Kelvin nodded in relief. "That's good. As for my second rule, it is to stop doing anything that isn't producing and selling drugs."
"Let me be clear. I want you to quit kidnapping and trafficking random people. But I still want you to continue looking for targets to kidnap. Only this time, you will kidnap them after you've confirmed that they have a powerful ability."
"So in summary, focus on the supply of drugs. Continue to search for targets to kidnap and only kidnap powerful targets. Inform me when you've found these powerful targets. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, boss. We will do as you say."
He nodded and continued, "The last rule is to keep the business of our cabal a secret. I don't like snitches, and anyone that blabs to outsiders will be punished. The matters of the Dollar Cabal will remain within the Dollar Cabal. I hope I have made myself clear."
They were quick to reply, "Very clear, boss. As clear as water. Your rules are important and easy to follow."
He ignored their flattery and said, "Short of those three rules, I won't interfere in your normal operation. I only care about the money."
"To encourage you to make more money, I will rank all 12 of you every month. I will only take 50% of the total earnings of the top 6. The rest of you underachievers will have to give me 60%."
"That is all I have to say. Do you have any questions?"
They had a lot of questions. But they weren't sure they should say it. They looked at each other uncertainly. They wanted someone to go first, but no one was willing to bite the bullet. So they all turned to Red Dream and urged her with their eyes.
She sighed and stepped forward. First she bowed. Then she asked, "Boss Dollar. I have a question. It is concerning the first two rules. May I be allowed to speak?"
He beaconed for her to continue, so she did. She said, "We would like to expand our business, but we face some difficulties. The main difficulty we face is market saturation. Demand for drugs is limited. If we want to increase our market share, we will have to offend a lot of people. They will resist and might even attack us. This could lead to a war that could damage..."
He waved away her concerns. "Don't worry about offending people. Just tell me when you face a difficult opponent. I will eliminate them immediately."
She nodded, "Yes, boss."
Then she continued. "There is another problem. It is concerning the supply of raw materials needed to produce our drugs. Some of us need one thing or another for production. The supply of those raw materials is limited too. If we want to expand our business, we will definitely have to clash with others. This could lead to war..."
Kelvin interrupted her again. "I already said that you can go ahead with doing anything required to expand your business. I will remove any troublesome person for you. It is my duty as the leader of this cabal."
He chuckled and said, "I can't just take your money without doing anything, right? Right?"
No one laughed at first. They didn't realize fast enough that he was making a joke. But then they saw him look at them expectantly, so they squeezed every muscle in their body to produce different sounds of amusement.
Their laughter was dry, cold, and cheerless. But he didn't mind. Just the act of forcing themselves to laugh was good enough for him.
He nodded and asked them, "Any more questions?"
They shook their heads in reply.
Red Dream's two questions had covered most of the issues they had with his rules. It had also solved the major reasons why they hadn't expanded in the past.
Their new boss might like money, but so do they. They too would have liked to expand their business in the future. But they lacked the strength. Now that the major issue of strength has been resolved, they can expand without worry.
Kelvin clapped. "It is good that we have sorted all of these out. I want detailed information on your current assets and value. I will give you one day to get me this information. Then I will give you a month to triple the size of your business."
"I said a month. I will review your performance after a month, and if I find it lacking, it will give me an opportunity to have you tortured. So if I were you, I would begin drafting plans to expand and executing them as soon as you return to your bases."
"You should put those heads of yours, which are good for scheming, to work as soon as possible. After this month, I will let you stabilize your business. Maybe after a year, if I am still alive, we will begin another round of expansion. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, boss."
He clapped and stood up. "Good. If you have any problems or issues that you want to discuss with me, you can reach out to me through the spikes in your mind. Those spikes will work from anywhere. Don't tamper with them in any way, or you will be punished severely."
"That should be all. Let us leave."
He began to walk out. But then he stopped when he remembered something.
He groaned and said, "I almost forgot. We need to take care of the mess that you've created with the Justice League."
They began to plead, "We are sorry, boss. We were very wrong."
Snake Eyes looked ready to tear up again. So Kelvin quickly stopped them from apologizing.
He said, "Stop it. It is just a small issue. I can take care of it. Besides, I am the boss. It is my duty to clean up your mess."
They began to fawn over him. "Boss Dollar is right as always."
"We are lucky to have you, boss."
"We don't deserve you, boss."
"Boss, your kindness is as high as the sky."
He shook his head and said, "What would you guys do without me?"