Chapter 3

• Sounds of heavy breaths filled the room that now grew very quiet.
• Eyes wide open, the security guards in the area didn't expect what happened.
• "Mr. Zhen, forgive me of forgetting your name. You're right, though. You do need a strong body to qualify as a good leader, " William said cooly.
• Eric tried to get up but failed. He felt like he wanted to spit out blood. He yelled at the guards in the room, "What are you doing, you stupid pigs! Beat the crap out of this guy! I'll back you up if anything happens! I'm the boss here! Follow my orders, or leave!"
• Eric would not let his authority be questioned like that, especially in front of his men.
• The guards hesitated. They didn't enjoy being called insulting names either.
• They knew they'd only get beaten up as the guy was clearly stronger than Eric. But Eric was their leader; they knew they had to do as they were told.
• Before he could enforce his orders, William decided to finish him off with one big kick. William kicked Eric so hard so fast that Eric immediately blacked out.
• He already beat the crap out of Eric. He didn't mind adding one more solid blow. He did not want to fight all the guards. It was enough to have friction with Eric, but he couldn't risk being on the bad side of all the other guards.
• "Call 120!"
• "Take him to the hospital!"
• The guards were smart enough not to fight William. They focused instead on attending to Eric and carrying him out. William and Jack were left alone in the room.
• "Jack, are you OK?" William asked Jack.
• "I'm good." Jack shook his head, with a frightened gaze at William, his hand clutching his chest. He didn't expect William to be such a strong fighter.
• "Ok, then. Let's get to work." William smiled as if nothing happened.
• Jack grinned. "Hey, buddy. I like your attitude, but you offended Eric. I'd bet good money you won't be allowed to stay anymore. He's the cousin of the Head of Security, Bob Zhen. I'm sure he won't let you off the hook. Bob is much tougher than Eric. He has really strong connections with some big guy, he'll be a difficult person to be up against. I'd be calling Miss Dai right about now if I were you."
• Jack suggested, genuinely concerned about William's predicament.
• "What? Nah." William waved away the suggestion. "Why bother Miss Dai with such a small issue? Plus, I don't believe the Silverland Group would fire me for an incident as petty as this."
• 'Besides, what would I tell her? That I beat the team leader to death in less than 2 minutes at work? Haha, nothing good will ever come from that.' Asking for Elaine's help was the last thing William wanted to do in this situation.
• In the reception hall, William went about his day as he would normally.
• The two receptionists saw Eric being carried out by the other security guards earlier that day, and after hearing what happened, started to admire William secretly for what he had done.
• Apparently, Eric had been harassing them with crude jokes and indecent proposals, for the longest time. It drove them crazy but they couldn't say anything because of his position in the company.
• They felt as if what William did was a stand against him for all the abuse he has caused them, and they appreciated it very much.
• "Hey girls. Is everything okay? Do I have something on my face?" William asked when he noticed their quick glances.
• 'Hmm, do I look handsome today? Is spring coming? Why have I been encountering so many pretty girls who seem to pay me special attention?' he thought.
• He met Elaine and that moody fairy yesterday, and now these two attractive girls seemed to fancy him as well.
• The girls just giggled when he came over to ask them what was wrong with the way he looked, the girl on the left even looking down shyly, hiding her flushed cheeks. The girl on the right was a little bolder. She leaned forward and put her chin on her bent fist, flashing him a very seductive look.
• "William, you are so handsome. How about grabbing dinner with me tonight?"
• "What? Really?" William hurriedly felt his pockets. "I don't think I have enough money. Do I have to pay the bill?"
• 'What the fuck? What a douchebag!'
• Jack thought, overhearing the conversation. 'Why not just go out with me, pretty lady? I have money. I'll get you whatever you want to eat.'
• "Hahahahaha!"
• The girl burst out laughing. "Oh William, you are so silly! Relax, you don't have to pay the bill.
• "I'm Shelly Huang. And this is my friend, Lisa Ye." Shelly said pointing at her friend. "Nice to meet you."
