Chapter 549 The Secret Ring!
“A 10-year-old girl?”
Jordan was confused.
Charleston continued, “The forefathers of our eight families don’t even know how they got on the ship. Because of the language barrier, no one knew what was going on or what to do. Suddenly, the little girl told each of them in their native different language that the ship was going to capsize and they must jump
off.
“Your grandfather asked how did she know the ship was about to capsize? The little girl said that she had a dream just now about it. Obviously, none of the people believed her and no one jumped into the sea. In the end, a strong wind suddenly blew and the ship capsized!”
Jordan frowned. He immediately sensed that this little girl was not that simple!
“The little girl spoke up again. She assured them that they wouldn’t die. She had dreamed that they would be swept onto a beach by a huge wave. In the end, things really happened as she said. No one from the eight great families died!”
Jordan was confused. “Did the little girl have the ability to predict the future?”
Charleston nodded. “Yes. At that time, the forefathers could also tell that this little girl was not an ordinary girl. However, she always looked confused and she couldn’t explain her background or how she came to that ship. After that, everyone realized that her dreams were events that would happen in the future. The forefathers of the eight families all believed that this was a good chance for them to leverage.
“Therefore, the forefathers made an agreement with each other not to spread this little girl’s abilities. The eight families used her abilities to kickstart their glory, and they called that little girl Deity!”
“Deity!”
Jordan was astounded. Such a title should have sounded a little silly to him, but the whole story was truly unfathomable!
Jordan asked, “The eight families are able to have such advanced technology because of Deity, right? Then by my calculation, Deity should be 110 years old now?”
Charleston said, “Deity passed away 30 years ago at the age of 80. Our current technology already existed 30 years ago. Ever since Deity passed away, our advancements have slowed down significantly without her help. There have been almost no breakthroughs. All our technologies have stagnated. Sigh, it’s all our fault. We were too reliant on Deity’s predictive ability.”
Jordan asked, “Is that why Grandpa gathered top talents like Norman from all over the world to help us achieve technological breakthroughs?”
Charleston nodded. “I am not the only one. For the past 30 years, our eight families have been working hard to uncover the geniuses of this world. If you paid attention to the news reports, you would have realized that many well-known geniuses migrated overseas after becoming famous for their talents. Actually, they were recruited by the eight great families.”
Jordan thought about it. He did recall coming across some reports of a so-called brain drain, where many top talents allegedly left the US to work abroad.
Those geniuses were often criticized for being unpatriotic, but in reality, they were attracted by the highly-advanced technology, just like Norman.
Jordan asked, “How’s our relationship with the eight great families after the Deity died? Who has progressed the furthest?”
Although Jordan didn’t know much about the eight families, he was well-versed in the competitive nature of human beings. As the saying went, it was difficult for great forces to remain cohesive over the long term.
The eight great families were forcibly bound together because of the Deity. Although their forefathers had established close links with each other, how many generations had it been now since the Deity died?
The close links might not last for more than a few generations.
Therefore, Jordan guessed that the relationship between the eight families was not that good now!
Jordan was right. Charleston sighed. “After the Deity died, the eight families continued their research on our own. We basically did our own thing. When Deity was around, whoever developed new things would share them with the other families. But now, no one is willing to do that. “As for which of the eight families has progressed the most, that’s hard to determine, because we’re all very secretive. We’re all too good at hiding. However, I can tell you which family has progressed the least.”
Jordan looked at his grandfather’s dejected expression and asked, “Don’t tell me it’s our family?”
Charleston sighed. “Yes, the Steele family is the worst among the eight families. As you know, your father’s aptitude is mediocre and he is not ambitious. For his generation, the gap between us and the other families is too wide. Now, the Park and Miyamoto families have proposed eliminating our family from the eight!”
Jordan was furious when he heard that. “What? The Steeles were chosen back then as well. On what grounds do they have to eliminate our family?!”
Charleston snorted. “I think they want to monopolize power. I’ve already been forced to move from the US to England because of their accusations at the great meeting, but they continue to target our family.”
“Great meeting?” Jordan asked in confusion.
Charleston explained, “Oh, the families hold a secret meeting every year. At the meeting, everyone reports on their results for that year. They will also discuss the future and release selected advancements to the public. We select suitably advanced technology that we have developed to release to the public so that everyone can benefit from it.”
Jordan nodded. It seemed like the eight families controlled the lifeline of the world! At that moment, Jordan finally understood why Jesse wanted him out of the way.
He wanted to monopolize this honor!
Opening the safe, Charleston took out a ring.
There was a very mysterious pattern on the ring.
Charleston said, “Jordan, you’ve completed the family’s training. Today, I’ll officially give you the family’s Secret Ring. I am officially appointing you as one of the successors of the family’s secret assets. From today onwards, you can use all our secret assets.”
At long last! Jordan was very excited. He took the ring and put it on his right finger. “Thank you, Grandpa! I won’t disappoint you!”
Jordan could not help stroking the ring. All of a sudden, the ring made a sound, and some patterns and words suddenly appeared on the ring.
“What’s this?” Jordan looked at the patterns and words in surprise.