Chapter 296: The Professor’s Disappointment, and K’s Growing Cold Fury

“I’ll even wait there quietly for you to send someone to kill me…”

Ghost’s words were laced with mockery, a clear sign that all pretenses had been dropped. The blatant provocation made K clench his fists in rage.

But in the next second, the fury on K’s face shifted into a chilling calm. He narrowed his eyes and said coldly:

“Fine. Very good, Ghost.”

“Reporting to the police, is that it? To be honest, in all these years, you’re the first piece of trash to make me this angry.”

“So you’d better hide well.”

“This time, you don’t have a wife to kill and a prison to run to for shelter.”

“When the time comes, I’ll have someone slice the flesh off your body, piece by piece. You’ll regret everything you’ve done.”

K’s threats didn’t faze Ghost in the slightest. Instead, he laughed mockingly, completely unfazed.

“No.”

“I only called you ‘Boss K’ out of courtesy. Did you really think you were something special?”

“The organization’s already falling apart. Do you think I’m still going to risk my life for you? Or are you naïve enough to believe that while you send people to kill me, I’ll just stretch out my neck and wait for it…”

Before Ghost could finish, K hung up the phone, unwilling to listen to another word of his taunts.

He gripped the phone tightly, ready to smash it to the ground in a fit of rage. But just as he raised his hand, something made him pause. He stopped himself.

Instead, he grabbed a bottle of red wine the waiter had just brought and hurled it at the wall with all his strength.

Crash—

The bottle shattered, red liquid splattering everywhere, staining the floor in a chaotic mess.

K wiped his shoulder, where some of the wine had splashed. It made him look disheveled, a far cry from his usual composure.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, then pulled out his phone and dialed another number.

When the call connected, K spoke through gritted teeth, suppressing the fury in his voice.

“Q.”

“I failed.”

“Ghost is completely out of control now. We’ve lost track of his exact location.”

“The Priest has also been targeted by those dogs. At best, we might take out their lead dog, but it won’t be enough to silence Ghost for good.”

Upon hearing this, Q on the other end of the line didn’t sound particularly surprised. Her tone remained calm as she replied:

“K.”

“Looks like your current situation is exactly what the Professor predicted.”

“When I went to ask for his help, I’d barely finished explaining your side of things before he immediately concluded… that the Priest’s execution mission would fail, and that he’d end up as Ghost’s scapegoat.”

“In the Professor’s eyes, someone like Ghost—a pure egotist—was always going to be hard to control. To escape my pursuit, he was even willing to kill his wife and go to prison. That kind of person is unpredictable and dangerous.”

“Add to that the fact that he has enough money to live out the rest of his life, and it’s obvious what he’d do. He’d use every trick in the book to evade the police.”

“And Ghost, who’s well-acquainted with your methods and knows only the dead keep secrets, surely anticipated this execution attempt. He’s been preparing for it, hoping to turn it into a springboard for his escape.”

“As for our pursuit, Ghost isn’t too worried.”

“Because he knows very well that as long as he survives the police investigation, the evidence he holds will give him the leverage to blackmail us.”

“Ghost is indeed an exceptional criminal. But because of his pure self-interest, he’s become an extremely dangerous and unpredictable variable for the organization.”

“He’s a double-edged sword. Wielded well, he’s the sharpest weapon. Mishandled, he’s a ticking time bomb.”

Q paused for a couple of seconds, then let out a long sigh and continued.

“K.”

“The Professor said one more thing, though I doubt you’ll want to hear it.”

“Say it,” K cut in immediately, signaling her to go on.

After a moment of recollection, Q deliberately mimicked the Professor’s tone—calm and weathered.

“This isn’t the level K should be at. Based on Ghost’s personality and behavior, he should’ve seen this coming long ago.”

“Maybe it’s years of success that dulled his instincts. Or maybe… when facing that lead detective, K already lost his edge.”

“Whatever the case, I’ve been disappointed throughout this whole ordeal.”

As the words landed, K clenched his fists even tighter, the sound of his knuckles cracking clearly audible.

From the moment he’d joined the Poker Organization, the Professor had always regarded him as the most outstanding student, a role model for the others.

But now… to hear that the Professor was disappointed in him—it left K with a bitter sense of disillusionment.

In the Poker Organization, the Professor was the most respected and revered figure, akin to a godfather. Sometimes, a single word or comment from him could determine someone’s entire future.

Staring at the red wine slowly dripping down the wall, K fell into silence. His eyes were clouded with a rare trace of confusion.

The line remained quiet for a long time.

Q glanced at her phone to check for signal issues, then sighed and said helplessly,

“K, I told you. I knew you wouldn’t want to hear that.”

“Sometimes, you just have to listen. Now you’re all worked up—what’s the point?”

“Besides, the Professor probably didn’t mean it that seriously. You know as well as I do… all these years, you’ve always been his favorite student.”

“If you really want to blame someone, blame J. This all started because of what he did back then—”

Before Q could finish, K cut her off, his tone firm and unquestionable.

“No need to say more, Q.”

“This is my fault. Thinking back, I should’ve taken care of Ghost much earlier, and buried Lan Cai’er’s secret in the depths of the sea.”

“Instead, I tried to bring Ghost in, hoping to use him to expand the drug distribution network. That was the biggest mistake I ever made.”

“When I return to the United States, I’ll apologize to the Professor in person, and thank him for his help this time.”

Hearing this, Q sighed again, clearly exasperated.

“Fine. It’s your business.”

“As for Ghost, you don’t need to worry for now. The Professor and I will handle it. Just find a time to come back to the States.”

“Starting over isn’t that hard.”

As the call ended and the busy tone echoed in his ear, K slowly lowered the phone and gently rubbed the pure silver ring on his left middle finger.

He stood there for several seconds, then a self-mocking smile crept onto his face. In a low voice, he muttered to himself,

“Disappointed in me… huh…”