• "Hi, " William said with a smile. "My name is William Lu. William actually means 'stone' in Greek, and..." William's introduction was cut short with a yell coming from across the room.
• "HEY, PRETTY BOY. What are you doing? This is office hour, not flirting hour. Who gave you permission to fool around? Come here!" A 6-foot tall burly man of thirty towered over him with a glare that could have made an average man scared shitless.
• Shelly and Lisa exchanged worried looks. Even Jack turned pale.
• "Uhh, William, this is Bob Zhen, Head of Security." Shelly managed to say. "Mr. Zhen is..."
• "No one asked you to speak, lady! Who do you think you are? I'll have a word with your manager!"
• Shelly trembled.
• William's eyes narrowed. 'Is this Silverland Group, or the back alleys? This feels more like a gang than a company to me!' Behind their backs, people called Eric "Bitch" and Bob "Fuck". William now saw how accurate these names were.
• "You must be William Lu. I've heard a LOT about you. I heard you were the BEST —the best at disrespecting authority and flirting on the job on the first day at work, that is, " Bob said sarcastically. "Listen, boy, " he said with his face only a few inches away from William's. "I don't care where you came from, or who you think you are. You're fired.
• Also, we called the police. You hurt people and you are going to pay. They should be here to arrest you soon." Bob said, pointing his finger directly at William.
• "But.. he started it. He attacked me first. He said it was to test my physical fitness and ability to adapt to stressful situations." William said quietly.
• "Holy shit! Eric won't do that, you little liar. You started the fight and you hurt him on purpose. That's the story, and that's what the police will believe."
• 'Little liar?' William thought.
• "That's a lie and you know it. Eric started the fight. He tried to punch me first. What I did was self-defense."
• "Mr. Zhen." Jack stepped forward and said, "I can testify to what William said."
• "What did you just say?" Bob shouted at Jack.
• "Testify? Who cares what you say, Jack? Who you think you are?"
• "I said, " Jack said, emphasizing his every word, "I.. can.. TESTIFY—!!"
• "You disrespectful piece of —-" Bob roared, and with all his might, threw Jack a big, heavy punch."
• Jack prepared himself as he saw the punch coming towards him. Bob was fast and strong, and Jack knew he wasn't skilled enough to doge it the way William could. He couldn't even defeat Eric. Surely, he was no match for Bob.
• William had other plans, though. He would not allow this bully to get his way. With quick precision, he slapped Bob's hand away from his friend, and delivered a swift counter attack.
• Bob didn't see that coming. In his years in this company, no one had ever stood up against him before.
• William's kick landed on his Belly. He felt a sharp pain, and with a thud, his heavy body landed on the floor.
• The room fell silent. No one could believe what they were seeing.
• "How...how dare you!" Bob said through gritted teeth. "You...you'll be sorry.." Bob was infuriated. Such humiliation! The Head of Security was beaten up by a newbie!
• In his rage, Bob got up and steadied himself, ready to put William in his place. Suddenly, the sound of sirens started to fill the air as two police cars arrived at the building entrance. Six policemen started to approach.
• Upon seeing them, Bob immediately calmed himself down. "Officer Zhang, thanks for coming. This guy hit my brother and got him wounded! Arrest him immediately!"
• The officer gave Bob a knowing nod before approaching William. "Come with us, son. We'll have word with you at the station."
• William looked at Bob and the policeman. It was obvious they knew each other. "Sir, it wasn't my fault!" William defended. "They set me up!"
• "Hey, son. Are you resisting arrest?" Officer Zhang said coldly.
• "Resisting arrest?" William laughed. "I'd be glad to come with you. But first, show me your warrant."
• Officer Zhang froze. It was unusual for ordinary men to stay calm and think clearly under the stress of being surrounded by the police.
• He collected himself right away. "I apologize for my error in speaking, Mr. Wang, " Officer Zhang started. "What I meant to say was that we received reports about you assaulting Mr. Eric Zhen. Please come with us; we would need your cooperation in the investigation."
• "No! I'm not going, " William said defiantly. He was not a fool! He knew it was a trap. Once he got to the police station, he wouldn't be able to go out without getting a good beating.
