Tycoons, moguls, and businessmen of the like, including the six heads of the most powerful families in the state, had all gathered at the airport in anticipation of their esteemed visitor. After all, this was 50 billion dollars, for God's sake! Who would, in their right mind, turn down a 50-billion-dollar business opportunity?With the prospect of such an attractive partnership, it was no wonder they were all willing to pick this investor up from the airport themselves!With all these influential people gathered in one place, the airport had no choice but to tighten its security. Naturally, these moguls had brought along their respective bodyguards, who all stood curtly around their masters, keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of danger. What a sight it was!All of a sudden, a man in a black suit darted into the airport arrival hall to open up a path. The next moment, a middle-aged man in an immaculate gray suit stepped in, followed a few paces behind by another middle-aged man a
Heston scowled and shot his son a murderous glare. "You better keep your mouth shut, son. Do you even have any idea how important this investor is? This is fifty billion dollars we're talking about, and that's even before the conversion rate! The cost of this project alone is five times our entire family's net worth!"I will never forgive you if you offend our esteemed guest with your callousness! You're going to become my successor in the future, so it's about time you start learning the ropes! Can't you act like your age? Look at your hair! Such a disgrace! Yorgos, you're already in your mid-twenties! It's about time you take up some responsibility! I can't always be around to clean up after your messes anymore…"Yorgos was tired of hearing his father's constant nagging, so with a nod, he interrupted Heston, "Alright, alright, Dad! I understand! Fine! This investor is very important, and I need to leave a good first impression on him! I understand, alright? No need to keep on buzzi
Nevertheless, there was only one exception!Heston was the only person who seemed able to see right through Cillian's slippery ways. According to the long-standing tradition of Luminous, any clan wishing to rise to the status of an aristocratic family must obtain the consent of the heads of the preceding families. When the Lovells sought to elevate their status, all five major families agreed, except for the Quantz family, headed by Heston.As a result, although the Lowells were regarded as among the wealthiest clans in the state, they were not officially recognized as an aristocratic family. The outcome of that vote strained the relationship between Heston and Cillian greatly, and though the two never openly quarreled, the tension between them was always palpable whenever they met!Instead of feeling offended by Heston's pointed remark, Cillian grinned and even chuckled. "Hahaha! You have a great sense of humor, Mr. Quantz! If I recall, the Quantz family is just as, if not more,
Upon stepping off the plane, Liam glanced at the airport building and asked, smiling, "How are things going?"Cirocco, walking just a few paces behind him, replied dutifully, "Sir, they're all waiting for you in the arrival hall. The heads of all the six major families, as well as most of the most esteemed businessmen and moguls in Luminous have gathered here to welcome you to their city."Liam's smile turned to a smirk as he glanced once more in the direction of the airport building. "Very well then! They can wait all they want! We shall take the other exit!"Also, let it be known that I am here in Luminous to seek a partner who will collaborate with me on a project worth hundreds of billions of dollars. I welcome all who are interested in fostering a partnership together, but ultimately only one will emerge victorious and be awarded the greatest esteem of working alongside me. Therefore, they must prove to me their drive and ambition in order to take up this much-acclaimed task!"
"What?" Heston's jaw dropped upon hearing this, but he soon followed this up with a flurry of outraged cries, "The investor arrived long ago? Well, why didn't he come out, then?"Cillian smiled and replied, "He didn't come out because he's already left via a secret VIP exit on the other side of the airport. Truth be told, I don't blame him. With so many of us here, we've practically blocked off the entire one side of the airport, so of course he wouldn't take this way out."With that, Cillian turned to leave, but not before Heston called out after him again, this time sounding a little panicked, "Mr. Lovell, do you know where the investor went?"Cillian glanced at him and replied, smiling, "Mr. Quantz, I'm afraid I'm just as clueless as you are. I don't have any idea where the investor went, so forgive me for not disclosing any information with you."Then, Cillian turned and dashed out of the airport, his men following higgledy-piggledy behind him before he could get bombarded with
The Quantz family, on the other hand, were not at all pleased by the development. Heston was sitting at the head of the table, surrounded by all of his immediate family. They all wore equally somber expressions on their faces. There were a few broken cups littered all around Heston's feet, a clear indication of how outraged he was by the situation at hand. "F*cking h*ll!" Heston growled, smacking the arm of his chair in fury. "That d*mned Cillian Lovell! He is getting more and more out of hand! He is not even a part of the six major families, and yet he struts about the place like he is better than all of us!"Hugo was just as incensed as his brother was. A glint of malice flashed through his eyes as he said, "Heston, it's clear that Cillian knew exactly where the investor was headed! He's keeping the information secret from us so that we won't stand a chance against him in the rat race! He wants this all for himself!"No businessman in Luminous could possibly say no to a busin
