The news of The Sovereign Group swallowing the entire South-West Commerce Chamber overnight hit the city like a massive earthquake. The local media didn’t even know how to describe Leon anymore. He wasn’t just a lucky investor who found gold; he was a financial apex predator who was systematically hunting down the old money families one by one.Inside the grand office of the Obsidian Tower, Leon stood with his hands casually tucked into his trousers pockets. He had discarded his suit jacket, wearing only a pristine white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms. His eyes were fixed on a massive digital map of the country’s financial networks projected on the wall.Buzz.His personal phone rang with a low, customized tone. It was a direct line that only one person had. Leon picked it up without looking."Leon, we have a situation," Cynthia Murong’s voice came through the speaker, sounding more strained and serious than he had ever heard her before. "The waves you created have finally reached the Capital. The True Lords of the North have noticed you."Leon’s expression didn’t change a single bit. "The Capital? You mean the ancient families who control the national banking systems?""Yes," Cynthia sighed, the sound of papers rustling in the background. "Specifically, the Vance family’s main branch in the Capital. The old Director Vance you crushed yesterday was just a side-relative. The real head of the Vance clan, Young Master Damien Vance, just landed at the city airport in his private jet. He has already called an emergency meeting at the Imperial Heights Country Club tonight. He has invited the remnants of the Young family and every business house that hates you."A dark, icy smile finally broke across Leon’s face. "Damien Vance... The so-called financial prodigy of the North? Perfect. I was getting tired of playing with local small fish anyway. Tell them I will attend.""Leon, be careful," Cynthia warned, her tone deeply worried. "Damien doesn’t play by corporate rules. He has the backing of the central banks and the Capital’s high-society underground. He can freeze your bank assets with a single phone call.""He can try," Leon said softly, before hanging up the phone.At 9:00 PM, the rain had stopped, leaving the city streets glistening under the neon lights. A single, sleek matte-black Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up to the heavily guarded gates of the Imperial Heights Country Club. This place was a fortress of the elite, accessible only to those whose family net worth exceeded a billion dollars.Leon stepped out of the vehicle, his presence instantly radiating a heavy, suffocating pressure. He wore a stunning, custom midnight-black trench coat over his silk shirt. Cynthia walked beside him, her jaw set, looking like a warrior queen ready for battle.As they pushed open the massive double doors of the grand ballroom, the murmurs instantly stopped.The room was filled with the city’s old money elites, but sitting right at the center table, surrounded by four massive foreign bodyguards in military-grade suits, was a young man in his late twenties. He had sharp, aristocratic features, pale skin, and an incredibly arrogant aura. This was Damien Vance.Sitting right next to Damien, looking like a beaten, desperate dog trying to find a new master, was Young Master Young—the ruined heir who had lost everything to Leon."So, you’re the orphan who thinks a piece of gold dirt makes him a king," Damien Vance said, not even standing up from his chair. He casually swirled a glass of vintage red wine, looking down at Leon with absolute condescension. "Leon, right? You’ve made a lot of noise in this small town. But in front of the Capital’s real power, you are nothing but an ant."Young Master Young spat on the floor, his face twisted with pure malice. "Young Master Damien, this is the bastard! He used dirty tricks to steal our land and lock my father up! You must crush him!"Leon didn’t show a single hint of anger. He walked calmly toward the central table, pulling out an expensive leather chair right across from Damien, and sat down without being asked. He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table, his eyes locking onto the Capital prodigy with a terrifying, calm intensity."An ant?" Leon murmured, his voice low and freezing. "Damien Vance, you traveled all the way from the Capital just to protect a bankrupt family of frauds? Your family’s central banking license must be giving you a false sense of security."Damien laughed arrogantly, slamming his wine glass onto the table. "False security? I control the flow of cash in this entire region, boy! With a single command to the Central Banking Bureau, I can freeze the Sovereign Group’s corporate lines, lock down your gold mine excavation, and