The noise of the AgustaWestland AW109 helicopter's propellers was drowned out by the clinking of Baccarat crystal glasses. Tonight, amidst the dark sky above secluded waters, three people were celebrating a multimillion-dollar project."To Sterling Group!" exclaimed Victor, raising his champagne glass high. A wide smile adorned his face, reflecting the dim light from the helicopter's VIP cabin.Arthur Sterling, a twenty-eight-year-old man sitting cross-legged in the main seat, looked bored as he swirled the champagne in his glass. He snorted softly. A cynical and arrogant smile was clearly imprinted on his face."Not to Sterling Group, Victor," Arthur corrected coldly. "But to me. I was the one who designed this damn acquisition scheme for six consecutive months. Those old geezers on the board of directors only know how to sit pretty, criticize my policies, and wait for the dividends to hit their accounts."Victor laughed crisply. "Of course, Your Highness CEO. No one dares to doubt A

Arthur felt the hot air on his face.His head throbbed violently. The effects of Chloe's anesthetic still lingered, but the pain from crashing into tree branches forced him to open his eyes.Arthur opened his eyes while wincing. Thick smoke made his eyes sting. As soon as his vision regained focus, he realized he wasn't in a hospital, let alone at the bottom of a ravine.He was tied to a wooden pole. His hands were pulled behind him, forcibly bound using tree roots until his wrists were chafed.Three meters in front of him, a giant stone cauldron sat perched over a bonfire. The water inside was boiling and bubbling violently.Ignoring his battered body, Arthur's brain, which usually processed millions of dollars per second, was now forced to process the madness before his eyes.Around the cauldron, dozens of heavily muscled men were dancing in circles. Their faces and chests were painted with skull patterns. They only wore loincloths made of dirty animal skin. While stomping their fee

For a moment, Arthur braced himself in case that primitive tongue rejected the taste. But suddenly, Grok's shoulders trembled. A teardrop fell from the corner of the Commander's eye, flowing down and splitting the skull paint on his cheek.Grok dropped his rusty machete to the ground. The barbarian knelt, pressing his forehead to the dirt right in front of Arthur's dirty leather shoes."Forgive me, Envoy of the Gods!" cried Grok with a trembling voice, holding back his emotion. "It turns out that all my life... I've only been eating trash!"Arthur let out a long sigh, reaching into his suit pocket to make sure his sanity was still intact. His lips finally curled into his signature arrogant smile.The dinner party that was supposed to be a human slaughterhouse had now turned into the most barbaric mass mukbang event Arthur had ever seen.The dusty village square was only filled with the sound of smacking lips and people crying in delicious bliss. No one cared about the giant cauldron i

The midday sun felt like it was roasting the top of his head.Arthur stood in the middle of the village square, hands on his hips as he supervised his "employees" at work. Xylok, the makeshift HR Manager, was reporting the stock of wild yams and wild fruits using twig scribbles on the ground. On the other side, Grok and the Asset Acquisition Department team had just returned bringing two medium-sized deer caught from the trench trap Arthur had designed."Good work. This is what we call time efficiency," Arthur praised, nodding in satisfaction at the still-living deer. "Put them into the wooden pen I built yesterday. Don't kill them until we need fresh meat. Xylok, record Grok's team's performance today with an A grade!"Xylok hurriedly scribbled on the dirt, even though the old shaman had absolutely no idea what an 'A grade' was. What mattered was that Mr. Boss was happy and their dinner ration was safe.However, amidst his satisfaction of seeing his small kingdom starting to run syst

The midday sun felt like it was burning his skin, but that was nothing compared to the heat in Arthur's head.The CEO stood in front of a giant flat stone in the village square. Below his eyes were rather thick dark circles—the result of staying up all night thanks to Xara's snoring concert that successfully made the hut vibrate.In front of him, Xylok and several representatives from the Acquisition Department were sitting cross-legged, listening to Arthur's scolding with tense faces."Xylok, I've told you time and time again! Don't just throw away the slightly rotten wild yams!" Arthur tapped the stone with a twig in the style of a super annoying manager. "Cut off the rotten parts, and give the good leftovers to our captured boars for feed. This is called zero waste management! Do you guys understand raw material efficiency or not?!"Xylok hurriedly nodded in a panic until his bird skull crown tilted. "U-understood, Mr. Boss! Cut the rotten, give to the boars!"Arthur let out a long