Meanwhile, in an unknown tall building, inside a meeting room with five people, a middle-aged man at the table slammed his hand down.

"Damn it, how hard is it to just grab the obsidian onyx diamond? You've failed twice already, you're all incompetent," the middle-aged man said.

"The police are starting to sniff us out because Marco's body was found," Hans said.

"That's because you weren't careful when you got rid of him," a middle-aged woman replied.

"What do you mean, ma'am? The police initially just thought it was a usual mafia conflict where people kill each other all the time... don't blame me. That family is already in my hands. I just need to hunt down the old man's grandson for everything to fall to me," Hans retorted.

"Alex also got himself into personal trouble and was caught on the cruise ship... this is truly annoying. We have to deal with it immediately, and if necessary, we should silence him," a bespectacled middle-aged man added.

"You're having trouble yourself, aren't you? Your adopted son reported you to the police for attacking your wife, who's now in a coma in the hospital. You're no better, Karl," the middle-aged woman countered.

"Hey... Layla, don't talk rubbish. Alex is your husband, right? Why can't you control him and your daughter, huh?" Karl retorted.

"Ex-husband and ex-daughter... I have no family, and don't ever bring that up again. My ex-husband is an idiot; he can't even steal his own child's inheritance," Layla replied angrily.

"And you, Mark, why haven't you taken care of your mother yet, huh... you're only an adopted son, right... are you too soft to act? We don't need to wait for my adopted son to marry your daughter, do we?" Karl countered.

"Watch your mouth, Karl, don't talk to me like that. I intend to marry them off so I can quietly dispose of my mother after everything has been willed to my child, who is already tied to us, understood," Mark, the man who had slammed the table earlier, retorted.

"I know we all need their assets to advance... please move fast and stop complaining," Hans replied.

"Hah... shut up, Hans. You still can't control your own family... and you're relying on Marco, who we all knew was incompetent from the start," Mark countered.

"Silence, all of you. Stop discussing unnecessary things and stop blaming each other. Even though all the obvious obstacles are gone, something is still blocking us. Now we must focus on finding out who is blocking us. Understood?" the old man, who looked tired but ruthless, replied.

"Yes, leader," Mark, Karl, Layla, and Hans replied in unison.

The meeting continued. The old man's eyes sharply watched the participants read out the agenda of their respective plans. The old man leaned forward and placed both his elbows on the table to support his chin.

"I need the obsidian onyx gem to fully activate you, CROWS, and these people in front of me are completely incompetent. It looks like we'll have to get rid of them soon so they don't interfere with our future plans," the old man said in his head.

[That is correct, sir. I truly want to assist you... unfortunately, because of the previous conflict, I require that stone to replenish my energy.]

A rough, heavy voice, like someone badly injured, was heard in the old man's head.

"Alright, I'll try to find another way that doesn't rely on them. Be patient, CROWS (Conquer Rule Organize World System)," the old man replied.

[Very well, sir. We must act quickly while CATS is still not fully into its second version.]

"Don't worry, CROWS, I won't let it be fully activated," the old man replied.

[Thank you, sir.]

The old man smiled while continuing to stare intently at the debating participants in front of him.

***

Later that afternoon, at the clinic, Lena was getting ready to go home and was sitting relaxed, waiting for Dylan to pick her up after checking on their house renovation project. Suddenly, the clinic door opened. Lena stood up, looked at the door, and immediately felt weak, seeing Mitch walk straight toward her.

"Hi... is my wife done yet?" Mitch asked.

"In a moment, sir. She's still with a patient," Lena answered politely.

Mitch immediately looked at Lena and started scrutinizing her body again, making Lena shift uncomfortably.

"You really are beautiful. It's a shame you're just a receptionist here. I could give you a much better job," Mitch muttered, smiling flirtatiously.

"Thank you, sir, but I'm not interested," Lena replied, forcing a smile.

The clinic door opened again. Mitch and Lena turned to look at the door. A detective and Derek walked in. Lena looked even weaker when she saw Derek enter. Derek walked straight up to Lena and shot a sharp glance at Mitch, who was perched on the reception desk and returned a smug smile. Then Derek turned to look at Lena.

"Lena, is my mom finished?" Derek asked.

"Not yet, about five more minutes," Lena answered.

"Okay, I'll wait here. And why do you keep leaving the group chat right after I invite you? Don't you want to come to the farewell party?" Derek asked.

"You're not inviting Dylan, are you? I won't go if he's not there. I told you that from the start," Lena answered.

"Hah... why bother inviting that loner? He'd just turn it down anyway, it's pointless," Derek retorted.

"Well, then there's no point in inviting me, because I'll definitely turn it down," Lena countered.

"Oh, you two are school friends?" Mitch asked, suddenly chiming in.

"That's right... and who are you?" Derek asked.

"I'm Dr. Irene's husband. I'm here to pick up my wife," Mitch answered casually.

"Oh, I see. Then why are you flirting with Lena?" Derek asked angrily.

"Ah... I was just making conversation since there's no one else here but her, right, Lena?" Mitch asked, turning, smiling, and winking at Lena.

"Don't mess with other girls when you've got a wife, you cheater," Derek said.

Hearing Derek's words, Mitch's face immediately changed. His smile vanished, and he glared at Derek beside him.

"Hey Derek, don't say things like that," (turning to look at Mitch) "I apologize for my son," the detective said, walking up to Derek.

"Who are you?" Mitch asked the detective.

"My name is Paul. I work for the police. This is my son, Derek. I'm here to pick up my wife," Paul answered.

"Please watch your son's mouth. His accusations could get him into legal trouble. As a police officer, you know that," Mitch replied sharply.

"I know. That's why I apologize for my son's words," (putting an arm around Derek) "Come on, Derek, let's sit and wait for your mom," Paul replied.

"Okay, Dad," Derek replied, glaring at Mitch.

Then Derek sat on the sofa with Paul. Mitch then turned his attention back to Lena, who was standing frozen behind the reception desk, forcing a smile.

"Where do you live? How about we grab coffee sometime to discuss some job opportunities for you," Mitch muttered.

"No, sir, thank you," Lena replied stiffly, but forced herself to smile.

Suddenly the door opened. Dylan walked in. Lena's face instantly brightened, and she waved to Dylan. Dylan immediately walked toward Lena, but as he did, he saw Derek glaring at him, Paul sitting next to him, and Mitch staring at him with a questioning look.

"Huh... what's going on here?" Dylan asked himself, confused.

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