111 Given The Death Flag

Eastern District, Hong Kong.

In a towering skyscraper overlooking Causeway Bay, a thin man wearing thick eyeglasses stepped out of the elevator and into the highest floor.

On either side of him were tall glass windowpanes that overlooked the city, and above him was a set of trailing recessed lights that subtly guided him to the only door at the end of the hall. Just as his hand reached for the doorknob, he paused.

Looking nervous, he pushed his eyeglasses on the tip of his nose and straightened out his collar.

"You're Error, the greatest blackie hacker that turned the cyber underworld upside down," he mumbled to himself, patting his chest. "You shouldn't be afraid of anything."

Error, finally done with his pep talk, opened the door.

The room on the other side was arranged just like a conference room, with a long mahogany table placed on the center. The leather seats that lined up on each side of the table were already occupied, and Error quickly plopped his ass into the only empty chair.

Swallowing his saliva, he followed what everyone around him was doing and looked silently at the man on the other end of the table. Only the soft taps of his fingers hitting the keyboard could be heard, making Error's anxiety shoot up to alarming levels.

The boss was in a bad mood. That usually didn't end well for them. Error wanted to breathe into a paper-bag.

Behind the man was a large screen, projecting a recorded video feed of a CCTV camera. It was currently on pause, and they could only barely see the blurred silhouette of a figure in black, dashing into what looked like a study room.

Finally, the boss spoke.

"They've cracked the security settings and the password of all the CCTVs, deliberately left this 0.001 timeframe that was an evidence of their trespassing as a taunt, and dared to actually threaten me."

His voice was soft and magnetic, his words hanging in the air like an anvil. All of the people inside the room shuddered.

"I've given you years to give me substantial results about the culprit behind my accident, but you've given me none."

Because he was sitting against the light, they could not see the boss' expression. Only the curve of his jaw was visible, and those thin lips that showed a hint of a smile.

But that half-smile made Error's blood run cold.

"Tell me, what am I supposed to do with all of you?"

The question was like a dagger that pressed against their throats, and all of the people inside the room—some of them the best experts of their fields, others associated with transnational crime syndicates—paled with fear.

Average people might know Lu Shen as the CEO and Chairman of the mighty Lu Corporation, the Great Dragon King of the business world. But the people inside this room knew of the dark side behind this façade, of the man ruthless enough to pull out his enemies by the roots.

And there was no greater enemy Lu Shen loathed more than the one who had nearly killed him in a car accident years ago.

Error wanted to cower in his seat and continue on pretending to be invisible, but he was the only one that could possibly offer everyone inside this room a hint of salvation.

He finally plucked up the courage and stood up, his chair sliding back against the marble floor.

His knees knocked together, and he was raising his hand in the air like a student being called by the teacher.

"B—Boss!"

Lu Shen transferred his gaze to him. The rest of the people in the room breathed a sigh of relief, thanking Error fervently in their minds.

"Du Peng."

Error cringed. Boss, how many times do you have to call me by my real name? Use my alias, my alias!

But Error could only hide his complaints deep inside his heart. He still wanted to live a long, happy life together with his waifu Kurisu-chan and Hinata-chan. He didn't want to be given the death flag.

"Boss, I don't know if you've heard...but there's news about you circulating around the country right now. It's about you and your fiancée."

Lu Shen inclined his head, and the cold aura surrounding him slightly dissipated.

"I know that," he replied. He resumed typing on his laptop, appearing to be disinterested in this piece of information. "I've given my permission to that female reporter."

Error felt his heart sink. So the boss really doesn't care about his fiancée...I guess the data I got from those bodyguards that followed Miss Hui will be useless....

Just as Error was about to sit back down into his chair in disappointment, he noticed that the boss' head seemed to be inclined a little bit towards his direction.

"..."

Error was speechless at this tsundere-like behavior. What the heck, this man was just pretending not to care?! Boss, are you the reincarnation of a male lead in a shoujo manga? Why can't you just tell me that you actually want to know?

Error patted his heart again, persuading it to calm down. No good will come from getting angry at the boss...just bear with it since you're only a cannon fodder...

"It's not about what that female reporter had published, boss...it's about what came after that. Apparently, there was a photo that spread on the net of you," Error blushed, a bit jealous of the boss' harem, "kissing Miss Nian Zhen."

The hands that were typing on the laptop stopped.

Error, too absorbed imagining his boss with two beauties on each arm, was oblivious to this sudden change. How nice for the boss to have a harem...all I have are 2-D girls and some downloaded panty shots...

He continued, "And boss...I followed your orders that if Miss Hui gets out of the villa, I'll assign the best guards to protect her. Not only did I do that, I gave them some of my portable dictaphones and GSM bugs."

Error gave Lu Shen a proud smile, sticking out his scrawny chest.

"Boss, I've managed to overheard Miss Hui and your parents agreeing to break the engagement!"