Chapter 249 – The Head of the Conglomerate Family
“You have a nosebleed,” Zero reminded her through the earpiece.
Tu Ran, dazed, touched her nose and wiped the blood on the back of her hand.
She tilted her head back as Zero had already called a waiter, who handed her a wet towel, a pill, and a cup of hot water.
“A fast-acting hemostatic drug,” Zero said.
Tu Ran took the towel but declined the pill.
Because she had a “Diamond Body,” the bleeding soon stopped. After wiping the blood from her face and hands, Tu Ran said, “Even my ability to identify superpowers has physical limits. I just identified too many superpowers, and my body’s energy is depleted. I can’t continue.”
She had never encountered so many people with superpowers at once before. She’d only occasionally identified one or two people at a time, so she had never experienced any physical discomfort, leading her to believe that this ability had no physical limits.
But just now, she had recklessly looked at too many. Her “Diamond Body” couldn’t replenish the energy she had lost, resulting in the nosebleed—another symptom besides fainting from exhaustion.
“Can you control the switch for identifying superpowers?”
Tu Ran smiled bitterly. “No.”
“But it’s okay. The ability to identify superpowers only activates when I look at someone with powers. I just need to focus on those without powers.”
“Alright, you’ve seen enough. Rest now.”
Zero went offline but didn’t remove the character introductions from her visor, so Tu Ran’s gaze wandered over the people she had already observed.
The people present were all those with power and influence in the Federation, but the real elite at the top of the pyramid hadn’t yet appeared.
For instance, the heads of the three major conglomerate families.
The important figures were always saved for last. It was nearly eight o’clock when Tu Ran finally saw the Xie family, one of the three major conglomerates, enter.
She speculated that the Xie family members, like Stefano Wells, had not yet consumed the inner core, so she openly observed them.
The head of the Xie family walked in front. His figure was slightly plump, but his youthful handsomeness was still faintly visible in his facial features. He smiled and nodded at others with an unexpectedly friendly demeanor, completely different from the image Tu Ran had imagined.
Xie Xu always had a sour face as if the entire Federation’s ten billion people owed him money, and Xie Zhao was also perpetually stern. Tu Ran had assumed that everyone in the Xie family was like that, but their father was the exact opposite.
Tu Ran double-checked the information on her visor to confirm she hadn’t mistaken the man. It was indeed Xie Xie’ao, the head of the Xie family.
Beside Xie Xie’ao was a middle-aged woman holding his arm. She wore a silver gown, exuding understated luxury, elegant and dignified.
She was Wu Yun, Xie Xie’ao’s wife.
Behind them were Xie Xu, Xie Zhao, and someone Tu Ran had never seen before, who bore some resemblance to the Xie family head.
According to the visor’s data, his name was Xie Heng, the eldest son of the Xie family. His mother was Wu Yun, whose family, the Wu family, was also one of the top ten conglomerates. As the eldest daughter of the Wu family, Wu Yun ensured that Xie Heng was naturally the next head of the Xie family.
Xie Zhao was second in line. His mother was also the eldest daughter of another conglomerate family, though her family’s power was far less than that of Wu Yun’s. Therefore, Xie Zhao had no chance of becoming the next head of the Xie family.
Xie Xu, the third son, was born to a mother from an ordinary Federation family. She was very intelligent and had gained admission to the Federation’s top university through her hard work. She later became the director of a research institute and caught Xie Xie’ao’s attention. She passed away in the third year after Xie Xu was born, under mysterious circumstances.
Xie Xu likely inherited his intelligence from his mother. Without the influence of her family, he also could not inherit the position of head of the Xie family.
If anyone wondered why Xie Xie’ao had three wives in a monogamous Federation, it was necessary to emphasize once again the ineffectiveness of Federation laws regarding the conglomerates. They could have as many wives as they wanted, and all of them could be legal. For instance, the previous head of the Pang family had as many as eleven wives.
The Supervision Department turned a blind eye to such situations. Most ordinary citizens had little contact with the conglomerates, were unaware of these matters, and did not speak out. Even those who knew about it did not dare to stir up trouble, and even the media hesitated to say much.
After the few members of the Xie family entered, the people who had been scattered at the banquet swarmed forward, surrounding them in the center.
Xie Xie’ao and his wife, along with Xie Heng and Xie Zhao, handled the situation with composure. In contrast, Xie Xu walked out from the crowd with a blank expression and sat down in a less crowded area.
Perhaps knowing about his reclusive personality or understanding his lack of competitiveness for the position of head, no one approached him, and he remained quietly seated alone throughout.
Tu Ran, fully armed, stood on the third floor and watched him for a long time. After confirming that she had read all the information about him on her visor, she shifted her gaze back toward the entrance.
The Wells family had arrived.
In stark contrast to the lively Xie family of five, the head of the Wells family was all alone, accompanied only by an elderly man with graying hair—André.
Stefano Wells had inherited the family business not long ago and was still very young. His father had been devoted to his mother, having only one wife and one child, making Stefano’s succession of the family business quite natural.
After Stefano entered, many people rushed over to him. He wore a cold expression, responding to everyone with a detached demeanor—neither overly familiar nor rude. Beside him, André took on the role of making polite small talk.
Subtly, his gaze drifted toward Tu Ran on the third floor.
Their eyes met in midair, and Tu Ran expressionlessly looked away, directing her attention elsewhere as if she did not recognize him.
The head of the Pang family arrived shortly after Stefano.
The Pang family was also a large one, with both sons and daughters, and the head had brought three wives.
Tu Ran looked over each one and confirmed that none of them had superpowers.
As expected, what Xie Xu had said was true; these people would not take any life-threatening risks to consume the inner core.
With everyone present, the banquet was set to begin. Although it started more than an hour late, no one raised any objections, as the last three groups to arrive were not to be trifled with.
Tu Ran stood straight, holding her gun, almost blending into the railing on the third floor. No one noticed her; she was just an ordinary guard, fulfilling her duty to ensure the safety of the banquet.
“I’m sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to!”
Downstairs, a waiter accidentally spilled a whole cup of wine on Stefano’s suit. The waiter trembled in fear, flustered as he tried to wipe the wine stains off Stefano.
Those who had intended to toast Stefano were left frozen in place.
Stefano’s displeasure was evident on his face as he pushed the waiter’s hand away. “Take me to change clothes.”
“Yes, this way, please,” the waiter quickly nodded in response and led Stefano away.
