Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Fair Deals and the Upgraded MC
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"Business partnerships last the longest when they're fair. You might think it's fine, but as long as there's any discord, it'll eventually explode into a major problem."
"...But that's a huge amount of money."
"I believe the Monarch family will agree fully too. Naphael, wasn't it? The heir seemed quite favorable toward you."
"Hmm, true enough."
Naphael might be easy to reason with.
"And don't worry about the money. The cost of establishing the Salmon Lab was pocket change anyway."
"......Right."
"We've already earned back more than the investment."
I'd thought my sense of money had evolved somewhat. But watching him dismiss that astronomical sum as pocket change made me realize I still had a long way to go.
'Is my current share around 61%?'
The two major shareholders, the Monarch and Mohaim families, each held 17%.
Of the remaining roughly 5%, the principal owned 2.7%, while the other about 2% was splintered among dozens of minor holders.
'......Alright. Let's go with this plan.'
By the time we reached Fontana's lab, I'd finalized my thoughts.
If I restructured the shares as planned, my personal stake would climb to 80%.
The existing shareholders' portions would drop to half or less, but as long as the two families agreed, it could proceed without issue.
Any grumbling could be soothed through other means.
Take the cosmetics the Monarch family had just finished developing, for example.
They'd barely hit the market, but the response was hotter than imagined.
Once full-scale sales kicked off, scooping up cash wouldn't be hard.
By sharing hard-to-obtain perks in the same vein, they'd never turn their backs.
"Is this the place?"
Sahim—who'd been quietly trailing me while I was lost in thought—asked in an excited tone.
For the first time, he looked like any other kid his age, hanging with friends.
Watching him, it suddenly clicked.
'Oh, yeah.'
Sahim was a refined prince, but he was a science geek at heart.
To him, Fontana Untae—the pinnacle of scientists and researchers—was like an idol.
He'd had a similar reaction the first time he got the contact info from me.
'Good call bringing him along.'
He would've regretted missing this for ages.
-Beep! You've arrived, Master.
R3D3 came out to greet us right on cue.
Its armor looked a bit different every time I saw it, and sure enough, something had changed today too.
Couldn't pinpoint it just from the outside.
"Yeah. Where's the director?"
-Inside. Follow me.
We headed in after R3D3, its eight legs waddling briskly.
But the meeting between Sahim and Fontana was surprisingly subdued.
From their exchange, one thing became clear.
"You two have been talking?"
"Of course. Where do you think our major shareholder got those training materials from?"
"I've received plenty of help from Director Fontana over time."
"......Huh."
I was speechless.
No wonder the files included tons of stuff that could've been lab secrets.
Those weren't public papers—each one was worth real money.
I'd assumed Sahim pulled them through his own connections.
'I had no clue.'
Looking back, there'd been more hints.
He'd frequently mentioned combat mechs and other Salmon Lab projects in development.
Most were techs I'd heard about in Fontana's reports.
Turned out the two had been scheming together for ages.
"......Traitors."
Ignoring my wounded expression, they shook hands.
They both looked pretty pleased with their collaboration.
"...Whatever. How's the research coming?"
"Ah, that? We're barely at the starting line."
I turned toward where Fontana nodded.
Inside two tanks bubbling with air pockets floated a crimson arm and wing, one in each.
The blue-tinted solution filling them was the preservative he'd mentioned.
'That stuff's insanely expensive too, right?'
Given the contents, they'd used top-grade, but the cost of periodic replacements was ridiculous on its own.
"Still looks pristine. Figured you'd have dissected it at least."
"No chance. Irreplaceable specimen—gotta handle with care. Come here, check this out first."
Fontana brought up a few test results.
The reports—for presentation—had neat summaries in the first couple lines.
'This?'
They'd only done basic exams like surface tissue analysis, but the findings were profound.
"First off, the wing showed an energy conduction effect we've never seen before. Probably the source of its ridiculous flight capabilities. Might squeeze something useful out of it if we're lucky."
"Really? That's impressive."
"Impressive? With a specimen this caliber, it'd be shameful if I couldn't manage that much."
If it panned out like he said, it'd be incredible.
Revolutionary tech no matter where it got applied.
"And get this—we ran energy conduction tests using the wing. Some trials popped up weird energy patterns. Gut feeling says it's worth pursuing."
His words sparked an instant recollection.
I let it slip out without thinking.
"Energy amplification phenomenon."
"Huh?"
"It's amplifying energy."
The crimson one lit up its wings every time it unleashed major power.
That glow wasn't random—it was the reaction from energy amplification.
How'd I know? Simple.
'Because I designed it that way.'
Energy amplification was one of its critical abilities.
