From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 655

Chapter 655: A Compulsory Event (Part 1)

Before Max headed to his scheduled lectures for the day, he decided to take a detour toward the campus facilities where the Wushu club was supposed to meet. After his unsettling encounter with Dud, the gears in Max’s mind were turning faster than ever. He knew that a man as erratic and vengeful as Dud wouldn’t have just appeared out of thin air without a meticulously crafted plan.

In the early days, the Billion Bloodline group had the luxury of operating in the shadows. They managed to pull off impossible feats because they were the new kids on the block, and the element of surprise was their greatest weapon. The established powers never saw them coming. But those days were over. Now, they were the talk of the entire Underworld, a group that had risen to syndicate-level status in a flash, dismantling giants like the Black Hounds and the Gilt Rats. Max knew that fame brought eyes, and eyes brought predators.

Unfortunately, when he reached the club room, Max realized he had made a rookie mistake. The doors were locked, and a schedule posted on the side indicated that the club sessions didn’t start until the late afternoon.

’Damn it. I really haven’t been paying enough attention to the mundane details of student life,’ Max thought, a trace of annoyance crossing his face. ’Of course the clubs only meet after classes are finished for the day. I’m still thinking like a man who runs his own schedule, not a freshman.’

The other reason he had ventured over to this side of the campus was that he was currently standing in the heart of the sports department. He had hoped to catch a glimpse of Donto Stern in his natural habitat, perhaps on the training fields or in the gym, but the area was largely deserted except for a few students heading to early labs.

Realizing he was wasting time, Max turned back toward the main academic block. He found himself walking down the hallway toward his business lecture rather late. As he rounded a corner, he nearly collided with a man wearing a bright red athletic shirt and a full soccer uniform.

The man was well-built, with the kind of powerful leg muscles that only came from years on the pitch. Even with his hair tied back in a tight ponytail, he looked rough around the edges, less like an academic and more like a seasoned delinquent who happened to be good at sports.

"Hmm, looks like we have a late one," the man said, stopping in the middle of the hall to block Max’s path. He looked Max up and down with a condescending smirk. "I thought all of you over in the business department were supposed to be perfect little role models. Always on time, always in a suit."

Max bit his tongue, the instinctual urge to snap back with a sharp "who the fuck are you?" bubbling up in his throat. He suppressed it quickly. If this man was in a soccer uniform, there was a high probability he was on the same team as Donto. Getting into a petty hallway spat now would only compromise his cover later.

"Whatever, I’m not your professor," the man said, waving a dismissive hand as he started walking again. "Just get the others to tell you the news, and I’ll see you in the evening."

Max watched him go, a suspicious glint in his eyes. ’That was weird. What was someone from the sports department doing over here in the business wing? Was he visiting a girlfriend, or was he delivering a message?’

He also wondered if the man was an upperclassman. If he was a senior, he would almost certainly have a direct connection to Donto. For a fleeting second, Max’s old habits resurfaced. ’Maybe I should have just roughed him up a little in the stairwell and squeezed some information out of him. I could have done it in a way that ensured he wouldn’t say a word to anyone afterward.’

When Max finally entered the classroom, the lecture was already in full swing. Everyone was busy working away or taking notes, so he moved quietly to his seat and pulled out his books. In truth, Max spent very little time actually listening to the professor. His mind was occupied with the logistical nightmare of restructuring a syndicate.

He had initially thought these classes might help him with the development of the Stern family businesses he was now technically overseeing, but the introductory curriculum was painfully basic. Most of it was theory he had already mastered through trial and fire in the real world. Instead of following the lesson, he began sketching out ways to maximize the profit margins of the newly absorbed Gilt Rat territories.

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