Chapter 374: Ill-fated Lovers

At that moment, Hododi stopped and said to Wang Yang,

"You're fired. Go back to your dorm and pack your things. Don't come in tomorrow."

Wang Yang was stunned and was about to ask why.

But Hododi didn't waste another word on him, turning and walking straight away.

Seeing Wang Yang get fired, the other waiters nearby kept their distance and began to whisper amongst themselves.

"What happened? Why was Wang Yang suddenly fired?"

"He doesn't know his place. To think he'd dare to pursue Miss Keli!"

"Serves him right!"

...

Wang Yang sighed and left the restaurant, a dejected look on his face.

He walked alone down the street, his expression full of melancholy.

Wang Yang had expected Hokas to object to him and Keli, but he never imagined he wouldn't even be given a chance to make his case.

He was passing a convenience store when he stopped. Turning his head, he saw the bottles of liquor displayed in the window, pushed the door open, and went inside.

「A short while later.」

Wang Yang sat by the bank of a scenic river, taking swigs from a bottle of liquor.

A gentle breeze drifted by.

BUZZ~

Just then, Wang Yang's wristband began to vibrate.

He glanced down. It was a call from Keli.

Wang Yang reached to answer, but his hand froze just before he touched the screen.

A complicated expression crossed his face. He didn't know how he could possibly face Keli.

'The gap between us is just too wide. There's no hope for me.'

In the end, Wang Yang silenced his wristband and continued to drink in silence.

「As evening fell.」

In a drunken haze, Wang Yang sighed. It was time for him to leave.

However, just as he started to get up, a burlap sack was thrown over his head. Before he could even react, a sharp blow to the back of his neck sent him into unconsciousness.

「An unknown amount of time passed.」

A bucket of cold water splashed over Wang Yang, jolting him awake.

Wang Yang found himself in a massive warehouse surrounded by shipping containers. A group of men holding firearms had formed a circle around him.

"Well, look who's awake, you lowlife!"

Siel approached Wang Yang, his face dark. With him was a man in second-generation exoskeleton mechanical armor, sporting a yellow mohawk and a snake tattoo on his neck.

"Siel, what do you want?"

The moment Wang Yang saw Siel, he knew this was bad.

"What do you think I want?" Siel replied, his expression twisting with malice.

"Let me go right now, and I can forget this ever happened. Otherwise, the Alliance's laws won't be so forgiving," Wang Yang said, his expression grim.

"Haha, you're so naive."

Hearing this, Matei and his men all burst out laughing.

"So what do you all want?" Wang Yang asked, keeping his cool.

"What do I want? I want you dead, of course! A mutt like you daring to compete with me for Keli? You really don't know your place!"

Siel viciously kicked Wang Yang.

"Aargh!"

Wang Yang cried out in pain.

Just then, a noise came from a nearby shipping container.

"Who's there? Come out!"

Matei's senses sharpened. He immediately spun around and yelled.

Siel and the others all turned to look.

A trembling figure emerged from behind a container to the left.

"Keli? What are you doing here?"

Siel was stunned to see Keli.

Wang Yang was even more shocked to see her.

Keli took a deep breath and looked at Siel angrily.

"Siel, you've gone too far! Let Wang Yang go."

"Keli, let me explain," Siel said frantically.

"There's nothing to explain. I don't want to hear it," Keli retorted, clearly upset.

Siel was about to defend himself when Matei placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Buddy, don't bother. She heard everything you just said."

"So what do we do now?"

"What else can we do? We have to see this through. Kill the man. As for the woman... I'll leave her to you. You force yourself on her. Nobles care about their reputation more than anything, right? After that, she'll have no choice but to be with you!"

"But..." Siel hesitated.

"Listen to me, this is no time to be wishy-washy. What's done is done, we have to finish it. Me and the boys are in this deep for you. If you can't bring yourself to handle this girl, I'll do it for you!" Matei said to Siel.

Killing a commoner wasn't a big deal to them, as long as no one found out.

If Keli exposed them, they would all be screwed.

"Fine. In that case, don't blame me for what happens next."

Siel leered at Keli greedily.

"You dare!"

Keli backed away in terror.

"Stop! Don't touch her! If you want to kill someone, kill me!"

Seeing they were depraved enough to go after Keli, Wang Yang panicked and struggled with all his might.

"Well now, what a romantic. In that case, I'll let you live a little longer so you can watch Siel get down to business!" Matei sneered at Wang Yang.

