William Carter's phone—the black phone he kept taking out to glance at from time to time.

At first glance, it looked just like a popular budget phone, but on closer inspection, you could tell that the texture, the buttons, and some of the details were clearly much more refined.

Andrew Smith took note of it, feeling as if she had discovered a secret no one else had noticed, and a slight excitement welled up in her heart.

She didn't say anything, just planned to keep observing.

After everyone finished toasting, they sat down and continued. The dishes started coming out one after another, plate after plate.

Steamed ribbonfish, golden jade shreds, flying dragon in the sky, white phoenix calling, drunkard's birthday wish, sea dragon giving birth...

All sorts of dishes with strange and exotic names were served, and with each plate, everyone tried to guess what it actually was.

Although all the dishes were made from ordinary, everyday ingredients, with a new name and beautiful plating, they gave off a much more upscale vibe.

Everyone at the table was gathering during work hours, so they were all dressed in office attire: the men in shirts and dress pants, the women in black suits with black or nude stockings.

It didn't look like a friends' get-together at all—more like a company event.

After a while, William Carter's phone suddenly rang.

Although some colleagues had taken calls during the meal, their ringtones were all set very low.

Nothing like the piercing sound coming from William Carter's phone right now.

Woooo... woooo... woooo!

The ringtone had no semblance of normal music at all; it was instantly nerve-wracking and jarring, giving off a strong negative vibe.

William Carter was startled. He distinctly remembered setting his phone to vibrate, but now...

He quickly pulled out his phone and gave an apologetic smile to the others.

"I need to take a call. I'll step out for a moment, you all go ahead and eat."

He stood up and unlocked the screen, only to see the entire display awash in blood red.

'Warning! Warning!'

This was the phone's passive alert system, which only triggered in special circumstances, forcing a warning regardless of whether the sound was on or off.

William Carter narrowed his eyes, his heart tightening as a detail from his memory flashed through his mind.

The phone's forced alert would only activate if an important person he had previously set up appeared nearby.

Which meant...

He looked out the private room's window.

Outside the round glass window, a silver-white, streamlined luxury bulletproof car was slowly pulling up to the curb.

The rear window rolled down, revealing the face of a middle-aged man with a white beard.

The man wore a gray suit and a jet-black bow tie, his eyes sharp as a hawk's, calmly meeting William Carter's gaze through the window.

William Carter looked away, and the information in his mind allowed him to instantly recognize the man.

Christian Lane, a rival within Miste Pharmaceutical Group who had always coveted his position as security chief.

William Carter pressed the alert cancel button, silenced the phone, apologized to those around him, and was about to leave the private room.

Bang!

Suddenly, the private room door was flung open.

A handsome blond man with slicked-back hair and sunglasses strode in, dressed in a sharp suit, his gaze locking instantly onto William Carter.

"Minister Carter, Mr. Rayne would like to see you." The man grinned, and with his strong build, there was a faintly menacing air about him.

William Carter froze for a moment—the man wasn't speaking Federal, but Miste's internal common language, Eresan.

Because Miste's headquarters was located in the Maria Islands of Eresa, for convenience, everyone communicated in Eresan.

No one else in the room could understand what the blond man was saying, but it was clear from his demeanor that he wasn't here for anything good.

Daniel Carter glanced at William Carter and immediately stood up.

"Brother William, is he looking for you?"

"Yeah, you all go ahead and eat. I have a small matter to take care of." William Carter gave a calm smile.

The lines of data at the bottom of his vision had clearly indicated there was still a month of buffer time before danger from Miste would come knocking.

But now someone had shown up so early? What was going on?

He steadied himself and chose to trust the system-like thing that had given him his hidden identity.

The main reason, actually, was that the other party had come so suddenly that he had no way to anticipate or prepare—he could only deal with it as it came.

"I'll step out for a bit." He smiled at his colleagues, then patted Daniel Carter's shoulder, signaling him to sit down.

"It's fine, I'll be back soon."

"Are you sure it's nothing?" Daniel Carter was a bit skeptical.

"Don't worry." William Carter smiled, then looked at the blond man. "Lead the way."

He replied in Eresan as well.

"Please." The blond man stepped aside, making way and bowing slightly, displaying impeccable manners.

The two quickly left the private room, closing the door behind them.

With a dull thud, the rest of the people in the room looked at each other in silence, all guessing at the intentions of the foreigner who had just appeared.

"Brother William actually knows foreign friends? He never mentioned it before. Could it be a client from a previous company reception?" Daniel Carter gave an awkward laugh, breaking the silence.