Just as Charles finished devouring the food in front of him, a knock at the door interrupted his meal.
He went to the door and opened it, finding Ginny standing there. He asked, "What's going on?"
Ginny entered the room with excitement and said, "Boss, your investment is about to pay off big time! Tony Stark just held a press conference announcing the closure of the weapons manufacturing division of Stark Industries in the near future."
"With his announcement, Stark Industries' stock prices plummeted. Boss, you're going to make a fortune! But when should we sell our short positions to profit?"
Charles thought for a moment, recalling the movie's events. It seemed like the stock dropped by around 41 or 45 points.
After a brief pause, Charles replied, "Sell everything when the stock price drops by 40 points, and then use the proceeds to buy."
Hearing Charles's response, Ginny wasn't surprised. She trusted Charles's judgment, considering his track record of miraculous abilities. She walked closer to Charles and placed a hand on his shoulder.
In a gentle voice, she asked, "Boss, is this another one of your mysterious abilities?"
As Ginny touched his shoulder and leaned in close, Charles felt a strange sensation. He could smell her perfume, and for a moment, he was tempted to do something. But before he could act, Iruka appeared at the door, locking eyes with Charles.
It turned out that when Ginny had entered, neither of them had closed the door properly, and Iruka had followed shortly after. Now, he raised his hand to knock on the door as they exchanged puzzled glances.
Finally, Iruka broke the awkward silence by knocking on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
Hearing the knocking, Ginny quickly stood up, realizing she had forgotten to close the door properly. She felt slightly embarrassed, as she had almost made a move on Charles.
As Iruka approached, he expressed his apologies, "I'm sorry to disturb you, Lord Charles, but there's something important I need to discuss with you."
Hearing Iruka's words, Charles couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. He thought, "You know you're disturbing me, and you almost ruined the moment I had with Ginny."
However, he maintained a calm expression and replied, "Iruka, you haven't disturbed me. I assume you have something important to discuss if you're looking for me at this hour."
Iruka nodded and explained, "Lord Charles, there are two guests outside. One is Bowery King, and the other is Kingpin. They both came to see you."
Upon hearing the names of these two visitors, Charles's fleeting sentiment was immediately pushed aside. He realized that there were more important matters at hand than his romantic interests.
Charles said, "Iruka, please take me to meet them."
Arriving in the lobby of his office, Charles looked at the two individuals seated on the couch and greeted them with a smile, saying, "Hello, my friends. Welcome."
Both of them returned the greeting with smiles.
Charles then instructed, "Iruka, please take Kingpin to the meeting room first. I'd like to have a quick word with the Bowery King."
Iruka approached Kingpin and said, "Please follow me, Mr. Kingpin."
Kingpin nodded and followed Iruka to the meeting room.
With Kingpin gone, Charles was alone with the Bowery King, who knelt on one knee and presented a hard drive, saying, "Elder Charles, I have completed your request. The data you wanted is on this drive."
Charles walked up to the Bowery King, took the external hard drive in his hand, and said slowly, "I can see your sincerity. The Bowery District still belongs to you."
The Bowery King remained on one knee, his right hand over his chest as he solemnly swore, "I will forever pledge my loyalty to the High Table and Elder Charles, even to the death."
Charles nodded in acknowledgment and said, "Very well, I accept your loyalty. You may leave now. If there are any tasks that require your assistance, the Adjudicator will contact you."
Hearing Charles's words, the Bowery King stood up from the floor and turned to leave the room.
As he opened the door to the meeting room, Charles noticed something on the table that caught his attention – a bottle of 50-year-old Macallan whiskey.
He had expected Kingpin to have it delivered by Charon, but it seemed that Kingpin had brought it himself.
Charles walked into the meeting room, took a seat on the couch, and instructed Iruka, "Please fetch a blank contract scroll. I believe Kingpin has a commission to discuss today."
"Of course, Lord Charles," Iruka replied before leaving to prepare the contract scroll.
With a moment to himself, Charles addressed Kingpin, "So, Kingpin, have you made up your mind about your final decision?"
Kingpin paused for a moment, then asked, "Charles, what price do I need to pay if I want to eliminate the entire Hand in New York and kill Madame Gao?"
Charles wasn't surprised by Kingpin's request. He knew that Kingpin would eventually break ties with the Hand and Madame Gao, although he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
It was possible that the marker he had given Kingpin had given him the confidence to confront the Hand.
Charles didn't answer directly but instead asked, "You've probably heard about the Hand's mystique. An organization that has been around since the 16th century and has never changed its leadership. You understand how deep this rabbit hole goes, even without me saying it."
"What do you think is a fair price for severing one of the Hand's five fingers?"
Hearing Charles's words, Kingpin began to contemplate. He was well aware of the Hand's terrifying reputation, and he had heard rumors about the Hand's five fingers that never died. Although he couldn't verify those rumors, he knew there was truth to them.
After a moment of thought, Kingpin, with his net worth of several billion dollars, said, "I'll offer 2 billion dollars, but I demand that the Hand's presence in the United States be completely eradicated, and Madame Gao must be killed."
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