She is a natural disaster.

Chapter 57 Ambitious People

For Anastasia, the surname Lonkinswait was somewhat unfamiliar.

"I don't recall much," Anastasia said. "Since you say he's our main adversary, then it means he orchestrated the attack."

“That’s right, Mike was attacked twice, both times by Lonkinswit,” Bill Montagu said. “He wanted to kidnap Mike and force me to hand over the research records on the accelerator.”

"Lonkinswit wants the research records. Does that mean he's also researching pollution and mutations?" Anastasia asked. Lonkinswit's true intentions were already quite clear: he only wanted the research records.

“That’s right. The Lonkinswit family is in the medical and pharmaceutical industry. They should have started researching pollution and mutations a long time ago,” Bill said. “If they could get my research records and verify them, the Lonkinswit family might be able to develop a more stable drug.”

"Didn't Lonkinswit think about the consequences before he acted?" Anastasia asked. "Even if he gets your research records, will others watch him perfect the potion?"

Whether it's a stable promoter or a stable inhibitor, once it's successfully developed, a large number of transcendents will gather around Lonkinswit.

If these transcendents can possess both quality and quantity, Lonkinswait has a chance to stand at the top of Gloria.

"I believe Lonkinswain must have considered the consequences of doing this, but he didn't care," Bill said. "Or rather, he believed he would be the ultimate winner."

"That's a bit too much confidence," Anastasia said. "Is he so fearless because he has someone else backing him?"

"I think so," Bill said uncertainly. "However, even if he's all alone, Lonkinswit will still get involved and will still choose to attack us."

This isn't confidence anymore; it sounds more like being blinded by enormous profits.

"I'm not very familiar with Lonkins Witt. My businesses mainly consist of factories and mines, while Lonkins Witt's are in medical and pharmaceutical manufacturing. But I have heard some rumors about them."

Bill Montague paused for a moment, then asked, "Anatasia, do you know how to play Gloria Poker?"

Gloria Poker is typically played by 2 to 10 people using a 52-card deck. Players use two hole cards and five community cards to form the best hand.

Seeing Anastasia nod, Bill Montagu continued, "Don't be fooled by the Lonkinswit family's current involvement in the medical industry; they used to be professional gamblers, and they won their first fortune at the gambling table."

Anastasia nodded again. It seemed that Lonkinswain was acting like a gambler, which was why he recklessly attacked Montague first.

"The Lonkinswit family is incredibly lucky, so lucky it's enviable; they practically win every time they gamble," Bill continued. "Even after transitioning into business, they haven't given up their gambling habit."

Anastasia understood; Lonkinswain, who always won at gambling, had developed a path dependency.

"His family often gambled their entire fortune on something, and every time they won big. It was because of these high-stakes gambles that Lonkinswain successfully climbed into the upper class."

"Every gift of fate comes with a price tag attached," Anastasia said. "No one can be lucky all the time."

"That's right, the end result for gamblers is losing everything and ending up with nothing," Bill said. "I don't dare to gamble, but Lonkinswit dares to gamble, even if he ends up not even having a pair of underwear left."

Bill Montagu looked at Anastasia and continued, "The Lonkinswit family's favorite thing to do at the poker table is to go all in."

"All in" refers to betting all your chips at once. It's a high-risk, high-reward game where you scare away other players at the table by leaving yourself no way out.

"It's all or nothing," Anastasia said. "They're really determined to get their hands on your research records!"

"You should know about the Twelve Apostles, right?" Bill asked. "I'm talking about the Twelve Apostles of Gloria."

The Twelve Apostles of Gloria refers to twelve individuals who made outstanding contributions in the early days of Gloria's founding; without them, Gloria would not have achieved its current glory.

The descendants of the twelve apostles have thrived on this land. Through the merits of their ancestors and their own efforts, the descendants of the apostles have formed a shadow government, and they are the true rulers of Gloria.

"I've heard of them," Anastasia asked. "If nothing unexpected happens, I'll meet one of them tomorrow."

"The Twelve Apostles of today are no longer as united as they once were, and some of their families are even facing the predicament of having no successors," Bill said. "Now is the perfect time to take their place."

"You mean Lonkinswit wants to become the new Apostle?" Anastasia asked, Lonkinswit's ambitions were even greater than she had imagined.

"I'm just speculating," Bill said. "Only something like this would be worth Lonkinswaiting risking his entire fortune."

