Chapter 23: Chapter 23

“Wait!” Casper called out to stop the server.

“Ah? Mr. Simpson…” she turned and shot him a stunned glance.

“Appease the customers outside. I shall head in myself.”

The server hesitated before nodding obediently. “Yes.”

Without further ado, Casper entered Tycoon and strode past the messy main hall before arriving at the source of the commotion.

Glancing around, he spotted a man whose hands were tied up in the middle of the hall. That man was Tycoon’s manager, and there were two men standing guard beside him.

Zoom!

Casper dashed forward swiftly and came to a stop behind a man who was guarding the manager. He swung his leg out toward the opponent’s head.

“Ah!” that person screamed as he was sent flying forward. After landing on the ground, his head started buzzing. It took him some time before he realized what was going on.

The other man was in a daze when he felt something landed on his chest. Blood spurted forth from his mouth immediately as his entire body was sent flying. His body soon landed with a loud thump.

The sudden attack promptly attracted the attention of the other thugs who were causing a scene.

Shocked, they glared at Casper before marching toward him.

“M-Mr. Simpson! Oh, oh!” the manager yelled before gasping in pain as he had jostled the wound on his face.

“Who are you? How dare you meddle in our affairs?”

Without fear, Casper retorted, “Do you have any idea where you are right now?”

“Ha! I don’t care! I—”

Before that man could finish, he suddenly felt his vision turning blurry. A fist appeared in front of his eyes before he blacked out and collapsed on the floor.

“Damn it! Everyone, kill him!” one of them barked out.

There were more than a dozen thugs there who nodded angrily and charged at Casper.

His manager got extremely flustered and yelled, “Mr. Simpson, be careful!”

Casper spun around abruptly and swung his leg out to kick one of them. That kick of his landed on the man who toppled backward, landing on another accomplice.

“You just don’t know when to give up, do you?” Casper muttered.

With that, he lunged forward like a panther, weaving between the troublemakers like a shadow.

The thugs’ faces drained of color. In their haste, they swung their baton around wildly and attacked those who were in their way, including their comrades. Yet, they didn’t manage to hurt Casper.

“Ah!”

“Ouch!”

Soon, cries of anguish filled the air as the troublemakers lay on the ground, groaning in pain. Each of them was suffering various degrees of injuries. No one knew whether it was Casper who wounded them or they had wounded each other mistakenly.

“Scram!” announced Casper, who was standing among them arrogantly.

“Hurry, let’s go!”

The injured thugs climbed to their feet hastily and held each other while fleeing the scene.

“Wait!”

Suddenly, Casper reached out and grabbed a man with spiky hair to stop him from leaving.

“Ah!” Spiky Hair’s heart sank in despair. Trembling in fear, he sank to his knees and pleaded, “Please forgive me! I shouldn’t have gone against you! Spare my life!”

“You shall get to speak later. If you don’t shut up now, I’ll chop off your tongue,” came Casper’s cool warning.

Spiky Hair immediately shut up. Sweat poured down his face while his lips shivered.

“Untie the manager,” Casper ordered a few servers who had just arrived.

“Y-Yes.”

The servers had never seen Casper before, but they could see how respectful the manager was toward him. Scurrying toward their manager, they proceeded to untie him and helped him up.

“Mr. Simpson, thank goodness you came in time. Otherwise, those men would’ve wrecked the entire place. This is my fault, so please punish me,” said the manager as he hung his head guiltily.

Casper waved his hand. “No need. This is beyond your control. You’re badly hurt, huh? I’ll ask someone to send you to the hospital.”

The manager was overwhelmed by Casper’s generosity and thanked him profusely. “Thank you, Mr.

Simpson. Thank you!”

Right then, a woman’s voice announced, “I’ve contacted the hospital. An ambulance is on the way here.”

Casper’s gaze turned to the source of the voice and saw a lady clad in office wear strutting toward him.

“Mr. Simpson,” greeted the woman.

Casper was baffled. “Who are you?”

“I’m Elena Schneider, your secretary.”

My secretary?

As Casper stood still in silence, Elena parted her lips to ask, “Are you alright, Mr. Simpson?”

“Ah, I’m fine. Hello, Ms. Schneider. I’m Casper Simpson.” Casper snapped back to reality and gave her a polite nod.

“Ms. Schneider, can you explain what happened today?”

After all, those thugs wouldn’t have caused a scene without reason.

Elena’s expression clouded over. “Actually, this isn’t their first time here.”

“What?” Casper narrowed his gaze.

Hence, Elena explained how the whole situation started when the ex-chairman of Tycoon, Peter Quinton, was still here.

“At first, these people extorted thirty percent of our monthly profit from Mr. Quinton. In return, they claimed they would protect us.”

“What happened next?” asked Casper.

“Tycoon is famous in Horington, so thirty percent of our monthly profit is an enormous amount of money. Hence, Mr. Quinton disagreed, and they didn’t come to an agreement. After that, those people kept causing trouble for us. First, they spread rumors to destroy our reputation. Then, they dined and dashed without paying for their meals. In the end, they resorted to blocking the entrance so our customers couldn’t enter our establishment. It had been over a month since they first started.”

Casper furrowed his brows. “Didn’t Peter Quinton do anything to stop them?”

“Of course he did. He called the cops, but those men were smart enough to evade the cops. They’ve always managed to escape in time. After that, Mr. Quinton contacted one of his friends who was in a gang, but his friend told him to let the matter slide. Apparently, it isn’t a good idea to offend them. Left with no choice, we had to endure their antics.”

She let out a frustrated sigh before continuing, “Instead of giving up, their behavior soon worsened.

Look, they came to destroy our store today. Mr. Simpson, you might’ve kicked them out today, but they will soon be back with another scheme.”

As Elena was clearly agitated, Casper fell deep into thought as he contemplated her words.

Soon, he declared, “Okay, I understand. Ms. Schneider, count the losses and send the pdf to me later.

If any of the employees get hurt, send them to receive treatment at the best hospital in town. Besides receiving paid leaves, we will take care of their medical bills. Make sure you make the necessary arrangements.”

Elena nodded. “Got it, Mr. Simpson.”

“Go and get it done,” ordered Casper.

Elena inclined her head and turned to carry out his order.

After relaying his orders, Casper exhaled sharply. He then turned and glared at Spiky Hair, who cowered back in fear.

“Where is the Firewolf Chamber of Commerce located?” Casper questioned.

Spiky Hair kept his mouth shut in resignation as if he was prepared to die.

“Good. You are stubborn, huh?” Casper flashed an eerie grin.

He picked up a steel baton and held its two ends. Suddenly, he exerted force and bent it into half easily. Clank! When he threw the bent baton onto the ground, Spiky Hair’s heart thumped nervously.

“I hope you can stay stubborn after this,” declared Casper as he inched nearer to Spiky Hair menacingly.

Spiky Hair’s eyes widened in horror. He promptly caved in. “I-I’ll say it! Wait!” he choked out as his eyes reddened.

Without warning, he burst out wailing while a stream of yellow liquid leaked through his pants.

Casper was rendered speechless.