My Substitute CEO Bride

Vizimir returned to the Booth family's grand estate, looking quite dejected. At that moment, the heads of the Heifer and Patel families were also present.

After Vizimir recounted his encounter, they knew that there was a formidable expert involved. However, given that each of them was eyeing the divine position, they felt a bit relieved as well. With an outsider now in the mix, there was no immediate need to turn against one another.

Ronald Patel, the head of the Patel family, stepped forward and said with a laugh, "Haha, no worries. Since that's the case, there's no rush to compete for the divine position. We should first assess the strength of all the contestants, don't you think?"

The other two family heads quickly agreed.

John Booth, the head of the Booth family, agreed with Ronald's viewpoint vehemently, "You're absolutely right."

After all, with the outcome still undecided, the Booth family needed to bide their time. Once Vizimir secured the divine position, John would not care about the Heifer or Patel families.

Zefir Heifer, the head of the Heifer family, remained silent, merely nodding in agreement.

Ronald was not a fool-the other two's intentions were written all over their faces. For now, the divine position was the top priority. The Patel family planned to hold back until the final moment, hoping to seize the ultimate advantage when the time was right.

At that moment, the eldest daughter of the Heifer family, Zoe, entered the room. "Greetings, esteemed family heads," she said politely.

"Alright, Zoe. Tell us the results of your investigation," the Heifer family's head instructed.

Zoe pulled out a list.

"This is a list of all the individuals currently in possession of bracelets based on the investigations I've conducted. Please take a look," she said, handing out copies to the family heads.

Ronald, the head of the Patel family, was the first to speak after reviewing the list. "Excellent! Zoe, you and Viz should go and apply pressure on those smaller families. We'll start with rational persuasion, but if they don't comply, we'll have to resolve this through the competition."

Both Zoe and Vizimir lowered their heads in acknowledgment. "Understood, sir!"noveldrama

Zoe knew exactly what Ronald

meant. The combined power of the three major families would be enough to force the smaller families to withdraw. His words made it clear that thei goal was to ensure the smaller families did not participate in the competition. As Zoe reviewed theist carefully, she noticed that aside from two or three ordinary individuals, most were members of smaller families that could easily be controlled by the three major families. This meant they could eliminate these competitors without expending any effort.

Zoe was not particularly concerned. She had long been aware that a conflict of interest between the Heifer, Zas, and Patel families was inevitable. Additionally, the head of the Heifer family had already instructed her to keep a close watch on Vizimir at all times.

The power struggle between the three families was bound to plunge Laikaa into chaos. Ronald's ability to swiftly arrange a meeting with the heads of the two other families

suggested that he had already net

anticipated the outcome. Despite the ongoing preparations, the Patel family's chosen competitor still remained to be seen. Zoe had to constantly monitor their

movements.

However, none of the major players had anticipated that the real threat might come from the lower levels of the city. While there were only around 300 contestants from the upper levels, there were 600 participants in the lower levels, and they presented a significant challenge.

Dusky observed everything from above. He had not expected the three major families of Laikaa to move so quickly, mere hours after the competition rules were

announced. This piqued his interest in the unfolding events.

"Laikaa seems like an interesting place..." he mused.

At that moment, a faint wisp of energy reached Dusky's ear.

"What's up, Dusky?"

"When are you coming back?"

"It'll be a while, about two and a half days by the Netherworld's time."

"You'd better not be seeing another woman while you're out..."

"What? Do you really think I'm that kind of person?"

"Of course not... I just... I mean..."

"Alright, alright. I'll bring you a gift when I get back."

"A gift? But you can't bring things from the mortal realm here..."

"You'll see when the time comes. Anyway, gotta go for now."