Shelvin could not accept that. As his face turned bright red from humiliation, Darius abruptly spoke. “There’s no need to feel ashamed. Your excessive drooling is merely a result of the bugs tampering with the nerves in your body. Also, if you don’t come over now, I can assure you those bugs will devour your entire nervous system. Although they can only chew off a small portion each, those pesky vermin can move quickly. Plus, there are many of them in your body, and they can attack your nervous system from every angle. You’re only drooling now, but you’ll randomly start giggling and excreting all foods or liquids you’ve recently eaten.”While saying those things, Darius shrugged stoically.Standing opposite was Shelvin, whose face had darkened like coal when he heard the graphic description. His mind started visualizing himself losing control as he stripped naked before everyone. Then, his entire body quivered as he walked ahead to sit before Darius, ignoring the sharp burn that happ

What Shelvin could not stand was that the very superiors he served had stolen the powers he had worked hard to cultivate. The thought made his breathing quicken as his body trembled with fury. “So, If I come across the person who stole some of my powers, I can detect the presence of said powers in their body?”Lips curving, Darius nodded and said, “Of course. It originally belonged to you, so it’s only fair that you can sense its presence. On top of that, I can tell you very responsibly that once you achieve a certain level of strength, you can master total control over your enlightened martial arts skills. That’ll allow you to radiate it beyond your body and do many more things. The cultivated energy, also known as aura, that got stolen from you can do the same. After all, those and your current auras share the same properties—they’re the type of power one releases from their body. Thus, with proper cultivation and training, you can control your stolen auras from a distance and make

Thus, Darius kept his cool while asking, “I see. Then, may I ask why you’re still here?”Alicia exhaled deeply, mustering whatever courage she had left to turn, raise her head, and look into Darius’ eyes. Still, she was so nervous that she blushed like a lovestruck schoolgirl. “I-I j-just thought you were planning to inspect the banquet’s setup since I mentioned it earlier.”She exhaled again before spinning on her heel to set foot beyond the door’s threshold. Then, she parted her lips to say, “My sincerest apologies, Mr. Reid. I understand I’ve overstepped my bounds, so I’ll be on my way now.”With that, she dashed down the hallway to leave without waiting for Darius’ response.A thought appeared in Darius’ mind, causing him to quirk his brow for the slightest second. However, he shook his head in the next second, thinking, “Nah. The relationship between Alicia and me is different. At least, I bet that’s what Alicia thinks. Although, such progression needs time, so it can’t be helped

“Grandpa’s number! That’s never happened before!” Darius thought, blood rushing all over his body with panic. He was so anxious that his phone kept slipping out of his hands, so he gave in; Darius placed his phone on the nightstand and accepted the call.James spoke on the other end of the line with an unprecedentedly austere tone. “Is there anything you wish to inform me about regarding our family company’s shares?”Darius’ eyes and mouth rounded in shock, and he failed to utter a word. Silence then ensued forever between him and his grandfather. It was as though all courage had vaporized from Darius’ body; he dared not lift his head, so he allowed it to lower while his gaze settled on the ground. Even his voice took on a tinge of bitter regret. “I know this is all my fault, Grandpa. All I can hope for is that things don’t affect the Reid family’s reputation because if it does, I’ve made a grave, unforgivable mistake.”That was when James’ voice rang out, sounding even more weighed

Edward extended his fist, frantically knocking on the door with his knuckles. “Mr. Reid, are you alright?”Only after hearing the former’s urgent tone did Darius realize how dramatic his earlier phone call sounded. Everyone had been acting oddly since arriving in Almiron City, including himself. Then again, Darius felt his strange behavior could also be because he had previously gotten forced to inhale those drugs back at Edward’s previous lab.Regardless of what the reason was, he did not have time to waste on that matter anymore, so he locked eyes with Edward and said, “You’ll have to take on both Erin’s and your assigned tasks since she’s no longer with us. It’ll likely overwhelm you.”Edward’s face turned as pale as chalk as he was unsure why Darius made him travel here over such a minor thing. Still, he nodded. “Don’t worry, Mr. Reid. I’m well aware of that, and I don’t find those tasks overwhelming. They’re much less chaotic than what I went through during bodyguard training.”

