While some were fuming, others were in high spirits.
Kai was the perfect example of the latter.
Dressed in a sleek, well-fitted suit, with his tie knotted meticulously and not a strand of hair out of place, he had slicked back his short cut with a touch of wax, pulling off a clean, polished look. He stood confidently at the front of the temporary hotel conference room, cleared his throat with a fist to his lips, and looked out over the crowd.
Heads stretched out across the room—nearly a hundred of them. All former special forces soldiers.
Among them were people from Kai's time in service, and many he'd known personally.
The young master had told him to recruit people he trusted—but when it came to comrades from the military, trust was a given.
In the end, he'd called in a few too many.
"Kai, bro, you've really made it, huh? Damn, you got this many guys to show up, booked each of us our own single rooms… man, we've basically taken over the whole floor of this hotel."
"Seriously, Kai, bro, you're living the dream. Out of all the guys who retired from the unit, you're doing the best."
"Still, Kai… there's something we gotta get straight. We're here out of respect for you, but if there's anything that crosses the line—anything that goes against our principles—we're not doing it."
"Yeah, Kai, I'm with a decent company now. I get four rest days a month, the pay's pretty damn good, close to five figures. Not far from financial freedom, man."
"…"
Scattered throughout the orderly crowd of retired special ops soldiers, small clusters were murmuring among themselves. Some were clearly impressed by how far Kai had come, but most were still cautiously observing, keeping their options open. Many of them already had stable jobs.
At the back of the room, Veil sat quietly.
Aside from being better looking than the average guy, he didn't really stand out. Just another man among men. No one gave him a second glance.
With a faint glance over the room, Veil couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.
So Kai had really called in every old comrade he knew?
Even those with steady jobs hadn't escaped his net—was he trying to poach people now?
Veil leaned back slightly, genuinely curious to see what kind of play Kai was about to make.
"Ahem, settle down for a moment," Kai raised his hand, signaling for order.
They were all retired special forces soldiers—disciplined to the core. In an instant, the room fell completely silent.
The mic in the conference room was broken, so Kai had to raise his voice, practically shouting to make sure everyone could hear him.
He pointed to the man who had spoken earlier and said, "You mentioned financial freedom. But let me ask you—what do you think financial freedom actually is?
Some of our brothers say it means having a lot of money. That you can do whatever you want.
Well, I'm here to tell you—that's wrong.
What is financial freedom? It's having so much money that you can say no to the things you don't want to do. That you have the power to refuse!
Do you have that power? Do you really?
You work as a bodyguard, and your boss tells you to drink a glass of liquor. Can you say no?
If you could say no, what would you do? Point at the boss and curse, 'F*** you, I'm not drinking that! I quit!'
The man lowered his head and muttered, "Who the hell would dare say that? You'd be fired on the spot…"
But then, unable to hold back, he shot back at Kai, "And what about you, Kai? Could you talk to your boss like that?"
Kai gave a cold snort. "Me? You think I can? Of course not! I probably have it even worse than all of you here!
When the young master gives me a task, I have to get it done, no matter what. Every single day, I'm exhausted!
You think I want to stand here and preach at you? In this huge-ass conference room with no working mic, yelling till my throat's about to catch fire? You think I want to do this? Hell no!
But what can I say—the young master pays too damn much!"
Hissss…
Even the seasoned soldiers in the room, who had seen their fair share of shock, stared wide-eyed at Kai's words. Even Veil, seated in the back, found himself startled.
Damn.
Kai really got it, didn't he?
Then, one man raised a shaky hand. "Kai, bro… what's your salary like now?"
Almost a hundred pairs of ears perked up instantly.
Kai sighed and shook his head. "Not that great. Monthly salary's not even thirty grand. Add in quarterly bonuses, year-end incentives, I barely make a mil or two a year.
Now don't let that number fool you. Sounds decent, right? But it's not as simple as it looks.
You guys know the deal—we're in this line of work, gotta decompress sometimes. A massage, for example, costs hundreds, sometimes over a thousand a pop. But do you know what it feels like to work under the young master?
It's torture! A single visit to the club? Easily costs a few billion… in health points!
The young master booked five floors of the neighboring clubhouse for an entire month. We're all killing ourselves for him day and night, and the moment we get a break? He forces us to hit the fifth floor and spend more time relaxing. This body, I tell you—it's falling apart by the day!
And get this—last time he went out, spent big, and had two million left over. You know what he did? Threw it at me and said, 'Here, split it with the forty-something brothers.' Do you know how hard that was?
I couldn't just split it evenly. Some guys worked harder, others slacked off. No matter how I divided it, someone was bound to be unhappy. I'm the one left catching the heat!
sigh... Life's tough. We do what we can to get by. I called you all here today because the young master wants to expand his bodyguard team. That's it. I'm done talking. Honestly, I feel a bit wronged even having to explain all this.
If you're in, just let me know. If not, no hard feelings—we'll still be comrades."
As soon as he finished, a ringtone pierced the silence. All eyes turned toward the man whose phone was ringing.
Looking flustered, he raised a hand apologetically and answered the call. A few seconds passed—and then he exploded.
"Overtime? F*** you! I wouldn't come back to work even if you let me sleep with your wife! Don't you know I'm on leave? You want me to work during the holidays? What's wrong with your brain?! I quit! Whoever wants to work overtime can go do it themselves! Idiot!"
Click.
He slammed the phone down, grumbling under his breath, and after a brief pause, he glanced at Kai.
Then, with a small cough, he cleared his throat and let out a sharp, squeaky noise.
"Eeek…"
What the hell?
The other veterans didn't hesitate.
"Eeek!"
"Eeek eeek!"
"Eeek eeek eeek…"
Before long, the entire conference room was filled with shrill, mouse-like squeaks. Anyone walking past might've thought the place was infested.
