Codename:Phoenix

"Hanzo, you know which room I am currently at right? I want you to play the CCTV footage in the TV." w.a.n.g Reiji said as she spoke through the tiny communication device inserted inside her right ear. 

"Okay, boss. Video will play in five seconds!" 

w.a.n.g Reiji then turned on the television and once the five seconds were up, the footage taken from the CCTV played instantly.

w.a.n.g Reiji"s eyes were glued to the television screen, not wanting to miss anything that might giver her a clue as to who the guy was. When the CCTV footage finally revealed the figure of the man, the temperature of w.a.n.g Reiji"s body begun to drop.

"No! It cannot be him!" w.a.n.g Reiji screamed inwardly as she paused the footage and zoom out the figure of the man to have a better second look at him.

Her mind then stuttered as her pupils involuntarily expanded themselves. Just like the video on the television screen, w.a.n.g Reiji went on pause as her thought tried to catch up with what was being displayed on the monitor. Stunned, w.a.n.g Reiji almost forget how to breath as the image in front of her bounces around her brain.

"s.h.i.+t! That"s Zhang Chenric! How did he manage to sneak in?" Alas! w.a.n.g Reiji found her voice along with her wrath. She was so mad that Rentao and Hanzo started to feel uneasy. They were also too frightened to utter a single word.

"Hanzo, I want an update on his whereabouts as soon as possible! I am sure that he is still inside Oriental Europa. Rentao, do not leave table 10 and do not keep your eyes away from my daughter. Once we caught that a.s.sh*le we will get to the bottom of this!" w.a.n.g Reiji said with a serious expression on her face.

After giving out her orders, she then quickly prepared herself to leave the room. Before she stepped out her temporary hideout, w.a.n.g Reiji made sure her concealed carry pistol was fully loaded. She also calmed her head and heart down, not allowing her emotions to distract her from the sudden appearance of her daughter"s father, her former lover.

"Boss, I found him. He is currently in the 13th floor, inside room 007. I am shutting down all exits in that floor. The only thing that can be used as entry and exit points is the right-wing elevator. I will temporarily disable the lock of the room so you can enter. Once you are inside boss, I will seal you and Prosecutor Zhang." Hanzo clearly said as the fire exits of the 13th floor begun to close.

"13th floor? When I scanned the guest list, none of the rooms in the 13th floor was reserved under his name. Also, Oriental Europa required every guest to submit a copy of any national identification card in exchange of room confirmation email." w.a.n.g Reiji said as she went out the room and headed towards the right-wing elevator.

"Please allow me to investigate on this, boss. Looks like Prosecutor Zhang was able to plant some people inside Oriental Europa. I will definitely check each employee and trace the mole." Rentao said underneath his breath, careful not to be noticed by the occupants of table ten.

"Okay. I will leave it to you, then." w.a.n.g Reiji replied, seemingly disappointed with what was happening. It seemed like Zhang Chenric was still as cunning as ever, still using underhanded tactics just to get what he wants.

"You want to play games with me, huh? Too bad, I am no longer the naïve girl I used to be!" w.a.n.g Reiji thought to herself as she got herself inside the elevator. And since Oriental Europa"s system was under Hanzo"s command, the elevator went straight up to 13th floor without stopping.

Ding!

The sound of elevator doors opening became w.a.n.g Reiji"s cue to ready herself. When she was about to step her foot outside, all the reasons not to move from her spot came rus.h.i.+ng in. She then started to have an unsettling feeling that can either grow or fade depending on the amount of her resolve.

"It is now or never." w.a.n.g Reiji thought to herself. The day she had been dreading had finally come. Zhang Chenric had his eyes and interest aimed at Europa. 

"If I will back down now, I still have to confront Chenric some other time. I have to face him now or I will probably suffer the consequences in the future." w.a.n.g Reiji closed her eyes as she lifted her right foot and took the first step out the elevator. She then took another step and drew in courage.

 However, her thoughts became hazy, she cannot think straight. She did not want to see his face or inhale his smell. She was afraid that once she came in contact with the man again, all the pain she carried with her might melt away once he touches her. Did it not take her a lot of determination to pull away from Zhang Chenric"s kiss last time? And what held her back from breaking his neck when he cornered her in the ladies" restroom? How about when he almost kidnapped her? Why she did not seize those opportunities to put the man down?

"Are you hesitant to confront Zhang Chenric now? Please do not tell me that you still have feelings for that coward? Just because he wants to make amends now previous wrongdoings can thus be forgotten? If you cannot do it sis, I will gladly do it for you. I can just end that guy"s life in one clean shot."

Though he spoke with much gentleness and careful not to offend his dear sister, w.a.n.g Yuvin was not able to hide the dissatisfaction in his voice.

"Bro…" w.a.n.g Reiji whispered, her words barely taking flight. Though w.a.n.g Yuvin"s tone was gentle, she was able to sense his irritation and dismay. She had known him since he was a young boy so she was already accustomed to w.a.n.g Yuvin"s way of responding. He was calm but his words carried a powerful hit. Truthfully spoken, no drama.

"I-I am sorry. I think I said too much. It"s just that I feel I am the one to blame. I was not able to protect Europa. Please forgive me, sis. Let me make it up to you. Please allow me to personally teach that sc.u.mbag a lesson." It took all the courage w.a.n.g Yuvin had to suppress his harsh impulses.

