You are the one they will follow, the one they will bleed for. You will not be questioned. You will not be challenged. From this day on, the Bronze Orchid answers to you as their leader.
Chen Kamman was half-Thai and half-Chinese. His father, against his grandmother's fervent wishes, had married a Thai woman, who later became Kamman and Gwen's mother. The entire family had fought for days, but eventually, they grudgingly accepted her.
For her sake, Chen Yujing had even permanently moved his territory from China to Thailand. It was said that the men of the Chen family loved to their core, willing to put their lives on the line for those they cherished. His father had certainly lived up to that reputation.
The Yuns were originally from South Korea, but like all main families, they commanded global businesses. South Korea remained their core territory. The Pasatit were from Thailand but had been pushed out of their most influential position with the Chens' arrival and instant dominance. This was why Lady Sorn hated the Chens so deeply.
The Xies' territory was China, and the Armans controlled the Arabian zones. If a family head became the leader of the Bronze Orchid, they gained absolute control over every zone, business, operation, and resource of the organization. Every order was followed without question, and families placed all their wealth, and even their lives, in the leader's hands.
That kind of power made brothers turn against brothers, sisters against sisters. Soon, the battlefield of the conference room grew bloody, the tension thickening the air. Everyone stood up once again, their arguments fiercer than before.
"Let's just vote then! I pick Master Xie!"
The vote was counted.
"Same." Another subfamily voted, and it was tallied.
"Master Yun is more suitable!" That vote was also counted.
One by one, the subfamilies cast their votes until only the five main families remained. Of the twelve subfamilies, two had picked the Pasatit, led by Lady Sorn; five had picked the Xies; and the other five had picked the Yuns. None had picked the Chen family.
Now, it was up to the main families. Master Xie, Master Yun, and Lady Sorn obviously voted for themselves. Then, all eyes turned to the Armans, who had remained silent since the beginning of the meeting.
The head of the Arman family, Khaleed Arman, asked for paper, which was brought to him in a blink. He scribbled some words, then handed it to a staff member, who bowed respectfully, took it, and brought it to Master Xie. Master Xie's calm features twisted into shock as he read what was written.
"What is it? Who did he vote for?" Lady Sorn asked impatiently.
"The Chen."
Some gasped in shock, others in excitement, and still others in disappointment. Nobody expected the Chens to receive a single vote tonight, especially not from a main family. Subfamilies were allowed to vote, but their votes were purely indicative of loyalty; they didn't count towards the final tally. Only the votes from the five main families truly mattered.
Even if the head of a main family received only one subfamily vote out of twelve, they would automatically become the winner if they secured more main family votes than their opponent.
Initially, the Chens had voted for themselves, but the Armans' vote automatically made Kamman the candidate with the highest advantage in the room. No one had seen that coming, not even the Chens themselves.
"Master Arman, what do you mean by this?" Lady Sorn asked, feeling betrayed and confused.
"My beautiful Lady Sorn," Khaleed began,
"I am a businessman, and businessmen operate with logic. The Chens' influence in the international market is the very reason our businesses are triumphant. If they leave that seat, it could be bad for business."
"Nonsense! The Chens' influence died with Chen Yujing!" Master Xie, slowly losing his composure and exposing his true colors, bellowed, startling several people.
"All the families can gain the same influence in months! The only reason we couldn't before was because of the strict rules Chen Yujing implemented!" Lady Sorn quickly added.
Other families nodded, agreeing that the Chens had always been the oppressors.
"What are you all trying to do?! He has already voted. You are not allowed to influence a vote!" Chen Qishan retorted.
"Maybe you influenced him first! He was never planning on voting for you!" Master Xie fired back.
It was true; the Armans had never planned on voting for the Chens. But the accusation of the Chens influencing them was false. Khaleed Arman simply observed the situation, seeing the blatant greed of the other families right through their facades.
He decided he would rather place his wealth in the hands of a seventeen-year-old than in the hands of these old, conniving foxes.
Secondly, he was curious. How would a seventeen-year-old lead a world-class mafia organization? That was something worth putting his wealth on the line for.
"That is unacceptable! If we have to shed blood tonight, then so be it!"
Master Xie bellowed, and a team of armed guards rushed into the room almost immediately, guns in hand. They all pointed them directly at Chen Kamman.
"Master Xie, what is the meaning of this?!"
Chen Qiong exclaimed, rising in shock. Chen Qishan and Chen Zhi Xian immediately positioned themselves in front of Kamman, shielding him with their bodies.
The Chen family guards could counter the Xies' guards, but it became a different story when the Pasatit and the Yuns got involved. Now, it was three families against one, and the Armans moved out of the way, refusing to get involved.
"I see what's happening. Are you trying to kill us all?"
Chen Qishan said calmly. His late brother had already predicted a coup within the organization, and now it was happening.
"Master Chen, if he withdraws from the position of leader, then nobody has to die," Lady Sorn said, attempting to force Chen Kamman to abdicate.
"You insisted that we vote, and when we did, and it didn't work in your favor, you opted for violence. Lady Sorn, between you and us, who are the oppressors?" Chen Zhi Xian scolded.
"It's no secret, nobody likes the Chen. All this talk is wasting our time! Abdicate or else..."
