The newcomer spoke.
His voice was soft, carrying a hint of politeness.
Serena Tong was startled when she heard him.
From just now until now, she hadn't sensed anyone else nearby at all.
If the person beside her hadn't spoken, she might never have realized someone was there.
He approached without a sound.
Definitely an expert.
Serena turned toward the voice and saw a man.
He wore a perfectly neat black suit, leather shoes, and held a briefcase in his hand.
He looked just like an office worker.
He looked like he was about to hop on a bus or rush off to some boring meeting.
That outfit? Totally normal anywhere else—but right now, he was standing on the rooftop of the Orchid Crown International Hotel in Hong Kong.
No way someone who shows up here is just your average office drone.
But the real shocker was his face.
Serena stared at his smiling face—and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.
She instinctively stepped back, face going pale.
"You... Arthur Liang?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Weren’t you already..."
Serena’s throat felt parched; her voice came out rough and scratchy.
The guy in front of her? He had Allen Liang’s exact face—No. 3 on the Oceanport Young Tigers List!
Back at the Young Tigers Ranking Battle, Allen Liang got wrecked by Evan Lin—mountain-moved and slammed to death.
Serena still couldn’t shake that memory.
"Wasn’t I already dead?"
The man just smiled, totally unfazed, looking like this was all perfectly normal.
"Relax, I’m not some zombie or a ghost that crawled out of the grave. I’m alive—real flesh and blood."
He said, "My surname’s Liang. You can call me Arthur Liang."
"Arthur Liang?"
Serena’s brow furrowed.
"Allen Liang’s my twin. He’s always been a handful—total troublemaker since day one."
Arthur Liang nodded. "He was all fired up, wanted to take on Master Lin from Seacrest. Honestly? That whole fight was just for you to watch."
"Just for me? What are you talking about?"
Serena listened, then something clicked—her face turned wary. "You’re Witch Clan too?"
She edged back a step, tense all over.
Whether it was Imperial Star using a black cat to mess with Serena’s head, Allen Liang snatching her to force Evan Lin into the Young Tigers Battle, or that Witch Clan manager popping up at the Angel Epoch event—anything Witch Clan-related always sent chills down her spine.
Anything tied to the Witch Clan always gave Serena the creeps.
"Yeah, you could say that."
Arthur nodded, tipped his head up, and stared at the blazing wall of fire in the sky. "See that up there?"
"Master Lin from Seacrest—the guy who crushed my brother—is inside, right?"
He stared at it, voice totally flat—not even a flicker of anger about Evan Lin killing his brother.
"So what exactly are you up to?"
Serena instantly got a bad feeling and started figuring out how to warn someone.
But Yvette Locke was nowhere to be seen, and Queenie Tong was so deep in her phone call she didn’t notice a thing.
It was like everyone else—except Serena—couldn’t even see Arthur Liang standing there.
Nobody even registered he was there.
And Serena felt hopeless—if she could warn anyone, she didn’t even know who to pick.
"Relax."
Arthur flashed a smile. "Let me break it down for you: right where Master Lin from Seacrest is, ten elite armor-piercing sniper rifles are locked on. On top of that, three missile launchers and a high-intensity laser are ready to go."
"One word from me, and that fiery cube—and Master Lin inside—gets erased in a hail of bullets and missiles. Gone for good."
Honestly, what’s easier than taking out a sitting duck hanging in the sky?
Arthur smirked as he finished talking.
Serena’s face changed in a flash, going ghostly pale.
She whipped around and bolted for the rooftop edge, ready to yell up at Evan Lin in the sky.
But after just two steps, a weird rune flickered—and she was snapped right back to where she started.
Serena stared, jaw clenched.
She’d seen that creepy move before—Allen Liang had used it too.
She knew she was no match for him.
"What do you want from me?"
Serena’s voice dropped as she locked eyes with Arthur.
"Simple."
Arthur looked at Serena. "You know exactly who I am."
"I’m upper management at Imperial Star Entertainment. Right now, I’m here on behalf of the board."
"Ever since my troublemaking—yeah, totally doomed—little brother kicked the bucket, I heard you want out of your contract, right?"
Arthur stood there, cool as a cucumber—pure business.
He really did look like a regular office guy.
But his identity was obvious, and his calm words were loaded with threats.
"Yeah, I don’t see any reason to keep working together."
Serena nodded.
"I like your straight talk."
Arthur didn’t even blink—just nodded. "So here’s the contract."
He fished a contract out of his briefcase.
"This is your official termination contract. Sign it, and you’re done with Imperial Star for good."
"But at the same time, this contract gives you a whole new choice."
Arthur said, watching Serena closely.
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
Serena’s face was pure confusion.
She took the contract, gave it a quick look—and her face changed.
"Terminate the partnership, but I get Imperial Star shares?"
The contract’s terms were downright insane.
It was like winning the lottery—too good to be true.
Imperial Star Entertainment was a massive company, and its board of directors was shrouded in mystery.
But with this contract, Serena was clearly coming out way ahead.
"Sure, you get management rights at Imperial Star, but in exchange, you have to come with me somewhere."
Arthur smiled. "Let’s call it a trade."
This is business, after all. You’ve been Imperial Star’s cash cow for years, and no businessperson lets their cash cow leave easily.
Contract in hand, Serena frowned at him.
"But I feel like you guys aren’t hurting for money."
She said it—Imperial Star definitely wasn’t strapped for cash, and money never seemed to matter much to them.
While other companies scrambled to go public and cash in, Imperial Star’s management always took their sweet time making money.
"Yeah, we’re not short on money—but we’re short on people."
Arthur nodded seriously. "You know we’re Witch Clan. Back in the haunted house, you met the witch goddess, right?"
"I told you before—Allen Liang brought you to watch him and Master Lin fight for the Young Tigers List. It was all for you."
"His goal was simple: to show you he was a force to be reckoned with."
"He wanted to win your favor."
"Too bad he’s dead."
Arthur talked about it like it was nothing—no sadness at all.
Like it wasn’t his brother who died, but just some stray dog.