An offer, rejected!

"Golden Kirin? Why are you here?" Cate demanded as she observed the new arrival. Meanwhile warning bells were going off in her head. She had met a tough opponent. Golden Kirin was a renown name in the industry. Matter of fact, his fame extended to the entire planet Tres. 

While the man appeared young, he was quite advanced in years. Modern technology could make someone with deep enough pockets to almost double or even triple their life expectancy. 

As one of the leading figures in the Laventine company's lead hunting party, Golden Kirin had led his team to hunt all manner of creatures. One of his most famous hunt was a golden Kirin, which was how he got his name.

Before that, he had been an elite in the military, where he also had outstanding battle records. From some of the stories that came from the military, the man had been an expert from the start.

Last she had heard of him, Golden Kirin had retired from the fighting and hunting scene. Nowadays, he was supposed to be a trainer in the company, passing his knowledge and skills to the future generation. 

Therefore, there was no good reason why such a figure should have appeared before her at that time. Moreover, based on his words, he had nothing but ill intent. 

Despite her questioning, Golden Kirin paid her no mind. Instead, he turned his attention to Haiser. 

"Boy, I saw your hunting skills. You must have been a special elite in the military, to be able to move like that," Golden Kirin said. He had observed Haiser's moves, and he understood that Haiser was a bona fide fighting expert. He had all the markings.

Haiser did not respond, but his look said it all. 

"Come work for the Laventine company, and I will take you on as my personal student. There's a lot of difference between hunting enemies in the military and hunting in the wild, and I know them all. With your potential, you will dictate your own salary and bonuses. How about it, are you interested?"

Hearing Golden Kirin's remarks, Cate's heart sunk to the bottom. She too had been thinking about making the same offer to Haiser, only, she did not have the proper cred or position to make such an offer. 

Her intention had been to bring Haiser and group back to the Iresal corporation. Once the young master saw their performance, she believed he would make the offer himself.

However, now that a competitor had come, what was to stop Haiser from jumping ship? It should be known that Laventine was the larger of the two corporations, and when it came to benefits, Laventine could offer a lot more than Iresal could.

Right now, while there was only one man before them, Golden Kirin never moved alone. He had a team of highly skilled hunters, all of whom were personally handpicked and trained by him. As such, she could surmise that they were surrounded. She did not know where Haiser had found that out or not. 

"As you can see, I am already working with this team. Why should I change to yours?" Haiser asked, as he advanced forward. He was reducing the distance between himself and the new arrival, albeit slow and methodically. However, Haiser went and stood next to Cate and her teammates instead. 

"There's just no comparison between Iresal and Laventine. Besides, have they made any offer to you? Do you think that little girl next to you has the authority to make deals? Of course not, but I, on the other hand, have full authority. Make your choice now?" Towards the end, Golden Kirin was becoming forceful. 

Turning to look at Cate, the two exchanged a look. Haiser then turned around as asked, "and what if I refuse?" All this while, while Golden Kirin's words contained a hint of threat, he had been smiling and very lackluster. However, the moment Haiser spoke, his expression turned deathly quiet. His eyes shone with a dangerous light, as though he had just been stepped on. Afterwards, he simply said, "That would be a most foolish decision." 

"Then I guess I am foolish." Haiser said. 

Suddenly, he leapt in the air. Brandishing his buckler, he swung with all his might, but not at Golden Kirin, but towards Cate. 

Cate was completely caught off guard. The attack had come too soon, and the distance was too little. Even her own team had not noticed when Haiser had made a move, still expecting negotiations to continue. 

Boom!

Just as the attack was about to connect, part of the shield exploded. With the might of the explosion, both Cate and Haiser were thrown back. Reeling, as Cate tried to connect the dots, she suddenly caught sight of two bodies lying next to her. The remaining members of her team lying next to her, with fatal wounds on their faces.

Boom! Boom!

Jerking her head, Cate looked up to see Haiser on one knee. His buckler was all but shredded, but he was still swinging it. Suddenly, it dawned on her, Haiser had not attacked her, but protected her from a hidden threat. If he hadn't, she too would be like her teammates, lying on the ground, dead. 

"Get into the river! Now!" Haiser shouted. At the same time, using a weird footwork, he managed to grab onto Cate. With barely seconds to to spare, the two dived into the river. Cate did not even notice the three splashes that sounded nearby, or the loud sound of a gun going off.

"Get the-" These were the last words he ever spoke. After an illustrious career filled with violence and the threat of death never being so far, who would have thought that the mighty Golden Kirin, the most celebrated commander under the Levantine corporation, would perish from a bullet to the neck?

Meanwhile, the person responsible was holding on to the half-drowning Cate, desperately trying to remain underwater.