World Domination Begins With Getting a System in a Modern World-Chapter 55: Meeting With The Private Investigator

The next morning, after doing his morning chores — fixing up his room — and freshening up, James put on a comfortable set of clothes, grabbed his phone and car key, and went downstairs for breakfast.

At the dinner table, Leslie and Patty were already seated, and waiting for him. He greeted Patty and took his seat.

"Why do I have a feeling that you’re going out?" Leslie asked, with slightly narrowed eyes, when she saw James.

James didn’t answer her, as he started eating his food.

"Tsk. I hope the vixen you’re meeting doesn’t suck your pocket dry," she grumbled, and started eating her food.

James smiled internally at her words, as he continued eating his food.

Leslie wasn’t the only one that has the feeling that James was going out, as it was the same with Patty too.

Even though the clothes James wore were casual clothes and what he would wear when he’s at home, Patty had that feeling that he was going out but she didn’t ask.

James is an adult and a responsible one at that, and so, there was no need to ask him where he was going.

Breakfast was eaten in silence, with a little bit of chatter thrown in sometimes. After he was done with his breakfast, James thanked Patty and gave her a peck on her cheek.

Leslie saw James’ actions and playfully pouted.

"You always only thank my mom after every meal, but you never thank me."

"I will start thanking you when you start making meals that won’t send someone to the hospital," James smiled, as he started walking to the door.

"Hmph. You always talk trash about my cooking but yours isn’t any better. Don’t worry, soon my cooking will be as good as my mom’s," she said, with a offended look on her face.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," James said, with a smirk.

"Bye, ladies. I will be back soon," he said, as he left the house.

He walked to the driveway and got into his car, and started driving to the location of his meeting with the private investigator.

***

Twenty minutes later, James parked in front of the upscale cafe and got out of the car. He walked into the cafe and he saw someone — a man — waving at him.

James felt that the man waving at him might be the private investigator he came to meet and he walked to his table.

The receptionist didn’t send him an image of the private investigator and neither did they describe how he looks to him. But he knew that they would had given the private investigator a description of him.

"You must be the private investigator from Harrington & Co. Law Firm?" James asked, as he took his seat.

"Yes. I’m Gregor and you must be James, my client," the private investigator, with his hand outstretched to James for an handshake.

"Thank you for meeting with me," James said, as he return the handshake.

"So, what services do you need from me? My boss said that you want me to investigate a company. Which company is that?" Gregor asked, as he took out his notepad.

"I want you to investigate Cullen Corp and its owner, the McCullen family," James replied.

"What information exactly do you want me to get for you?" Gregor asked, ready to start jotting things down.

James leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice as he locked eyes with Gregor.

"I need everything you can dig up on Cullen Corp and the McCullen family. Their financials, business dealings, legal troubles — especially any incriminating information that isn’t public knowledge."

Gregor’s pen hovered over the notepad for a brief second before he nodded.

"Incriminating information, huh? That can mean a lot of things. Fraud, tax evasion, corruption, illegal dealings. Can you be more specific on what you’re looking for?"

James exhaled deeply, tapping his fingers lightly on the table.

"Start with their financial records — any offshore accounts, money laundering, tax evasion, hidden debt, or suspicious transactions. Then look into their business relationships — any shady partnerships, bribery, or illegal contracts."

Gregor scribbled in his notepad, nodding as James spoke.

"Anything else?"

James leaned back, considering his next words carefully.

"Yes. Find out who was behind the recent scandals that nearly destroyed them. I want to know if it was an inside job, an external attack, or just a series of unfortunate events."

Gregor’s eyes flickered with interest at that request.

"That’s an interesting angle. Most people wouldn’t care about that part unless they had a specific reason."

James gave a small, knowing smile.

"Let’s just say I want to know how vulnerable they are."

Gregor chuckled.

"Alright. I like that." He jotted a few more notes before looking up. "What about personal dirt? Do you want me to dig into the McCullen family’s private lives?"

James nodded without hesitation.

"Absolutely. Especially Brian McCullen and his father, Edward. I want to know every skeleton in their closets — affairs, drug use, gambling debts, blackmail material. Anything that can be used against them."

Gregor smirked, closing his notepad for a moment.

"You don’t just want to take them down. You want to bury them."

James didn’t say anything but he deny it either.

Gregor chuckled again, when he saw this.

"Fair enough. I like a job with some real bite to it. But this kind of deep digging isn’t cheap."

"How much?" James asked without hesitation.

"For a full-scale investigation like this, with financial deep dives, background checks, surveillance, and insider interviews, you’re looking at a minimum of $100,000. If I find something major, and you need deeper access, it could go up to $250,000 or more."

