The announcement that he would be going up against two Stern family members at once, Bobo and her mother, Karen, might have sounded like a significant, even overwhelming threat to anyone else seeking power. But for Max, he was thinking the complete opposite. His mind immediately went to the complex financial data they had gathered, specifically the information detailing how much money each Stern family member had remaining in their reserves.
He knew a critical truth: both Bobo and Karen were financially bleeding money and were, in the grand scheme of the inheritance race, even less secure than Max, even after he factored in the aggressive investments he would have to make. Instead of viewing this situation as confronting two financial titans, each with a billion in reserves, he was calculating how he could leverage this deal to his advantage and gobble up all that remaining money for himself.
It will be impossible to get a hold of all of their finances without them fighting back fiercely, Max thought, his mind already sketching out ruthless, high-level corporate maneuvers. But if I did manage to get full control of all of their remaining capital, I can only imagine the boost in strength that I’ll gain. He paused in his contemplation, a terrifying ambition sparking in his eyes. With that level of power, I might even be able to fight against the White Tiger.
Right now, it was a little too early to come up with a concrete plan on how to systematically take Karen’s money, but the fact that he was now aware of her active involvement in Bobo’s affairs was incredibly handy information to have.
"While I still have you here," Max said, turning back to the nervous figure of Chad, "I wanted to ask you another question. What about the other Stern family members? I know you’ve said you don’t know much about them doing anything to me, or being involved in that incident that involved me. But in general, is there anything I should look out for from them, beyond their standard rivalry?"
Chad, relieved the focus was shifting away from his sister, shrugged his shoulders dismissively. His past life as a non-contender had afforded him a certain distance. "Honestly, all of them are a scary, ambitious bunch to deal with. Unlike me, they’re all absolutely hungry for that position at the top. I think they didn’t pay me much attention precisely because I never bothered with any of that high-stakes power stuff."
Max nodded in agreement. Chad’s disinterest was his armor, but it made him less useful for high-level intelligence. Since he wasn’t going to glean any more actionable, top-tier information from Chad, he signaled that the informal interrogation was over.
"Just a note, Max," Chad quickly injected, pointing to himself with a hopeful smile. "If things get too big for you, or if you ever need some serious help, I’m happy to be here. As long as my allowance increases, of course."
Max offered a cold, cutting answer. "If I need a business to utterly fail or crumble away into dust, then I’ll be happy to bring you along to help." Chad’s smile immediately faltered, understanding that Max viewed him only as a harbinger of failure, a fitting tool for corporate sabotage.
After waiting for only a short while longer, Aron returned to the secure floor. He was carrying a very sleek, heavy, and expensive-looking black box, holding it with the reverence one might reserve for a crown jewel.
When Max opened the box, he was greeted by the sight of his custom, tailor-made suit. Just like his familiar Billion Bloodline jacket, this entire ensemble was dominated by the color black. The meticulously tailored suit jacket was black, the perfectly fitted shirt was black, and the shoes and trousers were also a deep, rich black.
Donning the full outfit in one piece, it was immediately apparent that the suit was a flawless, perfect fit. The material was unlike any ordinary garment; the shirt, in particular, had incredible flexibility. This was not merely boardroom attire. Max knew that if he took off the suit jacket, he could still easily fight freely in it, using his Qi and combat skills without any restriction. It was the ultimate functional power suit.
"This is a lot better than the white clothes I used to wear that would always be stained with blood," Max commented, examining his reflection in the polished glass of the room’s inner door. The suit felt like a transformation.
His casual reference to his bloody past caused Aron to visibly raise an eyebrow, but the security chief remained silent and professional. Aron then prepared another, smaller box, which contained the final, most crucial piece of the Chairman uniform.
When Max opened it, he saw his reflection staring back at him, a reflection distorted by the object within. He lifted the item and a genuinely large smile spread across his face.
"This is the special mask I ordered, right?" Max said, his voice filled with satisfaction. He lifted it and then strapped it immediately onto his face. It sealed around the back of his head, securely tightening magnetically.
It wasn’t just any mask; it was a state-of-the-art special digital mask. The exterior facing the world was a seamless sheet of black glass. No one, not Bobo, not Karen, not anyone, could see what the person looked like on the inside, thereby fully obscuring Max’s identity. Yet, Max himself could see clearly everything on the outside through the specialized internal display.
He could even activate an LED light system on the mask to project subtle expressions, conveying approval or sternness without ever showing his true face. When speaking, a white, digital mouth would move along with his words, and the digital eyes would blink and react. It was quite the nifty thing, especially for covering up his identity during such an important meeting.
With the voice changer he also planned to use, Max had decided that since these were such important, potentially world-altering transactions, they should truly meet the Chairman of these events. With the mask and the voice alteration, he would be able to meet his own family members without them knowing a single, solitary thing about who was truly sitting across from them.
"Why always a mask?" Warma commented, walking in to view the finished look, looking slightly bewildered. "You look like some kind of superhero, but one that wears a very expensive suit."
"Well, I wanted it all to match," Max answered simply, adjusting the fit of the digital mask with a satisfied twitch of his jaw.
What he meant, though he didn’t need to explain it to Warma, was that since he was the Black Ranger, the powerful figure who fought in the shadows, he wanted everything else to be black in terms of being the Chairman. No one would ever be able to put the two things together; the terrifying corporate mogul and the dark, street-level vigilante. The identities were designed to be mutually exclusive.
"Aron, unfortunately, you won’t be able to be by my side for this," Max instructed his bodyguard, knowing Aron’s distinctive presence was too familiar. "Otherwise, it will be far too obvious that it’s me. So, I’ll be taking Na and Warmato this meeting. Don’t worry too much about me."
With his new, sleek uniform complete and his mind sharpened by Chad’s grudging insights, the Chairman, Max, was finally ready to head off and talk to Bobo Stern and her mother.