In the boardroom of the Red Sea Lab Headquarters, a round table discussion between two groups was interrupted by a loud knock on the locked door of fortified glass.
One of the directors of the company, looking annoyed, leaned into the intercom and yelled at the secretary outside.
"Didn’t you hear when I said nobody is to disturb the eting?! Get them outta here, whoever it is."
The yelling didn’t seem to work, because a louder, more threatening knock on the door rang out seconds later, powerful enough to silence the intense discussions in the room. Cautious gazes flickered among the participants, silent communications flowed like the wind.
That had to be an act of superhuman strength. The intruder was no ordinary person; close to Rank-1 at least. This understanding ca with heavy implications.
With a deep breath, one of them turned on the switch that unlocked the door, and imdiately, five young n and won swaggered into the room, their faces smiling and gazes cold. The leader of the group jumped on top of the round table languidly and began walking in circles.
"Good evening, Directors. Good evening... Oh, who am I looking at here?"
As he flashed a bright smile at a middle-aged man sitting at the opposite end of the head directors, the man shifted in his seat in discomfort.
"Mr. Nadir, what do you think you’re doing?" One of the head directors asked in a chilly tone.
"I’m here to bring you all the good news. Pardon my lack of manners, dear directors. It’s just that the news itself is so exciting that I can’t even control myself from expressing my exhilaration in any manner."
Those words were quite jarring, coming out of a guy whose gaze was filled with murderous intent. He looked far from being excited.
"What news might this be that has made a descendant of the Bloodfly Clan act like a circus monkey?" the director shot back.
"Hahaha! So of you guys might know about this little secret project I’ve been put in charge of. I’m not going into the details since there are so outsiders here. Can they leave so that I can speak without reservations?"
Nadir’s jab cut deep. This eting was clearly about the very sa project, and the outsiders were here to negotiate over it. Their entire group wore the sa look; torn between discomfort and frustration.
"We’re in the middle of sothing here, Mr. Nadir. It’d be so rude of to ask them to leave. Why don’t you and your little entourage go outside and wait for us to finish the eting. We’ll be more than happy to hear about your exciting news then."
If this was one of the districts under the control of Bloodfly Clan, nobody would have dared to take that tone in front of a descendant of the clan. Nadir looked unprepared for the clear show of hostility, judging by the surprise in his eyes. But that lasted only one brief mont.
"No, no, no. How could I contain myself for that long? Anyway, it’s not really a secret anymore. Half the city knows it by now. There’s no need to exclude these fine gentlen here."
Walking to the center of the table, Nadir opened his arms wide and announced loudly, "Our volunteer recruitnt sche for the Golden Bull Resource Zone has unearthed an incredible discovery! In W-15 High School, all 80 students of the graduating batch have qualified to fill and overflow our recruit slots. We can initiate the first phase of the project right away!"
A minute of utter confusion reigned in the boardroom. Finally, one of the head directors slamd his fist down on the table and roared, "What bullshit are you spouting? How can all the test takers qualify for the project? The paraters are high enough to disqualify 95% Tail Zone citizens."
Nadir smiled at him the way a shark smiles at fresh blood.
"What a mystery! Must be sothing in the water pumps of that damned school. I was wondering the sa thing. But data can’t lie. I used the sa setup and hardware the company handed . It’s real! They all proved themselves to be exceptional options for the project. We don’t even need to worry about future replacents. Emptied slots can be filled by any random kid from that batch."
So of the gazes in the room grew shifty, now that Nadir’s trap was apparent. They understood exactly how he had gotten ahold of this retaliation thod. After all, they were the ones who had set those programs to ensure that he failed to recruit
But nobody could simply claim that the data was wrong without implying that the company was at fault! They’d have to admit that soone ssed with the evaluation programs. They’d be forced to investigate and punish the perpetrators!
However, Nadir was also fighting himself into a corner here. He could claim that all 80 students were qualified right now. But once the project begins, his falsifications would be exposed. By then, the bla and suspicion would shift to his shoulders.
In fact, if they went over to that school to verify the truth right now, Nadir would still face severe consequences for lying.
The directors understood this, the third-party mbers understood this. And so did Nadir, which was why they all felt so confused. Did Nadir have any more tricks up his sleeve to defend his choice later?
One of the directors finally recalled a certain detail and asked uneasily, "What did you an when you said that half the city knows about it by now? Surely, you don’t an-"
"Yes." Nadir nodded gleefully. "How could I hide such an impactful news? I sent the intel to all the mainstream dia outlets I had contacts of. They’re interviewing the school authorities as we speak. It’s going to be big! Our project will attract an unprecedented level of endorsent deals! Can you imagine how beneficial this is going to be for our future ventures? We’ve struck gold!"
Even the four teammates behind Nadir couldn’t help but feel utterly awed by his shalessness. This young man was in a class of his own in playing dirty. With half the city aware of this ’discovery’, how would the company dare to reveal that the data was fabricated now?
If they still went through it to foil Nadir’s plans, the company’s reputation would take a major hit. Stakeholders would be furious at them thinking it’s a publicity stunt. The dirty internal politics would get traced. Shares would tank. The rate of future collaborations would fall!
Now the ball was in the court of the party who had sched against him. Would they risk it all to take down the young master of the Bloodfly Clan? Or would they let him dupe the whole world on a stage they themselves had built?
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