"Cough."The Grand Elder coughed to gain their attention and bring the discussionback to the topic."It's clearly impossible to get anything out of the Hanzo Clan. ShadowMountain and the Hanzo Clan have been enemies for centuries."Now the situation has even reached the point where neither of ourorganizations will rest until one of us is reduced to ashes."So it is imperative that we capture Mark quickly. Pisces, come up with aplan of action. You are permitted to use all available resources."Release all available Shadow Hounds to track Mark's trail. And activate theShadow Slaves."Pisces nodded."Scorpio and Sagittarius, activate all the assets and surveillance we have.Any trail leading to Mark must be reported. If he escaped Solaris, he must havedone so using a fake identity purchased from somewhere outside. I need thatinformation as soon as possible.' Taurus , you trace all the financial trails he left behind , i know it won't be easy because a shadow candidate knows how t

Luminous Empire, inside the capital, Luminary. The headquarters of the Secret Police.At this moment, a middle-aged man stood at the podium, explaining the current situation to the heads of various departments responsible for the internal and external security of the empire.“Ladies and gentlemen, a few days ago we received intelligence stating that Duke Kevin was going to be attacked.”“But yesterday, we received news that Shadow Mountain has mobilized on a large scale, and their possible target may be in Luminary.”The man then angrily slammed his fist on the podium.“This is totally unacceptable! Who does Shadow Mountain think they are, bringing their fight into our territory?”“And they even have the nerve to target a prestigious Duke of our empire and openly declare it.”“Yes, our intelligence agencies investigated the matter and found that the information regarding the assassination of Duke Kevin came from Shadow Mountain itself.”Hearing this, a man with a buzz cut and a burly

In the capital of the empire, there stood a tall skyscraper. This was one of the busiest shopping malls in the empire's capital. It was a property of the Hanzo Clan within the capital.No other outside organization could occupy such a prime location inside the empire. However, due to the close relationship between the Hanzo Clan and the empire's royal family over the centuries, they were able to secure this spot in the heart of the capital.Deep beneath the basement of this building was an underground floor unknown even to the empire's authorities.A young man stood at five feet nine inches tall, his lean yet athletic frame honed through years of relentless training. At twenty years of age, he possessed the vitality and speed of youth, combined with a level of discipline uncommon for someone so young.His jet-black hair fell in slightly messy layers, framing a sharp and handsome face that often carried a calm, unreadable expression. His dark eyes were cold and observant.Though undeni

“ My name is Mark”Then he added with complete seriousness,"The most dashing , cool and handsome man in the world."The basement fell silent.Aria blinked.Lily stared at him as if he were an escaped mental patient.Mark looked back at them confidently."What?""An ambitious man should always introduce himself properly."Lily's eye twitched.At that moment, she became even more convinced that there was indeed something wrong with this man's brain.Mark’s POVYou all must be wondering how I became a prisoner in this ship . Well to actually what is going on we have to go back a week .After my fight with the Hanzo clan , I removed the tracker from my arm and planted it inside a dead Hanzo ninja . Afterwards I found the vehicle used by the mercenaries and dragged the ninja’s body inside the car’s trunk .Then I drove away from the ghost town . By taking the vehicle belongings to the mercenaries I wasn’t afraid of being tracked down because I knew that operating inside shadow mountain’

The next few days aboard the ship passed in relative peace.At least, they were peaceful for Mark.For everyone else, they were a nightmare.Every morning, Aria would slide part of her breakfast through the gap between the cells.Every morning, Mark would accept it without even pretending to refuse."Thank you, little sister.""You're welcome, Big Brother."Lily would immediately interrupt."My Lady, stop feeding him."Mark nodded seriously."Listen to your maid. You should stop feeding me."Aria blinked."Really?""Yes."Mark pointed at Lily."Instead, feed her. She looks malnourished."Lily nearly choked."I do not look malnourished!"Mark looked her up and down."You definitely haven't smiled once since I met you.""What does smiling have to do with nutrition?""I don't know. I'm making things up."Lily gripped the prison bars so hard her knuckles turned white.Aria covered her mouth and giggled.For some reason, seeing Lily suffer always improved her mood.Days passed like this.A