Chapter 2: Hogan Mason Killed

"Who are you?" Carlos asked coldly. "With your lame martial arts, you think you deserve to know my name?" The man in the black robe sneered.  The next second, he disappeared from inside the car and was suddenly standing right in front of Carlos.  Unlike the thugs led by the blond man, the man in black was a genuine martial artist. "Are you so scared of me you've gone dumb?" Slap! In an instant, the guy felt as though his face had slammed into a mountain.  Carlos had slapped him so hard he went flying, hit the ground, and started spitting blood everywhere.  The black box he'd been holding clattered to the ground. Carlos stomped his foot down on the man's chest. "Moron!" "Don't kill me! I won't act tough anymore! My name is Neil. I'm from the Saint Sect! I was delivering pills to Hogan Mason, the Mason family's second son!" Neil blurted out. Carlos glanced at the black box and instantly realized it held a pill meant to boost men's vigor. Neil kept going, "You should take this pill! Swallow it and you'll be unstoppable in bed!" "Plus, if you sleep with a woman afterward, your cultivation will skyrocket! This is our Saint Sect's best-seller!" He pointed at Nala Charlton.  "Hogan Mason wanted to take this pill and to sleep with her! Boss, don't kill me, I've told you everything! If you do, the Saint Sect won't let you off!" "You and your Saint Sect tried to mess with Nala. I won't let any of you off!"  With a sickening crunch, Carlos stomped down, shattering Neil's chest. "Carlos!" Nala gasped in shock. Carlos had changed so much.  Carlos asked, concerned, "Nala, how did they catch you?" Nala answered bitterly, "After the Carroll family collapsed, the Carroll Group got split up by the big families in Jaunce." "The Mason family kept trying to hire me as their group's CEO, but I turned them down again and again. Hogan Mason kept harassing me." "I couldn't take it anymore, so a few days ago I snuck out of Jaunce, but his guys tracked me down and dragged me back." Carlos nodded, clearly moved.  Nala was the only one who never abandoned the Carroll family, even after everything fell apart.  She went on, "Hogan's a bastard. After the Carroll family collapsed, he assaulted many of the Carroll family's female members!" "I overheard Lorenzo say Hogan not only caught me, but also some younger girls who'd run off to the countryside. They're at the Mason Hotel." "Take me there!" Carlos's eyes turned cold.  He drove the van, following Nala's directions to the Mason Hotel. Inside the car, Nala stared at Carlos's profile, totally mesmerized.  He was as handsome as ever, but now there was a new, tough edge about him.  She wondered what he'd gone through these past three years to change so much. "I didn't die when I jumped in the river back then. Three mentors saved me and made me a martial artist," Carlos told the truth.  In this world, strength was everything.  Ordinary people could start training and become martial artists.  With sufficient skill, one could become an elite martial artist, and above that were the titles of Martial Master, Grand Martial Master, Martial General, and Grand Martial General. Nala nodded, genuinely happy for Carlos.  Carlos glanced at her, feeling a sharp ache inside.  Once the most beautiful, wealthy woman in Jaunce, she now looked anxious, her skin dull.  She no longer wore any of the big brands. It was apparent she'd been through a lot.  Her complexion was oddly dark. She must have some strange illness.  Reflecting on how his childhood friend had ended up like this because of him made him feel bad. "Was it worth it, sticking by my family?" Carlos suddenly asked. Nala paused, understood his meaning, and after a few seconds, replied softly, "I have no regrets!" Nala had turned down the Mason Group for Carlos's sake. Just like how she joined the Carroll Group as CEO, all for Carlos's sake.  She was a business prodigy. Tons of big corporations and multinational companies from all over the place offered her sky-high salaries, but she turned them all down for one reason. She was in love with Carlos Carroll.  Unlike Jaclyn Johanson, Nala wasn't a gold digger. Carlos stayed silent, his gaze sharp as a blade.  "Nala, I'll make sure you know your loyalty was worth it." Nala nodded, but her heart was full of worry.  Carlos had gotten stronger, but going up against Hogan Mason with nothing but his bare hands was still way too dangerous. Carlos noticed her concern and grinned.  "Don't worry about me. It's them who should be scared!" At the Mason Hotel, up in the top-floor luxury suite, a young guy in a white bathrobe was strutting around, humming some tune, and acting all cocky.  The man was Hogan Mason, the second son of the Mason family.  His brother was Emilio Mason.  Hogan's gaze landed on three young girls on the bed.  The girls had been dressed up in super short, tight nurse outfits, with red, blue, and pink stockings stretched over their long legs.  The white uniforms made them look even more seductive.  The more they squirmed and struggled, the harder it was for Hogan to hold himself back.  These girls were all from the Carroll family, recently captured on Hogan's orders.  They were tied up and thrown on the bed, faces full of fear as they glared at Hogan. Hogan grinned, excited. "Ladies, let me have my fun first. Once the Saint Sect brings the pill and Nala gets here in her flight attendant outfit, I'll go all night with her!" Then he pulled out his usual stuff, such as whips, candles, and even some popping candy. "Here I come!" With that, he jumped onto the bed, totally hyped up. Bang! Right then, the door got kicked open, and a dagger flew through the air. Thud! The dagger nailed Hogan right in the crotch, slicing his manhood clean off. "It's gone!" Hogan screamed in agony, clutching his crotch and rolling on the floor.  