Edward feared Darius would blame him for refusing to prepare the party favors. He parted his lips, wanting to explain his reluctance but was uncertain if clarifying would do any good at this point.That was when Darius sensed Edward’s anxiety. He looked at the latter, sighing before explaining, “There’s no need to frown at me like that. I understand why you’re saying this. Although I don’t know what your oath is about—” He abruptly stood, walked over to the door, then conveniently grabbed and put on the coat that hung on the wall nearby before heading out. Time was running out when Darius thought of the party favors, so he did not bother changing into another outfit.On the other hand, Edward was in awe of how quickly Darius moved. Gulping, he calmed his emotions and strode behind the latter. He thought he could catch up to Darius, so he dashed forward with all his might. In the eyes of regular people, he and Darius were nothing more than flickering shadows. However, as Edward looke

Edward continued to express his desire to enter the store. He waved a hand and asked, “Why won’t you let us in?”When Darius heard this, he reached up to dig his ears. Then, he patted Edward on the shoulder and said, “Relax.” There was some strength in his grip because he wanted Edward to know he was watching him.Sure enough, Edward fell silent and frowned. He tucked his hands in his pockets and turned to look at Darius. “Mr. Reid, their attitude is absolutely unacceptable. Are we still going to buy anything from them?”Darius met his cold gaze and nodded. “Yes, we don’t have any other choice. Perhaps things are different from what we expect—no one would turn down a new customer, but that’s exactly what this salesperson has done. I’m curious to know why.”He suddenly leaned to the side and strode forward, reaching the store’s entrance in one step. He put a hand on the door’s handle and pushed it open. The salesperson who had stopped them from entering watched him with wide eyes, and

He trained his gaze on the other salesperson, who had earlier expressed the intention to attend to him. He casually waved a hand at her and said, “I intend to purchase a batch of custom-made products. Will there be any issue with that?”The salesperson smiled professionally when Darius’ gaze landed on her. She didn’t even flinch at Darius’ question and said, “That would be absolutely fine, sir. As long as you can pay the required amount, we’ll be able to have everything ready for you by tonight.”Darius smiled. “Good; tonight’s exactly when I need them. I need to have eighty custom-made sets ready by 7.00 pm tonight.”The new salesperson’s jaw dropped when she noticed that Darius mentioned he needed eighty sets, not eighty pieces. In fact, he hadn’t made a peep about the price. Her breathing sped up, and she looked at the previous salesperson worriedly. After all, she was the one who was supposed to close this deal. If not for her poor attitude, she’d be the one earning the commissio

Darius smiled when he spoke, but it didn’t reach his eyes. However, neither of the women realized this. Ashley couldn’t stand listening to the two of them talk bad about her anymore, so she shot to her feet and hurried over to them, her heels clacking on the floor.She stood between them, but to Darius’ surprise, she was facing Olivia, not him. She didn’t even spare him a glance.This was his first time being treated like this after becoming wealthy, which was refreshing. He took two steps back and leaned against the counter to better watch the two women. Olivia was already trembling, and Darius frowned with displeasure. He didn’t do anything else, though.Ashley couldn’t care less about how he felt. She put one hand on her hip and pointed the other at Olivia, her voice hoarse as she forced out through gritted teeth, “Olivia, I thought I was already kind enough to you! When you started working here, I split my customers with you and helped you whenever you needed it, yet here you are,

“What’s it doing in your hands?” Ashley glared daggers at him.Darius raised an eyebrow. Ashley’s reaction surprised him because even in Ashweir City, not many people knew about this card—those who did were all influential and wealthy. Now, however, not only did Ashley know about it, but she also had an interesting look in her eyes.Sure enough, she hurried toward him, showing off her long, straight legs with every step she took. Darius stared at them, and she looked pleased. Her good mood didn’t last for long—Darius said, “I don’t think it’s a good thing for you to walk like that. Your legs aren’t as nice as you think, and when you keep straightening them like that, they resemble two huge radishes. Can you imagine how scary it’d be to see two radishes walking toward you?” He spread his hands, looking at her helplessly.Ashley’s eyes widened at him and started to tear up. She’d never wanted to cry this badly because no one had ever said such hurtful things to her before. His words wer