92: Chapter 92 An Offer of Employment That Cannot Be Refused

This discovery made Caroline's blood feel as if it had frozen instantly.

This was no coincidence.

This was surveillance—an all-encompassing monitoring that reached down to her vital signs.

Her supposedly perfect infiltration was, in the other's eyes, like being naked under a spotlight from the very beginning.

The disguise she took pride in, and her exquisite control over her emotions and heartbeat, had become a cold joke—a set of data being read in real-time.

Just then, a slight ripple of magic emanated from the small mahogany round table in front of her.

In the center of the table, on a silver base originally meant for decoration, a ring of pale gold runes lit up silently, forming a miniature Transmission Array.

Levi's voice rang directly in her ear; it wasn't loud, yet it was as clear as if he were whispering against her auricle, carrying a gentle yet unquestionable penetrative force.

"Miss Caroline, the 'Grey Hand' organization has insured your death benefit for three hundred gold coins, payable in a lump sum. Meanwhile, the first advance commission I've prepared for the exclusive agent of the Elven Kingdom is thirty thousand gold coins."

Caroline's pupils constricted sharply.

Three hundred gold coins was the highest standard the organization would pay to a designated beneficiary or for funeral arrangements after an assassin of her level died unexpectedly during a mission.

This figure was one of the Grey Hand's top secrets; apart from the core high-level leadership, it was impossible for any outsider to know.

And thirty thousand gold coins... this number was like a heavy hammer, smashing ruthlessly against her most sensitive nerves.

Before she could recover from her shock, Levi's voice rang out again, his tone as steady as if he were reading an insignificant report.

"The Grey Hand has three secret strongholds around the Imperial Capital. The first is located on the third basement floor of the 'Rusty Axe Tavern' in the south of the city. The contact's code name is 'Mole,' a one-eyed cripple. Funds mainly flow through the 'Dorn Leather Trading Company' in the west of the city. The second..."

One by one, he recited the locations of the strongholds, the characteristics of the personnel, the secret codes, and even the exact amount and flow of the most recent funds.

Every piece of information was incredibly precise, striking straight at the heart of the matter.

This wasn't a threat, nor did it carry any emotion; it was merely a statement. Like displaying merchandise, he calmly laid out before her the power he possessed—power sufficient to uproot the Grey Hand, a massive organization that had lurked in the empire's shadows for decades.

A layer of fine cold sweat had already broken out on Caroline's back, and her moon-white dress clung tightly to her skin, bringing a chilly sensation.

She had no doubt that if the young man downstairs wished it, the name 'Grey Hand' would completely vanish from the continent of Terrarium after tonight.

Downstairs in the hall, Levi had finished his "remote interview" of Caroline.

His attention, like a spotlight, shifted from the thoroughly intimidated assassin to another group of people.

His gaze slowly swept across the long table in a corner of the hall, where members of the Byron Family's side branches were seated.

At this moment, their faces were ashen. Looking at Elder Otto's still-twitching corpse nearby, their bodies were as stiff as stone statues.

Leading them was Otto's younger brother, the oldest elder in the family and Levi's granduncle—Graham Byron.

"Granduncle." Levi's voice returned to that gentle respect appropriate for an elder, as if the bloody execution just now had nothing to do with him. "And uncles, please do not be nervous. We are family. I invited you all here today not for a reckoning, but to solve problems—for the better development of our Byron Family."

Graham's lips trembled; he wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word.

On that usually majestic, wrinkled face, only fear and disbelief remained.

Levi didn't give him a chance to speak. He snapped his fingers lightly.

On the background wall of the high platform behind him, a massive curtain slid down silently. Immediately following, a beam of soft magical light projected onto it, forming a clear light screen.

On the light screen, rows of clear numbers and tables began to scroll.

"This is the profit report for the past three years for the thirty-acre vineyard under your name in Silver Moon Valley." Levi's gaze fell on Graham, his tone like that of a project manager giving a year-end report. "On the books, the annual net profit is around one thousand two hundred Gold Lion Coin. However, according to our finance department's audit, through methods like underreporting yields, overreporting pest damage losses, and colluding with tax officials, you have actually concealed at least eight hundred Gold Lion Coin in income every year. The total amount of tax evasion is as high as forty percent."

Graham's face instantly turned deathly pale.

The data on the light screen continued to scroll, switching to the next person's assets.

"Third Uncle, your iron ore shop..."

"Fifth Aunt, your textile workshop..."

Without any hint of accusation, Levi calmly displayed, item by item, the true financial status of all the assets under these conservative elders, along with every bit of grey income they had hidden in dark corners, laid bare before all the guests.