Heston considered this a moment. Then, a look of cold malice flashed across his face as he said, "Silence, everyone! There is no need to panic. I've already planted spies all around Cillian who will keep an eye on him 24/7. We shall be informed of his every move and can decide where to go from here!"Also, you better all look smart. The Yeagers have expressed their interest in this partnership and will be sending a representative to meet with us very soon. We shall come up with a plan of action very soon, but in the meantime, you are all forbidden to touch the Lovells without the Yeagers' approval. Trust me when I say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and anyone who ruins this will not be punished lightly!"Everyone seemed stunned to hear this. "What? The Yeagers are getting involved in this as well?"As if on cue, the butler suddenly stormed into the room, looking frazzled. He bowed before Heston and declared, "Mr. Quantz, the representative that the Yeagers have sent is at
"You better be careful what comes out of your mouth! We can't risk offending the Yeagers!" Heston left one final warning for his brother before turning to follow Julian into the lounge. Julian had taken his seat at the head of the table, thus leaving Heston to join the rest of his family around their guest. Finally, after everyone had settled in, Julian glanced around at their expectant faces and said, "Mr. Quantz, I'll just cut right to the chase then. The Yeagers have sent me here with one intention only—to help you, the Quantz family, win Mr. Miller's favor and be awarded the fifty-billion-dollar business deal! This, of course, comes with a price. If we successfully get our hands on the deal, seventy percent of the profits shall go to the Yeagers, and the remaining thirty percent belongs to you all. Do you agree with this?""What?" Before Heston could even reply, Hugo leaped to his feet, his eyes as wide as saucers. His tone was laced with outrage as he shouted, "You must be kidd
However, Andy was a smooth talker, so the eldest member of the Drayton family liked him. Because of that, the head of the family tolerated him. That was why Andy, who was just a member of the branch family, dared to be so cocky.Andy saw Howard standing at the side from the corner of his eye as he spoke. He thought of what Howard said earlier, and that made his blood boil.He pointed at Howard and bellowed, "Uncle Derrick, this Howard is trash as well. You have no idea. I told him I was a member of the Drayton family, yet he did not take our family seriously at all."Not only did he have his men capture me, but he said cockily that he wanted to lock me up forever, and nobody could stop him."Weren't you very cocky before this, Mr. Mosier? Go on. Continue acting cocky in front of my uncle now. Detain me and lock me up forever."Andy took a couple of steps closer to Howard as he said that. He extended his hands arrogantly and said, "Come on. I have my hands stretched out for you. Hu
Soon, Andy and the thugs from the nightclub yesterday were released.Andy saw Derrick standing at the entrance of the police headquarters at a glance. He got so excited that he shouted, "Uncle Derrick! Uncle Derrick!"Fletcher's subordinates were incredibly excited to see Derrick as well. All of them shouted, "Mr. Derrick Drayton!"One of the subordinates was in Drunham City because Derrick arranged for him to be there. After he was brought to Derrick's side, he smiled apologetically and said, "Thank you for saving me, sir. Don't worry. Fletcher's faction and properties are all here. I'll be able to rebuild the faction here very soon."In other words, even if Fletcher was out of the picture, he would be able to thrive in Drunham City and replace Fletcher.However, Derrick shot an icy glare at him and sneered. "Hmph! How shameless of you to say that? There are so many of you, yet you can't deal with a small loser who only married into the Stone family."If it wasn't because this w
Howard did not expect that the Drayton family would have a connection with the Carter family. They could even produce a token from the Carter family."Mr. Derrick Drayton, I didn't expect that your family and the Carters go way back. You even got the Carter family's token out," said Howard.Derrick sneered and said, "Enough with the nonsense. Howard, my family did the Carter family a favor back then, that's why the general of the Carter family gave this token to us. He promised us that we could take out this token if we were ever in a bind in the future, and they would help us!"I'm taking out this token today to tell you that I'm going to bail Andy out of here. I'd like to see who in Drunham City has the guts to stop me!"Howard was stunned, and then he fell silent.He did not think that Derrick would take out a token from the Carter family.The Carter family was the top family in Mirstone. Nobody in Mirstone would dare to go against the Carter family. Derrick became even more
