While in America, the system says Roosevelt was an emperor.

The man walked up to Tom, extended his right hand, and smiled:

"I am Dani's uncle—William Vanderbilt."

"You must be the treasure boy that Denise mentioned on the phone—Tom Smith, right?"

Tom guessed his identity at a glance;

William looks too young; judging by his appearance alone, it's hard to say if he's even forty.

Tom nodded, extended his right hand to shake William's hand, and said:

"Hello, I'm Tom Smith..."

William increased the pressure in his hand.

Although with Tom's strength rating of 4.1, it was no different for William than being tickled, he still pretended to be in pain.

William said viciously:

"So it's you, kid, the one who took Dani racing cars and got involved in gang shootouts, right?!"

"For a mere three or four million dollars, they almost killed Dani!"

Tom was taken aback. How did he know it was "three or four million dollars"?

William increased the pressure on his hands, cursing:

"You've got some nerve, daring to openly implement a tax farming system."

"Aren't you afraid of major chaos breaking out in the five major electoral districts?"

"Because of your recklessness, my precious niece almost..."

Tom couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder he's a New York State Senator and the leader of Vanderbilt."

My little trick was completely out of the enemy's intelligence network.

Just as Tom was trying to figure out how to explain, he heard the door open behind William.

As Denise charged toward the two, she shouted:

"Uncle, don't bully Tom!"

Denise walked between the two, pried Tom and William's hands apart, and shielded Tom behind her like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

William froze, his face instantly turning black and white.

My precious niece, whom I've cared for so carefully for years, whom I cherish so dearly, has ultimately been taken by a scoundrel.

Ignoring the stunned William, Denise instead rubbed Tom's right hand and said with concern:

"Tom, are your hands alright? They're all red from squeezing."

"Uncle, why are you bullying Tom?"

William snapped out of his daze, instantly erupting in fury, and shouted at Ellie:

"Honey, go get my revolver!"

"I'm going to test it today and see if it still works!"

Denise stood in front of Tom, breathing out a puff of air:

"Uncle, if you dare to shoot Tom, you'll have to step over my dead body first!"

William froze again, this time not only turning black and white, but his entire body also shattered into pieces.

Ellie was amused by the uncle and nephew, and said while laughing:

"William, this day was bound to come for Dani sooner or later, why bother?"

"When we first met my father, he was even more excited than you, but in the end he didn't stop me."

"Aren't we still together?"

"Every family has daughters who want to get married; you can't stop them. Just accept it."

William forced himself to take a breath and said tremblingly:

"She's different."

Denise nodded, agreeing with Ellie's reasoning, and then said to Ellie:

"Auntie, you just said Uncle wasn't home, you were clearly lying to me."

"I saw my uncle's car when I passed by the greenhouse garden."

"Uncle is definitely home, so you're trying to get me out of here so you can talk to Tom, right?"

"I'm not the same person I was a few years ago; I'm much smarter now."

"Tell me quickly, how did the talk with Tom go?"

"If we can't reach an agreement, I'll take Tom away now."

"They're not coming back for Christmas either!"

William quickly said:

"It's all settled, everything's been agreed upon."

"I have already promised Tom that I will introduce him to every steel company that does business with our family."

"As for whether Tom can negotiate, that depends on Tom himself."

Denise frowned and said with displeasure:

"Should Tom go and negotiate the price again?"

"I remember the large steel companies were all located in the Great Lakes region, right?"

"Then I'll go with Tom too, and we can also visit the Great Lakes."

William's eyes widened; the Great Lakes region was far from peaceful at the moment.

Leaving aside the fact that America's "freedom to bear arms" has led to poor public safety;

There's a huge mass strike in the Great Lakes region right now, it would be too dangerous for Dani to go there.

William didn't hesitate at all and said directly:

"No need, Tom, there's no need to discuss prices."

"He contacted our railway company and other companies directly, and bought whatever we needed directly from their inventory at the purchase price."

"If the inventory is insufficient, have the company's personnel purchase, negotiate, and transport the goods from the railway company!"

"My dear niece, you absolutely must not go to the Great Lakes, it's too chaotic there."

Denise nodded in satisfaction and said:

"Hmph~"

"That's more like it."

Tom looked at the two "troublemakers," his face expressionless, but he was deeply shocked.

Where is the promised American senator?

Where are the empire's most elite talents?

How could my niece have me so easily outmaneuvered?

If I had known this would happen, why did I prepare so much?

What a load of bullshit negotiation art.

Tom then looked at Diane, who was like a female warrior in front of her uncle, and her word was law.

Who says being a kept man is bad?

You have to eat a woman's rice, and you have to eat it all up!

This gigolo is so delicious!

Of course, things weren't as simple as Tom thought.

If Tom fails the test, there's no way William will agree to it, no matter what.

The conditions William is now offering are, under Dani's influence, slightly more than the original plan.

After the uncle and nephew exchanged a few more words, Ellie interjected:

"Dani, what do you want to eat tonight?"

"Would you like your favorite steak again?"

Denise shook her head, pointed at Tom, and said:

"I want to eat Tom's cooking; the steak is awful."

"Tom's cooking is the best I've ever eaten."

Ellie's eyes lit up, and she said:

"Tom, I didn't know you could do this?"

"Go and cook. If you need any ingredients, just tell the housekeeper and he will buy them for you."

Tom nodded and, led by a waiter, went to the kitchen to begin preparing the family feast.

While they were selecting ingredients, William walked in, and the other waiters tactfully withdrew.

William, abandoning his previous easygoing demeanor, coldly said to Tom:

"Tom Smith!"

Tom felt a chill run down his neck and turned to look at William, whose eyes were like an eagle's, staring intently at him.

William said emotionlessly:

"Until the war is completely over, it doesn't matter what your relationship with Denise is like."

"Neither of you can get married."

"Understand?"

Tom knew what William was worried about. No matter how nice Tom's words sounded, what if Tom actually messed up?

The crime of treason is no joke.

Tom immediately stated:

"Forget about marriage, even if the FBI wanted to arrest me, the engineering company's affairs were all done by me alone."

William's expression froze for a moment, then he reverted to his usual "clown" demeanor and scolded:

"You little brat, did you see Dani come in and are just trying to play the victim?"

Tom chuckled, neither admitting nor denying it.