＜ Episode 106 ＞
John’s expression turned serious at the sudden story.
“Tell me.”
The figure of John buried on the sofa and crossed arms seemed overbearing at first glance, but Lucas was relieved.
In any case, isn’t it the attitude of wanting to hear the story?
widely.
“after.”
Taking a sip of the water Lina brought, Lucas opened his mouth.
“Rupert is garbage.”
“yes?”
Lucas muttered quietly and John met his eyes.
“When you say Rupert, you mean the owner of Hindel, right? Do you know me?”
Lucas smiled at John’s question.
“No way. What kind of connections do the owner of a mid-sized company and a field agent have? You only know it on paper. I’m not even here anyway, so why don’t you curse at me.”
“Otherwise.”
John nodded at Lucas’ words and met his gaze as if telling him to continue.
“Hindel Bionic has quite a long history. Rupert Hindel is the third generation. It was the family business of the Hindel family, but it has grown to this point.”
“You must have potential.”
The power accumulated over time cannot be ignored.
Until she became the current Hindel Bionic, Luna had a lot of personal connections in various fields.
‘It’s not easy if it’s like this.’
It is common for power to have the property of trying to unite.
The influence of forming their own inner circle and monopolizing everything within it is strong, but if Hindel Bionic is in that inner circle, the members will not laugh at the crisis of Hindel Bionic.
“There was potential.”
Seeing the change in John’s expression, Lucas replied with a smile as if he had noticed his thoughts.
“there was?”
“I told you. Rupert is garbage.”
A small smile formed on Lucas’ lips.
“Rupert is the one who ruined a mid-sized company called Hindel Bionic, which was extremely solid.”
It was an eye full of hate.
***
The small company started by the first biologist, Hindel, gradually expanded its business.
There must have been checks from those around him, but the fact that the first Hindel was a prominent scholar and that he had a close relationship with the city council made it possible to ignore the checks around him.
It started as a venture and became a small and medium-sized business, and by the time of the 2nd Hindel, it had the present appearance.
Due to the nature of the company focused on medicine and bio, the cash cow was certain, and because it was a structure where income was generated even if only existing products were sold diligently, the company prospered day by day, and the owner’s family, Hindel, was also able to continue to accumulate its wealth.
“But that was it.”
Lucas continued.
“The first Hindel and the second Hindel were pretty decent people. As a researcher, I laid the foundation for the company, and as a manager, I established the company in its current position. But I mean.”
A cold smile formed on Lucas’ lips as he leaned forward with his pods on.
“I was just a normal person. Hindel.”
It takes strength to rise from Luna to high society.
It can be overwhelming financial power, it can be powerful power, but above all, it is a power that must be indispensable.
violence.
Those who do not possess the ability are bound to be weeded out even if they rise to the top.
“If the owner is powerless, it’s perfect for the guys below to think about something else, right? There have actually been several coup attempts.”
John, who was worried for a moment at Lucas’s spinning figure, opened his mouth.
“The Inspector Corps got involved.”
“···How did know?”
Lucas’s face hardened at John’s words, but John didn’t care and continued the story.
“I said pharmaceuticals and bio. After all, it’s a health-related company. The old men of the city council thought there was no way they would let such a company go. He said that he was an ordinary person, not a person with abilities. If that’s the case, I’ll draw a rough picture.”
Chick.
John, who had a cigarette in his mouth, exhaled smoke and said.
“Since they were friendly with the invitation, they would have been reluctant to do things openly, and then they would have moved secretly. The inspection team is perfect for that.”
“I can understand why the superiors covet you.”
“It’s a story anyone can think of.”
Contrary to Lucas’ expression full of shock, John sucked the tobacco deeply with a nonchalant expression.
I don’t know in Luna, but it’s something that happens all the time on Earth.
It’s just that the target is not a country, but a company.
Because John had quite a bit of experience with black ops, which overthrows the current regime and causes a coup to establish a puppet government.
“···What. great. Anyway, there was an attempt by the inspection team, and it failed. There were talented people around.”
“I was just alerted.”
Lucas buries himself on the sofa.
“right. I gradually distanced myself from the city council and got closer to the council. In the meantime, the 2nd generation focused on instilling abilities in Rupert, who will become the 3rd generation.”
The owner suffered badly because he had no strength, and the second generation didn’t want Rupert to suffer like that.
“The only thing Rupert, who had no special talents, could learn was martial arts.”
A sneer crept across Lucas’ lips.
Sorcery chosen by an outside being and a special ability that must be innate.
These two cannot be chosen.
Then, what is left is martial arts and magic, and among these two, magic is the one that covers talent.
If you are not sensitive to your innate intelligence and magical powers, it is impossible to become a high-ranking person even if you enter magic.
Because of that, wizards tend to underestimate warriors.
“It wasn’t difficult to learn martial arts because I had money. Rupert had a knack for using his body.”
