498: Chapter 493 There must be a master behind this.

"The throne of the Hossen Family is not a safe deposit box; it is a target."

"The moment you sit on it, you become a target for everyone."

"Your uncles and elder uncles smile at you today, but they will stab you in the back tomorrow."

Shen Yan's words offered no comfort; every syllable was a dose of poisoned reality.

"You have no confidants, no foundation, not even a single person who truly has your best interests at heart."

"What you possess now is just a title."

"A vague title that could be snatched away at any moment."

He did not continue speaking.

But the unsaid words descended upon Kevin's heart like a heavy shadow.

A puppet.

An heir without real power was no different in essence from a bird imprisoned in a cage.

The only difference was that the cage had grown larger and become more ornate.

Shen Yan stopped looking at him and walked straight toward the tavern door.

The heavy wooden door was pushed open and then slowly closed.

Completely separating the two worlds.

Shen Yan got into the car; the driver was already waiting by the roadside.

"Back to the hotel."

"Yes, Sir."

The car smoothly pulled into the night, merging with the never-extinguishing lights of Saint Luo Du.

Shen Yan leaned back in the rear seat and closed his eyes.

【Mission 'Freedom of the Caged Bird' Stage One: The Path of the Game, Completed.】

【Mission Completion Rate: S-Rank.】

【Reward Settlement in progress...】

【Reward Obtained: Advanced Intelligence, Latest Progress Report on Vision Dynamics Company.】

The system's prompt sounded in his mind, but Shen Yan's expression did not change in the slightest.

Everything was under control.

What concerned him was that piece of intelligence regarding Vision Dynamics Company.

That was the overseas force that had stolen the core framework of their artificial intelligence project.

Since they enjoyed stealing so much, he couldn't be blamed for retaliating in kind.

Inside the tavern.

Kevin sat alone in the booth, motionless for a long time.

The blues music continued to flow, like a dirge sung for a funeral of the old era.

He looked at his empty glass of juice.

Then he raised his hand and looked at his own palm.

There, it seemed, lingered the texture of the fabric from Shen Yan's sleeve.

Cold and hard.

Without a trace of warmth.

"Target..."

He softly murmured the word.

The shifting faces of his relatives from the meeting room flashed through his mind.

Apprehension, flattery, greed, calculation...

Every emotion was like a stringed arrow aimed at him, the new king.

Attacked from front and back.

Isolated and helpless.

These four words were clearly branded in his mind.

He could even imagine what kind of invisible battlefield the Hossen Family Manor would become starting tomorrow.

Despair?

No.

He suddenly smiled.

The corners of his mouth curved into a cold arc.

In that smile, there was no joy, no relief, only a madness and excitement born from being forced into a desperate situation, burning one's bridges.

Since he was already sitting at the card table.

Then, let's see who the final winner will be.

He drained the last bit of juice in his cup, stood up, and threw down a few bills.

He walked out of 'The Alchemist's Corner'.

The night wind of Saint Luo Du blew on his face; it was very cold.

But it made him feel unprecedentedly clear-headed.

He knew Shen Yan had already left.

That man was like a precise surgeon who had cut open his wound, excised the rot, and then turned to leave, not even deigning to look whether the patient lived or died.

The road ahead could only be walked by himself.

The next morning, at dawn.

The sky over Saint Luo Du was just beginning to lighten.

A massive storm had already swept across the entire city.

The front-page headline of the "Saint Luo Du Times" featured an explosive piece of news in the most conspicuous bold black font.

【Hossen Family Succession Changes Hands! Mysterious Youngest Son Kevin Hossen Returns, Andrew Hosen Expelled from the Family!】

This news exploded like a heavy bomb in the upper class of Saint Luo Du.

The newspaper lay on the breakfast tables of countless luxurious manors.

The aroma of coffee mixed with discussions of shock and disbelief.

"Kevin? Isn't that the young master who was rumored to have disappeared a long time ago?"

"Heavens, Andrew is finished! I spoke to him on the phone just yesterday!"

"The paper says Andrew is actually suspected of money laundering, blackmailing council members, and even... murdering his own kin?"

Immediately following, various rumors spread like a virus through different channels.

Andrew's ruthless methods of purging dissent within the Hossen Group.

The debauchery and disgrace of his private life.

The details of how he orchestrated various 'accidents' in an attempt to kill Kevin.

These pieces of information, some true and some false, were all embellished and vividly portrayed.

Overnight, Andrew, the once infinitely glorious eldest young master of the Hossen Family, became a rat crossing the street that everyone in Saint Luo Du cursed.

All his credit cards were frozen.

The high-end clubs he frequented put him on a permanent blacklist.

The fair-weather friends who flocked around him yesterday didn't even dare to answer his calls today.

When he tried to find a hotel to stay in, he discovered that not a single decent hotel in all of Saint Luo Du was willing to host him.

Everyone wanted to show their allegiance to the new heir.

And stepping on the fallen Andrew was undoubtedly the lowest-cost and most effective way to curry favor.

At the center of the storm, the Hossen Family Manor, however, presented a different scene.

The congratulatory calls had not stopped since dawn.

Invitations, like snowflakes, piled up on the butler's desk.

It seemed the entire Saint Luo Du wanted to get to know this new master of the Hossen Family who had risen overnight.

Meanwhile, in several other corners of the city, the true power brokers were engaging in their cold observation and precise analysis.

The library study in the Van Derlin Family's ancient castle.

One of the oldest families in Saint Luo Du, possessing deep roots.

Old Duke Van Derlin, an old man with white hair but eyes as sharp as an eagle, was handing a file to his most valued grandson, Julian.

"Look at this."

Julian took the file and quickly scanned it.

It contained all the publicly available information about Kevin Hossen.

"A coward who hid on a farm for several months?" Julian's tone carried a hint of disdain.

"Coward?"

The old Duke let out a cold laugh.

"Can a coward uproot the deeply established Andrew the day after returning to the family?"

"Julian, you still only look at the surface of things."

The old man's finger tapped the newspaper on the desk.

"This is not a family farce, nor is it some sibling revenge."

"This is a precise, surgical strike."

"Look at the entire process of Andrew's downfall: the chain of evidence is complete, public opinion was steered swiftly, and the subsequent severance was decisive."

"Every step seems to have been meticulously calculated."

"There is absolutely a mastermind behind this that we do not know about."