Meanwhile, in the president's office of the Mercer Group.
Lance sat at his desk, handling company documents. At that moment, his phone rang; it was an unfamiliar international number. He frowned slightly, then seemed to remember something and put the phone to his ear.
"This is Lance."
"I heard you were looking for me."
If Deanna were present, she would recognize the voice as her master's, Gunner. Lance also confirmed Gunner's identity upon hearing this and said in a deep voice, "I want to know how many forces are eyeing the special medicine."
"So, what do you plan to do about them?" Gunner didn't answer directly but instead voiced Lance's thoughts.
Lance didn't deny it. "It's only polite to return the favor, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Gunner chuckled lightly. "As expected of the King, you have a temper."
After a moment of praise, his voice turned serious. "I don't deny that your influence on the international stage is significant, but if you think you can shake those old families with it, you're far from it. You might even provoke them into a frenzied retaliation."
Lance narrowed his eyes silently. He wasn't surprised that his hidden identity was exposed. If such information couldn't be found out, he would doubt the Martinez family's capabilities as a reclusive family.
Of course, he understood Gunner's point, which was to suggest he should grow stronger before provoking those people. But he wasn't one to swallow his anger!
Others had already provoked him; if he didn't retaliate, wouldn't that make him seem easy to bully?
"I can't shake those old families now, but causing some small troubles one by one is still easy. Besides, don't you want to vent some anger for your disciple?"
This last sentence left Gunner with no room to refuse. "Alright, you've convinced me. I'll send the list to your phone shortly."
After speaking, he hung up. Shortly after, Lance received the list from him. Looking at the names listed, Lance's eyes filled with coldness. He selected one family and forwarded the list with a message.
"After today, I want this family to face endless troubles."
Almost immediately after sending the message, Lance received a reply with just one word-Understood!
On the other side, Brent was about to leave after inspecting the research institute. He looked at the bodyguards responsible for protecting him and said, "I need to handle some matters regarding the Martinez family next. Someone there will protect me; you can go back."
The bodyguards hesitated.
Brent understood their concerns and reassured them, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Besides, no outsiders are allowed near the Martinez family."
Hearing this, the bodyguards had no choice but to leave. Watching them depart, Brent breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, a black car with a license plate engraved with the character "Martinez" stopped in front of him. As soon as he got in, the car started moving.
Brent had just settled in when a cold voice reached his ears.
"The previous plan failed; you didn't get the special medicine data. The master is very angry!"
Beside Brent sat a man wearing a black hooded cloak, making it impossible to discern his figure; only his voice indicated he was a man.
Brent seemed somewhat afraid of him. His previously straight back was now hunched like a slave before his master.
The man continued without waiting for Brent to speak. "The master wants you to steal the data as soon as possible."
"But sir, if I steal the data now, my identity might be exposed," Brent said hesitantly.
The man looked at him coldly and sneered. "But I heard that Gunner's disciple trusts you very much. Among all the researchers at the institute, she chose none but kept you by her side. With such trust, if you handle it well, you won't be exposed."
Despite this, Brent didn't fully agree with the man's plan. He tried to persuade him. "Sir, you may not know this, but Gunner encrypted the data he gave his disciple. Deanna has almost cracked the code now. I think we can wait until they fully decrypt it before taking action. Moreover, the current lab is much stricter than before. Even with Deanna's trust, smuggling things out is extremely difficult and still carries exposure risks. If that happens, I won't be able to provide information about the Martinez family to our master."
He said this last part deliberately to emphasize his usefulness.
The man naturally picked up on this. He turned his head and stared deeply at Brent.
Meeting those fierce eyes, Brent's muscles tensed up completely.
...