James nodded. He had plenty of money, and if this investigation got him the leverage he needed, then the cost was irrelevant.

"That’s fine. I’ll pay half upfront and the rest once the job is complete."

Gregor looked pleased when he heard this.

"Alright, then. I’ll need at least a week to gather the basics. For anything deeper, give me two to three weeks. You’ll get updates as I go."

James nodded as pulled out his phone and opened his banking app. Within seconds, he transferred $50,000 directly to Gregor’s account.

A moment later, Gregor’s phone vibrated. He glanced at the notification, nodded approvingly, and pocketed his phone.

"Fast transaction. I like that." He tucked his notepad into his jacket pocket and extended his hand.

"We’re in business, James."

James shook his hand firmly.

"I’ll be expecting results soon."

"You’ll get them."

Gregor stood up first, giving James a subtle nod before walking out of the café, blending into the bustling streets like a shadow.

James exhaled, leaning back in his chair. He stood up from the chair and walked out of the cafe, to his car.

He got into his car and started the engine, and started driving home.

As he drove home, his mind replayed the meeting with Gregor. The investigator seemed confident, but James knew that finding dirt on Cullen Corp wouldn’t be easy.

If someone was already working against them, then it means that the situation could be even messier than he anticipated. But it was good as it meant more opportunities to exploit.

***

By the time James returned home, it was already past noon.

As he walked through the front door, Leslie peeked up from her spot on the couch, her eyes narrowing.

"You’re back earlier than I thought," she said, stretching her arms. "Did your mysterious vixen cancel on you?"

James scoffed, kicking off his shoes.

"Nope. I handled my business quickly."

Leslie smirked. "Business, huh? That’s exactly what a man who got scammed would say."

James rolled his eyes and walked toward the kitchen, where Patty was preparing lunch.

"You’re back early," Patty noted, glancing at him with a knowing look.

"Yeah. Had a short meeting."

Patty didn’t pry, but James could tell she was curious. She knew him too well.

Lunch was a quiet affair, aside from Leslie’s usual antics, complaining that James "owed her a proper explanation".

James ignored her, focusing on his next move.

After lunch, James went up to his room and immediately powered on his laptop.

His first priority was checking on the memecoin’s performance.

Price per token: $0.83

Market Cap: $830 million

Liquidity: $4.5 million

James grinned when he saw the changes.

The memecoin was still pumping.

The liquidity increase meant that more investors were locking in their funds, showing that confidence in the project was only growing stronger.

A notification popped up from Ralph.

Ralph: "Whale investors are getting more comfortable. Some of them want to add liquidity, but they still want reassurance. Also, price might hit $1 soon before the listing. This is insane."

James quickly typed back.

James: "Good. I’ll increase liquidity later today."

Ralph: "Perfect. Also, I found some crypto influencers willing to push hype. Want me to set it up?"

James smirked.

James: "Do it. I will send the money now. The more exposure, the better."

This was exactly what he wanted.

The higher the hype before listing, the more explosive the launch would be. If the price hit $15 post-listing, his holdings would be worth nearly $750 million.

And if it pumped beyond that? He’d be sitting on a billion-dollar asset.

But first, he had to boost the liquidity pool.

James opened his crypto wallet and prepared to inject another $2.05 million into liquidity. This would push the total close to $6.55 million, making it far more resistant to manipulation before listing.

He will be left without rebate eligible funds after injecting the amount into the liquidity but he wasn’t bothered. The memecoin will list probably by tomorrow or the next, and it would bring James millions in rebate eligible funds. And this isn’t related to his holdings.

Just as he was about to confirm the transaction, his phone vibrated as he got a call.

He looked at the caller ID and he was that it was Gregor, and he quickly picked up the call.

"That was fast," James said, as he picked the call.

"Thought I’d give you a heads-up," Gregor replied, his voice calm but serious. "I already found something interesting about Cullen Corp. Nothing solid yet, but it raises some red flags. Thought you’d want to know early."

James sat up straight, his interest fully piqued.

"Go on."

Gregor chuckled.

"Let’s just say your instincts were right. Someone’s been actively working against the McCullens — and they’re damn good at covering their tracks."

James smirked.

"Now that is interesting."

"Yeah, and here’s the best part," Gregor continued. "Whoever is targeting them isn’t done yet."

James felt a thrill of excitement surge through him.

"Then let’s see how deep this goes," he said.

Gregor laughed.

"Exactly what I was thinking."

James ended the call, his smirk widening.

Not only was he about to destroy Cullen Corp, but he wasn’t the only one with that goal. And that meant he had potential allies.