Anastasia was somewhat unsettled. She had considered that this matter would have far-reaching implications and involve many people, but she had not expected that such a large ambition was hidden behind it.

This makes sense why Chief Inspector Lopez values ​​Mike so highly.

"Is this why Chief Inspector Lopez has been making frequent overtures to Mike lately?" Anastasia asked.

"No." Bill shook his head unexpectedly. "The Lopez family is full of talented people, and Lonkinswait cannot replace them."

Anastasia raised her hand and scratched her head, completely disregarding her image.

That's why she dislikes New Town. Everything in New Town is troublesome. There are big shots everywhere, and everyone is scheming for their own benefit.

"Furthermore, Leon Lopez is an illegitimate child, and he's excluded from Lopez's inner circle," Bill continued. "Unless something unexpected happens, he'll spend his entire career at the Uptown Police Department."

Anastasia suddenly understood; things she hadn't been able to figure out before suddenly became clear.

No wonder Gregory Barnes, a mere senior detective, dared to sideline Lopez; it turns out it's because Leon Lopez is an illegitimate child.

Even so, Anastasia still felt that Gregory Barnes was incredibly audacious, and if Leon Lopez were truly sidelined, the Apostle Lopez would lose all face.

"Is Leon Lopez trying to squeeze into their family's inner circle and get his inheritance?" Anastasia asked.

If that's the case, we'll have to reconsider our collaboration with Leon Lopez, and we'll have to reschedule tomorrow's meeting.

The Montague family is already a lost cause; if they were to get involved in the Lopez family's succession struggle, they would be asking for trouble and courting disaster.

"Anatasia, if you were Leon Lopez, would you be willing to accept this?" Bill asked. "The choice between the Chief Inspector and Lopez is not difficult at all; everyone knows what to choose."

"He's definitely not resigned to it," Anastasia said decisively. "Leon Lopez is an ambitious man; he certainly doesn't want to be a detective chief for life."

“That’s it,” Bill said. “I think the person Leon Lopez values ​​most is Mike. Mike is my only heir.”

Bill Montague only had one son, Mike, and all of Montague's wealth belonged to Mike.

"I'm not bragging, but Montagu has accumulated a considerable fortune, enough for Leon Lopez to make his mark," Bill continued. "But there's a catch: Montagu must weather this crisis."

As he spoke, Bill pointed at Anastasia.

He continued, "At that moment, you, the private detective from the Old Town, appeared."

The impending collapse of Montague made Leon Lopez hesitant to approach Mike too early, partly out of fear of getting into trouble and partly out of a desire not to waste time and energy.

With the arrival of Anastasia, a relatively unknown private detective, Montague's chances of escaping the crisis greatly increased. Leon Lopez dared not waste any more time, and the Uptown Police Department also changed its previous approach.

"In my opinion, Leon Lopez wants you more right now," Bill Montague said. "A natural disaster without a stance, without belonging, is far more important than the wealth Montague has accumulated. There are many Montagues, but only one Angel."

"If Leon Lopez can get help from both me and Mike, he might be the biggest winner," Anastasia said. "Both money and guns are important."

"That's exactly what I mean," Bill said. "Leon Lopez and Lonkinswait, they may use different methods, but their goal is the same."

Both of them wanted to become one of the Twelve Apostles of Gloria, and both wanted to be part of the Gloria Shadow Regime.

"Therefore, I don't recommend that Mike get too close to Lopez," Bill continued. "Mike is too young. A few words from his uncle can make him misunderstand me for years. How could he possibly compete with Lopez?"

Mike Montague was too young. Although he was intelligent, he didn't understand how treacherous people could be and was easily deceived.

Leon Lopez's power struggle is no child's play; it's deadly.

"And you, Anastasia, my advice is that you could try to get in touch with Lopez," Bill continued. "Leon Lopez needs you to achieve his goals; he would be a great partner."

Bill Montagu's advice was very insightful. Although he didn't know what Anastasia wanted, he was genuinely trying to offer her advice.

"My current mandate is to protect Mike Montagu, and my position will not change until the mandate ends."

As Anastasia finished speaking, the large study fell silent.

After a long while, Anastasia's voice rang out again in the study. She said, "I hate New Town, Mr. Montague."

“I hate New Town too, I hate the fakeness here, I hate the glitz and glamour,” Bill Montague said. “But this is New Town, the land of dreams, the land of glory.”

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Gloria Poker is actually Texas Hold'em... well, Texas Hold'em, not Shandong Texas Hold'em.