There were two reasons why I had been looking forward to this year.
First was the Great Recession! The cumulative result of the dotcom bubble led to a ‘subprime mortgage crisis.’ Since influential families had unexpectedly joined the market more aggressively than they did in the past, the timing of the bomb explosion had been delayed. However, the obvious signs that it would burst soon could be seen lately.
ABX, the index that represented twenty subprime mortgage bonds, was falling. The decline was more noticeable compared to when I checked before entering the dungeon. The lower the index, the higher the risk of bankruptcy.
Nevertheless, the market wasn’t reacting much. This was something that people could see but wanted to ignore. As banks and security firms in North America were raking in money from real estate mortgage loans and the products derived from them, everyone was pretending not to be aware of the warning that the ABX index was flashing. There were sharp comments that the risks they were creating were like nuclear bombs and would blow up not only North America but also the entire global economy. However, these were all dismissed as jealousy of novices.
Anyway, there was not much time left before nuclear bombs fell simultaneously around the world. On the other hand, my money would expand more explosively and destructively than it was now.
The second reason was the Destiny Group! The group of scientists who had succeeded in energizing mana stone for the first time in my past life had appeared this year. Since mana stones existed, regular humans were still able to get electricity in the ruined world, the Awakened could upgrade their insignia and equipment, and ordinary soldiers could remain in the community as members who protected the surviving cities. Civilian soldiers’ capabilities weren’t very comparable to those of the Awakened, but it was a different story when they held weapons with mana stones. Depending on the quality of the weapon, they could at least play the role of one F-class Awakened.
***
After the FaceNote guy left with a satisfactory answer on the additional investment, another call filled me with excitement.
<Destiny Group’s paper has been published, Ethan.>
They acted like the Satoshi Group, which developed Bitcoin, after the subprime mortgage crisis. Therefore, their status was hidden in secret in the past. It was time to see the benefit of purchasing a stake in an authoritative magazine where the paper would be published.
<Could you invite the paper representative to the address I’m sending now?>
I took one of the three leaders of the group to Las Vegas. Of course, I made sure to book first-class plane tickets since he had to fly from the east coast to the west coast.
The next day at noon, I received a call from the lobby. The man had arrived, so I told the receptionist to send him to my room. He asked about the cost of staying in the room overnight as soon as he arrived. When I answered that it was about thirty thousand dollars, he asked me how many days I had been staying and began exploring the room.
A few minutes later, he finally paid attention to me after looking around the room like a real estate agent. When he made eye contact with me, his face slightly stiffened as he approached me.
In fact, the Destiny Group became useless after they succeeded in energizing the mana stone in the past. Not only was there not enough market to digest the profits but even if all the group members didn’t die, there was also no way that the Eight Evils and Eight VIrtues would let them monopolize it. They were useless in the current era as well. The man’s current title was actually an assistant professor at an Ivy League university.
“Do you think I’m being rude? That’s how I felt about how you’re acting. There’s a reason why we move anonymously, but you broke it even without asking our opinion. I came here to tell you that,” he said.
I replied while pointing to my front seat, “I understand, but I had no other option. Please take a seat.”
“You guys know us so well, but we don’t know anything about you. Well, the only things we know are that you have lots of money and have lots of influence in the academic world.”
“I’m Ethan. I can’t tell you more than this,” I answered.
Steven frowned. “Oh, so you mean you can keep yourself hidden, but we can’t? Do we have to continue this conversation?”
The Destiny Group worked anonymously because their research topics were treated as heresy in academia. The reason why they put out pseudoscience into the world was to raise awareness of the fact that idiots like them existed. It was different when they published a paper with their real names on it. Officially, they were elite professors, but they were pseudoscience researchers behind the scenes. If the secret was revealed, they could crash by losing their jobs and reputations in an instant. This was why Steven couldn’t risk his career, and why his face had been dark this entire time.
“Then, why did you call me? I don’t think it’s because you wanted to show off your money,” he asked.
He still had not sat down yet. I let him be and turned away from him. I took out a leather pouch from the room’s safe. When I placed it on the table, he naturally looked at it. When I untied the pouch strap, a dim blue light stretched out and covered his face. His blue eyes turned even more blue, and his gaze followed my hands. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the mana stone I had taken out from the pouch. His expression was similar to that of a person who saw a dungeon for the first time.
