A familiar smell filled the air as Klaus entered the corridor. He stopped in front of the receptionist. Behind the desk, a woman in a black blazer lowered her head, showing respect to the guild owner.
"Can I assist you, Mr. Klaus?" the receptionist asked.
Klaus paid no attention to her, and she asked again, but he remained unresponsive. His eyes were fixed on an empty space as his eyebrows furrowed. Something seemed to divert his attention.
Shaking her head, Sheila signaled not to disturb Klaus, and the receptionist nodded.
"Something's odd," Klaus muttered suddenly.
"What's wrong, boss?" Sheila asked.
"I hear noise coming from the hall. It seems like our members are training," Klaus replied.
Sheila furrowed her brow. "Isn't that good? Your subordinates are practicing without anyone telling them to."
"Nah, nah," Klaus shook his head. "Last night, I heard news of a dungeon break. They should be off for a raid now. Why are they training?"
Klaus then turned to the receptionist. "Where's Justin?"
"Mr. Justin is in his office. Would you like me to call him?"
Without replying to the receptionist, Klaus simply walked away. Sheila gave a smile to the receptionist before following her boss.
As Klaus suspected, his subordinates were indeed training in the hall. Klaus only saw members with ranks from F- to D-Class. He didn't see familiar faces like Akio and Olivia.n0VelUsb.c0m
"What's Justin up to?" Klaus mumbled; a bit annoyed.
With clenched fists, Klaus headed straight for the guild master's office. Sheila could sense her boss's frustration as they walked down the corridor. She could imagine what would happen when they confronted Justin.
However, what Sheila had in mind didn't happen.
As they entered the guild master's office, Justin was seen talking to a man in formal attire. At a glance, Klaus immediately knew that the government envoy was the guest.
Justin was slightly surprised to see Klaus suddenly enter his room. The government envoy turned around. The man quickly stood up from his seat.
"Oh, Klaus. Why are you here?"
Klaus squinted his eyes as he realized the guest was Max. He drew closer to him. "That's supposed to be my question. Why are you here?"
Max raised an eyebrow. "Me? I'm delivering some tasks from the government."
"Tasks? Did Richard order this?"
"Yeah," Max replied.
Klaus furrowed his brow.
It had been three months since Richard took office as governor. During that time, he had been doing his job well. He delivered on his promises to Klaus, cleaning up Queens and weakening the Morning Star's power. He also granted many concessions to Mors Industries to operate its business freely.
Everything had been going smoothly. However, Klaus had never heard that Richard would delegate tasks to Rays of Hope. They had indeed made a cooperative arrangement, but it required Klaus's approval.
Of course, this made Klaus upset. It felt like Richard was undermining him.
Klaus looked at Justin, and the man shrugged.
A sigh escaped his lips.
"Get out, Max," Klaus ordered.
The government employee furrowed his brow. "What? Are you kicking me out?" He turned to the guild master, seeking his assistance.
Justin cleared his throat. "I apologize, Mr. Maxmillian. I forgot to inform you that I have another important appointment today."
With a pleading look, Justin politely asked Max to leave his office. He shook his head in disappointment before exiting the room.
Sheila, feeling guilty, smiled and gestured an apology to Max.
"So, tell me. What the hell is going on, Justin?"
Justin then explained everything to Klaus.
The government's assignment involved public service tasks. Rays of Hope was asked to deploy its members to clean up gangsters and street criminals. Sometimes, the government also requested their assistance in training new police officers. And it wasn't just once or twice. In a week, Rays of Hope could receive five to eight requests.
Naturally, Klaus was furious after hearing this.
Bam! Papers scattered. Sheila was frightened, seeing her boss slam the desk. She had never seen Klaus this angry in her life.
"Goddamn it, Justin. Why didn't you ever tell me anything?"
Justin twisted his face in confusion. "What are you talking about? Weren't you the one who told me?"
"What?" Klaus squinted. Then, a moment later, his eyes widened. He remembered something.
Klaus remembered having asked Justin to get the governor's envoy's signature, but it contained a cooperation agreement contract between Rays of Hope and the government. Within that agreement letter was a clause stating that the government needed prior approval from the guild's owner before assigning tasks to Rays of Hope. And the guild owner was Klaus, not Justin.
However, the documents Justin received were not limited to just one. Besides signing the cooperation agreement contract, Justin also signed a public service letter. Its content stated that Rays of Hope had to be willing to perform voluntary work for the government.
In other words, Justin was being manipulated without Klaus's knowledge.
Klaus grew even angrier after learning this fact. However, he suppressed his anger. Taking a deep breath, he cooled his head, trying to think clearly. His face soon became as calm as a still lake.