"Or else what?"
A voice echoed from the entrance, and the grand doors swung open, revealing an old woman covered in gold and luxury. iImmortal aura and grace oozed from her.
Chen Kamman's great-grandmother, the third-generation leader of the Order of the Bronze Orchid, walked into the room. Everybody's boldness shrunked in an instant.
The Bronze Orchid's hereditary system was put in place simply because the Chens were its founders, and Lady Chen was the ultimate matriarch of the Order.
In the first and second generations, the Bronze Orchid was influential but not as vast, nor was it known by its current name. Lady Chen had inherited it from her grandfather and transformed it into what it is today. She changed its name and nurtured generations to lead it.
Then, she disappeared; no one could find her, no matter how hard they searched. Eventually, she was presumed dead and remembered as the only female patriarch and true founder of the Bronze Orchid.
However, the woman feared and respected by not only leaders but every powerful figure in the world, had emerged from hiding and was standing before them at that very moment.
"What will you do to my great-grandson?"
She asked a second time, as hundreds of her men surrounded the guards, outnumbering them three to one.
Additionally, countless others were stationed outside. If she wished, nobody would be able to leave that room apart from the Chens. Noticing the dire situation they were in, and the formidable presence gracing their meeting, everyone fell to one knee, led by the Chens. Even Chen Kamman, who rarely reacted or got up for anyone, dropped to one knee.
They placed their hands together and bowed, their foreheads touching the ground as they greeted in unison.
"Get up. You called me all the way here for this?"
She said to Kamman, barely acknowledging the others.
Other family members, including his aunts and uncles, looked at him in utter bewilderment, but Kamman himself was the most shocked. He hadn't expected his great-grandmother to come to his assistance personally.
"Great-grandmother...How...?" Kamman stuttered, lost for words.
"Why are you shocked? You're the one who called for me," she said casually, then stretched out her hand for Kamman to take. He slowly led her to his father's seat.
Dian had once told him that even when he wasn't close, he would always protect him. Kamman had shrugged it off as empty words, but recently, under immense pressure and extreme stress over the Bronze Orchid, he remembered it.
Dian had said that if he dialed any five random numbers and sent the code name "Phoenix Heart" through those numbers, someone would come to his assistance. He hadn't believed it, but he did it anyway, not knowing what it truly meant.
A couple of minutes later, a group of hackers gathered somewhere in a hidden room intercepted the distress message. It was the code name that could only be used by the Phoenix, as the underworld called the leader of the Bronze Orchid.
Dian, the creator of that network, had died weeks ago, but the organization was still very much alive, and they got to work.
When it came to a battle of power, his great-grandmother remained undefeated. She was brought out of hiding when she heard that a couple of nobodies were threatening not only to bring down what she had built with her blood, sweat, and tears, but also to bring down a generation of the Chen family.
"Bring in the staff," Madam Chen ordered.
Men scrambled to obey. It was brought before her in a flash. All this time, she had not told the other members to get up, so they dared not do so. The old masters' joints were screaming in agony, but she didn't even seem to notice.
"Kneel,"
She ordered Chen Kamman.
He dropped to both knees, kneeling before her. Madam Chen tapped his right shoulder, then his left, with the staff. Then, she handed the staff to him. Kamman received it with both hands.
"Get up,"
She commanded, and he obeyed without question. She then declared, her chilling voice sending waves of emotion throughout the room:
"Chen Kamman, the seat is no longer empty. You are no longer just carrying the Chen name but the Bronze Orchid as well. You are the one they will follow, the one they will bleed for. You will not be questioned. You will not be challenged. From this day on, the Bronze Orchid answers to you, as their leader."
"Pay your respects!"
A guard yelled, and everyone present in the room, whether old or young, whether they loved him or hated him, whether they wanted him as their leader or not, bowed their heads to Chen Kamman and chanted in unison:
"We follow! We Obey! We serve the Chen Bloodline!"
Madam Chen rose to leave; her work was done, but not completely. She issued two final orders.
"Detain everyone who pointed a weapon at the Phoenix, cut off the hand that dared to point the weapon."
Guns dropped to the ground as over thirty men were detained in an instant. She wasn't done.
"Which subfamily spoke up as I came in?"
The Park family head, a subfamily from South Korea, rushed towards her on his knees, shaking like a leaf and begging for mercy. All the other families could only stare in pity, but nobody dared to speak up for him.
"Expel them from the Bronze Orchid."
She said, and with that, she walked out as suddenly as she had arrived. The Park family head begged and begged, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. For a family that had been part of the Bronze Orchid, death was easier than expulsion.
Some were crying, some were speechless, some were left shaking with fear, and others had their fates sealed.
Blades slashed almost simultaneously, and blood-curdling screams erupted from every corner of the room. In seconds, blood gathered in large pools on the floor. Kamman almost wretched at the sight of limbs falling to the ground.
Other masters looked away, but nobody could stop the outcome.
News spread like wildfire; every international and local news network was buzzing. When the Bronze Orchid leadership changed, the face of the global economy shifted. Nobody knew if it would be positive or negative. All they knew was that they had entered a new era, an era led by a seventeen-year-old boy, the youngest leader in the history of the Bronze Orchid.
The world was buzzing.