Chapter 63

Owen’s reign ended in just one month.

Externally, Owen was declared dead.

Rekhetio Corporation slowly returned to normal.

A month had passed since then.

Cash’s father returned as Chairman, and Cash became a director of the company.

Of course, Cash could have taken the Chairman’s position immediately.

She had both the justification and the power.

But Cash wanted to remain as a director.

She wanted to experiment with her abilities in various ways.

It was a choice made because the responsibilities were less than that of Chairman, and even if she failed, there would be someone to back her up.

However, being a director didn’t mean her power within the company was limited to that of a director.

Naturally, having seen her personally reclaim the company, no one doubted her power.

To exaggerate a bit, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say the Chairman was now her puppet.

Now the de facto leader of Rekhetio, Cash was once again wrestling with piles of documents in her office.

“Nyaaang…”

Making an incomprehensible sound, Cash melted onto her desk.

The sight of a director with an office larger than an average house showing no dignity whatsoever.

A little away from her desk, Amon leaned against the sofa, sharpening his sword with a proud smile.

“Do you like it that much?”

“Of course I do. TNC-101 alloy body, magic stone steel core, elemental metallurgy method…”

Amon’s explanation, heard several times a day.

Cash listened to it all with a bitter smile.

‘It’s worth buying since he likes it so much.’

The first thing Cash did upon being appointed director was to upgrade her colleagues’ equipment to the highest specs.

She generously provided treatments and equipment that even a security chief in another company might not receive.

In Amon’s case, since he didn’t undergo treatments, she compensated with equipment.

Using a slight loophole, she provided military-grade equipment that civilians could only dream of.

The swords Amon was lovingly stroking were among the finest made by humans.

So good that Amon’s smile never faded when looking at them.

“Hehehe…”

Not to mention, the clothes Amon was wearing now were of such high performance that even ten mouths wouldn’t be enough to describe them.

A true equipment enthusiast, Cash watched Amon with a bitter smile.

Then, suddenly, a question popped into her mind.

She finished the documents she was handling and immediately brought up the question.

“Come to think of it, didn’t you handle a Megacorp before?”

“Yeah?”

“And in exchange for handing it over to 3 Dollars, you got some rights and other things.”

“Yep.”

“But why were the rights so little?”

Cash had also heard about Amon’s deal.

Meat and rights.

Along with a few other conveniences.

But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand.

Just that?

The price for handing over a Megacorp was only that much?

Even if she had heard it before, she wouldn’t have understood, but now as a Megacorp director handling money herself, Amon’s deal seemed ridiculously weak.

It was to the point where she suspected he might have been scammed.

But Amon denied Cash’s suspicions.

“I know. But there’s a reason.”

“What reason?”

“Huh? You’ll know if you look into it.”

“Why would I look into the past without your permission? I only see the future.”

“Ah, thanks. But I can’t tell you. Sorry.”

“Well, you’ll handle it as you see fit.”

Cash nodded and focused back on the documents.

The Amon she knew was kind but no pushover.

There must be a reason he reduced the contract so much and hid the real deal with 3 Dollars.

She processed the documents, typing some and signing others.

Like a capable career woman, she handled calls and work simultaneously with her earphones, finishing her work just past 6.

She immediately got up and spoke to Amon, who was waiting.

“Done.”

“Finished early today?”

“I had an appointment today, so I handled a few things yesterday. Let’s go.”

“Alright. Let’s stop by the lobby first.”

Amon put the sword he was holding into his pocket.

The sword slipped into the pocket as if by magic.

The two grabbed their coats and headed to the company lobby.

Upon arriving at the lobby, Sonia, who had just finished her lecture, was waiting for them.

“Let’s hurry.”

With Sonia joining, the group of three boarded the elevator again.

They arrived at the upper atrium where the final battle had taken place, then pressed the elevator to go down.

Basement Level 8.

A floor accessible only to executives and above.

Normally, Amon and Sonia wouldn’t have access, but this was a special case.

At the Basement Level 8 Laboratory, the three completed identity verification and headed to the deepest part of the lab.

On the other side of the glass, a snail the size of a human forearm was crawling.

Entity Name: <Wise Snail>

Once Cash’s flesh and blood, who had held the world for a month, now reduced to a mere creature.

No feelings of pity arose.

Because the karma Owen had accumulated was no small matter.

From the start, removing human brains to enhance a supercomputer showed Owen was no saint, much like his mother.

A saint wouldn’t have strangled his father.

Amon, Sonia, Cash.

As the three watched the snail, the people they were waiting for arrived.

“Sorry. We’re a bit late.”

[Got an urgent mission at 5.]

It was the Water Buffalo Tanker and the Mute Sniper, wearing Rekhetio Corporation security uniforms.

“We’re definitely working overtime.”

“Me too.”

The Ogre and the Bisexual Mage were also in company uniforms.

Lab coats from the research department.

The four had been employed through Cash’s connections after the incident.

Though commoners despise corporations, they don’t refuse corporate jobs.

Contradictory, but it’s true that corporate jobs are stable and safe.

Moreover, with strong connections in the corporation, there was no reason not to join.

The changes in daily life didn’t end there.

Amon’s gaze went to his colleagues’ fingers.

The Water Buffalo Tanker and the Mute Sniper,

The Ogre and the Bisexual Mage.

Each pair wore the same ring.

On their ring fingers.

He was briefly surprised when he first heard the news but quickly adapted.