Meanwhile, Derrick and his men were already at the entrance of the police headquarters.Derrick's eyes were burning with rage as he looked at the door that was shut tightly. A sneer appeared on his lips as he said, "Hmph. Looks like they already know I'm coming, so they are deliberately trying to assert dominance."Then, he asked his driver next to him, "Where are our men? Have they all arrived?"The driver nodded and said, "They're here, Mr. Derrick. They are all waiting at the side. We'll tear down the main door to the police headquarters once you give the command."Derrick nodded with satisfaction. Then, he shouted at the police headquarters, "Howard! You're just the chief of the police headquarters! How dare you lock me outside?""I'd like to see how powerful you are today, Howard! Come on, guys. Take it down!"At his command, a group of burly men rushed out of the black van next to him. They were all holding thick bats, and they rushed up to the door ferociously.Right at t
At first, Yafe and the rest of the Stone family were stunned after they heard what Liam said. Then, they all burst out laughing.Yafe looked at Liam with a mocking gaze and said, "Are you kidding me, Liam? You're going to get the Draytons to come and apologize in person? Come on, that's the Drayton family we're talking about! Do you think they are just some nobody?"Right now, I don't want to waste my breath anymore. As long as you're able to stop the Drayton family from targeting us, I'm more than grateful. Don't you forget that you're the one who wanted to leave the Stone family? So, stop dragging us into your mess."Liam shot the crowd with an icy glare and brought Celena out of the Stone Mansion.Celena was still in a slight daze after they got into the car. Liam put on her safety belt for her and asked, "What's the matter, dear? Are you still worried about the Draytons?"Celena nodded and replied, "Yes. After all, all these were caused by the conflict between Andy and us. Jus
Liam wanted to ask what the family heirloom was, but he had no choice but to let it be after he heard what Yonatan said.However, Liam heard Yonatan's voice again, saying, "I've never seen that thing, but I heard from the Drayton family members that it was from a big shot in the military."The military?Liam's eyebrows furrowed once he heard it had something to do with the military. Then, he kicked Yonatan away, making him land next to the thugs.Yonatan passed out because of that kick.Once the thugs saw their leader was out cold, they took a couple of steps back in fear.However, Liam did not care about them at all. He looked at Yafe and the others instead.Once the Stone family members saw that they were out of the woods, they became cocky again.Yafe and Sherah, in particular, were so cocky that they ran up to Liam and condemned him, "Look what you've done! You're bad luck! What else can you do other than cause us trouble? Do you know who that is? He is from the Drayton fam
Yonatan was infuriated and bellowed, "So this is how you're going to play! Alright! I'm not going to stop until I kill you today!"Yonatan was radiating an intense desire to battle. That was the air exuded by a fighter of Fourth Order War King caliber.The Stone family was so frightened by the air he exuded that their faces turned pale. All of them took more than ten steps back in fear, afraid they would be injured by mistake.Yonatan clenched his fist and charged at Liam like a ferocious beast. His fist was packing so much power that it created a sonic boom, cutting through the air and going for Liam's face.The punch was so powerful that it could kill a bull right away.The Stone family thought Liam was going to die. Nobody would be able to survive a punch like that.Yonatan thought the same. He was very confident in his ability. He looked into Liam and knew he used to be a soldier, as well as a good fighter. However, so what?No matter how skilled Liam was in combat, could he
The moment Liam stepped into view, the Stone family members lit up as if they had spotted their guardian angel. They pointed at him, their voices rising in a chorus of relief and accusation. "Mr. Yonatan, look over here! It's Liam! I said they weren't with us!""Exactly! Mr. Yonatan, see for yourself, Liam's not part of our family!""Mr. Yonatan, now that Liam's here, if you're looking to pin the blame on someone, he's your man!""Liam, you actually showed up. If you hadn't crossed the Drayton family, would we, the Stones, have ever been dragged into this mess?""Liam, Celena, you two are nothing but trouble. You've left the family, so why keep stirring the pot for us?"...The air crackled with the Stone family's collective outrage, their faces twisted in anger as if they were ready to rip Liam and Celena to shreds.Celena and Liam's arrival was pure happenstance. They were just in the neighborhood to check in on an old friend when they overheard Yonatan's boastful taunts.Lia
Yonatan did not even bother to look at him. He checked his watch with a chilling laugh and said, "You've got ten minutes for Liam to show up. Don't say I didn't warn you."The words sent a wave of shock through Yafe and the rest of the Stone family, who stared at Yonatan, panic-stricken.Yafe was a mess, desperate to explain, but the sight of Yonatan's henchmen, eager and ready for a fight, stopped him dead in his tracks."Mr. Yonatan, I swear it's the truth. Liam has nothing to do with the Stone family anymore. You've made a mistake!"Yafe's face was flushed with urgency as he tried to convince the unmoved man."It's true, Mr. Yonatan! Liam and Celena were kicked out of the Stone family ages ago.""That's right! He's got nothing to do with us anymore. If you're after Liam, go to the villa at Emerald Lake. He's there, not here with us.""Mr. Yonatan, if you head over to Drunham City and ask anyone, they'll tell you the same thing: Liam and Celena have no ties to us Stones anymor