Chapter 139
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: The True R&D
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Brof had originally planned to end things amicably with R&D.
Family or not—Miwoo, Gowoo, whatever—there was no need for infighting over shares. He’d just vanish, and they could divvy up those measly stakes however they liked.
But he’d changed his mind.
Wonder.
The kid occupied a corner of his oldest memories.
A scruffy little punk, but with eyes that burned bright.
“Invest in me, sir. President. You won’t regret it.”
“President? Kid, you’ve got it wrong. That’s not me over there...”
“I’m not interested in Dolman, President Ruger.”
“...What’s your name?”
“Wonder.”
He’d been dragged to the foundation by Dolman half against his will.
While everyone fawned over the impeccably dressed Dolman, desperate for a glance or a handshake,
Wonder had boldly approached Brof, who sat alone on a distant bench, idly gauging the shapes of the clouds.
Years later, when Brof asked how he’d known he was Ruger back then,
“I didn’t. Nothing to lose, so I took a shot.”
The boy had flashed a rare smile.
And now that same kid was fighting for his life.
Foolishly waiting for him and catching a bullet.
What a stubborn idiot.
Even after becoming a suit, he was too damn honest for his own good.
He knew the underworld better than anyone, yet he couldn’t compromise when he should.
...But wasn’t that exactly why Brof had stormed out of the company himself?
Maybe Marjie’s wife’s offer had been the perfect excuse to leave without guilt.
Yeah. Who was to blame whom?
This was all his karma.
A bitter smile tugged at his lips as he steeled his resolve.
And with that,
Brof drew his blade.
“...Can’t get the money?”
“That’s what they say.”
“Ah, no. Why?”
“Why? To leave no traces.”
“Even using the deep blacknet?”
“It won’t be easy, sure. But this city has monster divers who can probe the Black Sea. Dolman could connect with them no problem.”
“Th-then...”
“Like I said. They can’t find it. Or rather, not right now.”
“Ah.”
In that moment, Jin’s world crumbled.
The second he heard Brof’s stake was 4%, he’d frantically searched R&D’s market cap.
Truth be told,
He’d nearly pissed himself on the spot.
Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million, hundred million, billion, ten billion, hundred billion, trillion... trillion?
Fuck, he was screwed.
Was that halo suddenly glowing behind Brof’s head a trick of the eye?
Gramps! No, sir! No, master!
Please let me crawl under your skirt!
If that’s too much, need a bodyguard maybe?
Then Jin Evernight!
Future Solo King, always ready for action.
For a good while,
He’d thrashed around like a full-body conniption fit.
But reality was cruel.
Apparently, they couldn’t touch the money because of tracking risks.
Code divers or whatever—cyber-space swimmers. And among them, Nautilus-class divers were monsters that even dove into the so-called Black Sea, deep blacknet and all.
Of course, Jin knew none of that.
Isn’t Nautilus just some support tossing anchor lines?
What makes them so hotshot? Good in a fight?
Rip out the front line and they’re useless, like AlphaGo. Smash the machine with a hammer and done. What? Sedol’s the same?
“Uwaaaagh—!”
“...That crazy bastard.”
Brof scanned the head-clutching, wailing Jin like he was certifiably insane.
Anyone would think he’d promised the kid bean paste or something.
“To think a guy like that’s called Heavenly Thunder. What’s the world coming to...”
“Heavenly Thunder? Oh. The client, right?”
Silvia glanced at the pitifully sniffling Jin and added with a grin,
“Heavenly Thunder. Doesn’t it suit him? Sounds cool.”
“Cool, huh. You know what it means before you say that?”
“Dunno? Lightning blanketing the sky? Hehe. Tell me, teach.”
Brof cleared his throat.
They say you can’t spit on a smiling face.
Spot on.
If he’d found a bride sooner, he might have a granddaughter like her. Hell—ahem, get a grip.
Brof rubbed his mustache sheepishly.
No wonder Wonder had scouted Silvia for sales.
Even picky clients disarmed the moment she beamed and chatted them up.
In this harsh world,
A pure, unfeigned smile was a weapon in itself.
Though her brain being equally pure was the problem.
“You’re right. Heavenly Thunder means lightning engulfing the heavens. But there’s something more important.”
“What’s that?”
“The man who used that title first was someone bigger than that blockhead over there.”
“Ah?”
As Silvia blinked, Brof let out that wheezing old-man chuckle.
“Rokan Zahard. Ever heard of him?”
“Uh, well, um. Ah! Yeah! Manroe’s runaway son!”
“Right. He’s Heavenly Thunder. Meant to be Zahard’s 30th family head. Vanished without a trace now, though.”
Silvia let out an involuntary “wow.”
“So the client inherited that legend’s title? Then?”
“Yeah. The blockhead’s antics must remind folks of young Rokan. Plus—”
“Plus?”
“Zahard hasn’t objected either. Considering Manroe still guards his son’s seat out of grief, never passing it even to his grandkids. Astonishing.”
Planning to hand it to a side branch instead?
Brof swallowed the rest, his gaze slowly shifting to Jin.
Watching the guy alternate between grief and rage with his nonsense screams, a dry laugh escaped him.
Just like when he’d haggled Gravis’s price down by over half.
Consistently shameless, consistently unhinged.
But consistency was the key.
Brof recalled his old partner’s passionate days.
“Hey, Ruger. Hear about Zone 40? Total hellhole. Kids barely off the tit getting shot up. World’s fucked, but this? Bullshit.”
People thought Ruger invented vending machine pistols.
Wrong.
