Waking Of A World Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Happy birthday, Daniel.

Read chapter 27 of Waking Of A World by Victor_WIlliam on NovelPedia.

After a few tense seconds, Valentina pull back a and lifted the cigar away from Daniel's forehead, leaving a red burn mark. "Go on, speak." As she spoke, the pressure in the room seemed to ease. The sharp, invisible weight scraping against Daniel's skin also faded, but he still kept his head lowered. He swallowed hard before forcing himself to speak. "This entire incident... It was my fault. I have no excuse. I believe you already know the details of what happened." There was no point in begging for his life. He was just a Peshka. A nobody in the Syndicate. If Valentina decided to kill him, that wouldn't be a problem, but there were still two people he could try to save. Daniel clenched his fists at his sides. "My teammates did nothing wrong," he said. "They were only following my orders. They are good men. If punishment is required, I am willing to take theirs as well. So please..." He slowly raised his head, searching Valentina's face for even the smallest reaction. For a moment, she showed nothing. Then... "Ha." A soft laugh escaped her, then grew even louder. "Ha... Hahaha...!" Valentina tilted her head, looking amused. "Am I hearing this correctly? You, a Peshka of the Syndicate? Suddenly want to be a hero? Isn't that great?" She took another drag from her cigar and blew the smoke to the side. Then her gaze moved past Daniel toward his unconscious teammates. "Wake them up" At her command, the Klyk in the room began to move. Valentina looked back at Daniel. "Let me tell you something, Daniel. We are not merely a criminal organization. We are a Family. And in a Family, every member carries the Family's name. Every member protects its reputation. In a sense, you can say that each family member is a source of power for the Family they belong to." She turned and walked toward the wine table. "You know the kind of power I vibe with? The kind that keeps climbing no matter what. Mistakes can happen. Failure can happen. But as long as you keep climbing, the Family can still use you." Two Klyk returned with buckets of cold water. Daniel glanced at them as they set the buckets down, then carefully dragged his teammates out of the sleeping bags. Valentina did not look back. She continued speaking as she picked up three empty wine glasses. "But when a member falls, the question is not whether he falls alone." She placed the glasses side by side. "The question is what their fall costs the Family." The Klyk poured cold water over Daniel's teammates. One of the men jolted awake, coughing violently. His face was wrapped in bandages where Liesel's kick had landed, making it difficult for him to cough up the water. The other tried to rise, only to clutch his chest as pain shot through him. "Ah!" he groaned, before collapsing back onto the floor. He hadn't recovered from being kicked in the chest by Liesel. Both men looked around in stunned confusion. A moment ago, they had been in the van, heading back to FlashDrop Logistics. Now they were in a luxurious room, surrounded by Klyk, with Daniel kneeling on the ground. Their eyes quickly found Daniel, hoping for an explanation. From the way they were looking at him, Daniel could tell that they were clearly frightened. "Go ahead," Valentina said without turning around. "Explain to them what is happening." Daniel's throat tightened as he stood up and walked toward his teammates. After a few minutes of Daniel's explanation, both men fell silent, the color drained from their faces. The man with the bandaged face stared at Daniel as if he had misunderstood him. His lips moved once, but no sound came out. Then his breathing grew uneven. "No..." he whispered. "No, no, wait..." He grabbed Daniel by the front of his shirt. His fingers dug into the fabric, trembling so badly that Daniel could feel it through his clothes. "D-Daniel," he said, his voice cracking. "What are you talking about? This can't be happening. What did you do? How could this happen?" Daniel caught his wrists and forced himself to st