"You sons of bitches, stop!" Wang Yang roared, veins bulging on his forehead.

But it was useless. Siel continued to close in on Keli, one step at a time.

"Stay away from me..." Keli cried out, terrified.

And just then, a cold voice snorted.

"Who dares touch my daughter?"

Siel and his men froze, looking up toward a container behind them.

Hokas emerged, followed by a group of his men.

"Mr... Mr. Hokas!" Siel was dumbfounded.

"Father!" Keli cried out with relief.

Wang Yang was dumbfounded as well. 'What is Keli's father doing here?'

"Mr. Hokas, please, let me explain," Siel stammered, trembling.

"Shut up! A degenerate like you thinks you're worthy of my daughter?" Hokas cursed, furious.

He might have wanted Keli to marry someone of equal social standing, but he had no intention of throwing his daughter into a pit of vipers.

"Shit!"

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Matei suddenly lunged for Keli.

"Keli, look out!"

Wang Yang and Hokas were shocked to see Matei lunge at Keli, not expecting him to become so desperate.

ZING!

A beam of light suddenly shot out and struck Matei dead-on.

BOOM—

Matei was sent flying, crashing hard onto the ground and spitting up a mouthful of blood.

Everyone stared in astonishment.

A Gale flew out from behind Hokas.

"A Third Generation Mechanical God!"

Siel and his men went pale, their faces ashen.

Their men immediately dropped their weapons. With a custom Third Generation Mechanical God on the scene, they didn't stand a chance.

"Take them all away!" Hokas let out a long breath and ordered his subordinates in a cold voice.

"Yes, sir!"

His men immediately moved forward and tied up Siel and his crew.

Keli rushed to Wang Yang's side, quickly untying his ropes. "Are you okay?" she asked, full of concern.

"I'm fine, but why are you here?" Wang Yang asked in a daze.

"Didn't you send someone with a message for me, telling me to come here?"

"When did I tell you to come here? And why would I ever ask you to come to such a dangerous place?"

"Then I have no idea." Keli looked just as baffled.

"Keli," Hokas called out in a cold voice.

Hearing her father call, Keli walked over with her head lowered.

"We're leaving."

Hokas then turned to leave with Keli.

As he walked past Wang Yang, he gave him an expressionless glance.

Wang Yang lowered his head, his expression desolate.

Just then, Hododi the butler stopped and turned to look at Wang Yang. He spoke in a soft, almost effeminate voice.

"Come back to work tomorrow. You've been appointed manager of the Tingfeng Restaurant."

"Me?" Wang Yang looked at Hododi in shock.

"That's right. If you don't do a good job, you know the consequences!"

With that, Hododi the butler turned and left.

Leaving Wang Yang standing there, completely stunned.

Just then, Long Ming flew the Gale over to Wang Yang's side. Reaching out from the cockpit, he gently patted Wang Yang's shoulder.

"What's wrong? Not feeling confident?"

"Long Ming? It was you?" Wang Yang stared at Long Ming in shock.

"Surprised?" Long Ming replied with a grin.

"What the fuck, man? You have some nerve! You just watched them tie me up and didn't do a thing to help?"

"Why would I save you? The show that came after was much more interesting!"

"Wait a minute... Keli and her father... don't tell me you're the one who called them here." The realization suddenly dawned on Wang Yang.

"Naturally," Long Ming replied with a smile.

Hearing Long Ming's admission, the look on Wang Yang's face was priceless.

"Alright, enough about that," Long Ming said. "Keli's father may have relented for now, but if you want to earn his respect, you'll need to show him what you're made of!"

"I understand!" Wang Yang nodded firmly.

"Do a good job. If you don't know how to run a restaurant, go find this guy. Tell him you're my brother, and he'll help you out!"

Long Ming sent Gu Yi's contact information to Wang Yang.

'He'd eaten at Tingfeng Restaurant before. The ingredients were decent, but the food was merely above average, nowhere near spectacular.'

'But the food Gu Yi and his crew made? That was truly delicious.'

'The fact that the Twilight Guild had them as exclusive caterers was proof enough.'

'Besides, Gu Yi and his team were veterans in the food and beverage industry.'

"Got it!" Wang Yang nodded.

"This is as much as I can help you with; the rest is up to you. Of course, if you run into any trouble you can't handle, you can always come to me," Long Ming said.

"Man, I'm so touched. Bring it in for a hug!" Wang Yang said, deeply moved as he spread his arms wide.

"Get lost. I'm outta here."

Long Ming grumbled and turned to leave.

...