she decided to end the call. And, because she was worried that Lisa would call again, she decided to block Lisa's number.Right at that moment, Scott woke up. Slowly, his eyelids opened. Luisa quickly put Scott's phone on the floor, right next to Scott."Luisa? Why are you here?" Scott asked after blinking."Actually, I should be asking you that," Luisa said, smiling wryly. "Come on in. Continue your sleep inside."Luisa stood up first, gesturing for Scott to get up and follow her into the room.Scott quickly got to his feet, worried that Luisa would close the room door like a few hours ago. He looked
Olivia and her three sons were shocked by what Daniel did. They knew Daniel was temperamental and liked to be rough when he was angry, but they didn't expect him to go that far.After all, the one Daniel had just slapped was Lisa, his own daughter. And the slap he had just delivered was very hard. Lisa even tumbled off the sofa, falling under the table."You're not only useless but also stupid! And because of your stupidity, our family is now on the brink! What do you think will happen if we're all fired from Grandier Corp. and crossed out from the family lineage? Where will we get money from then? How can we meet our needs? Have you ever thought about that before executing this bad plan of yours?!"Daniel berated Lisa while leaning forward and yelling at her. His eyeballs looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets.Lisa didn't give any response. She didn't even raise her head and was busy wiping the blood coming from a small cut on the corner of her lip. Her tears flowed
At Daniel's family residence...Almost an hour had passed since the news broadcast about the sudden press conference held by the Mildenbrough Police Department. Right now, all the family members were gathered in the living room. The atmosphere was tense.'This is bad! This is so fucking bad! What are we going to do now?"Daniel asked that question in a high tone, with a flushed face and wide eyes.No one dared to raise their face, let alone look at Daniel. Even his wife, Olivia, chose to remain silent and turn her face away.And among those people, Lisa was the most visibly tense and scared. It was only natural. The misleading rumor about Scott and everything related to him, which had caused a stir throughout the city in the last 24 hours, was her doing. So when the current situation became like this, the person most to blame was Lisa."Why are you just staying silent like fools! Say something, god damn it!" Daniel cursed, almost yelling.His wife and children flinched. But still, the
Scott sighed wearily. Problem after problem kept hitting him. The night seemed like it would be very long.Just as Scott was about to leave that room to follow Luisa, Anne suddenly grabbed his hand and held him back. Scott turned, finding Anne giving him a very serious look."Scott, there's no guarantee I'll give you another chance besides this. Are you sure you want to waste it?" Anne asked.Scott shook his hand that Anne was holding, then left without saying anything.Anne took a deep breath while watching Scott's back move away and finally disappear. As she exhaled, she vaguely heard the sound of a police siren."Scott Goodman. An interesting man. One day I will surely conquer you. We'll see," Anne muttered, smiling slyly.Meanwhile, on the second floor of the motel...Scott had just stepped on the last step of the stairs and he saw the door of the room he was staying in slammed shut.Scott quickly approached his room, trying to open the door, but it was locked.Knock! Knock!"Luis
The woman whose hands and feet were tied with ropes to the ends of the bed was Anne. Scott could recognize her that quickly because they had just met this morning."You bastard! You're pretty brave, huh? You think you can push me like that without facing the consequences?"The big-bodied man got to his feet. He snorted while showing off the muscles in his arms, chest, and stomach. It seemed that he was someone who trained in weightlifting quite intensely. Even his wide neck looked stiff and hard.Scott ignored his surprise at seeing Anne there for now. He focused his attention on the big-bodied man and prepared to land a punch on his face.Whoosh!Scott easily dodged the blow, then launched a counterattack, punching the big-bodied man right in the solar plexus."Argh!"The big-bodied man vomited blood, his eyes widened. A moment later, his eyelids closed and he collapsed. Just one punch from Scott was enough to knock him unconscious.Now Scott turned his eyes to the bed, finding Anne