Chapter 1006, Destroy the House

There were only four people in the Cafiora family's meeting room.

Angel, with the three heads of the family.

After she finished stating her so-called conditions, the three people in charge could no longer control their expressions, and their faces inevitably turned ugly.

The atmosphere in the meeting room became silent and tense.

But the more tense they became, the more relaxed Angel seemed, as if he couldn't see the occasional fierce glint in their eyes.

She crossed her legs, placed her hands in front of her lower abdomen, and spoke to the three members of the Cafiora family in a rather leisurely manner:

"Actually, you only have three choices now."

“You can give the order for your family guards to rush in, kill me, and then expect those guards to protect you as you break out of the mansion.”

"However, you might not be able to kill me. After all, I have undergone rigorous special agent training and achieved excellent results. My crisis escape training is the highest among my peers. You can try and see if I can escape."

"Secondly, it wouldn't matter if I died here or was kidnapped by you. The elite officers from the Ministry of Justice outside have been ordered that if you use force, they will mercilessly eliminate all lives inside the encirclement, regardless of whether I am still alive."

"In the end, even if one of your few people manages to escape by sheer luck, what's the point? All your properties will still be seized and confiscated by the state. You'll just be left to eke out a living in the shadows alongside those hiding rebels. In the end, there won't be any difference."

After hearing her words, the three people present did not change their somber expressions.

They might have already torn Angel to pieces in their hearts, but they could all have imagined what Angel was saying. They never truly considered turning against him; such an outcome wouldn't be much different from everyone committing suicide on the spot.

Angel smiled with satisfaction. She clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Very good, it seems we have reached a preliminary consensus. Now let's talk about your second option."

“You can also choose to pretend to agree to my demands now, and then try to do something against them later, or use your so-called political connections, or contact the rebels to fight against these conditions later.”

"But I suggest you think carefully: will your political connections work? I'm afraid not. Right now, our people make up the majority of the upper echelons of the imperial political arena; among the remaining locals like you, either they obey the imperial orders, break up their families, and become good officials or pure officials, or they will be swiftly wiped out like you."

"Will contacting the rebels be of any use? No, if those rebels are still hiding in the shadows, they might survive. After all, sorting out the thousands of hives in Holy Terra is not something that can be done in a short time. But you certainly don't want to live in the sewers with them. However, if they are to rise up and openly take action for you, it will only hasten their demise."

The Cafiora family remained silent.

But in reality, what Angel said was exactly what they thought.

A direct refusal is impossible; it would be a fight to the death today. However, the world is not black and white. They could agree, but in practice, there are too many gray areas where they can waver.

While the policy-level separation and dismantling of the family business was nominal, the personal dependence remained in reality. Although the industry was nominally nationalized, from the production workers in the workshops to the management, the Cafiora family controlled everything. So, the difference between nationalization and non-nationalization was minimal.

This is just paying lip service; not to mention they can use the alliance's name to implement policies to an absurd degree. You demolish my home, I'll demolish everyone's homes in Indonia, creating widespread resentment in this hive, and then uniting with other families in other hives… Directly joining forces with the rebels and living in the sewers is definitely out of the question; however, the bandit suppression can be less effective, since our homes have already been demolished. Those Chaos rebels are also former local residents, with countless connections; it's only natural that they have an exceptionally good grasp of local news and intelligence…

These were all thoughts that had crossed the minds of the three leaders of the Cafiora family.

They were almost ready to make that decision.

As for the disadvantages and threats that Angel just mentioned... of course they care about them and take them seriously.

But the more they value it, the more careful they will be in their actions, and the more they will try to avoid giving others any leverage against them.

There will always be resistance.

There has never been a case where a single order from above would cause the entire chain to actually start operating as they intended.

Angel saw through it all, but said nothing more.

She simply cited a few incidents that had occurred in other hive cities and recounted the fates of certain families.

The core message is this: since they were able to lead troops and surround their homeland today, it proves the determination of the central government and the allied government. If they later find any mistakes or oversights, they will be met with the swift and decisive action of annihilation.

Given past experiences and the alliance's sufficient strength as a guarantee, we really need to give this serious consideration.

After saying all that, she smiled and brought up what she called her third point:
"Of course, there is a third option."

"As required by the Alliance, the families will be split up, and all the Kafiora will either be dispersed to different hive cities or join the Unyielding Expedition. The Alliance's rank system will be implemented, and the talented Kafiora will be given high ranks and will be able to use their talents and abilities in various industries in Holy Terra and in countless worlds that have been reconquered by the Empire."

“You are capable. Your people have received far more education, have been exposed to more things, and have a far-sighted vision than the general public. Those who are capable will always stand out.”

"In the future empire, there may no longer be a political collective called 'Cafiola'; however, every member of the Cafiola clan will flourish in this universe and live even better than they do now."

"The choice is yours."

"Oh, right, I have another piece of news to tell you."

"Mr. Silabi Kafiola, the Assistant Minister of the Imperial Tax Ministry, has submitted an administrative application to change his surname, which has not yet been approved. However, his appointment as Vice Minister of the Tax Ministry has been approved."

"I just don't know if he'll be Deputy Prime Minister Cafiola or something else in the future."

The three heads of the family looked at each other, their expressions somber.

(End of this chapter)