Lin Zhiming stepped out of his car, holding a phone in his hand.
"I've arrived. How long will you be?" he asked.
"Almost there!" came Wang Hai's voice from the other end.
"Okay!" Lin Zhiming hung up and looked at the three Lin family members approaching him.

These three were all his cousins.
"Zhiming, why are you here? Did your wife kick you out?" his distant cousin Lin Wei said with a grin, oblivious to the recent upheaval in the Lin family.

Of course, it made sense he didn’t know; it had only been an hour since Lin Zhiming had acquired the Lin Group. The relatives living in the old family residence were too far removed from the central happenings.

Lin Zhiming shrugged off Lin Wei's hand and continued toward the staircase.
"Hey, what’s with that attitude? Have you grown wings?" Lin Wei retorted, chasing after him and grabbing his shoulder. "Cousin, I'm low on cash; how about lending me ten or twenty thousand?"

It was a common habit for many Lin family members to ask Lin Zhiming for money. Most of the meager dividends he received went to his relatives.
"Get lost!" Lin Zhiming shot back coldly, staring at Lin Wei.

This angered Lin Wei, who clenched his fist and swung at Lin Zhiming's face.
Without flinching, Lin Zhiming sidestepped and countered with a slap that sent Lin Wei crashing against the wall.

The other two cousins stood in shock.
Had Lin Zhiming actually hit someone? They had known him for over twenty years and had never seen him lose his temper like this!

At that moment, several cars drove into the Lin family compound, stopping abruptly. Wang Hai and a group of muscular men in suits stepped out.
Lin Wei, still simmering with rage, hesitated at the sight of them. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Wang Hai ignored him, approaching Lin Zhiming with a bow. "Boss, we're here."
"Let's go upstairs... Oh, and Wei, inform everyone living here to gather in the ancestral hall on the fifth floor in five minutes," Lin Zhiming ordered, striding ahead and disappearing upstairs.

"What’s going on with Lin Zhiming? When did he become the boss?" someone in the crowd wondered.
"I have no idea. Let’s go upstairs; we need to rally everyone," Lin Wei replied, leading the way.

In the ancestral hall, Lin Zhiming took the seat of honor, flanked by Wang Hai and his men.
Soon, a group of Lin family members entered, mostly older relatives along with a handful of younger, aimless ones.

"Lin Zhiming, what are you doing sitting there?" an elder scolded.
This elder, Lin Maocai, was Lin Zhiming's granduncle.

"I have two things to discuss today. First, I want to place my mother's memorial tablet in the ancestral hall," Lin Zhiming stated.
Wang Hai immediately produced a beautifully crafted tablet from a stylish bag. This was the memorial tablet of Lin Zhiming's mother, who had passed away over twenty years ago but had never been placed in the hall due to family politics.

"Lin Zhiming, are you out of your mind? You think you can just bring some thugs and put that woman’s tablet in our ancestral hall?" Lin Maocai shouted in outrage.
Lin Zhiming gave him a cold stare.

Wang Hai cleared his throat, and one of his men stepped forward, delivering a kick to Lin Maocai’s midsection. The elder flew back, crashing into the wall.

"What are you doing, Lin Zhiming?! Attacking your elder? Do you want to disown yourself?" Lin Wei yelled, horrified.
"Which eye saw me hit him?" Lin Zhiming replied, unfazed.
"That man just kicked him; don’t you dare deny it!" Lin Wei shouted, pointing at the burly man.

"You just said he did it; what does that have to do with our boss?" Wang Hai interjected with a smirk.

"You’re playing word games! Lin Zhiming, know your place! You will be expelled from the Lin family for this!" Lin Wei screamed in anger.
"Zhiming, kneel and apologize!"
"Zhiming, I'm calling your aunt!"

The crowd of relatives erupted with shouts of disapproval.
"How pathetic... You all have been marginalized in the Lin family, and yet you remain clueless. Just an hour ago, my boss acquired the entire Lin Group. This is his now!" Wang Hai boasted, arrogance radiating from him.

The family fell silent, stunned.
Lin Zhiming had bought the Lin Group? It couldn't be true!

"This is quite a performance, but you miscalculated—Lin Zhiming is just a weakling. How could he possibly afford to buy the Lin Group? Acting cool is one thing, but thinking we’re fools is another!" Lin Wei sneered.
"Exactly, you must be joking!"
"Lin Zhiming, do you really think you can fool us?"

Lin Maocai, now sitting on the floor, fumbled for his phone, "I’m calling your aunt; she’ll set things right!"

Ignoring the chaos, Lin Zhiming lit incense, standing before the ancestral altar.
"Mom, I haven’t been filial. It’s taken me so long to bring you back. Now, I’ll place you alongside Dad. I hope you can rest in peace," he murmured, bowing three times before carefully placing his mother’s tablet next to his father's.

The relatives stood by, too intimidated by Lin Zhiming's entourage to intervene, waiting for his aunt, Shen Hongyue, to return and resolve the situation.

Lin Maocai finally got through to Shen Hongyue. He launched into a tirade about Lin Zhiming's actions.
Everyone was eager to see how this would unfold; they believed Shen Hongyue, as the current head of the family, could rein in Lin Zhiming.

After a lengthy conversation, Lin Maocai’s expression shifted dramatically. "You… actually bought the Lin Group?"
His revelation sent shockwaves through the crowd.

"Today, the first thing I wanted was to honor my mother," Lin Zhiming said, surveying the room with calm authority. "The second thing is to kick you all out."

His voice was steady, but the message was anything but polite. He didn’t even bother to say "please"; it was simply an order.
"You can't just kick us out! This is our family home!" Lin Wei yelled, still in shock.

"Are you all brain dead? The family residence’s ownership has always belonged to the Lin Group, and since my boss bought it, it’s his now! You have thirty minutes to vacate this place. Anyone still here afterward will regret it!" Wang Hai threatened, his expression menacing.

"Lin Zhiming, you dare to kick us out? We’re your elders!"
"How heartless of you!"
"Have you forgotten your family name?"

The relatives erupted in a chorus of accusations and insults.
"Zhiming, we’re all family; why be so cruel?" Lin Maocai said, supported by others.

"Thirty minutes, Wang Hai, and I want to see no one from the Lin family here," Lin Zhiming said, walking out without a backward glance.

The relatives were left stunned, unable to comprehend the rapid changes.
"Twenty-nine minutes left. Gather your things and get out of the Lin family home," Wang Hai said coldly.

Hearing this, the relatives fell into despair.
Lin Zhiming was determined to drive them away!

Thirty minutes later, they left the Lin family home, burdened with their belongings.
Those who had never considered Lin Zhiming as family were now reduced to homeless vagabonds.

Some contemplated staying, but the sight of Lin Zhiming's imposing bodyguards made them think twice.

On the rooftop, Wang Hai looked down at the disgruntled crowd and chuckled. "Do they really think they can stay here? Have they forgotten how they’ve treated the boss all these years?"

Lin Zhiming smiled slightly.
Revenge is best served cold; everything the Lin family had done to him would be repaid tenfold.

Family ties? They were nonexistent. He was merely an unwanted child.
Having endured their cruelty, he would return it with interest.
This was his moment to declare to the world that he was no longer the weakling they once knew.
From now on, he would let "domination" be his guiding principle.

"You know what it feels like to fall from the seventh floor?" Lin Zhiming asked.
"How could I know, boss? Wouldn’t that mean death?" Wang Hai replied with a grin.
"But I know," Lin Zhiming said calmly.