Chapter 222: Negotiation (1)

“Executive Director Avid Yonsen’s life signs have been lost. The instantaneous observed temperature at the site dropped to minus 244 degrees Celsius, confirming his death.”

“……”

With the sound of heavy wood being knocked, a grave voice resonated.

“Why did he do it?”

“……From the unfolding circumstances, it appears that approximately 80% of the Cartel’s execution squad under Executive Director Yonsen were instantly neutralized, creating a confrontation between Van and Director Yonsen. What happened after that……”

“Hmm.”

The voice already knew the story of how executives Eolara and Girard had been brutally defeated in different ways.

Moreover, wasn’t Girard an executive belonging to his own faction?

Given that there was still no news of him, there was no need to guess what his end was like.

“It seems Dyke Corp. is truly prepared to completely sever ties with us.”

Thump-thump-thump-thump.

A heavy yet not dull sound of something tapping on an armrest was heard.

The massive body writhing in the darkness was too immense and vibrantly alive to be merely human.

“We targeted the wrong people.”

The contemplative voice spoke.

“While Dyke has made enormous money by entering the illicit weapons industry, its primary business is still closer to manufacturing industrial tools. They must have known we couldn’t easily touch their legitimate infrastructure.”

“But if we had ignored their intentions and attacked the industrial factory, the Agents would have intervened.”

“Exactly. That’s why it’s so tricky. As if this situation was deliberately designed……”

The Cartel’s prestige meant that a single successful legitimate company wasn’t a concern.

However, the fact that the wizard from the 49th district, unlike other freelancers, maintained a close relationship with the Agents was highly troublesome.

If they carelessly touched legitimate infrastructure and gave the Agents a pretext to intervene, the loss would be immeasurable.

Especially if Evelyn Marcia started to get involved in this matter, the damage would become uncontrollably large.

His gaze settled calmly.

“We can’t overtly make a bad move……”

“A bad move, sir?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll handle things from here on. You all focus on erasing the traces of this operation.”

“But if we brush this off like this, there’s a possibility of backlash from other directors……”

“Didn’t I say I’d handle it?”

“……My apologies.”

The man, who had ended the communication, pressed his hand to his forehead, which rested on the armrest.

“It can’t drag on. But how do I create a justification……”

His initial plan wasn’t like this.

Things had gone smoothly up to the point of provoking Van and Jenny, wizards with diverse powerful connections, to divert the attention of the other directors externally.

While the other directors were busy managing Van’s rebellion against the Cartel, he should have leisurely absconded with the slush funds hidden within the company……

The problem was that things escalated much too quickly and drastically.

Van’s method of gnawing away at the Cartel was astonishingly meticulous and persistent, and the economic losses incurred in the process had left the Cartel considerably chaotic, both internally and externally.

Moreover, as Jenny quickly absorbed the ownership of the cooperative businesses Van had destroyed, expanding their scale and even drawing in Dyke Corp., it became difficult to even touch the slush funds, as the company had to significantly adjust its ledgers.

It was a mistake.

He had known Van had the ability to inflict moderate harm on the organization, but he had never dreamed that a single person could possess the foresight to shake such a massive organization to its core.

It was clear that things were going wrong.

Beside him, lost in thought, an unfamiliar voice spoke.

“Things aren’t going smoothly, it seems.”

“……”

“I told you to start slowly. Not many who get entangled with that wizard end up well…… I believe I said that.”

The man silently raised his gaze to look at the young man chuckling beside him.

A bushy beard and a face covered in tattoos.

Even as he sneered, his glittering eyes were striking.

A groan-like sound escaped the man’s lips, almost unconsciously.

“If it weren’t for you people……”

“Oh, come on, don’t say that. You were the one who accepted the Ten Counts’ offer, weren’t you?”

“……”

“I’m not blaming you for that choice…… For an apostate monk like yourself, it’s natural to pursue worldly desires. Wasn’t it to enjoy luxuries that a Cartel director couldn’t easily indulge in that you chose us?”

