Human joys and sorrows are never the same. Even beneath the same starry sky, some people are enjoying life with their families, while others are still running themselves ragged just to get by.
TOPS, Central Conference Room.
The elderly CEO swept his gaze across the room, finally letting it rest on Bern beside him, staring at him for a long moment.
After a while, he pulled his gaze back, closed his eyes, and asked, "Has Khors not arrived?"
The female secretary behind him stepped forward at once, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Boss, Executive Khors said he needs to focus on managing his business in the Outer Ring."
"In that case, let him be."
The CEO waved a hand and relaxed into his recliner.
Catching the cue, the secretary straightened up and announced clearly, "Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend. The primary agenda of today's TOPS summit is: [How to leverage the Black Phaga incident to interfere with the New Eridu mayoral election]."
The room fell dead silent.
The CEO, who seemed to have anticipated this reaction, continued resting in his chair as if nothing had happened.
The secretary didn't rush either.
She knew everyone present was a big name in New Eridu, each with their own sources and think tanks. There was no way they'd start squabbling like a vegetable market over a single piece of information.
Everyone's smiles were warm, but the faint glint in their eyes was like a nest of vipers, silently waiting to see who would be the first to stick their neck out.
"Since everyone is being so modest, why don't I start and make a fool of myself?"
At last, after about three minutes of silence, someone could no longer sit still.
The crowd turned toward the voice, and when they saw who it was, many of them raised their brows.
The patron behind Victoria Housekeeping—Mrs. Meilin.
A fair-skinned, beautiful woman rose to her feet, bowing gracefully to the room with aristocratic poise.
When she finished, Lycaon gentlemanly pulled out her chair for her, while Rina stepped up with a tray to refill her coffee.
"Thank you. Please rest over there."
Meilin smiled, nodded to the two behind her, and slowly sat down.
Lycaon and Rina, however, did not leave. They remained standing behind her, fulfilling their duty as protection.
Seeing this, many in the room wore expressions of sudden understanding, the corners of their mouths lifting with faint amusement.
So Mrs. Meilin wasn't just here to seek profit—she was also here to show strength.
Sure enough, after taking a small sip of coffee, she spoke, calm and dignified:
"The Chief Executive Officer has held his position for many years, and his conduct has never disappointed us. I believe this time will be no different and will be just as fruitful."
"In that case, I don't think we need to say much more on this topic. Let's simply leave everything to the Chief Executive Officer."
At that, the elderly CEO immediately opened his eyes, a glint flashing across them.
This was not an easy compliment to accept... The words sounded nice, but once it came time to act, every group here would probably want to send dozens of spies a day to monitor his life.
He gave Mrs. Meilin a long, deep look, then closed his eyes again, letting her continue.
Still, as a proper gentleman, he could always refute her after she finished speaking.
"Well then, let's put the main topic aside for now and talk about Victoria Housekeeping first."
At her words, everyone's expressions tightened, and all eyes turned toward her.
Meeting their gaze, Mrs. Meilin went on:
"Everyone, though you all command your own territories and have no shortage of talented subordinates, the high-level vigilance of the city authorities prevents us from building sufficient combat forces. This has severely hindered our Hollow exploration and delayed our ability to seize business opportunities."
At that, the room nodded one after another.
Aside from some unspeakable reasons, founding high-quality Hollow raider groups like Victoria Housekeeping was, indeed, primarily for commercial purposes.
It was frankly a bit embarrassing that, for New Eridu, the best model for economic growth turned out to be archaeology.
"To meet your needs, I founded Victoria Housekeeping many years ago, with the goal of serving high-net-worth clients and helping you all advance further in your business ventures."
"But!"
Mrs. Meilin suddenly tightened her tone, her gaze turning cold. The folding fan in her hand snapped shut with a crisp crack.
"Have you all become too fixated on short-term gains? The moment there's any sign of trouble, you rush to cut ties and distance yourselves—have you thought about how that makes the children of Victoria feel?"
At those words, most people sank back into their chairs and stayed silent.
The more senior among them knew exactly what kind of person Meilin was. It was better to let her vent first—otherwise, this meeting would never end.
But not everyone present was that seasoned. Some were simply inheritors of their fathers' positions.
Soon, a young man stood up, protesting:
"Mrs. Meilin, as a veteran in the business world, I hold you in the highest esteem. But this meeting concerns everyone's future. The old mayor has been displeased with us for years, suppressing us all this time, but he's finally stepping down. We should seize this opportunity—we can't let the next mayor..."
"Enough."
Meilin raised her hand and cut him off.
Though the interruption left him somewhat choked with anger, the young man still did his best to maintain his upper-class composure, forcibly swallowing it down. "Please, go ahead."
"The young man is quite polite."
Mrs. Meilin glanced his way. For the sake of his manners, she decided not to scold him too harshly.
"However..."
Bang!
Meilin slapped the table and shot to her feet, glaring as she snapped:
"Who gave you the courage to shout at me? Your bedridden old father, or that mess of an industry you're running?"
"A toothless tiger roars twice and you really think it's the king of beasts? He's just a mayor whose slogans sound impressive. The moment he stretches his claws a little and you're already afraid? Already shrinking back?"
"You're even more spineless than your bedridden father. But as I recall, you already have children. How about you resign your executive position early and focus on raising the next generation?"
Mrs. Meilin continued lashing him with words, while the young man's face turned a dark purplish-red. His hands clenched into fists, he fumed in silence, not daring to talk back.
The others exchanged glances, but no one was willing to step in and risk crossing Meilin right now. Their eyes collectively shifted toward the CEO at the head of the table.
Under the weight of dozens of gazes, even though he had already closed his eyes, the CEO had no choice but to open them again and let out a long sigh.
"All right, Meilin. I'll handle the matter of Victoria Housekeeping. They'll receive sufficient compensation."
Before Mrs. Meilin could respond, the CEO immediately pulled the discussion back to the main agenda:
"First of all, TOPS has been researching biotechnology for many years, and we have finally made some progress. Although we lost Sacrifice and Sacrifice No. 2 for certain reasons, at least the assets have not fallen into outsiders' hands. They're still with our own people, and we can continue to monitor their data to some extent."
"Bern, explain about Sacrifice No. 2 to everyone."
"Understood."
A voice quickly rose from among the attendees.
Bern's eyes flickered, hiding the vampire clan's observational data on Sacrifice No. 2 among a pile of other figures, while pulling up a separate set of TOPS readings:
"The Sacrifice series is a line of biological weapons developed specifically by our TOPS. They boast immense combat strength, long operational endurance, and absolute obedience to orders."
"Although Phaga treated it like a blade when he used it, and the effect appeared quite outstanding..."
"I must remind everyone: no matter how strong they are, they're still human. And when it comes to humans, trust is a very delicate thing. I'm sure none of you want to see a powerful individual acquire a top-tier weapon only to then turn that blade against your own neck."
"So don't let yourselves be dazzled by Phaga's strength. What TOPS needs is not weapons for the strong, but strong individuals who obey our every command."
...