Max had always done his best to keep two sides of his world separate , the Billion Bloodline Group and the Bloodline Gang.
The world of finance and the world of gangs couldn’t mix. Not yet.
Though the two supported each other in subtle, strategic ways, bringing them together openly was far too dangerous. If Dennis or any of the other members of the Stern family ever learned what he was truly building in the shadows, it would be disastrous.
Max had to keep his image intact , the "weak" member of the Stern family, the one dismissed and underestimated. It was the perfect disguise. It gave him the space to move, to build, and to quietly take down those who had once tried to destroy the real Max Stern.
Because even now, there were threads he hadn’t untangled , connections between the Stern family and the White Tiger Gang.
He knew the group he’d rebuilt, the new one under his control, couldn’t yet compare to the White Tigers. The last time he’d seen them, their power had been monstrous , refined, disciplined, almost superhuman.
It’s just like before, Max thought, leaning back in his chair. With the Rangers now, I’m doing what I once did with the Cubs back then.
He remembered how the Cubs had grown. Individually, they hadn’t been unstoppable, but together, they’d become something that could challenge even the greatest of enemies. Their abilities were at the edge of human limits , and with the right guidance, they’d gone beyond them.
Even now, Max doubted any of his new recruits could face someone like Hercules and win. But if they fought together? Then maybe they could rival what he had once built.
That thought reminded him why he so rarely invited the Rangers to the Billion Bloodline headquarters.
Keeping those lives separate was part of the reason his empire still stood. The VC empire gave him reach and resources. The Bloodline Gang gave him loyalty and power.
Eventually, he wanted to bridge the two , to use the company’s training facilities and venues as fronts for actual combat training. The guards, the staff, the Rangers , all would grow stronger together.
But not yet.
Not until it was safe.
So the question now was simple: what were the Rangers doing here?
They said "the Rangers," plural, he thought. So it’s not just Joe, or Stephen. Couldn’t they have at least texted before showing up?
Just to be safe, Max had called Aron into the office as well. Today was one of those days when Aron had insisted on shadowing him, with Na keeping close watch just outside the door.
It had been Aron’s idea , ever since the Black Hounds incident, he’d been on edge, quietly monitoring any movement near Max. Jett had been paid off and was unlikely to bother them again, but money wasn’t always a permanent solution.
Max trusted Aron’s instincts, and he knew that if something went wrong, Aron would handle it before he even had to think.
"Do you know anything about this?" Max asked quietly, glancing toward Aron.
Aron simply shook his head.
So, they waited.
When the office doors finally opened, Max was surprised by what he saw.
Wolf entered first, wearing his blazer , the same one Aron had custom-made for him. He’d started wearing it more often lately, even outside of official meetings. Max didn’t blame him. The material was high quality, designed with durability and class in mind. After wearing something like that, everything else probably felt like cheap fabric.
Behind Wolf came Joe and Stephen, both in their own uniforms, and lastly... Darno.
Max blinked. "What the, he’s not even part of the Rangers. How did he get in?" he muttered under his breath.
Darno raised his hands immediately, grinning. "Ah, I’m here for a different reason, promise. I just happened to meet them on the way in, so I thought I’d... sneak along."
Max gave him a flat look. "Right."
Darno laughed nervously and gestured toward the others. "Anyway, they were the ones who wanted to talk to you first, so I’ll let them go ahead."
Stephen stepped forward, exchanging a quick look with Wolf and Joe before clearing his throat. Max was curious , he hadn’t heard anything about a meeting being set up, so whatever this was, it was spontaneous.
"After the fight with Jett," Stephen began, "we’ve been doing a lot of talking. The three of us realized something."
He paused for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully.
"As strong as we are, it’s not enough. We were lucky to come out of that alive. If something like that ever happens again, we need to be ready. We need to be better. It’s the least we can do , for everything you’ve done for us."
Wolf added with his usual bluntness, "And for how much you pay us."
That earned a quiet laugh from Joe, but the seriousness in the room didn’t fade.
"So," Stephen continued, "we figured there’s only one real way to get stronger. We should learn from the strongest person we know."
He turned his gaze to Aron.
"And that’s why we’re here , to ask if Aron could train us."
For a rare moment, Aron looked taken aback. His posture straightened immediately, the soldier in him reacting to the attention.
He studied their faces , determination, humility, maybe even a touch of guilt. These were fighters who had faced something far beyond them, and it had shaken them.
Max watched silently, reading Aron’s expression.
’So that’s why they’re here,’ he thought. ’They want to grow stronger after what happened. It’s been eating at them ever since that fight.’
But even as he understood their resolve, Max also knew one thing , Aron wasn’t the right person to teach them what they needed. Aron’s training was elite, brutal, refined , but it wasn’t adaptable. The Rangers needed something different. Something that would push them past their human limits entirely.
And Max knew exactly what that was.
He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk, a small smirk forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Tell me something," Max said, his tone quiet but heavy. "Have you ever heard of... Superhumans ?