Under the Veil of Night

Kanae sat down calmly as the man began his explanation regarding the potential business in this city at the moment. They were talking about how to develop the city by investing in entertainment. Thinking about the various businesses in the Nali Family, Kanae felt a headache coming.

The family business had branched into several industries since a long time ago.

"I think this proposal is good. We can release more advertisements to promote the entertainment industry to divert the attention of the people," one of the representatives spoke out.

Some others began to voice their opinions. Kanae shook her head internally. Increasing funds in the entertainment industry wouldn't be good at this time. The risks were too high because they would need to protect their artists during this chaotic time.

It would be better if they just focused more on safety and transportation.

"What about the Nali Family's opinion?"

The moment that was said, everyone turned their heads to look at Kanae. Kanae smiled slightly. She was about to answer when an elder not far from her spoke out.

"Regarding that, the Nali Family wishes to…"

"Silence."

The sudden interruption caused the elder to shut his mouth in surprise. He had never heard Laura speak so harshly before. In the past, the young girl did argue, but she never raised her voice to give a strict order like that. Turning his head to face her, he could see the cold look on the young girl's face.

Chills ran down his spine.

He quickly calmed himself down as he put on a smile on his face. He felt as if he were seeing things since he had never seen Laura become angry before.

"Miss, I'm the one who manages the entertainment…"

"Have I given you permission to speak on behalf of the Nali Family?" Kanae asked. It was the norm for the family head to make the decisions. They might ask for the elders' opinions if they were unfamiliar with the topic, but when the family head was present, the elders should wait until she gave them permission to speak. Otherwise, they should just stay silent.

The elder was stunned. "You..."

"The Nali Family doesn't wish to participate in the development of the entertainment industry at this time," Kanae cut off the elder and spoke out clearly.

Everyone present was stunned. Most of them often talked ambiguously to make sure that they gave themselves leeway in case things didn't happen according to their wishes. However, the little girl in front of them directly rejected the notion without thinking twice.

Her decisiveness was remarkable.

"Continue," Kanae waved her hand.

The elders were confused, but the businesspeople continued their discussion. Every time the elders wished to speak out, Kanae would beat them to it. She gave them cold looks and soon afterwards, no one dared to question her anymore. Even though she was only sitting there, they felt the pressure she exuded.

It was astonishing.

While the discussion was still ongoing, Neo rubbed his chin in wonder. "I didn't know Laura was this decisive."

"It's not Laura."

"Boss?" Neo looked at Kevin bewilderedly, but Kevin didn't answer him.

His eyes were locked on Kanae. Truthfully, he only came because Neo had asked him to help take care of the company matters a bit. Thanks to the sudden fall of the Tamari Clan, the situation in the city has been quite chaotic. Neo was unable to handle the work in both the clan and the company alone.

He thought that this meeting would be fruitless, but little did he expect to see Kanae here. Though, her appearance differed greatly.

"Next is Kale Company."

"Thank you," Neo stood up. "We mainly focus on the construction sector and lately, there has been a sudden influx in demand. Because of that, we wish to build more connections…"

Neo explained how they wished to be able to have branches in other areas of the city. He hoped for their cooperation and at the same time, he would give them discounts on their own projects. After all, with all the destruction previously, his company has been working tirelessly to make sure that they could supply enough construction material.

"That sounds like a waste of time. Are you suggesting that the city is going to be in for more battle?"

Neo smiled wryly. "Of course, it's not like we hope for that to happen. However, there's a high possibility that there may be more battles in the future. The reconstruction cost won't be small."

He had wished to expand the business for some time, but Kevin prohibited him from using the clan's funds because he was planning to use them for something else. As a result, he could only rely on the company's profits, which was still far from enough for an expansion. He hoped to have outside cooperation, especially from the three big families, and this time, he hoped for Nali Family's cooperation.

"The Nali Family agrees with your proposal," Kanae directly agreed, which nearly made Neo stumble. "The elders will negotiate with you about the details, but we'll surely support you regarding the necessary supply and transportation. As for safety, we hope that you can handle it yourselves."

"That'll be more than enough," Neo beamed. Safety? He could just gather some Ryukalin Clan members to help out. No ordinary gangs would be able to do anything to them.

All of the elders looked at Kanae perplexedly. They felt as if they were facing a completely different person. Even though Laura has never been a pushover, she usually maintained a respectful attitude towards the elders in front of other people. But now, she didn't even care for their faces and made her decision right away.

There were several other proposals but Kanae only accepted a few of them. Many of them didn't make sense according to the situation of the city, so she didn't agree.

"Alright, it's already noon, so we shall end the meeting today," the grand elder suddenly spoke out. "For the companies with which we agree to cooperate, please come back here after lunch. We'll discuss your proposals in more detail then."

"Thank you everyone."

"Good work."

The grand elder nodded and then looked at the elders. "Before that, all elders of the Nali Family stay behind."

This time, they didn't directly agree and looked over to Kanae. From the way she behaved before, they knew that she wished for them to listen to her words first before saying anything.

Kanae nodded. "Stay behind."

The grand elder's eyes flashed for a split second. The moment everyone else exited and the door closed, he banged the table before him.

Bang!

"Can someone tell me the meaning of Family Head's actions just now?"

"That… She's just being willful, Grand Elder," one of the elders spoke out. "Because of her youth, she forgot how to…"

"Before you start slighting me, let me make one thing clear: am I your family head or not?" Kanae looked coldly at the elder who spoke out. Her small body seemed to emit a dangerous aura as she smirked. "Do you really think that I'm easy to bully because I'm still young?"

"No! We never…"

"Why did you not tell me anything about this grand meeting before today then?" Kanae knew every important event in the Nali Family because of Laura and that sister of hers never told her about this. This made her certain that they never told Laura about this to make fun of her as the family head. They wished to make her unable to speak at all.

"That…"

One elder looked at the others. "They're the ones who planned this! I'm innocent, Family Head."

"Why are you blaming us? We didn't do this on purpose."

"Yes! We just…."

Bang!

"If you keep on talking, I'll cut off your tongues," the grand elder spoke indifferently, yet his gaze was cold. "Write up a 100-page report each. I wish to see them by tonight."

Tonight?

The elders felt treated like students. Moreover, 100 pages? It would already be good enough to type five pages in an hour; now they have to create much more?

They knew that this grand elder just wished to punish them.

"But…"

"200 pages by tomorrow midnight."

"That's unfair!"

"300 pages in three days."

The elders' faces twitched. They knew that their grand elder would just keep increasing the number whenever they argued back. If this continued, they wouldn't be able to carry out their normal duties at all.

"We understand, Grand Elder."

"If you don't write it by hand, I won't read it and you can get out of the family," the grand elder added.

"… We understand."

Deflated in defeat, everyone walked out with their heads hung low. They knew that they wouldn't be able to sleep at all for the next few days.

The grand elder humped and turned to look at Kanae.. "Even though so, you shouldn't have meddled like that, Kanae."