Dolman had forced the idea: if we can’t save Zone 40 realistically, at least give kids a shot against the world.
Of course, it turned Zone 40 into chaos with everyone—men, women, kids—grabbing disposables from machines and pointing them at each other.
“Sh-shit. This ain’t it, Ruger. What now?”
Still, Dolman had romance back then.
Brof gave a wry smile.
Of course, judging Jin’s consistency might be premature.
A few months was too short to read someone.
But in that short time,
The Gravis-haggling blockhead had grown into a Solo inheriting Heavenly Thunder.
Not even heaven and earth spanned such a gulf.
Yet the blockhead remained a blockhead.
In a world that ranked by a handspan’s eye level,
This near-miraculous steadiness stood before him.
Worth betting on.
Suddenly, a smile creased Brof’s wrinkled lips as he bellowed at Jin.
“You gonna wallow forever? So where’s Wonder?”
Wonder, luckily, came to.
Exactly a week after taking the hit.
“Hm. Guess I’m on a forced diet for a while.”
Silvia bawled at his joke about the now-empty left shoulder they’d had to amputate. Top secret.
“...Sheesh. Even if I say I’m doing way better.”
Brof’s awkward gaze met Wonder’s naturally.
“Long time.”
“Not quite three years. Been in Downtown all this time?”
“Yeah. Regretting all those visits?”
“Why would I? Seeing you again for one arm? Bargain.”
“Tch, if you can’t talk pretty... And I’m no president. Cashed out all shares.”
“I see.”
As Jin coughed up a lung beside them,
Brof and Wonder’s chat continued.
Late offer to join him now, gentle acceptance with pleasure.
Then Jin’s turn.
“Thanks to you, I survived. Truly grateful.”
“Eh, between us? Buy me a meal later.”
Jin waved it off like nothing.
Silvia hehe’d, rocking back and forth in joy,
And even Mama cracked a faint smile at her innocence.
“Stay cautious for a bit. Blockhead torched the assassins’ bodies, but just in case.”
Wonder and Silvia nodded at Ruger’s warning.
“Oh, right. Team lead. We can’t use accounts either. Might get traced. But I saved up my salary real hard... I know it’s risky, but it keeps tempting me...”
“Think of it as life insurance. Won’t feel so bad.”
“Whoa, team lead! Not bad at all now.”
Skilled boss?
Jin clapped, genuinely impressed at Wonder handling Silvia with one line.
“Good Neighbor’s still a solid shop in Downtown. Suits might see it as a hole-in-the-wall, but plenty to rebuild from. I guarantee it.”
Jin tilted his head at Brof’s startup-president vibe.
Then, suddenly,
He clapped with a startled realization!
Blind to the stares, he beamed at Brof.
“Gramps. Uh, I know a real talent.”
Wonder and Silvia’s eyes widened simultaneously.
“...?”
Only Brof frowned, clueless.
“Talent? Who.”
And thus, Bagmar entered the scene!
“Pleased to meet ya, old human!”
Who he was and how he got here?
After endless retellings, Jin rattled off a polished explanation in seconds.
Then nodded smugly at Brof: Well?
“Hired!”
Brof shot up, thrusting a hand at Bagmar.
“Looking forward to it. Brof Ruger.”
“Bagmar. This is Cloy.”
The two craftsmen shared a hearty shake.
Jin crossed his arms, nodding sagely, muttering as if enlightened again.
“Now this is real R&D.”
“What do you mean?”
Wonder asked, so Jin spread his fingers demonstratively.
“Ruger and a dwarf. R&D. Duh.”
“Aha, haha, hahahahaha.”
Wonder burst into laughter.
Jin blinked at the rare sight, then spotted Silvia even more shocked.
“Ah?”
Wonder’s diamond-rare guffaws finally ended, leaving wet trails in his eyes.
“You’re right. This is the real R&D now. Truly...”
Jin shrugged at the nodding man, feeling proud by osmosis.
Anyway.
With Bagmar’s housing sorted,
Good Neighbor didn’t exactly explode forward like a tailwind ship...
Everyone took time to adjust.
First, Bagmar.
Everything new in this strange land, he methodically learned the era’s tech from Brof.
His uptake speed? Unrivaled.
Weeks later, they held proper techie convos.
Brof wasn’t just teaching, either.
“Adjust vibration damping here for finer output, no?”
Bagmar’s offhand tosses sparked inspiration for Brof, unintended or not.
“Good idea. Let’s try it.”
As the craftsmen synced,
Wonder adapted to his cyberarm.
Didn’t take long.
With an implanted blood pump on his heart, his implant affinity was top-tier.
Soon handling delicate tasks like soldering circuits round.
He wasn’t satisfied, but that’d improve with time. Pass.
Now Silvia.
Unlike the busy trio, she lounged leisurely.
Sales couldn’t sell.
Plus, Good Neighbor shuttered for now.
Couldn’t even mind the counter, so she stamped Anecdote daily.
“Hellooo~”
She even picked up light gigs with Jin for pocket cash.
Fun fact: flat-out rejected Kalifa’s recruit.
“I like sales over Solo. Hehe.”
Time flowed.
Two months passed.
Air now chilly enough to see breath even daytime, Good Neighbor finally reopened.
No wreaths, no dancing tube men. Whatever.
Humble start, grand finish... hopefully?
Anyway, all awaited the first customer eagerly.
Ding-a-ling.
The door opened.
“...”
A frostbite-cold face swept the interior, matching the weather.
Click-clack to Silvia’s bright “Hello!”, then slowly spoke.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Katrina.”