Chapter 382: Chapter 358: Can I Be the Guarantor?

A male voice suddenly emerged from inside a silver suitcase: "Yes, Master."

Then, the boxing gym owner’s voice began to play from it.

It was a recording of him extorting Dawn Miles, with Kyle Kane stepping in to help her.

Wyatt Lockwood’s expression darkened as the recording played. He looked over at the boxing gym owner, who was being helped to his feet. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

A gym employee tried to argue, "Our private rooms have always been 300 an hour."

Dawn Miles said, "Ditto Miles, play the video of the gym secretly filming its customers in the private rooms."

"Yes, Master."

The silver suitcase began to transform, reshaping itself into a small robot. Its screen lit up and began to play a video.

Everyone’s faces paled at the sight.

Someone immediately pulled out their phone and started calling the police.

Wyatt Lockwood only needed a single glance to confirm that the location in the video was one of the gym’s private rooms.

He had been there once with his son.

"Arrest them, and get the Martial Affairs Bureau—"

Wyatt Lockwood gave the order with a grim expression, then invited Dawn Miles, Kyle Kane, and the others to his office.

His attitude was far more courteous than before. He treated Dawn Miles, in particular, like a guest of honor.

’This girl must be from a prominent family,’ he thought, ’otherwise her power wouldn’t be so high. And she has an intelligent robot, the kind you only see at the major border outposts.’

His brother was stationed at one of the outposts, and he’d been lucky enough to see one before.

’Those intelligent robots are deployed at the border as small-scale radar units, each equipped with over a dozen high-energy weapons.’

"Miss, may I ask about your father...?"

Dawn Miles glanced at him and said flatly, "He passed away."

Wyatt Lockwood’s expression faltered. ’The Morgans did lose a lot of people.’ Realizing his gaffe, he quickly changed the subject. "Miss, are you planning on opening a dojo in the city?"

Dawn Miles shook her head and pointed at Kyle Kane. "He is."

"And you two are...?"

"Friends."

Wyatt Lockwood finally gave Kyle Kane his full attention, a hint of surprise on his face. "Where are you planning to open this dojo?"

"Oakhaven."

"Oakhaven?" Wyatt Lockwood’s brow furrowed. He wracked his brain trying to place it until Blondie (Zack Sutton) chimed in, "It’s 230 kilometers from the city. Part of Crestfall County."

Wyatt Lockwood finally placed it and asked in disbelief, "Your local association branch can handle the certification. Why come all this way?"

"The local branch won’t process it for us."

"That can’t be right..."

Wyatt Lockwood immediately picked up his phone, apparently calling The Martial Alliance office in Crestfall.

Blondie grew anxious. His boss had a serious history with The Martial Alliance office in Crestfall.

Rumor had it the person who injured his boss’s father was a relative of the director of that office.

"Alright, I see."

Wyatt Lockwood hung up and asked with a serious expression, "Was there an accident at your father’s dojo back in the day?"

Kyle Kane’s expression flickered. Seeming to have something difficult to say, he admitted, "There was..."

"A dojo with a past incident on its record requires a guarantor to reopen. Do you have one?"

"I can do it!" Blondie said, raising his hand.

"What’s your rank?" Wyatt Lockwood asked.

"Warrior Eighth Rank."

Wyatt Lockwood shook his head. "For even a basic-level dojo, the guarantor must be at least a Great Warrior."

Blondie’s face fell. "Can’t you make an exception? I’m almost at the Great Warrior rank."

"Maybe in the past, but not now," Wyatt Lockwood replied regretfully.

"Things are tight within The Martial Alliance right now. I’ve heard the higher-ups have started strictly auditing how Martial Artists are advancing their ranks, so the level certifications for places like dojos and gyms are being scrutinized very carefully."

The light in the young men’s eyes began to dim, as if their only hope had been extinguished. One of them even stood up, ready to head home.

Just then, Dawn Miles suddenly asked, "Can I act as the guarantor?"

Blondie’s eyes lit up, and he stared anxiously at Wyatt Lockwood, terrified he would refuse.

"Miss, are you registered with The Martial Alliance?" Wyatt Lockwood’s expression grew serious as he opened a nearby computer and asked respectfully.

"I don’t remember."

A glint appeared in Wyatt Lockwood’s eyes. "Miss, I can look you up. What is your name and ID number?"