"How long have they been using our people?" Klaus asked.
"Since I signed the agreement letter. It's been about three months."
"Damn."
The guild's primary income came from dungeon raids. With Rays of Hope holding exclusive rights to purple and indigo dungeons, it guaranteed its members daily monster hunting. Dungeon breaks occurred every one or two weeks, and it took less than seven days to complete a dungeon.
If Rays of Hope had been doing public service for the past three months, it meant the guild had missed out on three or four raids. One raid could earn them 30 to 50 million dollars. If Rays of Hope was absent for three months, the guild would have lost at least 400 million dollars.
A substantial amount.
"I'm sorry, Klaus. I should have been more thorough," Justin lowered his head in shame.
"It's alright. It's my fault for underestimating this person. I should have removed him right after the election."
Klaus had never expected Richard to remain loyal forever. He knew that someday this man would rebel. Klaus had wanted to use Richard for his own interests for a longer time, but he had not anticipated that this man would stab him in the back earlier.
"This guy is playing with fire," he muttered.
An evil grin spread across his face.
Justin noticed the expression on his boss's face. Swallowing hard, he seemed to understand what was going through Klaus's mind.
"Call back all our members right away. Instruct them to immediately proceed with the raid. I heard there's been a dungeon break in Bronx. Send them there immediately."
"Alright, boss."
One step before exiting the door, Klaus stopped. "One more thing. Call Akio and Olivia to come right away. Tell them that if they make me wait for more than ten minutes, their salaries for this month will be deducted."
Justin sighed as he received that instruction. He was reluctant to do it, but if the boss said so, it had to be done.
...
It was noon at Capitol State, and the sun shone brightly in the sky. Klaus confidently led his men through the main entrance. Behind him was Sheila, while on both sides were Akio and Olivia.
"Do you remember what I told you?" Klaus asked.
"Stop anyone who tries to obstruct," Akio replied.
Olivia swallowed nervously.
As they approached the entrance, two security guards tried to stop them. However, Akio and Olivia stood firm, giving sharp glances that were discomforting enough to make the guards step aside without resistance.
As they left, those two guards contacted their colleagues. Shortly after, another group of guards, who were awakeners, approached Klaus and his men.
One guard attempted to ask politely, "Excuse me, sir. What brings you here?"
However, Klaus didn't respond or show any signs of slowing down. His reluctance to answer triggered tension among the other guards, who promptly tried to halt him.
Another guard, with a firmer tone, demanded, "Stop, you can't just walk in like this!"
Akio and Olivia acted swiftly. They blocked the guard trying to stop Klaus.
Akio, in a calm yet firm voice, replied, "We have urgent matters with the Governor."
Without turning, Olivia added, "This is a matter that needs immediate attention."
Klaus continued to walk freely, while his two bodyguards prevented anyone from obstructing his path. It didn't take long for a commotion to ensue.
More guards arrived, flocking towards Klaus.
However, Klaus remained composed, unaffected by the number of guards attempting to impede him. Continuing to move forward, he let Akio and Olivia take charge.
Akio stood tall in front of Klaus, gazing at the approaching guards with a sharp look that conveyed a clear message: do not obstruct. On the other side, Olivia maintained a safe distance, her body ready to act if the situation required further action.
"Damn it! Who do you think you are?" one of the guards shouted angrily.
In an instant, tension rose in the corridor. Sheila began to panic, but she continued to follow her boss.
Security guards inside the room attempted to attack Klaus. Akio quickly responded, jumping forward to protect his boss. He evaded the grip of one of the guards and swiftly delivered a kick that sent him tumbling.
Meanwhile, Olivia acted with the same speed. She faced several guards trying to prevent entry. With nimble movements, she dodged their attacks, then with quick strikes, she managed to subdue one guard.
The remaining guards tried to put up a fight, but they were swiftly defeated by Akio and Olivia.
In the blink of an eye, they had moved to a different floor. Klaus walked confidently through the long corridors, with Sheila moving agilely behind him.
As they approached the door leading to the governor's office, two more guards stood in front of it, having realized that a group of people was attempting to breach their way in. However, Akio and Olivia immediately cleared the path for Klaus, confronting the guards with intimidating looks.
The guards tried to maintain their stern demeanor, but when they saw the intimidating faces of Klaus's bodyguards, they felt pressured. Eventually, they stepped aside, allowing Klaus and his men to enter the office.
Bam!
Governor Richard Dickson, who was busy at his desk, was startled when Klaus entered by kicking the door.
"Good afternoon, Governor. Sorry for interrupting your time."
