Treasury Key

After a series of events including weapon testing, cooperation talks, a banquet, and a ball, the banquet organized by Count Altair today has finally concluded.

They all agreed, or were forced to agree, to the conditions he proposed: starting tomorrow, all factories would be integrated, and the acquisition of land near the industrial zone to build new factories would commence.

Once everything is successfully completed, the remaining 69% of the shares will be distributed equally based on each party's contribution.

Count Altair himself will hold a fixed 31% of the shares, but this comes at a price: he needs to guarantee the future weapon research and development work.

If not for the various weapon blueprints presented in the meeting room, he might not have secured such a large share.

Standing at the door, seeing off Owen Donovan and Heather Grant, Count Altair returned to the living room and found Uncle Leif still smoking a "cigar."

Upon seeing Count Altair enter, Leif directly put the cigar into the ashtray and extinguished it. "It seems you've truly grown up. The way you debated with those old guys in the meeting room just now was excellent. That puts my mind at ease."

Hearing this, Count Altair recalled his spirited demeanor in the meeting room and couldn't help but shake his head in resignation.

He thought to himself that before his transmigration, he was just a university student who had just entered society and faced constant setbacks. Who would have thought that after only three months here, he would have grown so much?

Indeed, one must have a solid foundation to get things done. Now, he considered the "Sheffield Family and Leif Strauss" as his foundation, and he even liked this feeling. Has my inner self begun to change and adapt to this society?

While he was lost in thought, Leif directly stood up, patted the non-existent dust off his clothes, walked up to Count Altair, and patted his shoulder, reminding him to snap out of it.

Once Count Altair's mind returned, Leif directly took a "Black Metal Shard" from his inner jacket pocket and handed it to him.

Looking at the object being handed over, Count Altair instinctively took it. Upon receiving the "black metal shard," he clearly felt a sense of familiarity. He looked down, stroking it, and asked, "Uncle Leif, what is this? Why do I feel a special bloodline connection to this metal shard? It's like... a 'kin,' but this is clearly just an unknown piece of metal."

Leif was not surprised by Count Altair's question. He calmly said, "You should have entered your family's treasury by now, and you should know that there's a treasury within the treasury."

"This metal shard is the key to opening it. As for why you feel a sense of familiarity, it's because 'it' is a part of you."

"To ensure family inheritance, families like ours create 'keys' using the blood of direct bloodline children at birth and entrust them to trusted individuals for safekeeping. When the child grows up, the guardian will hand the key over to 'them'."

"If 'they' do not meet the guardian's expectations after reaching adulthood, the next generation's bloodline succession will be forcibly initiated to ensure the prosperity of the bloodline."

"Your performance today has greatly satisfied me. I've decided to give you the treasury 'key' in advance."

"As for how to open the treasury, it's simple. Hold the metal shard and press it against the 'gate.' 'It' will automatically absorb blood to confirm your identity."

The atmosphere had been quite silent, but when Count Altair heard about using blood to "open the gate," he suddenly looked up. "This key, does it need to absorb blood every time the gate is opened?"

Leif Strauss replied helplessly to his "grand-nephew... grand-niece's" question, "That is indeed the case."

Count Altair inwardly condemned the backward design of this "Bloodline Lock." Who the hell designed such a torturous thing?

Seeing Count Altair's clearly displeased expression, Leif also remembered his own experience and sighed that the feeling was truly satisfying. But he also cursed inwardly, "The designer of this lock is truly 'inhumane'."

Meanwhile, inside a magnificent and imposing church, rows of figures with humanoid outlines, whose faces could not be seen, were seated.

One of them sneezed twice consecutively. The person next to "him" seemed to have anticipated this, knowing what would happen, and easily dodged the saliva sprayed from "his" mouth, then disdainfully patted their non-existent clothes.

The person sitting opposite them directly addressed the being in the head seat:

"I strongly request a seat change. 'He' always does this. After so many years, I really can't stand it anymore."

This statement caused the solemn church to erupt. Various humanoid figures began to persuade him, suggesting he sit elsewhere, or refusing the proposal.

After seeing Uncle Leif off, there were no more outsiders in the manor.

Hahn came to the living room and approached Count Altair. "Count Altair, all arrangements for the manor are complete. The carriage is waiting at the entrance, and we can depart from here and return to the Queen District manor."

Hearing this, Count Altair nodded to Hahn and said, "I am very satisfied with the work you've done today. To demonstrate the Sheffield Family's preferential treatment of servants, I permit 'Clayton' to participate in this plan. But please remember not to take too much, as it will arouse resentment from others."

Without waiting for Hahn to react, Count Altair left the living room, headed for the entrance, and departed by carriage.

Upon entering the carriage, he noticed Vera smiling broadly. He thought to himself, It seems this guy ate quite a lot in the kitchen today.

Time moved forward in an orderly fashion. Three days had passed since Count Altair proposed his plan. The land for the new industrial zone had already been purchased, and workers were being gathered to begin construction of the new zone using the blueprints provided by Count Altair.

In just three days, this new industrial zone had already covered an area of 15 kilometers and was still expanding.

During these three days, due to Count Altair's actions, some people "became rich overnight," some went bankrupt, or some directly lost their lives. A series of fortunes and disasters struck the tranquil city of Bexland, creating ripples of various colors.

The "Instigator" potion within him began to digest slowly. At the current pace, it would only take another month to complete the "acting."

These actions naturally attracted the attention of others. From tabloid reporters to members of the upper house, everyone wanted to enter the manor, but Count Altair refused them all, citing indisposition.

Some people, having learned through special channels about the positioning of this industrial park, continuously sent gifts and letters requesting to join this carnival.

Count Altair directly handed these matters over to Hahn to take to Uncle Leif and the others, letting them decide.