Dawn Miles thought for a moment, then looked at the robot beside her. "Ditto Miles, what’s my junior sister’s ID number?"

When a suspicious Wyatt Lockwood entered Leigh Miles’s name and ID number into the system, a warning tone sounded and a message appeared on the screen:

[Access Denied. You do not have the required clearance to view this individual’s file.]

His clearance level allowed him to look up any Martial Alliance member below the first tier. The fact that he couldn’t access her junior sister’s information could only mean one thing: her junior sister’s status within the Alliance was extremely high, possibly even part of the core leadership.

Wyatt Lockwood instantly tensed up. "M-Ma’am..."

"So, can I be the guarantor?"

"Yes, of course..."

Following that, the certification for Kyle Kane’s dojo skipped the Basic and Intermediate ranks entirely, going straight to Advanced.

A dojo’s rank was determined by the strength of its most powerful member.

Wyatt Lockwood even made another call to the Crestfall office to give them a few instructions, adding a quiet word of warning.

Kyle Kane stared at the certificate in his hands. It felt like a dream.

He looked at Dawn Miles with a complicated expression for a moment before thanking her sincerely.

Dawn Miles gave a slight nod. "Can I join your dojo?"

Blondie squeezed in between her and Kyle Kane, blurting out, "Of course you can! You’re our guarantor! Right, boss?"

Kyle Kane grunted in affirmation, then said guiltily, "We won’t have any money to pay you at the start..."

"Why would you pay me?"

Blondie explained, "It’s for your salary. The rest of us are working for free at first. The boss just has to cover our room and board. Once the dojo starts making money, he’ll start paying us..."

Dawn Miles nodded. "You don’t have to pay me."

"No, I have to," Kyle Kane insisted.

Dawn Miles nodded again, but her expression showed she wasn’t paying his words any mind.

Kyle Kane pursed his lips and made a silent vow: he would make this dojo a success.

***

「The next day.」

When Dawn Miles opened her door, she was surprised to see a line of boys standing outside.

They all had their bags packed, looking ready to leave.

Blondie smiled. "Dawn Miles, we were going to see you off at the airport before we head out."

Dawn Miles blinked, then shook her head. "I’m not going to the airport."

"Aren’t you going to Niphoria?" Blondie asked, surprised.

Just then, Kyle Kane walked over, rolling his luggage. "Dawn Miles, you’re coming back with us to Oakhaven first."

"For real?" Blondie looked at Dawn Miles in disbelief, his mouth splitting into a grin that he couldn’t contain. He was clearly ecstatic.

"Mhm, I’ll drive."

The drive from the city to Oakhaven via the highway took Dawn Miles five or six hours.

By the time they entered Oakhaven, it was already 2:00 p.m.

With the exception of Dawn Miles, the young men were all ravenous.

When they got to Kyle Kane’s house, the guys devoured an entire pot of noodles.

"Slow down, there’s more in the kitchen!"

Mrs. Kane said fondly, bringing another large pot of noodles with a thick gravy from the kitchen.

She glanced at Dawn Miles, who was eating delicately, and asked with a hint of concern, "Are the noodles to your liking? I’ve already sent Sue out to buy groceries..."

It was the first time they’d had an unfamiliar young woman as a guest, and it was obvious from a single glance that she came from a well-to-do family.

From the moment she walked in the door to the way she ate her meal, she was exceptionally well-mannered—clearly the child of a prominent family.

Dawn Miles nodded. "It’s delicious. Thank you."

Mrs. Kane seemed pleasantly surprised, a bashful smile appearing on her face. "What do you like to eat? Any allergies or things you avoid?"

"I can eat anything. I don’t have any."

Mrs. Kane nodded again and again.

After she stepped out of the room, the man sitting in the courtyard immediately asked, "Did Kyle say who that young lady is?"

"He hasn’t had a chance to say," Mrs. Kane replied, shaking her head.

The man thought for a moment, then said to her in a low voice, "That girl has skills. And she’s not weak."

A flicker of worry crossed Mrs. Kane’s face. "But Kyle seems very protective of her."

She bent down to tuck a blanket around the man in the wheelchair.

The man sighed softly. He gazed at the distant mountains and murmured, "We’ll just have to wait and see."