"Ah!"

Eric Carter was overjoyed, and the driver grinned along, starting the car while setting the GPS navigation—

On the dim, unnoticed back seat, Brian Sullivan opened his eyes and glanced at the navigation.

Bai Mansion Jinjiang Grand Hotel.

A newly opened ultra five-star hotel nearby, less than twenty minutes away by car.

Brian Sullivan closed his eyes again, but suddenly felt a faint stir in his heart, inexplicably finding the hotel name familiar, as if he had glimpsed it in a recent work report.

...Bai Mansion Jinjiang?

Brian Sullivan frowned. The phone's positioning system in his pocket was silently running, sending signals to the Supervision Department's command vehicle, merging into the dazzling nightlife of Shenhai City.

Chapter 5

"Traffic police! Security patrol! Local police station! Get me every available person you can find!!" On the bustling commercial street, a plainclothes jeep from the Supervision Department barreled through traffic, setting off a chorus of honking horns. At the wheel, Jason Brooks was furiously yelling into his phone: "I don't care how many people or cars you have, if any of you are even ten minutes late! Tomorrow the Supervision Department will come flatten your whole family—!!"

On the other end, Chief Harris was bewildered: "L-l-late for what? What happens if we're late?"

If you're late, it'll be the first home-invasion tragedy in the history of the Shenhai Supervision Department, and by tomorrow morning, you and I will be roasted like Peking duck along with that Zhao guy by Brian Sullivan!

"Team leader, team leader!" At that moment, the tech team in the back jumped up in delight, "We've found the location—right at the entrance of Bai Mansion Jinjiang Hotel!"

"Hotel, what hotel?" Chief Harris was completely lost. "Inspector Sullivan sent you to crack down on vice?"

"......"

Everyone in the car was speechless, choking up. Jason Brooks forced a tearful smile: "Chief Harris, to be honest, someone is attacking our crystal. If we don't raid that hotel in ten minutes, both of us are dead, and tomorrow every evolver in Shenhai will be buried with us. It's your call."

Chief Harris: "What—?!"

Jason Brooks hung up and slammed the gas pedal.

The engine roared, and several plainclothes Supervision Department vehicles spun around and sped off, tearing through the angry blare of horns.

Not far ahead, by the city riverside.

The four characters "Bai Mansion Jinjiang" shimmered under the night sky, glowing brightly.

"This must be Young Master Bai, what a pleasure!"

"In the blink of an eye, you've grown so much! At last, you've come back to help your uncle shoulder the heavy responsibilities!"

"Such a fine young man, truly outstanding!..."

In the top-floor banquet hall of the hotel, a grand cocktail party was in full swing. Ethan White, rarely seen in a black suit, moved with ease among the elegantly dressed guests under his uncle's guidance.

A business rival grabbed his uncle, making a sly joke with a smile: "Chairman Bai finally got his dear nephew back. Now you can finally catch your breath a little—I'm so envious!"

The current chairman of Baihe Group was actually just over fifty, short, chubby, and round-faced, with a rather cheerful look—though his smile was tinged with bitterness.

"That's right, that's right, I've been thinking of retiring and enjoying my golden years, and now it's finally coming true! Hahaha—"

"Is it really, though?" In a corner of the lavish party, someone whispered, "The old man has kids of his own. Would he really just watch his nephew take over the family business?"

Someone in the know nearby chuckled quietly: "What do you know? The business was built by Ethan White's parents in the first place. Before they passed, they left absolute controlling shares to their only son. It was only because he was underage at the time that his uncle got the chance to be his guardian..."

"But the old man wouldn't just hand over the reins, would he? He can't outmaneuver his nephew?"

Not far away, Ethan White mingled through the party, tall and strikingly handsome, but his insincere demeanor and perfunctory smile betrayed his boredom and impatience.

"Who knows? There are plenty of second-generation heirs who look good on the outside but are rotten within." The earlier speaker curled his lips subtly. "The Bai family business is going to get interesting..."

"—Oh, isn't this President Zhang? Let me introduce myself!"

Ethan White grabbed a business rival who had come just to watch the show, and with his other hand slapped the man's shoulder heartily, as if greeting a long-lost uncle: "Back in kindergarten, your son and I were closer than real brothers. After school, we'd always team up to catch your prized arowana. That 200,000-yuan crossback arowana? I personally taught your son how to grill it. Do you still remember the taste, President Zhang? Hahahaha—"

Poor President Zhang's smile was already twisted: "My son is an adult now, much more mature, and no longer so reckless..."

"I know, I know," Ethan White interrupted enthusiastically, "I remember your son spent that summer after kindergarten graduation practicing touching live wires at home, and after being beaten into the hospital for two months, he really matured a lot. Live and learn, right? Hahahaha—"

Live and learn, my ass! You were the ringleader playing with the sockets, you little bastard!

Chairman Bai hurriedly pulled his dear nephew away, finally rescuing the business rival on the verge of exploding, and forced a fake smile: "President Zhang, don't mind him. He doesn't know any better, he's still a kid. I'll be sure to teach him a lesson later."

A twenty-seven-year-old kid, my ass!!