Counterfeit Hero

This is downright bullying. Kubo felt a chill in his hands and feet from anger.

He did not realize that, typically, the Tai Sect did such things quite often. Not to mention, the little starlet he kept in the Coastal Villa was also forced into submission through intimidation, coercion, vandalism, and harassment. Ultimately, she was driven to the brink of despair.

He also failed to acknowledge that, prior to now, he found such actions quite thrilling—watching that starlet humiliate herself to please him underneath, he would thrust and laugh boisterously, feeling utterly exhilarated.

Now, Kubo simply felt that this Fatty had bullied him too much.

”How can you act like this...” Kubo nearly ground his teeth to dust. ”Didn’t you agree? You took my money...”

”Wasn’t that your compensation for me?” Fatty looked at him with a face full of surprise.

”Yeah, I compensated you. Why are you still doing this?” Kubo struggled to suppress the rising indignation, trying to make Fatty understand the significance of the twenty million.

”You just tried to kill me. This money was for compensating your mistake, right?” Fatty feigned confusion as if he was genuinely perplexed. ”I took the money, but you never said paying meant no need to take nude photos.”

”What’s the point of paying if you’re going to take nude photos?” Kubo was going mad.

”How should I know?” Fatty scratched his head, seemingly puzzled too. ”At that time, I thought you were quite stupid.”

Kubo glared at Fatty, who glared back. Realizing his situation, Kubo quickly averted his gaze, took a deep breath, and said, ”Brother, you should understand, I’ve given you everything I can, except I don’t want to take these nude photos. Now that you’ve received the money and I’ve promised you a position as an elder, we’re family. Isn’t what you’re doing inappropriate?”

”But you never said you wouldn’t take nude photos!” Fatty retorted, his neck stiff, yelling loudly. Faking ignorance and stubbornly arguing were his strong suits.

Kubo felt utterly hopeless. For the first time, he understood what it meant for a scholar to meet a brute, feeling bewildered.

”You never said you wouldn’t take nude photos!” Fatty kept shouting, his face turning red, utterly clueless.

There was no reasoning with him.

Kubo, face livid, dared not further entangle with this mindless brute, fearing he might do something irrational again. He turned to Old Smith and said, ”Director Smith, this is your place, shouldn’t you say something about today’s affairs?”

Old Smith was stunned; he hadn’t expected Kubo to turn to him and chuckled, ”Though this is my place, this person isn’t from our Phantom Stream. As for the matter, Sect Master Kubo, you brought this on yourself. What do you want me to say?”

Failing to bribe Fatty, Kubo naturally turned to intimidate the Phantom Stream, which he had always despised. He threatened, ”If something happens to me here, do you think your Griffin Knight Manor can escape responsibility? It’ll become a situation of life and death between us.”

”Isn’t it already a life and death situation between our two houses?” Old Smith smiled faintly, looking relaxed and indifferent.

Kubo was momentarily stumped, only then remembering that it was Old Smith who had proposed the Land Mecha Fighting challenge two days later. The old man was determined to protect his reputation, willing to risk everything. What use was there in threatening him now?

Though somewhat humiliated, Kubo was a pragmatic person. His eyes flickered with a dark glint, remaining silent for a moment before swiftly deciding.

”Director Smith, if you can settle this matter, in return...” Kubo said, ”I can join you in announcing the cancellation of the Demon King Level match. Additionally, I’ll have Steelman apologize to you and return what he took from you intact. From this point forward, we’ll mind our own business.”

The onlookers from the Phantom Stream glanced at one another. Kubo’s offer was enough to stir the hearts of all Phantom Stream members present.

The challenge two days later was almost certainly going to be Old Smith’s death. This sudden turn of events didn’t just save Old Smith from a tragic fate but also allowed Phantom Stream to reclaim their belongings.

More importantly, with Steelman’s public apology, Phantom Stream wouldn’t just have their reputation intact but would gain even more respect. Kubo’s assurance of no future conflicts also alleviated any worries about retaliation from the Tai Sect.

At this moment, everyone’s eyes turned to Fatty.

War, or peace?

Tian Xingjian’s eyes darted around quickly.

Before coming here today, he hadn’t imagined bumping into Tai Sect Master Kubo, nor did he expect to clash with the first obstacle in his quest for the Free World.

After returning to the Leray Federation from Gazalin and then moving on to occupy the Redbeard Pirate Base, Fatty had continuously pondered what he should do in this era and how to do it.

He never thought of himself as a hero, much less a savior. He understood well the limited power of an individual in the vast interstellar map of human society. Even Sobel and Hastings were restrained by the Binart Royal Family and the Feiyang Republic President, respectively.

Fatty always felt that he had been unwittingly dragged into this war. Running away was not an option. This war had already impacted all of human society, and no matter where you were, war would inevitably find you or your loved ones.

Thus, he had been striving to overcome his psychological barriers, trying to make some impact in this war.