turn your eighty million dollars into useless digital numbers by midnight! You have exactly three minutes to sign over eighty percent of your gold vein shares to the Vance family, or I will ruin you completely!"The surrounding billionaires smirked, fully believing Leon had finally met his match. Nobody could fight the Central Bank.Leon quietly activated the Eye of Truth, his gaze sweeping over Damien Vance and the heavy briefcase resting right next to his hand. Instantly, the dark translucent system screens flashed rapidly, revealing the hidden corruption, dark secrets, and absolute ruin of the Vance clan:[Person: Damien Vance][Identity: Heir of the Capital’s Vance Clan][Current Crisis: The Vance family’s main Capital bank is secretly insolvent, suffering from a hidden $1.2 Billion deficit due to failed international short-stocks. Damien traveled here desperately to steal Leon’s gold vein to cover the deficit before the Federal Audit tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM.][Object: Encrypted Black Leather Briefcase][Contents: Contains the official forged national audit reports and illegal transaction logs that Damien is using to scam the local banks.]A brilliant, supreme sense of victory filled Leon’s chest. The great Vance family of the Capital wasn’t a mountain of iron; they were a hollow shell of rotting debt, running out of time.Leon leaned back in his chair, a dark, sharp smirk curling on his lips."Freeze my assets by midnight?" Leon asked, his voice echoing clearly through the silent ballroom. "Damien, you have exactly twelve hours before the Federal Audit Bureau walks into your main Capital branch tomorrow morning at ten. You don’t want my gold vein because you’re strong. You want it because your family bank is suffering from a hidden one-point-two billion dollar deficit, and you’re completely bankrupt."The moment the words left Leon’s mouth, Damien’s arrogant smile vanished instantly. His face turned a ghostly, deathly pale. His hands began to shake so violently that the wine glass tipped over, spilling red stains across the white tablecloth."You... how do you..." Damien stammered, his voice losing all its power as he stared at Leon in absolute, paralyzed horror. This secret was known only to three people in the entire country—his father, himself, and their chief accountant.The surrounding old money elites gasped, looking at Damien’s terrified reaction. They realized instantly that the unstoppable titan from the Capital was actually a dying beast.Leon stood up slowly, looming over the table like a true shadow monarch. He reached across the table, tapped the locked black briefcase with his finger, and looked down into Damien’s eyes."The forged audit reports inside this briefcase won’t save you, Damien," Leon whispered, his voice cold enough to freeze water. "I have already sent the real, unencrypted transaction logs of your family’s failed short-stocks directly to the Federal Audit Director ten minutes ago via the Murong Group’s private network. By tomorrow morning, the Vance family will no longer exist in the Capital."Young Master Young fell off his chair in shock, realizing his last hope had just been utterly obliterated before the battle even began.Damien Vance choked on his own breath, sliding down from his seat onto his knees, looking up at Leon with tearful, begging eyes. "No... please... Leon! If you leak that, our entire clan is dead! My father will go to prison! Please, tell me what you want! I’ll give you anything!"Leon looked down at the kneeling prodigy of the Capital, his expression completely stone-cold and indifferent."What do I want?" Leon said smoothly, adjusting the silver cuffs of his shirt. "I want the Vance family’s entire shipping and logistics monopoly in the North. Sign the absolute transfer deeds right now, and I might leave your family enough scraps to buy a house in the countryside."Without a second thought, Damien frantically pulled out the official transfer documents from his bag, signed his name with trembling fingers, and stamped it with his family seal, handing over a multi-billion dollar northern monopoly to Leon just to save his own skin.Leon took the papers, handed them to a stunned, completely breathless Cynthia Murong, and turned toward the grand exit. The entire ballroom of billionaires stood in absolute, terrified silence, bowing their heads as Leon walked past them.With the North and South completely under his heel, Leon’s Sovereign Group was no longer just a business house—it was the undisputed ruler of the nation’s commerce. The targets who had kicked him into the mud were now buried beneath his shadow, and his path to absolute dominion was completely open.
Chapter 8: The Capital’s Shadow
The God-Level Appraiser: I Can See The Price of Everything!