Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Serendipity (10)
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"No, we're going to hunt the Regency Group."
".....!"
To Celestina, who was overcome with shock, he continued his explanation.
"The two heirs who split up the group have poured every bit of their spare capital into buying up Oracle shares. That means most of their funds are tied up in a single company whose ownership is still uncertain. So, what we should target isn't Oracle's shares. It's the rest of the group's affiliates that are out of ammo right now. If we strike now, we could take a huge chunk of the group... maybe even Oracle itself."
"........"
The moment she heard her father's plan, Celestina felt a chill of terror.
She instinctively grasped the danger the second she heard it.
'It's too reckless...!'
It was an idea so extreme it made her skin crawl.
Even if most of the group assets Oracle owned were still tied up without confirmed ownership... even if they were weakened like that, the opponent was a true megacorp.
Gathering every last bit of Tessellation Investment's capital wouldn't even amount to a drop in the bucket compared to their scale.
The odds of success were probably single digits at best. This was insane.
Celestina muttered in a hoarse voice.
"Please... just stop... Stop this."
"What are you talking about?"
At his gentle response, Celestina's voice erupted in fury.
"Why are you going this far?! This is way too dangerous no matter how you look at it! Do you even know what happens if it fails even a little?! We'll all die! Is that really what you want?!"
"If not now, we'll never get another shot at them."
He might have been right. When would a megacorp show such a glaring weakness again?
A gamble where victory meant seizing everything.
'But if it fails?'
The kings who ruled this world were never merciful.
They wouldn't spare a single rebel who challenged their hegemony. Everyone would die.
That's why she protested in a trembling voice.
"What more do we have to lose before you stop...? Wasn't Mom and Lily's sacrifice enough?"
"That's exactly why."
Jeremy's eyes gleamed with distant madness.
"Because they've already been sacrificed. To make their blood mean something, we have no choice but to push forward without stopping."
"To what end?!"
Celestina cried out desperately.
"Lily's still alive! And so am I! Are we okay to sacrifice too?!"
But her father didn't answer anymore.
Facing that silence, Celestina could only stare in stunned silence.
Then, suddenly, her eyes met Jeremy's again.
Through his gaunt face, his eyes shone with an eerily sharp glint. It was a familiar look somewhere.
Like the atmosphere she'd seen in the former president of Stratos Bionics during that past courtroom battle.
In that moment, she realized.
Revenge was never a rational emotion...
And perhaps her father was seeking revenge against the entire world right now.
Then, another thought flashed through her mind.
'The board would never approve a plan this dangerous.'
Maybe this wasn't just her father's solo act.
If so... she could still stop it with a vote.
With resolve, she stared straight at Jeremy and said.
"I'm contacting the board right now. This is insane."
She had to block this madness to protect Lily.
That was the only thought in Celestina's head.
At that moment, Jeremy murmured lowly.
".....A pity. Cool your head until things are done."
Then, the firmly shut door to the president's office burst open.
Black-suited bodyguards soon appeared.
They reached out with rough hands toward Celestina.
"....!"
===========
In the heart of Omega Detroit under the cover of midnight darkness.
A single vehicle raced perilously beneath the neon signs.
"Hah, huff...!"
Celestina, gripping the wheel, gasped for breath.
She'd barely escaped headquarters with help from her loyal aides who were still there.
So now, only one thought filled her mind.
'I have to contact the board members...!'
That was the only way to stop her father's madness.
But they'd taken her comm terminal before she entered the office, so she had no way to reach out right now.
After agonizing for a while, she scowled.
'Home or the branches are all under surveillance...'
So the moment she showed up, her father's bodyguards waiting there would nab her.
'What do I do? How...?'
Anxious, she bit her lip. Then, a place popped into her head.
'The new headquarters maybe...?'
Even if operations hadn't fully started, the building systems and company network were probably set up. Surveillance might not reach there yet.
It was just a guess with low odds, but she had no choice.
It was the only option she had.
"......."
So Celestina immediately swerved the wheel toward the new HQ.
Vrooom—
As she sped down the nighttime streets under the streetlights, something hot trailed down her cheek.
"......."
She had no idea why things had come to this.
Her father was betting everything to climb even higher.
Even staking his daughter's life as chips in some unknowable goal.
'Would someone who truly loved their child do that?'
Did that mean her father no longer loved her?
Betrayal and abandonment tore at her heart.
It felt like no one left in this world loved her anymore...
"........."
