Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

Yara could not help but speak up. "Mr. Lloyd, I think we shouldn't go too far, or else-"

Andrew interrupted her and asked Tristan with a smile, "Or you'll seek revenge to the death, right, lil guy?"

Tristan's face was half normal, half bruised purple as he forced himself to reply, "I wouldn't dare! Just let me go, and all grudges between us will be forgotten!"

He tried to maintain his composure despite his fear.

Andrew laughed. "You're pretty good at letting things go. You took a few slaps, and your men all got taught a lesson too."

"Can you really handle such humiliation?" he asked, his smile growing more menacing.

Looking at Andrew's smile, Tristan felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine. He kept apologizing with a forced grin. "I can handle it, absolutely can handle it! In our line of work, we believe in being pragmatic and adapting to the situation. Anyone can see you're not an ordinary guy, and I'm not about to walk into death voluntarily!"

Andrew released him with a look of disappointment. "Damn, I was hoping you'd put up a fight to prove your worth as a gang leader! Then, I could have conveniently killed you. I didn't expect you to be so sensible, little dwarf! Since you're being so reasonable, I guess I have to let you go!"

Tristan nearly cursed out loud.

Was this guy a devil? He could not believe that Andrew wanted him to fight back just so he could kill him.

The thought terrified Tristan to the core.

Yara's expression grew complex. She could not help but feel that the partner she had found seemed to be just as ruthless as Quinton. To be precise, Quinton was not even as frightening as this Andrew character. There was something unnervingly calm about his cruelty.

"Everyone, get up quickly! We're leaving!" Tristan called out to his subordinates. He did not want to stay there for even one more second.

"Wait!" Andrew suddenly spoke again, his voice flat and emotionless.

Tristan's Adam's apple bobbed nervously as his scalp tingled with fear. "Sir... what else do you want? If you're determined to kill us all, the Azure Dragon King gang won't let this go!" noveldrama

Andrew's face remained

expressionless as he pointed to Earl and the others, who were trembling. "I agreed to let you go, but I never said anything about letting the others leave."

He added matter-of-factly, "Everyone except you has to stay and work at this construction site for three months. "

Tristan gasped. "Y-You want my people to work for you at the construction site? And for three whole months?"

Andrew gave him a cold look. "Is that a problem?"

Tristan shook his head repeatedly. "No problem! No problem at all!"

As long as he could escape with his

life, he could not care too much about what happened to his men. Sure, they had sworn allegiance and shared that morbid toast-live together, die together.

But let's be real: wise men rarely kept their oaths-they existed to be broken.

Tristan slipped away by himself, leaving behind dozens of subordinates, including Earl. They all looked ashen, feeling as if the sky had fallen on them.

"It's impossible. Mr. Cummings wouldn't abandon us and escape alone!" one of the subordinates said, struggling to accept the reality of the situation.

"He must have gone to get reinforcements. He must be figuring out a way to rescue us!" he insisted, desperately clinging to hope.

Earl forced a smile. "That's right, he must be planning to rescue us!"

Just as they finished reassuring each other, they heard a contemptuous snicker. Earl whipped his head around and glared at Andrew. "What are you laughing at?"