Chapter 308 - 307: Mute the World, and Listen to the Sound of My Breakdown.

"What gives?! I already gave you fifty thousand US dollars this afternoon!!"

Andy’s voice rose a few pitches, his agitation getting the better of him.

"Tsk, no need to get so worked up. I’m off the clock. If you want me to work overtime, there’s gonna be an overtime fee."

Felix Knight couldn’t take the madman’s shouting anymore. He put the call on speaker and tossed his phone onto the adjacent seat.

"Besides, do you think I don’t go online? The Princess of Country E already posted a photo with her, and it’s still trending. Taking your job means I’m making enemies of a whole bunch of big shots. I don’t even know how long I’ll have to go into hiding. Doesn’t that count as hazard pay? Don’t I deserve compensation?"

"Those photos are fake! They’re AI-generated! Only the pictures I gave you are real! I took them myself! You think I don’t know what’s real and what’s not!?"

’Oh? Well, well. Looks like I stumbled upon the photographer. I’ll have to ask the boss to give me a bonus for this!!!’

Felix Knight cleaned out his ear, his tone laced with impatience.

"What do I care if they’re real or fake? No extra pay, no more talk. Just sit tight until 3 AM Aurelia time, and I’ll get it done on schedule. Of course, you could cancel the order. But no refunds, just so you know."

Having said his piece, he calmly tapped a few keys, providing some background music for Andy to meditate on his decision.

Andy: *Shh, silence the world and listen to the sound of my composure shattering.*

Once Andy had rebuilt his mental defenses, he asked, forcing an air of calm,

"First, tell me how much you want."

"Not much. Just an extra 100,000 US dollars," Felix Knight replied without even thinking.

’There’s a saying for a reason: "Since I’m already here..." Naturally, I have to leave with something. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be living up to Moonshadow’s reputation as a bunch of bandits.’

’After all, the fifty grand from this afternoon isn’t going into my pocket. And besides, isn’t all my hard work worth a $100,000 service fee?’

’Not that I care about such chump change, and it’s not like the money is guaranteed to end up in my pocket anyway. But you never know. Maybe when the boss deals with this moron, she’ll be in a good mood and just hand it over to me with a flick of her wrist.’

"100,000?! I don’t have that much money!"

At that moment, Andy felt the mental fortitude he had just painstakingly constructed collapse all over again.

It had been reduced to absolute rubble—a bigger collapse than any disgraced celebrity trending online.

Felix Knight let out a disdainful scoff, which, amplified by a voice seemingly in the throes of puberty, sounded particularly grating.

"Stop pretending, Director Andy. Have you forgotten what I do for a living?"

"I’m really not lying to you. If I actually had that kind of money, the first thing I would’ve done is hire a hacker with a better ranking than you!"

’Also, buddy, you must remember, I’m just a *deputy* right now. Calling me little Andy is fine.’

"Is that so? Then hold on a second."

Felix Knight’s fingers danced across the keyboard, his speed creating afterimages. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he was performing some kind of ritual.

But if one were to look closely, they would discover—hee hee, you silly fool—that the keyboard was actually locked.

After his flurry of "activity," Felix Knight finally spoke to the person on the other end.

"Well, well, Director Andy. Such dedication. Still at the office this late? The Lowell Group building, 16th floor, Technology Department... The office on the right with the light still on, that must be yours, right?

You work so hard, your salary must be pretty high, huh?

Oh, right. And just now, I accidentally took a peek at your bank account. After conversion, you clearly have enough for 100,000 US dollars. You lied. Hmm, maybe I should just help myself..."

"Wait! I’ll give it to you! I’ll transfer it right now!"

Andy cut in sharply.

He felt like he had just shot himself in the foot. The person on the other end of the line was nothing but a common thug with no professional ethics whatsoever!

If he had known it would be like this, he wouldn’t have thought a small social media takedown wasn’t worth the money. He wouldn’t have just randomly picked some mid-to-low-tier name off the rankings!

"Good. I’ll send you the account number. I’m not comfortable putting the money in the same place."

Felix Knight raised an eyebrow, his mood improving considerably.

’Now that’s more like it. Wouldn’t it have been simpler if he’d just agreed in the first place?’

’Why did he have to fight me on this for so long? What was the point?’

’I was even kind enough to leave him 100,000. It’s just Hua Country Coin, but what’s important is the good omen it represents!’

’You see? Leaving Andy a hundred thousand for his coffin money. In a moment, he’ll be facing his doom, a death he deserves, a death without a body, a death with no witnesses, a death no one will mourn.’

’Then, yours truly, Sadie, will reluctantly make a personal sacrifice and take that unlucky hundred grand for himself. There aren’t many good people like me left in the world, are there?!’

’What a happy day. Another day spent doing good deeds and accumulating virtue!’

"Alright, I’ve sent the transfer. Can you get to work now?"

Andy’s urgent voice came through the phone again.

After glancing at the transfer notification in the top-right corner of his screen, Felix Knight turned his gaze back to the figure pacing back and forth on his monitor and casually continued to lead him on.

"No need to rush. For security purposes, leave the office first. While you’re at it, take out your SIM card and destroy it. I guarantee that by the time you walk out of the Lowell Group building, you’ll see a new topic trending."

Andy took a deep breath. "Fine. I’ll trust you one last time. If you’re lying, I swear I’ll expose you on the dark web."

With that, he hung up the phone.

Watching the screen go dark, Felix Knight gave a mocking curl of his lip.

’Expose me? You’ll have to get the chance first.’

’No, wait. Even if he did get the chance, it wouldn’t be me who’s exposed. What have I got to fear?’

’If that little noob gets exposed, what does that have to do with me, Serene, ranked number three on the list?’

The poor soul in some corner of the world who’d just lost his name and had his account stolen: *I am so sick of repeating the same four words: "Have a little mercy!!!"*

But... this guy really doesn’t seem to have much of a brain.

He has some ability when it comes to artificial intelligence, at best, but not much. And none of it is used for anything good.

His methods of retaliation are barely passable, and his skill at covering his tracks is usually quite high.

But it feels like whenever something concerns the boss, he just turns into a reckless fool.

So, to sum it all up, a moron like this... is useless. Might as well just off him.

I have no idea how the boss was bullied by him back then. Maybe it was because she was young and hadn’t fully blossomed yet?

Yeah, that must be it!

Yvonne Lowell: *...First, I wasn’t the one being bullied. Second, I was the one who bullied him. And last, that one hundred thousand US dollars that could have been yours is now gone.*

Felix Knight’s fingertips drummed on the armrest as he leisurely watched the figure on the monitor fly into a helpless rage. Once the tantrum was over, the man put his mask of composure back on, strolled out of his office, and completed the smooth sequence of closing the door, turning off the lights, and getting into the elevator.

Through another surveillance window, he watched the elevator’s floor indicator drop to 5 and continue its descent. Only then did Felix Knight gently kick the passenger seat in front of him.

"Tina, take the anesthetic and go greet our guest of honor. But remember, the three masters want this one, so he can only sustain very minor injuries, understand?"

"Understood."

Acknowledging the order, Tina immediately opened the car door and headed toward the elevator bank.