She roughly wiped her eyes and shook off the emotions.
Debating true love could wait. Now was time to focus.
If she failed, not just her, but her sister and the whole company... could die. That responsibility weighed heavy.
And finally, Celestina arrived at the new headquarters.
The building was impeccably clean, untouched by human hands.
She drove straight into the underground parking on one side.
Screeech—!
The car skidded to a halt, leaving tire marks.
Celestina tumbled out the flung-open door. Just as she headed for the building elevator.
Thud—!
From the shadows in one corner of the underground lot, blinding headlights suddenly flared, shining on her.
Celestina flinched, shielding her eyes.
From the light, black-suited bodyguards emerged. They'd already surrounded her.
"Vice President, sorry, but come quietly."
"....!"
As they slowly closed the encirclement, Celestina's face went pale.
Was this the end? Her legs nearly gave out.
But then, the black suits halted their approach.
".....?"
Because someone far off shone a bright flashlight at them.
The black suits squinted and turned toward it.
There stood—
'A security guard...?'
A neat man in a sky-blue uniform and cap.
Celestina stared in bewilderment. Murmurs leaked from the black suits.
"On patrol, huh."
"What now?"
"Just shoo him off."
One black suit approached the guard, waving dismissively.
"Hey, security. We're from HQ, so mind your business and scram."
But he calmly countered.
"Do you have visitor permits? This is restricted access, authorized personnel only."
The thug scowled at the guard's denseness.
"Not saying it twice. Beat it before you get hurt."
"No papers shown means I treat you as trespassers."
"You little—"
As the black suit reached for the guard right in front of him.
Boom—! A heavy thud echoed through the parking lot.
The thug, beaten to a pulp, crashed into a concrete pillar, denting it, and rolled across the floor.
"......"
"........"
The guard slowly withdrew his fist, faster than sound.
The Asecure Corporation logo badge near his uniform name tag gleamed clearly in the car's headlights.
Having casually sent one corporate bodyguard flying, the guard drew a vicious cybernetic blade from his forearm and said calmly.
"Trespassers. Vacate immediately."
============
Deep in the night, at the dim lobby's reception desk of the building.
At the one glowing monitor in the darkness, Celestina hammered the keyboard frantically, then crumpled in defeat.
'Failed. It was impossible from the start.'
Her plan to use the new HQ's systems to contact other branches fell through.
She'd confirmed it herself—the network didn't reach outside the city yet.
Celestina blankly stared at the screen again.
In one corner of the monitor, the time 4:00 AM glowed starkly.
"......."
Even if she'd reached the branches... it might already be too late.
Her father would strike the Regency Group the moment the city exchange opened this morning.
Off-exchange deals and asset transfers would happen simultaneously.
No time to convene the board or deploy forces to stop it.
By the time branch troops arrived, everything would be over.
Telling her the plan in the first place... probably meant it was already irreversible.
"........."
She hung her head.
It felt like walking straight into a visible cliff.
Like a nightmare scene where no matter how she struggled, she couldn't escape.
By now, she felt ridiculous.
Pretending to be so smart, predicting markets and futures, wielding people and money.
Yet she couldn't even look after her closest family, ending up like this.
No, now she wondered if she could even call him family anymore.
It seemed like no one in this world loved her now.
"Hic... "
Despair like being abandoned alone in empty darkness.
Her heart pounded painfully, suffocating no matter how she breathed. Right then.
"Celestina, are you okay?"
A sudden warm, concerned voice in her ear.
Celestina looked up reflexively at the gentle tone.
Her eyes met deep, clear ones as always.
"...Eve?"
The connection that appeared like a dream in her loneliest moment.
Unable to believe it, she asked in a trembling voice... and the girl quietly nodded.
"Yes, it's me, Celestina. I heard you were being chased. What happened...?"
Celestina suddenly realized. In her panic, she hadn't noticed, but the guard who saved her was from Asecure Corporation.
The company owned by the girl before her, so he'd probably come after contact.
Learning that, she suddenly felt terribly ashamed of herself.
Acting so superior in front of this girl... like she could give anything.
Now, having lost everything in an instant, abandoned even by her only family—it was humiliating.
So she hesitated, unable to speak.
"I... um..."
Then, the girl gently took her cold, trembling hand without hesitation.
A touch softly patting her shoulder, as always.
Her gaze neither mocked nor scolded. It just quietly comforted.
"If it's a tough story, you don't have to say. Calm yourself first."
