Chapter 99: 98 Nails and Domination (Combined)

98 Nails and Domination (Combined)

Somewhat later, in the east wing suite of the main house of the Ryan estate.

“Lord Thomas.”

After bowing respectfully to the golden-haired middle-aged man, the butler in charge of hosting Leon and the other guest spoke up to report:

“After the two guests entered the exhibition building, they first bound the third person and placed him on the sofa, then went straight into the Genealogy Hall and stayed inside for nearly six hours.

As per your instructions, we counted the records they reviewed—roughly seventy volumes, mostly focused on the past sixty years, covering six categories: chronologies, major events, genealogical records, lists of missing and deceased persons, and property reports…”

Never mind the rest, but why were they looking at lists of missing and deceased persons?

“Wait!”

Hearing this, the golden-haired middle-aged man frowned, raised his hand to halt the butler’s report, and asked directly:

“Are you certain they stayed on the first floor the entire time? They didn’t go upstairs or leave at all?”

“Yes.”

The elderly butler nodded:

“After learning their purpose, I locked the second and third floors, kept the key on my person at all times, assigned two maids to serve tea in the pantry, and stationed a servant in the courtyard to clear fallen leaves. If they had left, they would have been spotted immediately.”

Then they truly didn’t leave…

Watching the old butler’s confident expression, the golden-haired man tightened his brow.

So… did I overthink this? Are they really here to claim kinship? But if that’s all, why is their group so bizarre?

…

After pondering for a long time without understanding what these three were truly after, the middle-aged man lowered his head, frowning at the visitor registration form beside him.

The defense minister’s daughter, a newly hired employee of the Cleanup Bureau, and a rebel involved in the assassination of the Princess—none of these three have ever been on good terms with our family.

Especially the defense minister’s daughter—her father is a reformist in the military, the first high-ranking officer in the army to side with the Princess, and even before taking office, he had long coveted our family’s arms business.

In this assassination incident, those damned rebels deliberately used weapons leaked from our arms company, clearly aiming to exploit this conflict and hand the defense minister a knife.

As expected, under our influence, the special investigation team had planned to ignore this lead—but once the defense minister’s daughter joined, she immediately demanded an investigation into the weapon’s origin.

Fortunately, Lord Bobby reacted quickly, using his wife’s birthday as an excuse to invite numerous old nobles to a banquet, then framed the investigation as a signal that the Princess intended to move against the old aristocracy, temporarily halting progress.

Had he not pulled that stunt to delay the defense minister’s daughter and buy us enough time to erase evidence and remove people, our arms company would have been severely bitten, ripped clean of a huge chunk of profit!

Recalling the female police officer who had sent over a dozen investigation letters and stubbornly refused to let go of our family, the golden-haired man’s expression darkened slightly.

Her father is a fierce, dark old dog—and this woman inherited his style: once she bites, she never lets go!

As for the remaining two—the rebels need no explanation. Originally, their slogan was merely to overthrow the inept royal family, transfer major powers, and limit noble privileges and parliamentary seats.

But lately, for some reason, these rebels have become ten times more radical, even declaring that the royal family and nobles are lice in the crotch, destined to be crushed out of existence! They are now our sworn enemies!

And the Cleanup Bureau…

Fingertips lightly tapping the registration form, the golden-haired man carved a deep notch into Leon Ryan’s name with his nail, then waved for the butler to withdraw. He took the form and left the suite, passing through the connecting archway to the main house.

“Thomas?”

Hearing a knock, the young man at the desk, reviewing reports, looked up in surprise and smiled at the middle-aged man at the door:

“Still awake this late? You used to be such a lazy man.”

“Lord Bobby.”

After greeting him, the middle-aged man Thomas—whose temples were already lined with wrinkles—bowed deeply to the young man who looked no older than twenty-five or thirty:

“Your praise is excessive. Compared to you, my diligence is negligible.”

“Hmm, different.”

Inviting him in, the young man smiled warmly:

“I work hard because I’m aiming to climb higher—not just inherit my brother’s title, but also take the position of family head.

Yet you hold a seat on the Elder Council, manage one-sixth of the family’s wealth, and serve as our chief diplomat. Holding onto all that already exceeds your limits. Why push yourself so hard?”

“…”

Watching Thomas, whose brow was now beaded with sweat, the young man smiled sweetly:

“Thomas, lately, things under your charge seem to have gone wrong more than once. Still working this late… Is the workload I assigned you too heavy? Should I relieve you of some burdens?”

“Lord Bobby… Lord Bobby, please let me explain…”

Sensing the deep dissatisfaction in the young man’s tone, the golden-haired man hurried to speak:

“Regarding the Charles Department Store—I’ve truly done everything I can. Under normal circumstances, that company would have collapsed long ago.

But no one expected old Charles to resort to selling goods at a loss, binding all the victims who should have targeted the store to his side, making the city government dare not act.

Once I realized the situation was bad, I didn’t just wait—I immediately coordinated with two other allies and even arranged for a Holy Spirit to be summoned.

If that Holy Spirit caused a large-scale casualty event, the city’s transport bureau would have had grounds to intervene and halt Charles’ promotion. But the Cleanup Bureau just happened to…”

“Enough. Don’t explain.”

Tapping the desk twice with his knuckles, the young man cut off Thomas’s words, his expression calm:

“I know you’re just unlucky, not truly beyond redemption—otherwise, you wouldn’t even have the chance to stand here and explain.”

Watching the golden-haired man instinctively exhale, the young man narrowed his eyes, his voice chilling slightly:

“But whether you acted out of circumstance or necessity, you still failed my orders!

