Chapter 9: Paying Respects to the Sovereign

"You useless Norrell family trash, what did you just say?" Jared Spears's face twisted with rage. He raised his fist, ready to smash it into that good-for-nothing. *Only three hundred grand?* Forget three hundred grand. Even thirty grand. Could a loser like you cough that up? Charlotte Norrell cut in before he could move. She caught Jared by the arm and pulled him aside. "Jared, don't waste your temper on that piece of trash." Then she lifted her chin, calm and cool. "Besides, I really don't need your family's money anymore. River City Bank agreed to a loan for Perfect Sky Company this morning. I appreciate the offer, but I'll pass." "What? The loan got approved?" Jared froze, stunned. Hadn't Perfect Sky Company been hitting wall after wall, unable to secure funding anywhere? How did River City Bank suddenly agree overnight? "Um… Charlotte. Can I ask how much you borrowed?" "Ten million." Jared swallowed hard. An awkward smile tugged at his mouth. Compared to ten million, his three million really did look like pocket change. Jared came from money. He wasn't on the level of the truly top-tier clans, but in wealth and standing, the Spears family was more or less on par with the Norrell family behind Charlotte. Add in the fact that he was young and good-looking, and Charlotte had always held a decent impression of him. So she softened her voice. "Alright, Jared. Thanks again. Once I'm done with this mess, let's grab dinner sometime, okay? That's it for today." With that, Charlotte waved and hurried into the company, leaving only Jared and Reginald Lyson standing there. Reginald shrugged. He had delivered his sister-in-law to the office, so his job was done. He swung a leg over his Electric Scooter and headed straight home. Jared's attempt at flirting had crashed and burned, leaving him stewing. When he saw Reginald ride off without a care in the world, a nameless fire flared in his chest. "Damn it. What a moron." With a cold laugh, Jared climbed into his Jaguar. Reginald cruised along on the Electric Scooter at an easy pace, letting the early-summer breeze wash over him. As he passed an intersection, a harsh horn blared. He glanced back and saw a Jaguar blowing through the red light, charging straight at him. Only when it was about to hit did the Jaguar brake, tires shrieking as they scraped the road. Reginald narrowed his eyes, but he didn't flinch or swerve. Because in that instant, a Rolls-Royce Phantom shot in from the side and slid between him and the Jaguar. The Jaguar had no time to change course. It slammed into the Rolls-Royce's side. The impact wasn't huge, but it still boomed loud enough to turn heads. Behind the wheel, Jared went blank. Where the hell did a Rolls-Royce come from? And why did it have to cut in at the exact moment he hit it? As a rich kid, Jared knew exactly what it meant to crash into a Rolls-Royce. This one wasn't the most expensive model in the lineup, but it was the most famous: a Rolls-Royce Phantom. It cost at least eight million. A casual repair bill could easily run into a million. He might be the young master of the Spears family, but his monthly allowance was only a hundred thousand. A million? Only his father could cover that. Worse, he recognized the license plate. This car belonged to Gordon Mallin, boss of River City's largest Underworld Organization, the Shadow Stream Society. A kingpin of the Dark World in River City. Someone the Spears family couldn't afford to provoke. Damn it, damn it, damn it! That useless idiot Reginald Lyson. This was all because of him! Jared kicked the seat a few times in a blind fury. Then he saw a bald, beefy man in sunglasses step out of the Rolls-Royce with a cigar clenched between his teeth, two bodyguards flanking him. Jared would have recognized that face even if it turned to ash. Gordon Mallin. Gordon Mallin stopped by the window and bent down, peering inside. "Kid. You've got guts, crashing into our car." "Boss Gordon, it's a misunderstanding. It's all a misunderstanding!" Jared forced a smile that looked worse than crying. He tried to explain, but one of the bodyguards suddenly reached in and swiped across his chest. Somehow, the seatbelt snapped clean through. A massive hand grabbed Jared and yanked him straight out through the window. "Big brother, please! Don't! We can talk, we can talk, big brother, big bro-huh?" In the middle of his panic, Jared noticed something else. An old man stepped down from Gordon Mallin's car. Then, to Jared's utter disbelief, the old man walked up to Reginald and bowed deeply. Jared's eyes bulged. He stood there like he'd been struck by lightning. What… what was going on? Someone qualified to ride in Gordon Mallin's Rolls-Royce was bowing to Reginald Lyson, that worthless trash? "Paying respects to the Sovereign!" At those words, Reginald snorted and flicked his hand. "Get up. Zayn Vincett, I didn't expect you to be in River City too." The old man before him was the subordinate Reginald had contacted last night: Zayn Vincett. Within Nine Heavens, Zayn was one of the nine elders with the greatest authority, second only to Reginald himself. Nine Heavens had nine elders: Zhongtian, Xiantian, Congtian, Gengtian, Suitian, Kuotian, Xiantian, Shentian, and Chengtian! Each held dominion over their own sphere of power. When Reginald was absent, they ran and guarded everything within Nine Heavens in his stead. And Zayn Vincett held the heaviest authority of them all: Chengtian. After reconnecting with Reginald last night, Zayn had rushed through the night to River City, arriving only to appear before him at this moment. "Sovereign. It's been three years. I have many matters I wish to report to you." Reginald swept his gaze around. The morning rush had passed, and this intersection wasn't especially busy, but there were still pedestrians coming and going. Their attention had all been drawn to the crash. "We'll talk after we leave." "Yes, Sovereign. Please." Zayn turned slightly. "Little Mo, call the cars." Little… Mo? A giant like Gordon Mallin was being called Little Mo? What kind of joke was that? Jared's ears rang. He was sure he had misheard. But Gordon Mallin didn't seem offended at all. If anything, he wore a flattering smile as he waved toward the distance. The next moment, a scene unfolded that made the nearby onlookers suck in a sharp breath. A convoy of five black Rolls-Royce Phantoms drove up in perfect formation and stopped neatly beside Reginald and Zayn. From the Phantom in the middle, Red Feather stepped out. She personally opened the door for Reginald and invited him in. "Bring my scooter too," Reginald said casually. "I'll need it later." He was about to get in when Zayn suddenly remembered something. He pointed at Jared. "Sovereign, what should be done with him?" Reginald couldn't even be bothered to glance Jared's way. He slid into the car. "Zayn Vincett, since when did you need to ask me about something this small?" Cold sweat sprang out on Zayn's forehead. "Yes! I understand." Standing by the door, Zayn made a curt gesture. He used Sound Binding to pass a quiet instruction to Gordon Mallin in the distance. Then he got into the car as well, and the convoy pulled away unhurriedly, leaving behind the Phantom that had been hit. Only after the Rolls-Royce convoy disappeared did Jared snap out of it. He shouted in a panic, "Boss Gordon! I know that guy who got in your car! I know him, I do!" "Know him?" Gordon Mallin chuckled. "You stinking brat, you think you're worthy? Call your family. You crashed my car. Kid, did you pick the wrong day to leave the house?" Jared's legs went weak. Regret churned in his gut until it hurt. How could it happen? How could he have hit Gordon Mallin's car of all things? He only wanted to bump Reginald's Electric Scooter lightly, just to vent his anger. He never imagined it would blow up into this kind of disaster.