“I called you because of this,” I said.
Steven was quiet as he was enchanted by the mana stone. He even forgot to blink.
“So far, I have suspected that it’s a new substance that has not been reported to academia. I have confirmed that it’s not a naturally occurring rock. If it’s a completely new substance, the problem will be serious, Steven.”
When I put emphasis on his name, he finally looked at me.
“Where… did you get this?” he asked, but I didn’t answer. He gulped.
“You can touch it,” I said.
Steven held the mana stone in his hands.
“So if you agree to follow the security guidelines, I’m willing to financially support your current research and give you a chance to study this material,” I said.
“What do you mean by… security guidelines?” he asked hesitantly.
“My people will maintain the security in the labs we provide. You will need time to think, so go back and talk to your colleagues.”
“…Do you mind if I call them here? With some simple tools?”
***
Steven said ‘simple,’ but the equipment they brought took up all the space in the room. It was only possible because the hotel had accepted the request of a VVIP customer after much consideration. And now, my hands held the contracts that they had signed.
「Confidential Agreement
Article One. The purpose of this Agreement is to protect the confidential information of the contracting parties in providing their private information to each other.
Article Two. The confidential information in this Agreement shall be the ones provided by either party to the other in the course of the business between Party A and Party B, or… 」
They suddenly became silent as they were standing around looking at the data results. One of the female researchers burst into a roar first.
“No way!”
“What the heck is this? What?”
They became busy again since they couldn’t believe the conclusions. However, the results were bound to be the same even if they checked again. When Steven approached me, all the hostility he had toward me in the beginning had completely disappeared. His startled eyes were shaking.
“That… that is… not…. a mineral. If we have to categorize it… it’s more similar to a creature. Did you know that?” he asked.
“Really?” I pretended not to know anything.
“It’s the greatest discovery of the century. Where, where did you get it?” he blurted out.
I pointed at the couch with my chin. Steven hadn’t sat down once since entering the room, but now he sat quickly and waited for me. I took my seat across from him and said, “I can’t tell you that.”
Gulp.
His Adam’s apple moved.
“I can continue providing as much as you need for your research. I will not only provide the best treatment in this industry, but also pave the way for you to become a billionaire based on your performance. However, all the rights to the research are mine. Do you agree?” I questioned.
He didn’t even think. As soon as he opened his mouth, I added a few more words, “I’m an individual, not from the government. To completely block the possibility of the government taking away the substance or exposing it to the public, I will have to do whatever I need to do. Don’t answer right away. Think about it.”
“Will it influence my daily life?” he asked.
“No. None of my people would intervene in your daily life. I can promise you that.”
“If I accept it, my family would be under your watch, too.”
I shrugged. “It’s that important. I think you understand better than anyone else.”
“If we don’t accept…”
I interrupted him, “You would have to keep the confidential agreement. Then, I’ll find another research team.”
At that time, another shocked scream erupted in the room with the equipment, “Steven! You have to look at this figure! You’ll go crazy, too!”
“When we have to disclose this material to the world one day, I’ll put your name at the very top. That’s all I can promise,” I said.
Steven looked determined. He said while getting up, “Great! My fellows will probably have the same thoughts as me.”
“Then, I’ll place the contract here. Go ahead. It’s time for fantasy.”
He was in such a hurry to go to his colleagues that he almost ran back.
Soon, a legal team offered by the hotel entered the room. All the Destiny Group members who had decided to sign the contract were sitting in front of me with excited faces. The hotel’s legal team advised them to call their lawyers because the extent of my surveillance on them was on the verge of intruding on their human rights. There would have been an acute tension between the legal teams over the interpretation of my watch, but we had agreed about it beforehand. They would have already figured out that the contract was just a scrap of paper.
Right before signing the contract, Steven said with a quizzical look, “Ethan, your company’s name is…”
[Destiny Co., Ltd.]
The contract contained the certificate of Destiny Corporation. Steven was surprised because the ghost company I used as the contractor matched their group name. Moreover, the ghost company had been established a long time ago in 1997, and not a few days ago.
I replied with a smile, “As its name suggests, we are meant to be. Don’t you think so?”