• "Are you refusing to cooperate, Mr. Wang?" Officer Zhang was about to lose his patience.
• "That wasn't what I was saying, officer." William explained. "I would actually be very happy to cooperate. I would like to request that it be done here, though. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't go with you to the precinct."
• "Here, this might help, " he said as he handed over his phone and played a video.
• Both Bob and the policeman were stunned after watching. It was a very clear recording of the fight!
• The video was irrefutable evidence of William's account!
• Officer Zhang handed William back his phone and left without another word. He had no reason to stay any longer.
• "You have balls! But go feeling proud of yourself. You might feel like you won, but let me remind you that you're fired!"
• Bob was furious that William foiled his plans, but it didn't matter! No matter what, he was Head of the Security Department and he could do anything he wanted, including terminate his employment!
• "You're firing me? Why exactly are you firing me, huh? Give me a reason!" William shot, also furious at the obvious powerplay.
• "Reason? Hah! You're kidding, right?" Bob roared with laughter. "I am the Head of the Security Dep
• artment, William. I can do ANYTHING I WANT and I do NOT need a fucking reason to do them. Understand? You want a reason? I'll give you a fucking reason. You're fired because I SAY SO."
• William was at a loss for words. This was outrageous! No one should be allowed to fire anyone without a legitimate reason! Seeing that there was nothing he could do to stop it, he was determined to give Bob one good beating before he stepped out of Silverland Group's doors for the final time.
• His thoughts were interrupted by a voice that echoed through the room. ??"Hey! All of you! What are you all doing here? It's office hours! Work or go home! You're not paid to slack around!"
• The speaker was clearly an authority figure.
• Every face in the room turned pale, except William who had no idea who was talking.
• Shelly and Lisa looked so afraid that they almost buried their heads under their desks.
• Bob, who looked so powerful and intimidating just a few seconds ago, almost looked like he wanted to cower for shelter.
• The sight puzzled William so much. His curiosity about the identity of the speaker peaked.
• 'Who was that? People seem to be more afraid of her than they are of Bob!' William thought.
• When he finally found the source of the echoing voice, William's mouth fell open.
• She was so beautiful!
• The black suit she wore accentuated her perfect body.
• With her strong demeanor, she was surely a Senior Officer in the company!
• Everyone seemed to be on their toes the moment she entered the building.
• No one dared to look her in the eye. Every head was down and every mouth was silent.
• My god! What an enchantress! 'I don't recall her looking like this last night. Who is this woman? Is she her twin or something?'
• William got lost in his thoughts.
• "Mr. Zhen, I heard something about your so-called 'authority' to fire employees without a reason. Tell me, since when were you the boss of Silverland Group? Did you get a promotion I didn't hear of?"
• The woman looked very cold. Her glance fell on William as she was scanning the room, but she gave no sign of recognition.
• "I'm sorry, Ma'am, that wasn't what I meant. Please understand, that wasn't what I was implying."
• William couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was there actually fear in Bob's voice? William kept his mouth shut. One wrong move and his dismissal might actually push through. No one would be able to help him if that happened now.
• "You'd better be sure that wasn't what you were implying. I don't want to hear you say that again, or you will be the first to be fired without a valid reason. Is that clear?"
• Bob nodded in full submission.
• "Well, what are you all looking at? Is this a show?" she shouted at everyone in the room. "Go back to work!"
• That was harsh.
• "Yes, Ma'am. Right away, Ma'am." Bob didn't dare say anything else. Humiliated, he quietly made his exit.
• 'Serves him right, ' William thought. 'What a pussy. He pretends to be all tough to the people under him, but he's like a scaredy cat to the higher-ups.' William grew very curious about that mysterious woman.
• She was probably the President or Executive Vice President of the company to be able to talk to Bob like that.
• The woman exited as smoothly as she entered, barely throwing a glance at William. As she was about to enter the elevator, though, she suddenly looked as if she remembered something. Out of the blue, she pointed a finger at William.
• "New guy, Come to my office in ten minutes. Be late and you're fired."