With the full support of his family, Rupert, who invested more time in martial arts than a moderate martial artist, quickly rose to the top of his rank and became a master at the peak of his middle age.
It’s not enough to be called a genius, but it’s a gifted talent.
It was not until the third generation of Hindel Bionic that it was able to acquire a reasonable owner worthy of its corporate status.
“…But why do you call it garbage? He’s an heir who has been systematically raised since he was a child.”
Seeing John shake his head, Rupert smiled.
“I didn’t get a proper management class. It’s more accurate to see Rupert as an unmanned man rather than a manager.”
“···ah.”
John nodded as if he understood Lucas’ words.
“Two generations died suddenly. Somehow, I succeeded in inheriting the shares and property, but that is all.”
Rupert, who was educated and grew up to be a more thorough martial artist than the average martial artist.
Rupert suddenly took the position of head of a mid-sized company.
“I didn’t have any advisers. The 2nd generation was competent and had plenty of advisors to help Rupert, just in case. But I mean.”
Lucas took a sip of water and continued.
“Apart from their pride, would corpse warriors listen to what others say and eat them?”
It is Muji who constantly repeats training and cultivation and eventually trains to become a being that is more than human.
That’s why warriors have stronger pride than any other talented person.
Besides, considering the situation Rupert was in, it was unlikely he would listen to others in the first place.
“They tried to overthrow it once, but failed. They say they are advisors prepared by the two generations, but they are strangers anyway.”
It didn’t take long for the advisors at Hindel Bionic to leave the company, and Rupert began running the company self-righteously.
“We started to expand away from our main focus. I jumped into distribution and real estate first.”
The wealth accumulated over the third generation based on a strong cash cow was enormous, and based on that capital, he aggressively expanded his business.
“I must have failed.”
“right.”
But this is Luna.
If a competitor enters the market, it is not a place to compete fairly, but a place where blood is drawn with guns pointed at each other.
Rupert suffered huge losses and was forced to resign.
“The accumulated assets were gone, and all that was left was scars. Only then did Rupert feel sorry for him, so he focused on Hindel Bionic, but is that going to be that easy?”
With the accumulated financial power, he firmly kept Hindel Bionic, which can be called the parent company, but isn’t there an atmosphere?
The inside started to shake due to a series of failures, and the inspectors who were keeping an eye on it did not miss that moment.
“We can’t let go of our hands just because we failed once. I infiltrated people and gathered information. In the meantime, I discovered something strange.”
Rupert, who had been unaware of the enormous failure, began to be active by increasing investment in R&D from one day.
The inspectorate believed there was something to that appearance and dug deeper, eventually confirming the existence of a top-secret project.
“…Even if it rots, it’s still a mid-sized company. I was able to confirm the existence of the project, but I couldn’t figure out what it was.”
Along with the City Council and the National Guard, what is called Luna’s power is a corporation.
It was not easy even for the inspection team to dig up what such a company decided and hid.
“In the meantime, this incident happened. You have no idea how surprised I was to hear you were involved.”
While the head of the inspection team, full of curiosity, stamped their feet, a fight broke out.
In addition, John, who had been paying attention, appeared on the mound, so the inspectors were surprised and quickly grasped the inside story, and Lucas came to this place.
“We judged Rupert’s project to be of the very risky kind. Bio-related disasters do not know how far the damage can go. Because that’s what a biological disaster is.”
Looking at Lucas’ serious face, John nodded.
‘He’s competent.’
A mutant hidden in Hindel Bionic.
It was dangerous enough to be said to be a form of destruction, but the inspectors were already aware of the crisis and were trying to deal with it, so it could be said to be competent.
“Thanks to the turmoil, it’s easier for the agents inside to work, but we can’t rely on that alone. That’s why I came to you.”
Lucas and John’s eyes met.
“Is it okay if I accompany you?”
John opened his mouth while meeting Lucas’s eyes, which were swirling with madness and will.
“I think it is a kind of biological weapon. It is the result of combining not only Lina’s statement but also the opinion of the organ maker.”
“···Damn it.”
Looking at Lucas’s crumpled face, he continued.
“You will have to talk with the organ maker and the National Guard beforehand. Organ Maker is the subject of the request, and the National Guard is also stepping up.”
“…When did the National Guard get their hands on it? I’ll have to talk to Zhao.”
John buried himself on the sofa while watching Lucas manipulate the communication device and send a message.
“Please take care of my request fee. It puts you in the middle.”
“…don’t worry about that.”
John’s job is to carry out the request as much as he received the money.
The inspectorate and Lucas were well aware of John’s tendencies, and had no intention of treating him awkwardly from the start.
That’s when John and Lucas were talking.
beep. beep. beep. beep.
John’s communication device emitted a signal, and Igor’s figure appeared through the device.
– John.
“Igor.”
– Can you come this way?
The screen that appeared on the hologram changed and the image of a cave that looked like an abyss came to mind.
＜ Episode 106 ＞ End