Though from a traditional perspective, the combination of the Bisexual Mage and the Ogre was a bit shocking…

‘Well, if they’re happy.’

Amon decided to respect them.

Anyway, the six of them had gathered for the first time in a while.

For convenience, they called themselves the Cash Expedition Team. (Cash herself hated the name.)

Over the past month, they had exchanged news through Amon, who had little to do, but their schedules rarely aligned, making this gathering rare.

The leader of the expedition, Cash, brought up the topic.

“Alright. It’s been a while since we all gathered, so I’d like to go eat right away, but… let’s handle the snail matter first.”

Cash tapped on the glass.

The reason they were called was simple.

It was also a precaution in case the experiment went wrong and a dungeon formed, but that seemed unlikely.

The snail didn’t seem capable of much.

More importantly, they were the most trustworthy.

The snail had the power to see the future.

The power of the Rekhetio family.

Still under research, but if leaked, it could be a fatal blow to Rekhetio, who relied on future vision.

So, they conducted experiments with the minimum number of trusted personnel.

Amon shook his head, clearing his thoughts.

The Bisexual Mage, in researcher attire, stepped forward and began the experiment on the snail.

Today’s experiment was to confirm if the future seen by the snail and Cash were the same.

The Ogre, with hands too large for such delicate work, inserted a thin needle into the snail’s body.

Ziiing-

The Ogre adjusted the microscope-equipped mechanical eye, moving the needle.

After finishing, the Ogre wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Phew. I’ve been doing this for a month. No one in the lab can do this better than me now.”

Soon, the device wirelessly connected to the needle began displaying the screen.

The future seen by the snail appeared divided into eight parts.

“We can only read eight so far. With more research on the ganglia, we can do more.”

“No need to rush. We can take it slow.”

Cash encouraged the Ogre and sat down.

A display was placed in front of the snail.

The display was connected to a body cam on Amon’s chest.

Amon, wearing the body cam, entered the training room with the Mute Sniper and the Water Buffalo Tanker.

The experiment proceeded as follows.

Show the battle from Amon’s perspective via the body cam to the snail and Cash.

Cash would check how many of the futures seen by the snail matched hers.

Click clack.

As the combat team warmed up, the Bisexual Mage gave the signal.

The spar began.

The combat power of the comrades on the screen was incomparable to a month ago.

The result of the treatments and equipment Cash provided.

It might seem a bit hollow, but in this world, individual effort and time don’t necessarily lead to strength.

Ultimately, the capital to receive good treatments and the physique and mentality to endure them determine strength.

Of course, repeated training and meditation can increase the limit of treatments one can endure, but in the end, physique and talent are crucial.

In that sense, it wouldn’t be strange if a neighborhood thug suddenly returned as a Megacorp security chief-level monster.

‘Though they’re not at that level yet.’

There’s a limit to how much can be treated at once.

They were still at the upper echelon of manager level.

Cash, wanting to appoint a trustworthy person as security chief, was disappointed.

But she wasn’t in a hurry.

‘They have plenty of treatment compatibility.’

With gradual equipment upgrades, reaching the security chief level was entirely possible.

Thinking this, Cash continued to watch the screen.

As time passed, the experiment results came in…

“0% match.”

“Wow. That’s surprising.”

At the Bisexual Mage’s report, Amon’s eyebrow twitched.

Though he said that, it was what everyone expected.

Each seer sees a different future, and foresight changes with observation.

But amidst that, they found a certain pattern.

“Is this snail Owen or what? Such a safety freak.”

The snail always saw outcomes leading to a draw.

From Amon’s perspective, it found ways to never lose.

The direction was entirely different from Cash’s foresight, which focused on victory or defeat.

Cash cheered at the experiment results.

“Great.”

She hoped for a mismatch, and it turned out that way.

It meant more futures could be seen.

And there was one more peculiar point.

[Oh… better than expected.]

Even the Mute Sniper was impressed.

The snail’s method minimized damage in any scenario.

Even if they accidentally entered a path leading to defeat, the snail found ways to force a draw with minimal damage.

Of course, the future of victory comes to those who don’t give up, but…

“Not all employees have strong mentalities.”

Everyone agreed with Cash’s cold insight.

At least in foresight involving employees with fragile mentalities, the snail might be better.

Cash nodded in satisfaction and decided to end today’s experiment.

Squelch.

As soon as the experiment ended, the snail spewed green byproducts.

“Ew.”

Sonia grimaced and ran out of the room.

The Water Buffalo Tanker, with a weak stomach, also left the room with a frown.

The Ogre and the Bisexual Mage, as researchers, grumbled while collecting the byproducts.

The effects of the byproducts were still unknown.

But since entities’ byproducts often had uses, they were stored for now.

Amon muttered while looking at the byproducts.

“That’s not poop, is it?”

“Entities don’t eat.”

“Well, but…”

Amon stopped mid-sentence and looked seriously at Cash.

“Don’t make me eat that. I’ll run away.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t want to eat it either. I won’t make you do what I hate. We’ll feed it to mice first, and if it’s not poisonous, we’ll try it on other employees later.”

“What did they do to deserve that?”

“Do you want to eat it?”

“No, Chairman.”

“Amon. I’m a director.”

“Yes, yes. Unofficial powerhouse Director.”

“Amon.”

“Sorry. I won’t joke anymore.”

Amon silently prayed for the unnamed employees.

‘But Cash treats employees well and the company benefits are good. Cheers.’

Rationalizing with an excuse no one would hear.

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