Chapter 127

"Besides, what if that bitch uses her looks to get Victor wrapped around her finger?"

Makoto shook her head. "You're overthinking it. Mr. Ashford has too much self-control for ordinary women to catch his eye."

She said this through gritted teeth.

She still remembered the time she'd thrown herself at him, only to be turned down without a second thought.

What happened next on the screen proved her right.

Amelia stared at the monitor.

On screen, Ruby was in tears, pouring out her tragic backstory and saying she wanted to fight the Moon Goddess Temple alongside Victor.

The anger slowly faded from Amelia's face, replaced by a flicker of sympathy.

"So she's had a rough life too." Amelia sighed.

"But she'd better know her place and stay away from Victor."

Anna watched Amelia say one thing while clearly feeling another, and let out a helpless laugh. Amelia had really fallen for him.

Just then, a group of uninvited guests burst into the scene.

Leading them was a young man in a suit, with more than a dozen mean-looking bodyguards at his back.

Most of the diners scrambled to get out of the way.

Inside the restaurant, the young man shouted at Ruby: "Ruby, get your ass out here!"

Ruby sighed and lowered her voice. "That's Marc Murray, the eldest son of the Murray family. They're connected to the Moon Goddess Temple, so he does whatever he wants in Riverton and nobody dares touch him."

"Is that so? If nobody else will deal with him, I will."

Victor gestured for Ruby to stay put and walked straight toward Marc.

"It's the twenty-first century. How are there still people acting like slave owners?"

Marc flew into a rage.

"Who the hell are you? Get lost before I put you in the ground!"

"Tear this dump apart!"

The bodyguards behind him moved to act.

Victor could have waited for the police.

But he decided to handle these Moon Goddess Temple-connected trash himself.

He stepped forward and kicked the closest bodyguard.

No Qi, just a casual kick.

The big man went flying and crashed through a row of tables and chairs behind him.

Marc broke into a cold sweat.

But banking on his status as the Murray family's eldest son, he kept running his mouth.

"You're sticking your nose in my business? Do you know who I am?"

"I don't care who you are." Victor's tone was flat.

"This isn't a place where you get to throw your weight around. Drop the act."

"You're threatening me?" Marc was shaking with rage.

"My father is with the Moon Goddess Temple! You touch me and they'll grind your bones to dust!"

Victor let out a cold laugh. "Really? I just ground three of their top envoys to dust a few days ago."

Before he'd even finished speaking, he raised his hand and slapped Marc across the face.

The crack of it rang through the entire hall.

Marc flipped twice in the air and hit the ground hard.

Half his face swelled up instantly, and he spat out several bloody broken teeth.

He was completely stunned.

Growing up with everything handed to him, he had never been humiliated like this.

"You hit me?"

Marc stared at Victor, unable to believe it.

"I kill Moon Goddess Temple members without thinking twice. You think I'd hesitate to slap you?"

The bodyguards finally connected the dots.

The name "Shura" had been all over the underground world lately.

Wiped out the Black King Cartel on Tortuga Island. Leveled the Veiled Syndicate headquarters in Titan City. Cut down three of the Moon Goddess Temple's top envoys on the Savannah River. Even took out the most powerful Black Hand Gang in Italy.

These small-time thugs found themselves face to face with the Shura from the rumors, and their legs turned to jelly.

They looked at each other, then scrambled over one another racing out of the restaurant.

Marc watched his crew disappear in seconds and completely lost his nerve, scrambling backward on all fours.

"Stay back!"

Victor walked over calmly and planted his foot on Marc's chest.

"Go back and tell your father, and those Moon Goddess Temple losers, to get their affairs in order. I'm coming for them."

Then he pulled Marc to his feet.

"Get out."

After all that, Victor went back to his seat and picked up his glass.

Like he'd just swatted a fly.

"This is a good wine."

He took a small sip.

Ruby pushed down her shock and bowed her head respectfully.

"The wine is good. But what you just did is even more impressive. From today on, I'll follow your lead."

Victor set down his glass and gave a slight nod.

"I'm staying here tonight. Tomorrow, close the restaurant. I'm not afraid of them, but I can't be everywhere at once. I can't always guarantee your safety."

"Whatever you decide," Ruby answered quietly.

The next afternoon, Victor left the hotel.

He planned to look into the Moon Goddess Temple's operations in Riverton.

See how much nerve they had left with three of their four top envoys gone.

His first stop was Harmony Martial Arts Academy.

It was the Temple's biggest base in Riverton.

On the surface, it taught martial arts. Behind closed doors, it ran drugs and trafficking.

When Victor arrived, the front gate was shut with a "Closed Today" sign hanging on it.

But inside, it was loud and lively.

Dozens of disciples in training gear were gathered together, talking big.

"Did you hear? Some guy called Shura is going around saying he'll wipe out every one of our operations in Riverton."

"The nerve! I can't speak for anywhere else, but if he dares show up at Harmony Martial Arts Academy, he won't be walking out."

The head instructor stood on the steps with a cold smirk.

Word had come down about Shura killing the envoys, but he figured with so many people at the Academy, one man showing up alone was nothing to worry about.

The disciples echoed him loudly.

"That's right! He won't be walking out!"

Right as the crowd was working itself up, a lazy voice drifted in from the gate.

"Hey, sorry to bother you."

Everyone turned to look.

A young man in casual clothes was leaning against the doorframe, an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"I heard someone said I wouldn't be walking out?"

Victor's voice was calm, and the noise in the courtyard died instantly.

The head instructor's eyes sharpened as he looked the newcomer over.

"You're Shura?"

"The one and only." Victor tilted his head slightly.

"Bold move!"

The instructor laughed, furious. "We've been looking for you, and here you come walking straight to us!"

He threw out his hand and shouted at the disciples packed into the courtyard.

"Take him down and I'll make it worth your while!"

Dozens of disciples fanned out, weapons in hand, closing in on Victor from all sides.

The promise of reward, and the lure of drugs that could push their abilities to the next level, lit a fire in these mid-level martial artists who could have started their own schools in the ordinary world.

None of them took Victor seriously.

Victor didn't take them seriously either.

He let out a cold laugh, shot forward like lightning, and drove straight at the nearest disciple.

The moment he reached him, the man screamed and went flying.

He hit the ground shaking and cried out, "My strength — my power is gone!"

While he was still screaming in horror, Victor was already moving through the crowd like a tiger in a flock of sheep.

He wasn't planning to kill them.