Love Began with the First Meeting

"Who says that I'm not part of this Casino?" Wearing a helpless look on her face, Molly stepped out. Gazing at the woman, she slowly uttered, "Miss, the one forbidden thing in gambling. Is to deny the result!" The harsh words from Molly made the woman's face change colors. She bit her lower lip, as if trying to infuse herself with some courage, and raised her head. "My-my grievance is with him, not you," she stuttered.

Molly sighed and shook her head. Turning around, she said to Shane, "I'll leave her to you. Don't waste too much time on her. Your time can be better spent doing other things." She then gave Shane a friendly wink. "I'm going upstairs now." Grinning, Shane nodded to show his acknowledgment. Before Molly walked towards the lift, she glanced at the woman once again.

It wasn't really necessary for her to confront that woman. Surely Shane knew the number on the dice. However, Molly hung back observing the woman for quite a while, and she could tell that the woman didn't seem to want to cause any trouble here at all. Nevertheless, Molly couldn't figure out why the woman was taking a stand.

Neither could Shane. Either way, he had his job to do and responsibility to keep order. Even though the woman wasn't trying to create a disturbance here, he still had to think of a way to block her from entering Grand Night Casino. The reason why Molly intervened was to make the process seem more natural. Sometimes, things had two sides and even though she understood what kind of business Brian was engaged in, she couldn't be as cold-hearted as he was.

A 'ding' sounded signaling that the lift had reached the top floor.

Molly walked out of the lift and went to the master control room. To her surprise, she didn't see Brian there.

She scanned the security screens in the room and frowned when she couldn't see Brian on any of the screens. "Where is he?" she murmured.

Molly took out her phone and dialed his number. A few seconds later, he picked up. "Bri, you're not in Grand Night Casino?" "No,"

Brian gently replied with a slight smile. "I have something urgent to deal with. Just wait for me there. I'll be there in half an hour."

"Okay." Molly nodded and hung up. However, when she did, she felt a sense of apprehension. It slowly rose like a hand and began to grip tightly around her heart.

**

Standing in front of his car, Brian slid his hand into his pocket. He was in a remote area of A City but close to L City. There was a vast piece of land between the two cities. Brian leaned casually against his car with his eyes fixed on the land in front of him. If it wasn't for the dim yellow glow that the old street lights emanated in some areas, nothing could be seen in the dark of the night.

After several minutes some car lights could be seen heading his way from the L City direction. Shortly after two dark vehicles parked near him.

However, Brian remained in his place and didn't move.

A group of men then got out of the cars and lined up in front of Brian. One of them stepped forward and lowered his head down to show his respect and reported, "Mr. Brian Long, we have found it." He raised his head slightly to glimpse at Brian's face for a reaction, but he forgot that it was a useless thing to try. Brian maintained his usual steady cold stare. He lowered his head again and continued, "As you had suspected, it was Cora."

Cora had been following Brian. She knew precisely how the XK Intelligence Agency operated because she used to work there and was aware of the agency's protocol.

Brian didn't reply. His eyes were still fixed on the landscape in front of him while his men stood silent, waiting for his next command. Brian contemplated his next move, and after a long time, he calmly gave his order, "Leave that for now. Activate vacuum mode." "Sir?" the man blurted out, obviously surprised by what he had just heard.

Brian's eyes gradually became focused. His lips curled into a cynical smile. In a cold tone, he ridiculed, "Doesn't she want to do something to attract attention? Then let her be."

A cold shiver ran up the man's spine. He knew the reason why Brian wanted to activate vacuum mode. He needed a reason to take action against Cora, so, he was going to create that reason. And his method would be letting her make a scene. "Vincent will arrive in A City tonight," Brian said, indifferently as he glanced at the man. "Give him my orders and then... leave everything else to him."

"Understood, Mr. Brian Long." After giving his orders, Brian got into his car and drove off. The man watched his boss leave and sighed. "I think the most terrifying thing to become in this world is Mr. Brian Long's enemy," he murmured. Even though he knew what the repercussions were going to be for Cora after his boss's orders were carried out, and that his boss was an extremely dangerous man, the man was actually smiling when he uttered the words. To him, it was a pleasure and joy working for Brian. Although Brian was cold- blooded and callous towards his rivals, he took care and looked out for his own people and subordinates.

Mr. Xie was the founding father of the XK Intelligence Agency. He was never the type of man that would indulge himself in playing and enjoying life. However, after achieving his dream, that many others wouldn't be able to accomplish in a whole lifetime, Mr. Xie retired after finally turning the intelligence agency into the success that it was today. No one in XK knew how capable Mr. Xie was because no one ever dared to challenge him. However, everyone had come to learn and agree that the amiable smile on his face was just a facade. There was someone who did challenge him once. That person foolishly believed that Mr. Xie was as harmless as he seemed to appear. In the end, it turned out that he didn't have the chance to challenge Mr. Xie ever again. Mr. Xie didn't even need to say a word. Someone from his association did it for him.

That alone was enough to show everyone just how powerful he was. Moreover, when Mr. Xie was already retired and held no real power anymore, the people who served him earlier were still loyal to him and always followed his orders. Who else in the world would be able to boast of such an accomplishment?

To the entire XK Intelligence Agency, Mr. Xie was like a legend. Whereas, Richie Long was the belief of the XK Intelligence Agency. Under Richie Long's leadership, XK didn't seem to expand its influence or make much more progress compared to when Mr. Xie led the agency. However, Richie was the man that Mr. Xie chose to take over, and he must have had his reason for which everyone respected. It seemed Richie could accomplish anything he set his mind to. He had the knack of dissecting complicated matters and turning them into simple ones.

Now, the leader had changed to, Brian Long!

To the people in the XK Intelligence Agency, he was neither a legend nor a belief. He was a man of flesh and blood, more like a brother that the team could trust.

He wasn't a man who only demanded results. He also cared about how things were conducted and carried out. Brian wouldn't merely sit back and reap the fruits of the success of his people. Instead, in every dangerous situation, he would always be the first one to act, to protect his people. As the leader, he had always put himself in the most dangerous position and take the bullet for his brothers. He had a natural flair for uniting the team and boosting everyone's morale. Everybody in the team was his brother, a lifetime brother whom he would devote his life to protect.