CHAPTER 78: PRS 78

Crash!

"What the hell is this, A! We’ve lost over hundreds of trillions! Even all our important information has been lost! We’ll be destroyed if this information falls into the enemy’s hands!" shouted Joni, his father, furious. His face was red, the veins in his neck bulging from his overflowing rage.

The wooden table Joni had hit cracked, causing Cristo, A’s cousin and deputy, to immediately remove the broken table and replace it with a new one.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to act recklessly?!" Joni continued, his voice rising. "Do you think this organization is a joke?!"

A, who had just been forcibly taken back to country S by helicopter, could only look down, his face pale with fear. He had no idea this problem was so big that it would lead to their collapse and bankruptcy in just a few hours.

"Dad, I... I didn’t know it would be this serious," A said, his voice trembling. "I thought our system was strong enough—"

"Strong enough?! You think you’re strong enough?!" Joni interrupted loudly. "I’ve invested billions in that system! And you foolishly refused the help offered!"

All this time, A had only been talking big; if he were threatened, he would immediately cower. Moreover, he had no ability other than to hide under his father’s armpit.

"I don’t want to know! Tomorrow, if you don’t resolve this immediately, then leave your position and this house!" he said menacingly, pointing at the door with his index finger trembling with anger.

Joni never imagined that his son would become increasingly stupid. The Black Mambas, who had experienced the same thing as them, had survived because they were wise enough and willing to learn from their mistakes. Meanwhile, his son, not only never learned, but he even belittled people he shouldn’t have offended.

"Even C, who’s older than you, listens to advice! Why not you?! Your stupid ego will destroy us all!" Joni snapped again.

"This time, I’m not messing around, A. If you haven’t resolved this problem by tomorrow, get out of here!" Joni spoke loudly before leaving the room, followed by Cristo, who glared at him, causing A’s fists to clench tightly.

Cristo’s triumphant gaze made A’s blood boil. He knew his cousin was waiting for an opportunity to take over his position.

"You bastard, Cristo!" he muttered angrily, staring at his cousin’s back with hatred.

Cristo, sensing that this time a golden opportunity was wide open before his eyes, tried to calm his uncle.

"Uncle, calm down. Anger won’t solve the problem," Cristo said in a tone that was feigned gentleness. "I’m going to go see Andra to persuade his nephew to help us so the organization’s losses don’t get worse and the funds can still be saved," he said, touching his uncle’s shoulder with fake concern.

Joni glanced at his ambitious nephew. In terms of skill and ability, Cristo was indeed worthy of being the leader of BC Syndicate, so he placed him by A’s side, hoping his son would learn. However, his hopes were in vain because A remained oblivious and lulled by his position as Joni’s only child, believing that no matter how bad his behavior, his father would never abandon him.

"Are you sure you can persuade them? Especially after what A did to that girl?" Joni asked hesitantly.

"I’ll try everything, Uncle. This organization is more important than personal ego," Cristo replied firmly.

A false belief, unaware that Joni had long wanted to replace him with someone else, simply waiting for the right moment. Now, seeing BC Syndicate’s precarious situation, Joni couldn’t be weak and had to act decisively.

Blood ties didn’t matter to him; as long as the organization continued to generate substantial profits, it didn’t matter who the leader was, as he still held greater authority than the organization’s leaders, as the leadership token remained in his possession, while the leadership position was merely a formality.

"Okay. If you have any trouble, tell me, and I’ll handle it," Joni said with a satisfied look, patting Cristo on the shoulder. "I trust you, Cristo. Don’t let me down."

"I won’t, Uncle. I promise," Cristo replied with a small, meaningful smile.

Seeing that his uncle had placed his trust in him, Cristo immediately carried out his task, going to Dark Evil headquarters to ask for help.

A, who had overheard their conversation from behind the door, strengthened his resolve and bowed briefly before Andra.

He hoped Andra could help him without involving Isabella, so he could save face and regain his father’s trust in him.

"I have to finish this myself. I can’t lose to Cristo," A whispered to himself, clenching his fists.

In his office, Joni pinched the space between his eyebrows tightly with his eyes closed. If only he hadn’t been poisoned, which had rendered him impotent, perhaps he could have found a successor and not have had to hand over BC Syndicate to the foolish A.

"I should have been more careful," he lamented to himself as he poured himself a glass of whiskey.

At Dark Evil headquarters, Andra, who had just been contacted by Austin, smiled meaningfully at Cristo’s arrival.

Andra had never imagined that BC Syndicate would experience such a split. If left unchecked, sooner or later the world’s fifth-class mafia would vanish without a trace, just like HENDI, who was destroyed not only by Isabella’s attack but also by unresolved internal problems, like a time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

"So, what brings you to my headquarters in the middle of the night?" Andra asked, leaning back in his chair, playing with a pen in his hand.

Cristo explained the BC Syndicate situation in detail, desperately hoping for help.

"We need Miss Isabella’s help. We know she’s the only one who can solve this problem," Cristo said pleadingly.

Andra, hearing the reason for Cristo’s visit in the middle of the night, simply said calmly, crossing his arms, "Tell Joni to contact me. This matter isn’t within your jurisdiction," Andra said sharply, giving Cristo a piercing look.

"But, Mr. Andra—"

"No ifs and buts. You’re just a deputy. Major decisions must be made by the supreme leader," Andra interrupted firmly.