Apostate monk.

The moment he heard that term, a powerful surge of mana from the man pressed down on the young man’s shoulders, but the young man didn’t falter, merely tilting his head.

“As a result of what you started, the Cartel is in an emergency, and they’re starting to search for the instigator. You’ve managed to hide it with your director’s authority so far…… but it’s only a matter of time before the traitor is exposed. Isn’t that right?”

“……What are you trying to say?”

“It’s impossible to undo what you’ve done. But if you quickly eliminate the source of the problem, those who want to hold the instigator accountable will shut up.”

“……”

“Create a justification. And you kill Van yourself. Wouldn’t that be enough for people to consider what you’ve done as a momentary aberration and overlook it?”

“But……”

As the man spoke, appearing distressed, the young man pressed his point.

“Think about why Virgil O’Reiden equivocated on this matter.”

“……!!”

“He would have already noticed there’s a traitor within. He’ll be waiting for his moment. You don’t want to give him an excuse, do you?”

“No, that can’t happen……”

The man’s eyes sank deeply.

“……Absolutely not.”

The news that Lennok had single-handedly overwhelmed the Cartel’s execution squad spread like wildfire.

The execution squad, led by the Blood Wizard Avid Yonsen, was a truly unified military force that had successfully achieved physical and consciousness integration using his serum. They moved as one body.

They were one of the sharpest blades, ruthlessly eliminating those who defied the Cartel’s will.

The story that a single wizard, a lightning wizard who had recently put his freelance activities on hold, had annihilated such human weapons was equally surreal.

It wasn’t the first or second time absurd rumors had circulated in this underworld, but the prevailing atmosphere made it clear to everyone.

Whether the absurdity was truly a rumor, or if it was the subject of the rumor itself.

Three days had passed since then.

After attacking and destroying Dyke Corp.’s factory, the Cartel made no further moves.

Lennok, having fought an intense battle, also did not force himself to move.

Naturally, the conflict between the two factions entered a lull.

“……It’s strangely quiet. Nothing is happening.”

“Is that so? Perhaps they’re just moving covertly.”

“It’s not a matter of intelligence. You can tell by the atmosphere of the street.”

Dray said that and silently looked around.

The streets of the 49th district, which had been quiet for a while, were once again bustling with people.

From those exchanging powder in dark alleys to riders chain-smoking in a group, gangs trading items wrapped in sacks, and merchants bartering goods laid out on mats.

It was a scene Lennok was now familiar with.

“The guys who disappeared like ghosts when the conflict with the Cartel was ongoing are back…… This wouldn’t happen without a reason. There must have been some change on their side.”

“Is that a former soldier’s intuition?”

To Lennok, inferring the situation from merely the street atmosphere wasn’t very relatable, but Dray was not one to make empty boasts.

It wasn’t strange for him to feel something, having patrolled these streets and guarded the bar for well over half a month.

“More than intuition…… there are probably some among them who exchange information with the Cartel’s lower-level members. It’s highly likely they’re passing around words like ‘there won’t be any big moves for a while.’ It’s the same principle as soldiers in the unit guessing tomorrow’s duties.”

“……”

As Lennok fell into thought, Dray naturally changed the subject.

“By the way, coming out to the street with Van has certainly changed the way people look at this place. It seems the wizard’s standing is changing day by day.”

“They probably don’t even know who I’m fighting, do they?”

Dray laughed at the indifferent reply.

“It’s not unreasonable to think that…… but consider it from their perspective. The current situation where the Cartel isn’t moving, even with rumors circulating that the wizard single-handedly annihilated the execution squad.”

“……”

“Wouldn’t it be natural for them to think that the wizard Van possesses power and connections comparable to an entire organization?”

Indeed, upon hearing that and looking around, Lennok finally began to infer the emotions in the gazes of the people looking at him.

If the gaze, which had shifted from indifference to wariness as his reputation grew, now contained a faint hint of fear.