"......."
"I'll... just stay by your side. Tell me if you need help."
Celestina stared blankly at her.
Why was this child so kind to her?
Comfort even family hadn't given. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt such warmth from a stranger.
In that kindness, Celestina unwittingly spilled everything.
"Hunt the Regency Group...?"
The girl echoed in stunned disbelief after hearing it all.
It was absurd. Challenging a megacorp? Even thinking now, it was suicidal madness.
So Celestina added in a hollow voice.
"Sorry, Eve."
"Huh? For what?"
"I dragged you into this with my reckless proposals..."
This would fail nine times out of ten, and the megacorp's retaliation after would be thorough. They'd uproot every rebel. Tessellation Investment and everything connected would vanish.
At that moment, guilt hit Celestina.
Guilt for involving this girl, who only showed pure goodwill, in her mess over greed.
So she warned in a heavy voice.
"Thanks for the help, Eve. Now go erase every trace linking to our company. I'll handle the Asecure contracts somehow."
Even saying it, she realized she hated cutting this tie.
But no choice now. Association would bring nothing good.
Her voice sounded like a farewell.
"...Thanks for everything."
As Celestina let go and resigned.
A firm hand grabbed her arm.
"I get the situation. But isn't it a bit early to give up?"
"Huh?"
Turning with weary eyes, the girl continued lightly.
"You've been pushing stuff on me freely, but now that you need help, you're holding back? Isn't that a little unfair?"
Celestina just stared blankly. She replied dazedly.
"This is... too dangerous. It has nothing to do with you..."
"Just say you're struggling and need help."
That line seemed like naive innocence oblivious to the world.
But right now, it felt utterly reliable.
Even Celestina unwittingly wanted to lean on it...
'No...!'
She nearly nodded blankly, then jerked back in alarm.
Excuses spilled out.
"B-but... I have nothing left. No reward for you..."
The girl tilted her head.
"When did I say I needed that?"
It struck her heart like a drumbeat.
Thinking back... from the start. Even in the hotel hall when she met her during a panic attack, the girl helped without asking for anything. Just because someone needed it.
And that hadn't changed now. What Celestina had or lacked didn't matter to her.
Realizing that, her vision blurred.
"Why... why do you go this far...?"
When even her connections, friends, family turned away.
How could this child consistently reach out?
Overwhelmed, her throat choked, unable to continue.
The girl just silently embraced her.
A soothing scent calming her mind. Warmth from the sincere hug.
This must be what she'd longed for, something money couldn't buy.
Celestina buried her face in the girl's shoulder and sobbed like a child.
A while later, in a raspy, wrecked voice, she finally asked.
"Will you... hic... help me...?"
The girl smiled lightly.
"Yes, of course."
===========
I thought.
This might be totally unrelated to us.
Ignoring it and staying out might be the smart choice.
But... at this point, why bother?
I just wanted to help her.
I didn't want to watch Celestina—who'd approached me with goodwill, even if burdensome—collapse like this.
It was always the same. What I'd done in this world was help those in trouble, never passing by.
Whether slum dwellers or corporate tycoons.
I'd never needed a special reason to extend a hand to the desperate.
And... even I wasn't blindly charging in out of naive goodness.
You don't stretch your legs without checking the bed.
Celestina might've given up from the shock of betrayal by her only father.
But coldly analyzing, it might not be too late yet.
There was a chance to avert the impending disaster.
Big corps don't keep massive armies on standby like people think.
She confirmed my guess.
"Yes, probably just Father... Jeremy Oberth's personal guard holding the HQ now."
To avoid interference from the board or other internal forces during the op, he'd sent regular company troops elsewhere ahead of time, she added.
Once done, the board would have no choice but to go along.
I asked again.
"No extra city mercs hired?"
"No, opponent's a megacorp. To snag target shares in one go, they'd hoard max cash. No spare coin for mercs."
"What about ODPD? No special detail for HQ security?"
"Unlikely. ODPD's influenced by other corps, too risky for leaks. Father wouldn't chance it."
Then... plenty possible.
A finance firm strong in capital—if they saved it, what else was left?
HQ defenses weaker than thought. Maybe physically stoppable.
Celestina cut in urgently at my explanation.
"Wait! Even so, Tessellation's guards are all top mercs and ex-military elites! Even if just them holding HQ..."
She followed me to the window to explain more.
Then, spotting the scene outside, she froze mid-sentence.
"Th-this is..."