Bruno snorted, then forced a smile. “Master, please take it! I guarantee there will be no trouble. He dares not trick you.”
Kayden shot him a sideways glance. A cold smirk danced on his lips. “You guarantee it?”
The sharp edge in Kayden’s tone sent a chill down Bruno’s spine. Realizing the trap hidden in those words, he quickly plastered on a nervous laugh. “Just a slip of the tongue, Master! Go ahead and take it. Trust me, this idiot wouldn’t dare try anything stupid.”
To punctuate his point, Bruno raised his hand and delivered a vicious slap to Owen’s head. His face twisted in fury as he snarled, “If you so much as think about playing tricks in front of my master, I’ll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and make sure you meet the most miserable end imaginable!”
Owen wiped his tears with a trembling hand and whimpered, “I wouldn’t dream of it! I swear, I wouldn’t dare!”
Only then did Kayden extend his hand, casually taking the bank card.
The moment Kayden accepted the card, Owen’s tears dried up as if by magic. A long, shuddering breath escaped his lips, and the weight crushing his chest finally lifted.
If Kayden was willing to take the money, it meant Owen’s life was spared, for now. Owen breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he was alive, there was still a glimmer of hope!
The three hundred and eighty thousand on that card was all his savings. There wasn’t an ounce of willingness to hand it over, but if it could buy his life, then so be it.
Survival came first-everything else could wait.
Owen believed that Kayden would not stay glued to Felicity and protect her all the time.
Owen knew Felicity’s every move, her entire daily routine. If it weren’t for her mother’s medical treatment, she wouldn’t even dare to step out of that rural backwater she called home. Thus, Kayden clearly wasn’t someone she could possibly know. If Kayden was helping her, it had to be for a reason.
What did he want from Felicity?
What could she possibly have that’s worth all this effort for him to obtain?
Was it possible his taste in women was just… bizarre? That he actually found someone like Felicity attractive?
The thought seemed absurd, even laughable, yet Kayden’s determination to protect Felicity didn’t seem like he was joking.
Even if that were true, he’d grow bored sooner or later. A man like him couldn’t possibly linger by her side forever. And when that day came, no one would be there to protect her anymore.
For now, luck was on her side and he had someone protecting her. But that didn’t mean this person would always be there to shield her in the future.
Thus, Owen felt certain he’d eventually get his money back!
“Alright, you can get up,” Kayden said in an indifferent tone as he turned his back on the two of them.
Hearing those words, Owen exhaled a long, shaky breath. Relief washed over him. “Thank goodness, I’ve made it through this in one piece,” he thought, his heart still pounding.
Bruno and Owen climbed to their feet. Almost in sync, they raised trembling hands to wipe the sweat that clung to their brows.
Kayden, however, suddenly came to a halt after taking just a couple of steps. He turned back around. His brows furrowed sharply as he asked Owen in a frigid voice, “Did I allow you to stand?”
Owen froze in his tracks. His eyes blinked in confusion. “But didn’t you just say I could stand?” he asked cautiously.
“I told him to stand. I never said anything about you.” Kayden pointed at Bruno. His icy tone dropped even lower. “This isn’t over between us yet!”
Owen’s eyes widened in disbelief. Pointing to the bank card in Kayden’s hand, he pleaded, “But I already gave you the money! What more do you want?!”
“Kneel!” Bruno had shifted from an authoritative gang leader to a groveling lapdog. He followed Kayden’s every order, and hearing this, he gave a vicious kick to Owen’s side.
The force of the kick was brutal and it sent Owen tumbling back three meters. The words he was about to utter were swallowed by a painful grunt.
As he hit the ground, a cloud of dust rose around him, clinging to his clothes.
Yet he didn’t hesitate for a second. Before the pain had fully registered, he scrambled to his knees, obedient and groveling like a scolded dog.
Only then did Kayden’s lips curve into a faintly satisfied smile. He turned his attention toward Felicity.
Felicity’s eyes were wide. Her expression froze in a mixture of shock and disbelief. For a brief moment, she completely forgot about hiding the face she had always been so self-conscious about.
As Kayden approached, her heart skipped a beat. A small glimmer of joy sparked within her chest. The feeling was so warm and strange, like the rush of a budding crush.
“This is yours,” Kayden held out the bank card. “There’s an additional two hundred and eighty thousand in interest. The password is 197722.”
Felicity gasped. Panic flashed across her face as she frantically waved her hands. “No, no! I just want my money back-no interest!”
She didn’t dare invite more trouble. Fear gripped her heart. She was utterly petrified of Owen. He was the village tyrant, and his infamous name was spoken only in hushed tones. Everyone knew about his power in Vernon. Nobody would dare provoke him.
“Relax. I said it’s the interest. Just take it.” Kayden took the bank card and forcibly pressed it into her hand. “Take this money and save your mother’s life.”
Felicity’s lips quivered as her eyes brimmed with tears. She stared at Kayden, and emotions surged uncontrollably in her chest. Gratitude, joy, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness swirled within her.
How could she ever repay such kindness? What should she do to deserve the generosity of this extraordinary man?
“Thank you… thank you…” she whispered. Though a thousand words fought to escape her lips, all her emotions condensed into those two simple phrases.
Kayden held her hand briefly and replied softly, “This money is rightfully yours. There’s no need to thank me.”
“No, no! I have to thank you! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even know when, maybe not even in this lifetime, I could’ve gotten it!” As she spoke, a surge of sorrow overwhelmed her, and her gaze dropped.
It was true. Without Kayden, she had no hope of ever getting back that money.
Kayden didn’t respond but tensed slightly. His senses had picked up the sound of footsteps approaching behind him.
He turned around slowly and saw Bruno striding toward him with an eager spring in his step.
Bruno’s face was alight with excitement. Clutched tightly in his hands was a check, which he extended forward to Kayden like a sacred offering. His voice was syrupy with flattery as he said, “Master! My respected master! Please accept this humble tribute from me. After witnessing your unmatched skills firsthand, my admiration for you is as boundless as the ocean! I am in complete awe of you!”
His eyes glimmered with earnestness as he thrust the check toward Kayden. “This is a token of my respect. I hope you will accept it!”
Kayden raised an eyebrow but extended his hand to take the check. His gaze fell on the numbers written in bold ink: 5, 000, 000.
Kayden cast a glance at the check in his hand. His voice was laced with confusion. He raised an eyebrow and asked lightly, “For me?”
Bruno nodded earnestly. “Of course! If it weren’t for you, I’d still be blind to just how worthless my men really are. Think of this as a token of my respect, Master.”
“One million is the interest I promised, and the other four million is my tribute to you!”
Now this was what people meant by being conquered.
Kayden had completely and utterly conquered Bruno.
One man. Alone. He had knocked down six hundred opponents. Who could witness such a display and not feel humbled, even awestruck?
Bruno had navigated the murky waters of the underworld for years. He wasn’t some naive thug. He was a grizzled survivor, well-versed in reading situations and people. He knew better than to challenge someone like Kayden further. To provoke such a man was to dig his own grave!
At its core, this was simply nature’s unchanging law: the weak fall prey to the strong, and might makes right.
From the birth of the universe to this very moment, that rule has remained rooted.
Had anyone else been in Kayden’s place today, there would have been no happy ending. At best, they’d leave with broken limbs; at worst, they’d lose their lives. Six hundred men attacking at once, for ordinary people, even surviving was a fantasy.
But Kayden wasn’t anyone else. He defeated all the six hundred people. And in doing so, he won Bruno’s awe.
He won the respect of every single person here!
Strength, unshakable strength, is the ultimate weapon.
This world will always bow to the strong!