Thomas, tell me—how much longer until you seize Charles Department Store and get me what I want?”

“Soon! Very soon!”

Meeting the young man’s narrowed eyes, Thomas tensed, sweat pouring down his face:

“The Scale Gold Sect’s Holy Spirit was eliminated by the Cleanup Bureau; other similar entities have been scared off. So we switched to human methods.

Charles’s only daughter has been kidnapped and is now held captive at the Maison Rose in Ma Sai. The old man is still holding out, but he’ll surrender soon and hand over what you want!”

“Is that so?”

After studying Thomas’s expression and confirming he wasn’t lying or stalling, Bobby Ryan nodded, his face expressionless:

“Thomas, before this, I told you: when dealing with merchants who rose from the storm, no commercial maneuver or administrative pressure compares to direct violence.

You wanted Charles Department Store’s assets and feared backlash from the merchants’ guild and parliamentarians, so you begged me not to act. But after all your circling, you’ve ended up right back where you started…”

Watching Thomas tremble again, the young man shook his head, his tone weary:

“Fine. Given you’ve been useful these past years, I’ll forgive this stupidity. But make sure you deliver—otherwise, don’t blame me for forgetting our past ties.”

“I… maybe two weeks… no! One week! At most one week—I’ll bring you what you want!”

“You’d better.”

After reprimanding his incompetent subordinate, the young man lowered his head and resumed reviewing the arms company’s reports, then asked:

“By the way, why did you come to me so late?”

“Ah? Good news! Good news!”

Hearing the question, the golden-haired man remembered his purpose, stepped forward cautiously, and placed the registration form on the desk with both hands:

“Lord Bobby, the person marked here is a newly hired employee of the Cleanup Bureau.”

A new Cleanup Bureau employee?

The young man behind the desk raised an eyebrow, picked up the form, and glanced at it, then said in surprise:

“Leon… Ryan? That woman from the Cleanup Bureau recruited a new employee from our family?”

“No, that man has black hair and ancestral roots in Ryan County—he’s probably just sharing the surname.”

After briefly explaining Leon’s background, the golden-haired man spoke with rising excitement:

“But this man came today claiming he suspects his ancestor may have some connection to the Ryan family—seems he wants to claim kinship.

And your ‘that’ ability can absolutely control your bloodline and subordinates. So if I add him to the genealogy, you can plant a nail inside the Cleanup Bureau!”

A Cleanup Bureau employee… came here to claim kinship?

Hearing Thomas’s words, the young man’s brow furrowed again. His fingers began unconsciously tapping the registration form, wondering if the Cleanup Bureau had discovered something.

After all—a newly recruited, low-level employee who voluntarily came to claim kinship, stepping directly into his “power” range—this was a gift from heaven, too perfect to be real.

But could this too-good-to-be-true opportunity actually be a trap aimed at him? For example… hmm… that possibility seems even less likely…

Recalling the terrifying record of the red-haired woman, the young man’s lips twitched slightly in amusement, mocking his own paranoia and wild imagination.

Setting a trap… why have I spent all these years being so cautious, rarely using my ability outside the Ryan family?

With that woman’s power, if she even suspected him—or worse, targeted him—even a descending god would be beaten bloody, possibly erased outright. What am I, to make her bother setting a trap?

“Alright. Good job.”

After mocking his own suspicion, the young man finally smiled, addressing the middle-aged man whose eyes sparkled with joy:

“If you truly pull this off and plant a nail in the Cleanup Bureau, I’ll not only secure your position—I’ll reward you with something beyond imagination.

I can’t give you back youth, but a healthier body, stronger vitality, even extra lifespan—all of it is yours.”

“Thank you, Lord Bobby! Thank you, Lord Bobby!”

“Don’t thank me. You’ve earned it.”

Watching Thomas, face flushed with ecstatic joy, the young man smiled:

“Mistakes are punished; successes are rewarded… but I won’t be directly involved in this.”

Studying the golden-haired man, the young man grinned:

“My ability is best kept secret. So I’ll grant you a portion of ‘Domination’—enough to control Leon. You’ll be the intermediary between him and me.

From now on, any intelligence he gathers from the Cleanup Bureau, you’ll compile and deliver to me alone—no one else is allowed to see it… oh, one more thing.”

Raising a hand to his lips, making a zipper motion, the young man smiled at the ecstatic pawn before him:

“I’ve just implanted a new command into your soul: if you ever reveal my existence, your soul will instantly self-annihilate.

So when you communicate with Leon, watch your words carefully—I don’t want you turning into a shapeless pile of rot because you blabbed something stupid!”

Upon hearing the young man’s warning, Thomas’s expression turned grave, and he hastily agreed.

“I… I understand… Lord Bobby, rest assured, I will…”

“Enough. No more words.”

Finally hearing good news, the young man, in a relatively good mood, lowered his head, continued working at his desk, and asked:

“Thomas, any other news? If not, you should get to work.”

“I’m on it now! This time, I won’t disappoint you!”

Having narrowly escaped disaster and even gained a major advantage, the golden-haired middle-aged man eagerly pledged his loyalty, then returned to his room to summon the steward, and set out that very night to find the clan elder in charge of family membership records, ready to register the fellow named Li Ang.

Yet, less than five minutes after his departure, a figure clad in a black overcoat slipped through the night’s shadows, gliding along the outer wall’s darkness up to the fifth floor, then mysteriously unlocked the barred window from the outside and entered the golden-haired man’s bedroom.