Wouldn’t it be closer to the emotion directed at an incomprehensible monster, rather than at a fellow professional?

“If you successfully conclude this matter, the wizard’s position will likely be on a completely different level than before. You might not fully grasp it now, being used to freelance life…… but anyone working on this street would understand.”

That a supernova, whom even Vulcan’s Three Leaders couldn’t ignore, was truly beginning to establish himself.

Dray didn’t say it outright, but Lennok vaguely understood what he was getting at.

He was trying to tell Lennok what it meant for a person’s standing to change on this street.

Because only by knowing where he stood could he pursue maximum gain with minimum loss in any situation.

He clearly understood the power and significance of a single powerful transcendent.

After finishing the street patrol, which had begun as a brief talk with Dray, Lennok mentioned it to Jenny, and she nodded.

“That’s typical of Dray. He probably experienced something similar in the military.”

“In the military, you say?”

“Until about 20 years ago, promotions in megacities were often decided by merits achieved on the front lines. It was common to skip several ranks to fill upper-level vacancies. Dray knows how to act around others to survive that process.”

“……”

Things to be aware of when one’s standing changes.

From Lennok’s perspective, who had always lived thinking only of tomorrow, this was a somewhat unfamiliar outlook.

If he were to bring Dray and his mercenaries to their side, wouldn’t they be able to help in these aspects too?

Intentionally or not, Dray was consistently appealing his value to Lennok.

As assistance beyond mere combat power, something Lennok hadn’t considered at all.

Jenny, observing Lennok, propped her chin on her hand and let out a small sigh.

“By the way, is the Cartel really planning to just gloss over this? I honestly expected a full-scale war, pulling in all our forces.”

“You think so?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

It was a rare statement from her, who usually had very clear likes and dislikes.

“The Cartel’s chairman was well acquainted with my grandfather…… By now, he must surely know about this, but I don’t know what he’ll think. It practically depends on him.”

“Are you talking about Kaiser?”

“……”

Jenny was silent for a long time, then turned her gaze to Lennok.

“I, you know, don’t believe one can easily escape the circumstances of their bloodline.”

“……”

“But it’s also true that I’m not ready right now…… Until now, I’ve just been living as if dead, praying that past connections would pass by.”

Jenny’s expression as she said that was too vague to describe.

“Decades have passed, yet there are still countless people who remember my grandfather’s name. Honestly, I don’t care how it turns out. But if that name, which holds little meaning to me, now troubles my partner……”

Her eyes, which had been staring into the distance, sharpened into focus.

He sensed instinctively that a strong will had re-established itself within her.

Jenny looked up at Lennok.

“I’m ready.”

“……‘Ready’ isn’t a word you say so easily. Especially in this world.”

Lennok pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and stood up.

He was a little tired from walking around the street for a long time.

However, he clearly understood what she wanted to convey.

And that he, Lennok, had to give her an answer.

When he met Antares, he said nothing, but Lennok had somewhat figured it out from that encounter.

Contaminants in the undeveloped zone.

Remnants of the Black Consumer Project.

That the words themselves were one of the biggest secrets buried in this city.

And that there was a high possibility Kaiser’s death was connected to it.

‘I’ve confirmed that the time Yakson remembered Kaiser and the timeline of the contaminants appearing in the undeveloped zone are similar. It’s almost certainly……’

Considering that Yakson was the only one who witnessed Kaiser’s end, and Lennok was the only one who heard that secret, the probability of the two events being connected was very high.

Yakson had given Lennok the choice as repayment for dealing with the Drug Lord.

Whether to tell Jenny the truth about the secret Kaiser took to his grave, or to bury it.

Lennok had not yet made a decision.

As always, he had merely forced his gaze towards the immediate task at hand.

“Let’s focus on the Cartel matter.”

“……Okay.”

“Jenny, you said the conclusion of this matter would depend on the chairman’s will. But now, we have a way to influence that direction from our side.”