None of them wanted to squeak like that.
But hell—Kai was offering way too much.
They wanted that thirty-thousand-a-month grind. They wanted to spend billions in bodily damage from "relaxing." Their backs were getting weaker by the day, after all.
"Don't rush. Register one by one. As long as your skills haven't deteriorated over the years, you'll be accepted. But there's one condition—you must never betray us."
Kai raised a hand and launched into a long speech, laying out the recruitment standards.
Sitting at the back, Veil watched with a faint smile. Kai's performance had truly satisfied him.
But even after Kai's vetting process, Veil still intended to spend time with the recruits. A meal together was inevitable.
If you wanted someone to work for you, you had to treat it like making friends—start with courtesy before enforcing discipline.
As evening approached, Veil booked several private rooms at the hotel.
In Veil's private room, there were fifteen people in total.
Subtracting Kai and himself, the remaining thirteen were all handpicked elites from the military.
Even a rough gauge of their physiques told him—none of them were below a combat stat of fifty.
Despite being retired, their abilities hadn't dulled. In fact, they had even grown stronger over time.
If they were deployed together, even against someone like Roy, they might not be able to kill him outright—but they could definitely leave him seriously wounded.
"Master Lancaster, I didn't expect you to be sitting through the whole meeting. That was really surprising."
"Exactly! I remember thinking—he doesn't look like an ordinary… person."
"Master Lancaster, a toast to you!"
The thirteen soon-to-be bodyguards were all full of praise and courtesy. Veil didn't decline, matching every toast as they went around.
Once the round of drinks was over, Veil clapped his hands.
The private room doors opened, and a line of women in black-and-white uniforms walked in.
The hotel was conveniently located next to a clubhouse, so hiring a few professionals wasn't difficult at all.
Each of the women had an enticing figure—ample curves and striking posture.
As the last one entered, she closed the door behind her. Seven or eight women walked into the room in total.
Their graceful silhouettes drew the attention of every man in the room.
Gulp.
Someone couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
Veil chuckled and said, "Don't just stand there. Take your seats."
The women moved gracefully, sitting between every two men.
Regardless of who they were sitting next to, the men were clearly distracted, constantly glancing sideways, stealing looks from the corners of their eyes.
One of them forced a smile and asked, "Master Lancaster… what's that black stuff on their bodies?"
Each woman had a layer of black powder brushed over her skin. It shimmered subtly under the lights, eye-catching and stylish.
Veil replied with a light laugh, "It's just a fashion trend. Don't be shy—relax and enjoy yourselves. This is meant to be fun."
But inviting these women wasn't just about indulgence.
The real purpose was to test the character of Kai's old comrades.
After all, some tasks required secrecy and discretion. Veil couldn't afford to assign missions to just anyone. While their physical capabilities were proven, and he trusted Kai's judgment on loyalty, Veil needed to gauge their discipline and integrity.
Since the women arrived, the temperature in the room seemed to rise by at least eight degrees.
Their eyes sparkled with mischief. Their movements were flirtatious. When offering drinks, they'd brush lightly against the men—tempting enough to make one's soul nearly leave their body.
Yet, not a single man crossed the line. All of them sat straight, some sneaking glances at most, but no one laid a hand where it didn't belong.
"Ahem…" Veil turned to Kai, who was seated just to his left, and smiled.
"Isn't this your favorite kind of setting? What's wrong—can't relax?"
Kai laughed awkwardly. "Young Master, you don't get it. Lately, I've been seeing this manager at the club. Things are… progressing fast. If she finds out I acted out of line here, she'll rip my ears off!"
"Afraid of a woman?" Veil burst out laughing.
Clearly, relying on Kai to stir the mood wouldn't work.
Veil picked up his glass, casually twirling it in his hand, then let it "accidentally" slip.
Crash!
The glass shattered on the floor.
At the exact same moment, the lights in the room dimmed entirely—pitch black.
"Ah! Who was that? Don't be naughty…"
"Whose hand is that?"
"Stop it~ you're so bad…"
The women's flirtatious voices echoed in the dark, the whole room dissolving into chaos and laughter.
Moments later, the lights flicked back on.
The room appeared to return to its former state—calm, orderly, composed.
But anyone with eyes could see the black powder on the women was nearly all rubbed off.
If one didn't know better, they'd think nothing had happened in the dark.
Veil's expression darkened.
He looked at the thirteen men below him and said coldly, "Show me your hands. All of you."
The men hesitated, then one took the lead.
All thirteen slowly raised their hands, each one covered in black powder. Their heads dropped in shame.
Veil's voice turned stern. "All I wanted was to test your self-control. And this is what I get? You all disappointed me."
"If I assign you a mission one day, and someone offers you a woman in exchange, are you just going to forget your orders? Throw away my trust?"
The generous salary and benefits—that was the carrot.
Now came the stick.
Without discipline, they couldn't be controlled. He couldn't let Kai shoulder all the management. Who was the boss here—Veil or Kai?
"Master Lancaster… we were wrong."
"We lost control. It won't happen again."
"Those girls were just too… much. We couldn't hold back."
Veil sneered. "Can't hold back? Are you human? And Kai's not?"
He turned to Kai. "Kai, hands on the table."
Without hesitation, Kai placed both hands on the table.
Calloused, but clean—completely free of black powder.
"Look at him. That's what real restraint and professionalism looks like."
"I'm not denying your capabilities, but you have a lot to learn from Kai. Understood?"
Ashamed, the thirteen men nodded repeatedly.
One even gave Kai a thumbs-up. "Kai, you're amazing. I don't know how you did it—you're my hero!"
"Heh, no big deal," Kai said with a grin, revealing a row of gleaming blackened teeth.