Antone Harringfort was livid. Contrary to the smile that he was showing to Zhou Jingren, his inner self was in turmoil. He eyed his men who were assisting the six people that were bleeding on the floor before he shifted his gaze to Zhou Jingren’s bloodied hands.
He never expected him to be this… malicious. Zhou Jingren must have sensed the absence of intent in his men. He must have known that they were only attacking him to test his skills. Still, he chose to punish them.
Severing their tendons without having second thoughts was something that he never expected from a man who only made Bei Tian do most of the work. The smile on his face grew wider as the anger inside him started to boil. He could practically feel his anger seep out of his ears, like a fucking boiling kettle. “He is safe.” Bei Tian was not the person that he wanted to see. He is not allowed to harm him.
If he had known that this Zhou Jingren would ruthlessly do this to his people, he would have killed that Bei Tian ahead of time just to retaliate and make Zhou Jingren suffer. Gritting his teeth, he eyed Zhou Jingren’s stern face. “Sit.” He gestured for him to sit across him. “Your men are safe.” He assured him. They used a gas to knock them out and that was it. Right now, his only regret is not harming those men. Fuck the rules! He thought inwardly.
Why was he not allowed to harm Zhou Jingren and his people when Zhou Jingren was allowed to harm him? Stupid rules! He watched as Zhou Jingren sat opposite him, the tension in the air grew thicker.
“Who are you?”
“Call me Antone. I am not sure if you remember me— “
“I do. You are the man from the milk tea shop.”
He nodded, impressed at Zhou Jingren’s sharp memory. “I am called Antone Harringfort.” His thick accent became apparent every time he mentioned his real name. He hated it.
“Where is Bei Tian?”
Zhou Jingren’s question instantly made him more irritated. How could he worry about a nobody when he was surrounded by people his size, willing to attack him under Harringfort’s orders? Surely, Zhou Jingren was not stupid, right?
“I already told you—”
“Where is he?”
“In his room. Sleeping.” This time, he told him the truth. There is no use in withholding unimportant information like this. “Now… let’s calm down. If I wanted you dead… you wouldn’t have been sitting across me right now.” He forced a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “But you already know this, right?”
“Why are you here?”
Again, Zhou Jingren’s tone immediately made him more furious. He forced the anger down and pretended to be amused by the man’s words. “No bullshit, I see?” he grinned. Zhou Jingren only responded with a low hum. “I am here to talk about the future, Mr. Zhou. I hope you are ready to listen to everything that I say and decide carefully. This might cost you your family’s life.”
“You are threatening me.” Zhou Jingren stated.
“Oh no. No… we don’t threaten someone. We are not that low.” Harringfort beamed, his blue eyes gleaming under the light of the room. His eyes then landed towards his men that was now fully tended. “Bring them to the headquarters. Attend to their family’s needs.” He ordered, taking his eyes back to Zhou Jingren. “The people that you hurt have families. Wives, children, parents and grandparents. Crippling them is way worse than killing them.”
A snort escaped Zhou Jingren’s lips. Seeing this, Harringfort continued. “I was not expecting that you can be so ruthless behind the back of your wife.”
“Are you saying that I should have let them attack me just because they have families waiting for them at home?”
Harringfort’s lips thinned. “No. All I’m saying is… you were too ruthless. Now, these people would live hating themselves for not being strong enough to defend themselves against you.”
“And… is that something that I should be concerned about?”
Harringfort stared at Zhou JIngren’s sharp features.
“Mr. Harringfort, there is no law in a fight. Dying and being injured is nothing but a part of it. They will get over it.”
Zhou Jingren’s nonchalant answer was something that he never expected.
“Now… are you going to tell me why you are here? Or are we going to talk about morals and values?” Zhou Jingren added.
Still, Harringfort did not respond. Surely, he underestimated Zhou Jingren’s will. He waited for his people to leave before he started speaking. “I am from an organization who is keeping the peace in the world.”
“The UN?”
“The Order of the Spectre.”
“Never heard of it.”
“Let me finish!” Harringfort hissed, unable to hide the irritation inside him. This man— This man in front of him was just so hateful! “Alright… As I said…”
“No.” Zhou Jingren said flatly.
“Excuse me?”
“I said no.”
“What are you— “
���You are going to ask me to join you.” Zhou Jingren stated. “Even a toddler could guess that.”
“You should listen— “
“And I am saying no. I won’t be joining some organization.”
Harringfort frowned. This was supposed to be a serious conversation, full of tension and thick suffocating atmosphere. He was supposed to tell this man what the Spectre could do. Instead, everything about this meeting had been a nightmare. From his injured people to this man’s nonchalance and now… him refusing to listen to his words.
He even had the guts to refuse the offer without even knowing what the Spectre is!
“You should listen to me and listen well.” He uttered, trying his best to hide the irritation in his voice. At this point, Harringfort already realized that coming in here to talk to Zhou Jingren was the wrong decision.
He was too close, his emotions towards Zhou Jingren and Lily were enough to compromise the facade that he wanted to maintain. “Old Man Yu left his seat to you.” He added. “I am not here to recruit you. I am here to tell you about the rules of the organization. It was not a matter of deciding whether you will join or not. There is only the matter of deciding when to talk to the council to solidify your position inside the organization.”
…
2/3 Don’t forget to vote for the novel