Without it, even the crimson one couldn't have wielded such monstrous energy in a compact body.
"President. That's from your head knowledge too?"
"Yeah, well......"
Fontana let out a weary sigh, his expression deflating.
"......See? What's the point of me grinding away? Just pulling a fraction from your brain makes everything so much easier."
"He's right on this one, Lemon."
"Haha..."
"Today, the load on your shoulders looks heavier than ever."
Sahim said it like he didn't know, even though he did.
Bottom line: I had to push harder.
But I was already giving it my all.
Even amid the chaos, I carved out a solid three hours daily for data input.
Sure, I got that to Fontana it'd always fall short, no matter how much.
'When will I finish offloading the crimson one's data?'
I'd acquired its info too.
Not all of it intact, of course.
Only about half was salvageable.
Even so, the volume dwarfed the 3rd-grade hazard Bug Flower I'd been chipping away at for nearly half a year—by dozens of times.
Just dwelling on it made my vision blur.
At this pace, it'd take decades more.
As if reading my anxiety, Fontana pulled something out and handed it over.
The MC.
"......Do I really have to use this?"
"Improved it to spec. Give it a shot, President."
I'd heard he'd been tweaking it nonstop.
Even going so far as to buy out related firms with his own cash.
I couldn't help but marvel at his obsession with knowledge.
"It's changed a ton."
The old monstrosity was completely gone.
Still looked heavy and bulky for headwear, but aside from that, no real flaws.
"If that breaks, I'm ruined—so handle with care, President."
"No way, that bad...?"
"Not just a joke. Heh."
Fontana's eyes sparkled, urging me on.
Sahim brimmed with curiosity too.
I hesitated a moment but finally donned the MC.
"Oh, chin strap too. Heavy—might slip otherwise."
Strapped in, I powered it up. The display goggles descended.
System activated.
Dozens of electrodes sprang out from inside, pressing into my scalp.
Microcurrents flowed simultaneously, delivering the MC's signature unpleasant buzz.
'Still better than before, though.'
Just a tad, but I was starting to buy into his hype.
"Good, good. Let's get started."
With the system live, it jumped straight to data-input mode.
None of the usual UI [User Interface] clutter other MCs had.
Focused purely on essentials.
I liked that.
An MC just needed to nail its core job.
I dove right into testing.
Seconds later, I was stunned.
"......Huh?"
"How's it feel?"
"......This is actually pretty damn good."
No exaggeration—it was leagues better than before.
Incomparably so.
The stinging headaches and input errors lingered, sure, but factoring in fixes, it clocked in several times faster.
"This is solid. Could sell it on the open market."
"Nah, can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Fully customized for you. Production costs kill any profit margin."
"......Even to rich folks."
"Waste of time."
He shut it down flat.
His focus had always zeroed in on researching the knowledge in my head.
Mission accomplished—no way he'd divert to unrelated tech.
'Still a shame, though......'
But this was legit good.
Custom fit or not, this precision was unheard of in standard MCs.
It was the fruit of Fontana's zeal for my brain dump, but letting it gather dust felt criminal.
"Hmm......"
The MC was the cornerstone of cybernetics—fusing biological and mechanical info processing.
Severe input errors on complex commands had kept it an incomplete hybrid with analog workarounds.
But at this polish level, fresh ventures seemed viable.
Fontana just looked pleased that it worked well.
"Improve with use. More logs mean better optimization. Keep me updating it, and it could hit ten times faster than now."
I'd welcome that.
Even now, error-checking typos, it ran over three times quicker.
Tenfold on top? Thirty times total.
That pace might let me input all the crimson data in mere months.
"This is great."
"Right? So grind it hard and cough up the goods."
"Got it. I'll put in more time than before. And......"
I didn't want this MC breakthrough rusting away, so I pitched something new.
Fontana listened attentively—figuring no hassle for him—then glanced at Sahim and muttered.
"Hmm. Doesn't bother me."
"Lemon. No need to go that far."
Sahim waved it off.
Brains like his probably spotted the MC's potential already.
And what a foundational tech it could spawn.
"Nah. Salmon Lab lacks bandwidth anyway. Want you to take it on."
"But value-wise, this is..."
"Not trying to get played, obviously. Share the research outcomes? Sound good?"
Meaning: swallow a fully developed tech for zero cost.
Sahim, though, smiled warmly—no offense taken.
"No, there's a better approach."
"...Like?"
"What if we spin up a joint lab just for this research? To rope in the team from the firm Director Fontana bought out and snag even a bit of his input, that'd be ideal. We'll fund the extra staff and setup, of course."
We both turned to Fontana.
He shrugged.
"A bit's fine. Better for us too if we're tweaking it ongoing."