"Now is not the time to blame one another. But this is clearly my fault. I underestimated Zhang Chenric, thinking that in these past five years, I was the only one who decided to sharpen her claws and grow out her fangs…" w.a.n.g Reiji said in a serious tone as she took steps towards the room occupied by Zhang Chenric.

"Bro, like you I am also disappointed. I am very much disappointed of myself. I had him in my hands for so many times but I cannot put myself to crush him totally. But thank you for coming into sight during this crucial moment. I regained my resolve. This time, I will not falter again. I will end this now, once and for all! Do not leave the banquet hall and please stay by my daughter"s side." w.a.n.g Reiji finally said as she removed her earpiece, threw it on the floor before destroying it with her foot.

"Sis?! Sis!" w.a.n.g Yuvin wanted to scream at the top of his lungs but he cannot afford to do so since he had to carry on with his façade or else risk exposing himself to his new found enemies. Also, by hearing the static from w.a.n.g Reiji"s line, made w.a.n.g Yuvin understand that she destroyed her communication device on purpose, cutting her connection with them.

"Pftt! And yes, boss just destroyed a nano wireless communication device worth 2k USD. I did not sleep for almost three days just to buy it from an auction site in the dark web!" Hanzo was not able to contain his lament towards the destroyed technology device.

"Just let it go, Hanzo. I will probably fly back to the west next month. I will bring all my gadgets with me and I will share some of them with you. Anyway, I will be returning this device now to Rentao. Please a.s.sist my sister well. I have to fulfill my tasks now as the young master of Oriental Europa." w.a.n.g Yuvin said as he removed the device from his ear and tossed it back to Rentao who was still standing near table ten and posing as a waiter.

"What was that, bro? Why did you borrow the waiter"s earpiece?" Qin Rong asked as he removed his mask and took a sip of his wine. He seemed very tired after he searched all over the banquet hall for w.a.n.g Yuvin.

"I am just double checking if they really put strong laxative in your drink." w.a.n.g Yuvin replied nonchalantly as he pa.s.sed by his friend and went straight to his niece.

"Ptooey!" Qin Rong immediately spat out his drink back to his gla.s.s. He then s.n.a.t.c.hed the table napkin on his lap and wiped it on his tongue. Once he was certain that all the liquor was gone in his mouth, he fired back at w.a.n.g Yuvin.

"What the h.e.l.l, bro! How could you do that to your in-game husband!"

"Be thankful that I did not tell them to pour poison in your drink! Anyway, I am just kidding! How can I do that to my only friend and in game husband?" w.a.n.g Yuvin chuckled loudly; Qin Rong"s hilarious facial reaction was exactly what he needed to cool his head down after the tension with his sister. Qin Rong ws about to retaliate at w.a.n.g Yuvin but his father, Chairman Qin started to speak.

"You look very das.h.i.+ng tonight, young man. Your speech was well-delivered too. If your father is still alive, he will be really proud that you have accomplished all this. You are quite popular to the girls as well, huh!" Chairman Qin seemed to be a fan of w.a.n.g Yuvin rather than an esteemed guest.

"Why did you even praise him, Father? He made fun of your handsome sp.a.w.n!" Qin Rong cried out, but he was ignored by them.

"Thank you for your kind words, Chairman Qin! It is just unfortunate that father is already not with us physically, but I know he is still watching over us somewhere in the heavens above."

"Really, uncle?" Upon hearing the adults talked about her dear grandfather, Europa became interested with the topic.

"Of course, sweetie! Even though we cannot see him, he can see us. And I bet your grandfather is very much proud of his lovely granddaughter who is slowly blossoming into a fine young lady!" w.a.n.g Yuvin replied as he lifted Europa up into his arms. He then decided to politely excuse himself and his niece from the Qin"s presence.

"Thank you for taking care of my niece. And I apologize for the trouble. I honestly would like to stay and accompany you for the rest of the night. But as you can notice, everyone wants my attention. I cannot afford to offend anyone here, well except for the people who I already offended before this event. Like it or not, I have to visit every table as to show hospitality and extend a warm welcome to guests." w.a.n.g Yuvin slightly lowered his head down to show his grat.i.tude to the Qin family.

"Yes, you are certainly right about that. Actually, ever since Europa and Rong transferred here with us, I can feel the cold stares of other guests from across the tables." Qin Sho did not fail to notice the increasing envious glares people had been throwing at them especially when w.a.n.g Yuvin approached their table.

"En. It is not okay for them to think that you are favoring a family. It may put you or the family in a bad light. I bet you and Reiji do not want to attract unwanted attention, correct?" Chairman Qin did not hesitate to speak out what was in his mind.

"You are absolutely right about that Chairman Qin." w.a.n.g Yuvin nodded his head in agreement

"Since that is the case, we will not hold you back any longer. Enjoy the night and send my regards to your sister." Chairan Qin replied before putting his mask back.

"Now that father mentioned… I now wonder, where is your sister?" Qin Sho asked as his eyes started to roam around the banquet hall, hoping to see a glimpse of w.a.n.g Reiji"s figure.