Under the table, Cristo clenched his fists so tightly they bled. Because of A, everyone began to look down on him, believing he had no authority other than to act as a backstop and vacuum cleaner for the BC Syndicate leader.

However, on the surface, he maintained a professional demeanor and smiled knowingly. "Okay, I’ll tell Uncle," he said, his voice forced to remain calm despite his turmoil.

"Good. Now go. It’s getting late," Andra said, waving his hand, signaling Cristo to leave.

Feeling his goal was fruitless, Cristo left Dark Evil headquarters by helicopter back to J City, while contacting his uncle and relaying Andra’s message.

"Uncle, Andra asked you to contact him directly. He said this isn’t within my authority," Cristo reported over the phone.

Joni, who had anticipated Cristo’s outcome, wasn’t too surprised. He immediately contacted Andra, knowing he had something important to tell him, related to his organization and A.

"Andra, it’s Joni. Sorry to interrupt your evening," Joni greeted when the call connected.

"No problem, Joni. I figured you’d contact me," Andra replied flatly.

If it weren’t for the good relationship they’d maintained, Andra might not have cared about the fate of the BC Syndicate. Letting it collapse would create a wider market and reduce competition in the underworld.

But he didn’t want to do that because balance must be maintained, and if one organization wasn’t too deviant, they wouldn’t need to be destroyed.

"I know what you need," Andra said straight to the point.

"Then, I need your help, Andra. For the sake of our decades-long relationship," Joni pleaded in a tone he rarely used—a pleading tone.

Meanwhile, Cristo, who had arrived in City J, immediately descended from the hotel roof and returned to his room to clean up and rest.

Before going to bed, he took the time to call C so he could arrange a meeting with Isabella the next day.

"Mr. C, this is Cristo. Sorry to interrupt your rest," Cristo said when the call connected.

"What’s wrong, Cristo? It’s late," C replied in a sleepy tone.

"I have a favor to ask. Could you introduce me to Miss Isabella tomorrow? I need to talk to her about our current situation," Cristo pleaded anxiously.

The man refused to give up. If he could prove his worth to Joni this time, A would surely be ousted and the chairmanship would be his.

C didn’t dare make any promises to Cristo, knowing full well that Isabella wouldn’t be easily persuaded, especially since A’s initial impression was quite bad. So he would only try to formally introduce her at tomorrow’s forum.

"I can’t promise anything, Cristo. Miss Isabella isn’t someone easy to approach, especially after the incident with your cousin," C said cautiously.

"I understand. I just want a chance to introduce myself and apologize on behalf of BC Syndicate," Cristo replied.

"Very well. Tomorrow at the forum, I’ll formally introduce you. As for the rest, you’ll have to make your own arrangements."

He left it up to Cristo to decide what to do next.

Even if he didn’t get a satisfactory answer, he would at least try to make a good impression on her, even though A had ruined it initially.

"Thank you, Mr. C. I really appreciate your help," Cristo said sincerely before hanging up.

Back home,

At the Lulas Corp building, all the project leaders, their deputies, and the finance department were holding an emergency meeting regarding the leak of funds that occurred while the company was recovering from the devastating hurricane.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense as Alesio presented the evidence one by one.

"This is evidence of improper transfers. This is a manipulated financial report. And these are the suspicious accounts," Alesio said, displaying the documents one by one on the projector screen.

The parties involved in the embezzlement were now pale-faced, sweat pouring down their bodies, as they awaited the CEO’s punishment.

"You think I don’t know? You think I’m stupid?" Alesio asked in a cold, chilling voice that sent shivers down my spine.

With the evidence and witnesses, they could no longer deny it and simply surrendered when several police officers arrested them and threw them into jail.

"Please, Mr. Alesio! Give us a chance!" shouted one of them, struggling to free himself from the police’s grip.

"A chance? You’re paid a decent salary and received good benefits, yet you’re stealing from the company?" Alesio snapped.

"For those of you who are still breathing freely, I suggest you immediately return the money you stole and improve your performance. Otherwise, you will face the same fate as those six," Alesio said sharply, looking each person still seated in the room in turn.

Everyone in the room nodded obediently. They promised to immediately return the small amount of money to the company and intended to work even harder to correct their mistake.

"We promise, Mr. Alesio. We will return everything," one of them said, his voice trembling.

"We apologize. We won’t do it again," another added, bowing deeply.

Alesio gave them one month under strict supervision to fulfill their promises. If they didn’t, he wouldn’t hesitate to expel them from the company and blacklist them from hiring them again.

"One month. No more. And remember, I’ll be watching your every move," Alesio said as the meeting concluded.

In the dark, unseen corner of the room, someone could be seen typing a message and sending it to someone after their attempt failed.

"We’ll switch to plan B. Let me know as soon as there are any developments."

"Okay, boss. Plan B will be implemented tomorrow."

After putting away her phone, the employee quickly straightened her clothes and walked out, returning to her work unit as if nothing had happened, listening intently for the latest news.

Because the employee’s appearance and accomplishments were not particularly striking, her presence went largely unnoticed, which was quite advantageous for her.

The woman walked casually through the corridors, occasionally greeting her colleagues in a friendly manner, as if she were an ordinary employee with no hidden agenda. No one knew that behind her sweet smile, a sinister plan lurked, ready to be executed at any moment.

"Alesio Xander, you’re too confident. You think that by arresting a few people, your problems will be solved? You’ll soon find out who’s really controlling this game," she whispered softly with a sly smile.