Currently, in the Midland Circle Financial Company building, only the CEO's office lights were still on.
"Lady Alexandra, the other party rejected our acquisition offer, but they have agreed to attend the banquet we are hosting tomorrow night."
A Japanese man in a straight-cut suit, standing rigidly, bowed respectfully as he spoke to the middle-aged woman in the CEO's chair. This was Yoshioka Nobu.
He was considered the highest-ranking person within the Hand who was not one of the Five Fingers. When the Five Fingers were out of New York, he was in charge of the affairs of the New York branch. Of course, if one of the Five Fingers arrived, he had to step aside.
"This is such a headache. How did that thing end up in Lane's hands?" Alexandra sighed, rubbing her forehead.
This woman, dressed in a white suit with a deep frown and an aura of both authority and decay, was Alexandra—one of the Five Fingers of the Hand. She was not only the CEO of the Midland Circle Financial Company but also owned numerous companies spanning real estate, biotech, and port logistics, making her a billionaire magnate. However, she was notoriously low-key, rarely appearing in public, and only a select few knew her true power.
"Nobu, the woman didn't show the slightest sign of relenting, did she?" Alexandra said. "Do you think we can persuade her to sell the building to us tomorrow night?"
"My Lady, not even a Lane can refuse the Hand!" Yoshioka Nobu stated confidently. "Lane is nothing but a nouveau riche upstart, while the Hand is an ancient organization that has existed for millennia. If Lane refuses to be sensible, then perhaps we should let them experience the Hand's power—for example, by eliminating a few Lane Group board members as a demonstration."
In Yoshioka Nobu's view, the Lane family was just another wealthy, complacent corporate power. They might have some talent in finance or business, but ultimately, they were mere mortals. Even though their former associates, the Foot Clan, were defeated by Hawk, Yoshioka Nobu still didn't care. In his opinion, the Foot Clan were just a bunch of useless bums for wasting time on biological modification. Self-cultivation and personal power are the true way!
It was true that the Lane family was a leviathan, but the Hand wouldn't fear them. Furthermore, even if they couldn't win a direct confrontation, assassination was the Hand's specialty. If the Lane family didn't want to live forever under the shadow of constant assassination, they had better surrender what the Hand wanted.
Emilia sensed the danger and the possibility of these people resorting to desperate measures precisely because of Yoshioka Nobu's air of superiority when dealing with the Lane family. It only goes to show that weakness and ignorance aren't obstacles to survival—arrogance is.
"Nobu, don't be so aggressive," Alexandra sighed. "If we can buy it with money, that's obviously the best outcome. We should try to avoid burning bridges. Regardless, let's see how the dinner goes tomorrow night."
The Five Fingers of the Hand were all centuries-old relics. Their sole pursuit was immortality.
Therefore, they had no problem being ruthless toward ordinary people, but facing an opponent like Lane required extreme caution. The old patriarch of the Lane family, John Lane, was someone who could stand on equal footing with the one in the White House. To put it another way, America's "old money"—the Starks, the Osborns, the Lanes, the Roxxons, the Morgans, the BlackRocks, the Goldmans, the DuPonts—were essentially shareholders of the United States!
In any case, they couldn't risk their own lives. Nothing was more important than their survival.
However, the TCRI building was too critical to the Five Fingers of the Hand—so important that they were willing to sever ties with the Lanes over it, because... nothing was more important than their lives!
The reason the five of them had lived for centuries was that they had stolen a sacred object, the Dragon Bone, from K'un-Lun, which they used to prolong their lives. Now, the Dragon Bone they possessed was nearly depleted. If they didn't find a new one to replenish it, all five of them would suffer organ failure and simply die of old age, like any common person.
Through extensive investigation, the Five Fingers of the Hand had discovered a place in New York where one of K'un-Lun's previous Iron Fists had sealed a Dragon Bone. Coincidentally, they realized that TCRI was backed by another shadowy organization, the Foot Clan, so they had extended an olive branch of cooperation, plotting to buy the building.
Unfortunately, Hawk had beaten them to it.
The building they viewed as already theirs had changed hands, and the shadow of death was closing in. Alexandra, feeling as if she already had one foot in hell, was nearly mad with desperation.
The next day.
The former TCRI Headquarters, now the Lane Bio-Tech Headquarters, penthouse office.
The sun shone brightly, and the outside view was unobstructed through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. Hawk was casually flipping through a financial report, a cup of steaming coffee at hand.
Emilia quickly walked in: "Boss, Doctor Killian is downstairs. He only brought one female assistant and a small briefcase."
Hawk put down the report: "Please send them up. Use the private elevator and send them straight to my office. And remember, replace the coffee with Nescafé."
Emilia gave a knowing smile: "Understood."
A moment later, the office door was pushed open.
Killian walked in, leaning heavily on a cane. He had changed into a crisp suit that still couldn't hide his exhaustion. His hair was combed, but the bloodshot eyes and tight jawline exposed the storm raging inside him.
Maya Hansen followed closely, tightly clutching a silver metal briefcase, her expression tense and wary.
Killian's gaze immediately locked onto Hawk, who was seated behind the wide desk—a young man with a seemingly harmless smile on his face.
Hawk didn't rise. He simply gestured toward the sofa opposite him: "Doctor Killian. Our first meeting. Please sit. Coffee? It's freshly brewed, don't mind the quality."
Killian's temple throbbed twice. Hawk's calm, even slightly dismissive attitude, was more infuriating than direct insult. He forcefully suppressed his rising anger, ignoring the obviously instant coffee. He sat down stiffly on the sofa and got straight to the point:
"Mr. Hawk Lane. Let's be frank. TCRI's statement... your methods are quite clever."
Hawk chuckled lightly, leaning slightly forward: "You flatter me, Doctor. It's all just for the sake of corporate development—clearing out a few potential risks and cleaning up the business environment."
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