He looked up and saw a tall figure at the door, a face he recognized instantly. "Carlos Carroll!" Hogan was terrified.  He looked back to see his bodyguards sprawled outside, either dead or unconscious.  The dagger in his crotch was one of theirs. "You... you're still alive!" Hogan trembled in pain, frantically pressing a button on the wall.  This suite, where he'd played with so many women, was loaded with uniforms, toys, and drugs, plus a team of guards on standby.  Hitting the alarm would bring them running. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! More than twenty big thugs with iron pipes stormed in, looking mean as hell.  Nala, worried sick, jumped in front of Carlos to shield him.  She knew just how vicious Hogan's guys could be, especially when it came to women. "Dare to mess with our boss? You're dead!" the thugs shouted as they charged. "Bunch of trash!" Carlos stepped forward, snapped one guy's neck, then spun around and slashed another's throat with his dagger.  Then he kept moving, striking again and again. Thud! Thud! Thud! One after another, the thugs clutched their throats or chests and dropped in a heap at Carlos's feet.  Carlos took them all out. Hogan was stunned.  "How did Carlos get so strong?" Carlos stabbed the dagger into Hogan's shoulder. "Argh! You punk! My father will kill you!" Hogan yelled. Crack! Carlos broke Hogan's arm and leg. "Please stop! I'm sorry!" Hogan pleaded. "You kidnapped Nala. You need to compensate her." "What?" Hogan didn't expect Carlos to demand money. "Here! I have one million!" Hogan endured the pain to transfer the money to Nala. Later, Carlos pulled another dagger and pointed it at Hogan's neck. "Who ordered  you to wipe out the Carroll family?" "I don't know! You can ask Emilio and Jaclyn! Jaclyn was involved in the plan!" "Emilio and Jaclyn will have a wedding tomorrow. You can ask them!" Hogan replied. Carlos' face darkened. He realized Jaclyn also helped to annihilate his family. Carlos didn't hesitate. He swung and chopped Hogan's head clean off. "Mr. Carlos, you're alive!" The three girls, finally freed, burst into tears of joy. "I'm back. You're safe now, don't worry," Carlos reassured them, feeling a deep ache inside for how badly the Carroll family had been wronged.  His fists clenched. He swore to himself he'd make every last one of their enemies pay. Late that night, after ensuring the three Carroll girls were safe, Nala and Carlos found a discreet inn in Jaunce that didn't even require ID. "Why pick such a hidden spot?" Carlos wondered. Nala opened the window, looked around nervously, then closed it again.  "You killed Hogan Mason. Once the Mason family finds out, they'll turn Jaunce upside down to hunt you down!" Carlos just chuckled. He knew Nala brought him here to keep him safe.  He looked at her, and she blushed right away. "Nala, I want to rebuild the Carroll Group. Will you help me?" Carlos asked. Nala nodded. "Of course, but it's easier said than done. The Carroll family used to have almost a billion in assets, but now it's all been split up. In Jaunce, all the big families and martial artists will do whatever it takes to get rid of you. Bringing the Carroll family back is impossible." She grabbed Carlos's hand. "Carlos, we've got one million now. Let's leave Jaunce. Trust me, with my skills, you'll never have to worry about money again." "You want to support me?" Carlos was surprised. "I do! I don't want anything to happen to you." Three years ago, after Carlos jumped into the river, Nala was devastated, almost driven to despair.  The years of bottled-up emotion dulled her skin and beauty, and she developed a mysterious illness.  But she didn't care about that. She just wanted to find Carlos.  She spent all her savings searching for him, but it was no use.  Now, seeing him alive, she was so happy she cried, and couldn't bear the thought of losing him again. Carlos laughed. He thought Nala was adorable.  He patted her on the shoulder. "We're not going anywhere. Everyone who got rich off the Carroll family's suffering is gonna pay with blood." Nala nodded, even though she was dead set against Carlos's plan.  Facing all of Jaunce's powers? How could they survive?  But Carlos's eyes burned with determination, so she had no choice but to support him. She continued, "Over the past three years, I've been secretly looking into what happened to the Carroll family. That night, three hundred masked assassins stormed the estate." "Every one of them is a martial artist led by the Mason and Johanson families. Briar Mason killed over a hundred people, and William Johanson did the same. Their hands are stained with Carroll blood!" Carlos nodded, silent, his eyes flashing dangerously.  After a long pause, he finally calmed himself. Turning to Nala, he said, "You risked everything for me and almost lost your income. Take this one million. I promise, you'll get much more in the future!" Nala shook her head. "It's not about the money." "But I want you to have it." Carlos smiled, then his expression turned serious.  "Have you been sick this past year?" Carlos had picked up on Nala's condition as soon as he saw her, but this was the first time he mentioned it. Nala was startled. "How did you know?" Her face turned red. Her mysterious illness made her skin dark, and every few days, the pain became unbearable.  Painkillers didn't help, and the misery had pushed her to the edge. Carlos frowned. "You've been poisoned. Let me help detoxify you." Nala was stunned. "Poisoned? How... how do we get rid of it?" As far as she knew, Carlos had never known medical skills. Carlos thought for a second. "Lie down on the bed, and take off your clothes." "What?" Nala's eyes widened as she instinctively hugged herself, her pink bra faintly visible under her white camisole.  She liked Carlos, but she wasn't ready to bare it all in front of him.