Chapter 323: The Meeting Between K and the Professor, Can You Evade Capture in the United States?

At this moment.

Despite the worries and troubles weighing on his mind, K couldn’t help but smile sincerely when he saw J waving enthusiastically, full of energy. He shook his head with a trace of helplessness.

J, as always, didn’t stand on ceremony. Without hesitation, he stepped forward and took the briefcase from K’s hand.

He had expected it to be heavy, but the moment he picked it up, it felt so light it clearly didn’t contain a laptop. Frowning in confusion, he asked instinctively,

“Huh? Brother K, why is your briefcase so light? You didn’t bring your laptop back?”

“That can’t be right. Your laptop is so important. You really didn’t bring it? Is everything okay? Should I send someone to buy you a new one right now?”

Hearing that, K paused mid-step, feeling a throbbing pressure at his temples. If he didn’t know that J was the kind of carefree person who respected him deeply, he might have snapped and taught J a lesson about knowing when to shut up.

Taking a deep breath, K looked ahead and brushed off the question with a calm tone.

“I brought the hard drive. That’s enough.”

“Laptops are inconvenient to carry. Don’t ask too many questions.”

J didn’t notice the shift in K’s expression. He led the way to his luxury SUV and, like a loyal underling, opened the passenger door for K.

Then he walked around to the driver’s seat, buckled his seatbelt, and sighed as he started the engine.

“Brother K,” he said, “what’s going on with Lan Cai’er?”

“I thought that whole thing was over. Why did a big problem suddenly resurface? And it seems like Dragon Country Police have gotten hold of the secret.”

“That’s really bad news. I’m worried that damn Morgan Family might—”

Before J could finish, K, sitting in the passenger seat with his eyes closed, interrupted him in a calm voice.

“It’s my fault.”

“I shouldn’t have brought Ghost into The Organization just to expand and strengthen the drug trafficking network.”

“I only saw that Ghost was suited for this kind of work. I didn’t think deeply enough about whether he could be controlled, or what he might do in desperation if The Organization ever faced a crisis.”

“Of course, part of the reason is that everything had gone so smoothly since I decided to establish the drug trafficking organization in Dragon Country. Even when we faced exposure risks, we always managed to get through them unscathed. That gave me a false sense of security.”

“I started to believe that Dragon Country Police would never uncover what I’d built, so I never considered the possibility of The Organization collapsing.”

“And now, a small-time player like Ghost has put us in such a passive and difficult position.”

“We have to find a way to fix this. If that matter gets exposed, it’ll cause a tidal wave of consequences and plunge us into crisis.”

Hearing K’s words, J instinctively turned to glance at him. He hadn’t expected the always confident Brother K to admit to a misjudgment.

He opened his mouth to say something but felt a lump in his throat.

After taking a deep breath, he spoke in a low, hoarse voice, full of regret.

“Brother K, it’s not your fault. This whole mess started because of me.”

“If I hadn’t thrown that idiot into the sea in a fit of rage back then, we wouldn’t be in this situation now.”

“Ghost only found out about it because… when we needed someone to deal with Lan Cai’er’s team and their blackmail, we had no choice but to use someone as unstable as him.”

“Professor—no, our teacher—was right. Anger is the most dangerous emotion in the world. It makes you forget risk, forget death, even forget how serious the consequences of your actions might be.”

“I’m sorry, Brother K. I’ve caused trouble for you again…”

This heartfelt apology and admission that his actions six months ago were a rash mistake—J had never said any of it to Q. In front of Q, he always maintained a tough front, insisting he’d take full responsibility.

But in front of K, he reflected on his actions unprompted, openly expressing his regret and the pain of causing more problems.

It was clear.

Just as Q had said before, K was J’s true role model. In his heart, K was a figure to look up to, someone he regarded as an older brother.

K didn’t respond immediately to J’s apology. He kept his eyes closed, massaged his brow, and spoke in a tone that brooked no argument.

“No need to apologize.”

“What matters most right now is dealing with the fallout. Apologies, regrets, and lessons learned come second.”

“Just drive to the Professor’s villa.”

“There are some important matters I need to discuss with him face-to-face. Let me rest for a bit and sort through everything that’s happened and what comes next.”

With that, K fell silent, his mind racing with thoughts on how to deal with the threat from the Morgan Family.

Nearly an hour later, the SUV pulled up to the gates of an expensive villa.

J hesitated, saying he didn’t have the face to see the Professor right now and didn’t know how to face him. He decided to wait in the car until K came back out.

K stepped out alone, pushed open the half-closed villa gate, and walked straight toward the dining room.

It was 8 a.m.—the perfect time for breakfast.

K arrived at the restaurant and immediately spotted the Professor. Dressed in simple, casual clothes, the Professor was seated at the table, calmly spreading butter on a slice of bread with a knife.

Across from him, another set of cutlery had been laid out, along with pre-prepared bread and coffee.

K wasn’t the least bit surprised by the scene. He knew there was no way the Professor wouldn’t have heard about his return.

He walked over and sat down across from the Professor, picking up a knife to spread butter on his own bread, just like he used to back when he was still in the United States.

As the Professor’s most prized student back in the day, K had often chosen breakfast time as the perfect moment to talk.

After finishing with the butter, K began eating his bread in silence, not asking or saying anything to the Professor.

It wasn’t until the Professor finished his own breakfast that K finally paused, looked up at him, and was just about to speak—perhaps to apologize—when that deep, weathered voice spoke first.

“K.”

“If you were in the United States, would you be confident in escaping or stopping Su Ming’s pursuit in advance?”