This was more terrifying than direct slaughter.

It meant that Levi's tentacles had long since reached into every corner of their lives; their self-proclaimed secrets were nothing more than rows of data waiting to be processed in his eyes.

"As you can see, our family's traditional business model has huge loopholes and efficiency problems." Levi's voice echoed in the hall with an unquestionable authority. "Therefore, I have decided that starting today, a thorough, modern corporate reform will be conducted on all family assets."

He paused, letting this unfamiliar term ferment in everyone's minds.

"Everyone's land, shops, and mines will be unified for asset appraisal by me and forcibly converted into shares of the 'Blackstone Territory United Chamber of Commerce.' You will no longer be inefficient estate owners or workshop owners, but shareholders in our great enterprise. You will receive annual dividends far exceeding what you had before, based on your shareholding ratio. From now on, everyone only needs to enjoy life at home and wait for gold coins to flow into your pockets. This is the future of common prosperity I have planned for the family!"

Dead silence.

After a moment of dead silence came uncontrollable anger.

"You... you're robbing us!" Graham finally found his voice amidst the shock and fear. He slammed the table, his finger pointing at Levi trembling violently with rage. "Those are assets passed down by the ancestors of the Byron Family! They are our roots! You unfilial descendant, what right do you have to take everything from us?!"

He tried to suppress Levi using family tradition and blood ethics; this was the last weapon of these old men.

"I am your granduncle! I am your elder! If you dare to be so disrespectful, you will be nailed to the family's pillar of shame!"

Levi looked at him quietly, even showing a hint of pity on his face.

"Granduncle, I have always respected you. But you seem to have misunderstood something."

He snapped his fingers again.

This time, the image on the high platform's light screen disappeared, replaced by an incredibly clear magical recording. Through an amplification array, it rang out in every corner of the hall.

An old and venomous voice came through—it was Graham himself: "...That little brat is too much in the way! He's cut off all our financial paths! He must be eliminated!"

Immediately following was another slightly fawning voice: "Rest assured, Elder. I've already contacted the 'Grey Hand'; they are professionals. As long as you agree to give our Dracula Family thirty percent of the Blackstone Territory's trade routes after it's done, I guarantee you'll receive news of Levi Byron's accidental death within three days of the banquet's end."

Graham's voice rang out again with a greedy sneer: "Thirty percent? That's too little! I want everything of his to return to the hands of the Byron Family's true controllers!"

Every word of the conversation was like a series of loud slaps, striking Graham hard across the face.

His roaring stopped abruptly. The color drained from his face at a visible speed, eventually turning into a deathly grey.

His whole being seemed to have its spine removed; he slumped back into his chair, his eyes hollow, his mouth opening and closing unconsciously, but he could no longer make a sound.

The nobles throughout the hall looked at him with eyes full of disdain and pity.

What right did a family elder who conspired to murder his own grandnephew have to talk about respect and tradition?

Meanwhile, inside the second-floor box.

On the table in front of Caroline, another magical light screen quietly lit up.

What was shown in the image wasn't the scene from the hall downstairs, but a dark and damp basement.

Evelyn, the usually charming succubus director, was currently dressed in a tight black combat suit, holding an Enchantment short blade that shimmered with a cold light. Her violet eyes were filled with cold killing intent.

Behind her, a squad of fully armed Blackstone Territory Guard members was silently infiltrating the stronghold like ghosts.

The enemies in the image were precisely the guards of the 'Rusty Axe Tavern' Levi had just mentioned.

Before they could even sound an alarm, they were each silenced with a slit throat in the silent raid.

Evelyn's movements were graceful and lethal, like a ballet of death.

This was a real-time broadcast.

Levi's voice rang in Caroline's ear one last time, like an HR manager giving a final onboarding orientation, his tone calm and businesslike.

"Now, I am officially issuing you an employment notice. Your onboarding assessment task is to use the permissions you know to sync information on other Grey Hand members to my execution team in real-time. The Communication Crystal on the table is ready for you."

A pigeon-egg-sized, completely transparent Communication Crystal quietly emerged next to the Transmission Array, emitting a soft white light.

Downstairs were the corpses of colleagues ruthlessly executed.

Before her eyes was a live broadcast of the organization's core stronghold being coldly purged.

In her ear was her new boss's emotionless 'onboarding guidance'.

Caroline looked at the crystal lying quietly on the table; it seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, making it hard for her to breathe.

She slowly reached out her hand, her cold fingertips touching the smooth surface of the crystal.

Her movement paused.