I walked down to the ground-floor study, took a seat in the large leather chair, and looked across the desk. "You know it’s only 7:00 AM, right? You’re disturbing my morning peace," I said, a faint smile playing on my lips.
The chief shadow guard bowed slightly. "Sorry, Boss, but I just received urgent intelligence from River City. They report that the Smith family is frantically looking for President Kim. Mayor Jack has been trying to cover it up from behind the scenes, otherwise they would have figured out our involvement by now."
I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Who authorized Mayor Jack to cover it up? His only task was to make sure they didn’t enter Metro City. Call the Mayor later, tell him to drop the cover-up immediately, and have President Kim shipped straight to the Smith family in River City. Make sure he delivers a message to them: tell the Smith family that I’m coming for them next."
The chief nodded instantly. "Understood, sir. And what about your middle-school reunion today? Should I have a few operatives follow you from the shadows just in case?"
"Yes, do as you see fit," I approved.
Meanwhile, over in River City, a furious roar echoed through a luxurious private estate.
Crash!
Patriarch Karon Smith hurled his phone against the wall, shattering it into pieces. "It’s been twenty-four hours, and they still have no idea where my nephew Kim is missing?! Why are we even paying those incompetent fools so much money?!"
Suddenly, a terrified servant rushed into the room. "M-Mr. Smith... it seems there is a very powerful backing behind whoever took Master Kim. Our contacts can’t find a single lead."
A deep, animalistic growl left Karon Smith’s mouth as he shouted, "I, Karon Smith, can’t even find my own nephew?! Who dares do this? No matter who is backing that person, I will drag them here, torture them until they beg for death, and after they die, I will hang their body from the bridge to show everyone the price of messing with the Smith noble clan!"
The servant bowed low, trembling. "Yes, Patriarch... I will send out more men to look for Master Kim right away."
Just then, his personal phone began to ring. It was a private, restricted number. Karon picked up the call, and in a fraction of a second, all of his fiery arrogance and blind rage melted into a profound, suffocating fear.
"H-Hello, sir..." he stammered, his voice suddenly timid and hollow. "What can I help you with?"
From the other end of the line, a voice came through—cold, calculative, and utterly ruthless. "I heard something unfortunate happened to your nephew today, Mr. Smith."
Karon swallowed hard, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "N-No, sir... you don’t have to worry. He must just be drunk and passed out somewhere..."
Click.
The line went dead without a single goodbye.
Back in Metro City, it was already 8:00 AM. I took a hot, refreshing shower and stepped out of the dressing room, fully dressed in a sharp suit. I walked over to the bed and gently shook Seraphina. "Wake up, sleepyhead. We have things to do today."
She stirred with a soft yawn, blinked sleepily, and headed off to the bathroom. I waited for her in the room, but seeing her step into the shower, I couldn’t help myself and slipped in right behind her. That quick morning shower somehow ended up taking a full two hours.
When we finally stepped out wrapped in plush bathrobes, Sera glared at me playfully. "I was already tired from last night, Julian, and now my whole body aches..."
I laughed softly, pulling her close. "Who told you to be so irresistibly cute, even right after waking up?"
After getting ready while sharing sweet, romantic gestures—like kissing in the middle of the room, drying her hair, and gently brushing it for her—we walked downstairs together toward the dining room. Belle, Clara, Sophia, and Daisy were already seated at the table. I took my usual head chair, Sera sat right beside me, and the maids began serving breakfast.
As we ate, Clara looked across the table. "Darling, what time does your reunion start today?"
"Around 6:00 PM, love. Why do you ask?"
Clara sighed lightly. "There’s an important board meeting today, and you need to attend."
"Is it really that necessary?" I asked.
"Yes, darling," Clara insisted. "Even Belle is going to attend. It’s regarding our half-developed sites and ongoing construction projects, like the municipal project. It’s about our future growth."
"Alright, I’ll come," I agreed easily.
After breakfast, I kissed Sophia and Sera goodbye, patted Daisy on the head, and smiled. "Enjoy school today, princess."
Clara and Belle stood up immediately. "What about us?"
"Aren’t we going together?" I asked, confused.
"We don’t care, you have to kiss us goodbye as well," they teased playfully.
