Homo Sapiens

On the other side of the Earth.

In faraway Europe.

In Munich, Germany, the night was still and silent.

A certain tank-top-wearing man, who preferred to remain "offline" year-round, was thoughtlessly indulging himself in a lavish hotel.

As for the family business thousands of miles away, it was as if it didn't even exist in his mind.

After a round of strenuous ball games, he was now leisurely soaking in a large bathtub, attended by his servants. A look of utter relaxation was on his horse-like face:

"A little harder on the left shoulder."

"Yes!" a delicate voice chirped in the bathroom.

Another servant asked softly, "The fruit platter is ready. Shall I bring it in?"

"Mm, bring some grapes."

"Right away."

Just then, as the hot bath stimulated his circulation, he began to feel drowsy. Before he could even climb out of the tub, a sharp palpitation seized his heart.

HUFF... HUFF... He clutched his chest with a trembling hand.

The servant massaging his shoulders was startled by the sudden turn of events and screamed, "Someone, help! Something's happened!"

A moment later, a crowd of frantic servants, along with two of his wives—who had just finished their own "strenuous exercise"—rushed into the main room.

Two private doctors were already attempting to resuscitate him.

But seeing the looks on the doctors' faces, a shadow of dread fell over everyone's hearts.

Dr. House, performing CPR with a defibrillator, administered several shocks, but the man's chest remained perfectly still.

Half an hour later, by the time the ambulance from the Munich hospital arrived, it was all over.

Even as the paramedics from the ambulance joined the resuscitation efforts, the experienced Dr. House no longer held out any hope.

Still, he had to continue the procedure, at least until the Munich hospital's doctors were involved so they could announce the outcome together. This would save him from any trouble later on.

The man was taken to the emergency room at the Munich hospital.

Every possible method was used, but his heart had stopped completely, and his brain, deprived of oxygen, had already died.

Finally, Dr. House, along with several doctors from the Munich hospital, officially declared to the family that the patient had died due to cardiac arrest and cerebral hypoxia, as resuscitation efforts had been unsuccessful.

Although the two wives had been mentally prepared, the news of his death still felt like the sky was falling.

But news like this was impossible to contain. It was quickly relayed back by certain interested parties.

Those in the family with a claim to the inheritance could no longer sit still.

A war of open conflicts and hidden schemes for the Patriarch's seat erupted, catching all the heirs completely unprepared.

...

Siam.

Chiang Mai Province.

Inside a secret manor, Domino and Qiu Yingle, who were in the middle of a game of Go, both stopped in unison as they sensed a Soldier silently enter the room.

The Soldier handed them earpieces.

After putting in the earpieces, the corners of Domino's mouth lifted slightly. "The first step went very smoothly."

"It seems I need to go see my family," Qiu Yingle said, setting down a white Go stone and standing up.

"You won't go soft, will you?"

"What do you think, Domino?"

The two of them quickly left the manor.

At the Shinawatra Clan's ancestral lands in Chiang Mai Province, a motorcade slowly approached. The Shinawatra Clan, with its own private security force, naturally intercepted it.

But a moment later, Qiu Xinfa, the Shinawatra Clan's current decision-maker in Chiang Mai, appeared at the gate with his men and escorted one of the SUVs inside.

Only after entering the clan's core residential area did Ying Le step out of the SUV.

"Third Brother, it's been a while."

Qiu Xinfa looked at his younger sister with a complicated expression. "What are you doing back here? Don't you know the situation you're in?"

"It's not convenient to talk out here. Let's go inside," Qiu Yingle said with a smile, already walking in.

A short while later, the two of them arrived at the clan's secret ancestral hall, used for meetings.

Qiu Yingle offered three sticks of incense to the ancestral tablets before turning with a smile. "I came back this time with no intention of leaving again."

"Are you crazy? The Royal Group has its eyes on our family! The news of your return won't stay secret for long. Listen to your brother's advice—leave, quickly!" Qiu Xinfa said, growing anxious.

"The one in Munich... resuscitation efforts failed 30 minutes ago."

"What? What about Munich? Wait..." Qiu Xinfa suddenly realized what she meant, his eyes widening as he stared at his sister.

GULP! Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. "Sister... how do you know that?"

Qiu Xinfa was no fool. It was nighttime in Europe right now. Even if resuscitation had failed, the news wouldn't have traveled back from outside Asia so quickly.

"Third Brother, are you sure you want to know?" Qiu Yingle asked calmly in return.

His mind having already raced through a thousand possibilities, Qiu Xinfa took a deep breath. "HISS... HAAH... I don't care how he died. Let's just let this matter end here!"

"Why are you being so naive, Third Brother? Do you really think there are walls in this world that nothing can leak through?" Qiu Yingle lightly dabbed the altar table with her finger, which came away coated in a visible layer of dust.

"Look. Even this supposedly airtight ancestral hall is covered in a layer of dust."

Hearing this, the veins on Qiu Xinfa's forehead bulged. "What are you trying to do?"

"Third Brother will support me completely, won't you? Since we've already made a move, why not be more thorough?"

Qiu Xinfa was about to go mad with anger. "Are you insane? You think the Royal Group is so easy to topple? And what about the other side? They'll never let you make a comeback."

"Third Brother, do you think we have any way of turning back? Even if I die, they won't let the Shinawatra Clan off the hook in the future," Qiu Yingle said, still perfectly calm, as if stating some trivial matter.

That's right. Things had already come to this. Was there really any turning back for the Shinawatra Clan? Qiu Xinfa couldn't help but give a bitter smile.

Looking at her brother's uncertain expression, Qiu Yingle thought to herself, 'I'm so sorry, my brother. But without this do-or-die approach, how could I ever get you all to support me completely?'

Clearly, she was intentionally bluffing her third brother, Qiu Xinfa, forcing him to bet everything on a single throw.

As a child of a great clan, Qiu Yingle understood all too well their duplicitous nature and their tendency to have multiple bolt-holes. A weak medicine wouldn't cure this kind of spinelessness.

Forced into a corner, Qiu Xinfa had no choice but to ask, "Ying Le, I need to know your plan. If you can't convince me, I'll take the family and move to Xiangjiang and Malaysia."

"Don't worry too much, Third Brother. What you need to do now is summon the core members of the clan from all over to return to Chiang Mai. Then, we just need to sit back and watch a good show."

Qiu Xinfa was very dissatisfied with this ambiguous answer.

But when he opened his mouth to speak, he found that his sister was already walking out of the ancestral hall.

"Have them come back as soon as possible, Third Brother!"

"This is infuriating! You're too reckless!" Qiu Xinfa raged. In the end, however, he obediently went to make the calls, instructing the core members of the Shinawatra Clan throughout Siam to return to Chiang Mai within three days.

Meanwhile.

The Royal Group and the other various powers that had been keeping a close watch on the Shinawatra Clan suddenly had no time to spare for them.

As arguably the wealthiest family in the world, their massive fortune was a fatal temptation for anyone with a claim to the inheritance.

Furthermore, in Siam, the Zheng Family's influence was astonishingly vast. Who wouldn't want to wield world-shaking power and possess wealth that could rival a nation?

Other families and various factions, receiving the news one after another, reacted swiftly.

Some rushed to place their bets, hoping to become a Lv Buwei who invested in a rare commodity. Others planned to "hold the emperor hostage to command the nobles." And some simply chose to watch from the sidelines.

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