I laughed out loud, leaning over to kiss them both. The three of us walked out to the driveway and climbed into the back of my Aurelius Executive Custom sedan—globally limited to only 100 vehicles. I instructed the driver to take us straight to Cosmos Group headquarters.
After a smooth fifteen-minute drive, the car stopped at the grand entrance of Cosmos Group. The three of us stepped out and strode into the building together.
I took my seat at the center chairman’s chair in the grand boardroom, and the meeting commenced. All the senior executives of Cosmos Group and the newly integrated Young Group sat at attention.
"Alright, let’s start the meeting," I commanded.
Belle stood up, walked over to the presentation screen, and turned on the projector. "Here is the blueprint for our new 15-floor luxury apartment building. The first six floors are already completely sold out, so we must complete this phase before pushing further. However, I don’t think real estate development is going to be very profitable in this specific area long-term."
I activated my Eyes of Insight and scanned the architectural layouts. "Yes, you’re right, Belle. Converting this entire plot into a high-end villa district is really not profitable. Tell the extraction teams to dig at least twenty meters deep over on the west side—they will naturally strike a natural hot spring there. Building Metro City’s very first seven-star hot spring resort in that district will be exponentially more profitable. Don’t worry about the funding; I will handle the capital entirely."
Clara nodded, chiming in next. "Our municipal plot also has a minor issue. The construction material company providing our raw materials has too many overlapping orders and might fail to hit our targets. We need to find a trustworthy new partner."
Before I could speak, Belle raised a hand. "Why don’t we use the company I used to work with? All the infrastructure projects at the Young Group relied on raw materials provided by them. Their name is K&K Brothers. They aren’t massive, and they only have a factory here in Metro City, but they are exceptionally honest and hold a stellar reputation in the market."
"Then it’s settled," I decided smoothly. "Clara, Belle, you two handle the finalizations together. I have to leave now to get ready for my reunion."
Before walking out, I tossed the keys across the table. "I’m leaving the Aurelius and the driver here for you two to use today."
I also transfer the cosmos group account 100billion star dollar as it was for corporate consumption system provide 5x cash back and received 500billion stardollar and my liquid assets surge and system chimm
[System Status Overview]
Host: Julian VanceCharm: 100 / 100 | Physique: 100 / 100Skills: Eyes of Insight | World-Class Business Mind | Grandmaster Combat | Grandmaster Driving & RacingPrimary Assets: 100% Equity in Cosmos Group | Grandview Villa No. 1 | 10 Prime Commercial Storefronts (Grand Galleria) | Fleet of 7 Luxury VehiclesLiquid Cash: $1053.12 Billion Stardollars | Net Worth: $1310.12 Billion Stardollars | Indulgence Points: 70,000
[Inner Circle Panel]
Seraphina Lin: Destiny Confidante (100% Complete Devotion)Clara Carter: Destiny Confidante (100% Complete Devotion)Dr. Sophia Starling: Inner Circle Member (Relationship Status: Complete Devotion)Belle Young: Inner Circle Member (Relationship Status: Complete Devotion).
With that, I stepped out of the boardroom, called a taxi from the lobby, and waited outside for it to arrive. While standing there, a vibrant system notification suddenly flashed before my eyes:
[System Notification:] Congratulations, Host! You have officially crossed the 1 trillion Stardollar milestone! Milestone reward unlocked! Would the Host like to open it now?
"Later," I murmured mentally, dismissing the prompt for the moment.
As the taxi pulled up to the curb, I opened the door, slid into the back seat, and enjoyed a quick fifteen-minute ride back to Grandview Villa No. 1.
Arriving at the estate, I took a fresh, hot shower to wash off the corporate fatigue of the day, walked into the spacious dressing room, and selected a sharp, custom-made grey suit, a diamond-encrusted wristwatch, and matching custom leather shoes. Everything was meticulously arranged, and as I looked in the mirror, I knew I was fully prepared for whatever the evening—and the reunion—had waiting for me.
Stepping down into the ground floor living room, I spotted my chief shadow guard waiting for me. He respectfully escorted me into the ground-floor study to go over final preparations for the evening, ensuring that everything would remain completely secure and airtight while I was away.