Sharing Joy Brings Jealousy
A crucial meeting had been called in Black Cell, bringing together all the key executives due to the impact of our great discovery.
But why had they summoned me?
And the Chairman of Black Group himself was there.
I never imagined I would see the head of the Black Group in person here.
My head already ached.
Soon, the secretary informed me that the Chairman had arrived and asked me one question.
“Mr. Maxwell Gray, do you know Chairman Nathan Blackrock of Black Group?”
“I know him roughly as the Demon King.”
“Excuse me?”
The secretary’s expression made it clear he had heard something strange.
But the phrase suited him so perfectly that I couldn’t object.
“However, the research results of this time are kept strictly confidential, are they not? So why has the Chairman…”
“I don’t know that either.”
First, the President and the Security Director called Eileen the Young Lady.
Given how many members of the Blackrock family were gathered, it seemed information had leaked to their side.
The Witch apparently couldn’t fully control Black Cell after all.
Thinking about all the numbers that could arise in the meeting room, I followed the secretary.
But right in front of the meeting room, Dr. Cain was pacing restlessly, glancing around.
Soon, the moment he spotted me, his face brightened, but he clenched his teeth at the sight of Min Chaerin, the secretary beside me.
“Ah, so this woman also came from the parent company?”
If the secretary came from the parent company, it meant she was also on the Chairman’s side.
Anyway, Dr. Cain immediately started acting overly familiar with me.
“Hahahaha! Maxwell! Come here!”
“Thank you for welcoming me. But why aren’t you attending the ongoing meeting, Dr. Cain?”
“T-that’s it! I suddenly had a stomachache…”
Of course, that was nonsense.
Min Chaerin also knew it and tried to insert herself, urging us to hurry inside.
But Dr. Cain used the excuse that he wanted to talk man-to-man and dragged me to the restroom.
Of course, the danger of this action was well known even to him.
‘Is the guilt over that paper even greater than I thought?’
I didn’t fully get the empathy since I wasn’t a scientist, but he seemed completely on our side and gave me advice right away.
“Me, Maxwell. In Korean proverbs, beans planted in one place grow beans, and adzuki beans planted in another grow adzuki beans, don’t they? Then what about the Chairman, who is Eileen’s father?”
“…I see what you mean.”
“That’s exactly it. But he’s even scarier than the director, so don’t fall for his honeyed words—”
Knock knock knock!!
“Excuse us, but we have been instructed to enter the conference room immediately.”
Thanks to Min Chaerin’s interference, we had to leave without finishing the conversation.
But I already knew the Chairman’s personality well enough that this much caution was sufficient.
As I sent a reassuring smile to Dr. Cain, he received a body language warning to stay alert.
We stood right in front of the Central Strategic Conference Room.
**************
Min Chaerin, the secretary, operated her tablet in front of the conference room, and a special agent carefully opened the door from inside.
We could enter.
The Central Strategic Conference Room was far larger than expected.
The executives of Black Cell were seated around a massive donut-shaped circular table.
And at the head of the table sat not the usual President, but the Chairman of Black Group itself.
Nathan Blackrock sat with a gentle, friendly smile.
He looked like a middle-aged man who enjoyed volunteer work, but he was the father of that young lady.
Keeping my heart steady against that business smile, I looked around.
Since the top of the Pyramid had personally come, all the executives present looked sharp and alert, like new recruits.
But there was one person in this space who remained completely relaxed.
“Tsk…”
The director was sitting in her own seat, arms crossed, even with her legs crossed.
Her expression showed clear displeasure as she glared at the Chairman.
It was obvious she didn’t care about her father at all.
Having read the atmosphere of the conference room, we sat in the observation seats along the wall as instructed by the special agent.
Dr. Cain returned to his seat with his name on it.
Everyone else sitting in the observation seats like me was also unfamiliar faces.
They must be core figures of Black Group too.
They did glance briefly, but since they immediately focused back on the meeting, it was fortunate.
As the meeting progressed, the tension tightened even further.
Just as I was pondering why I had been summoned, the Chairman raised his hand slightly and looked toward me.
“Since all the important figures are here, let’s proceed with the decision we had postponed.”
He spoke flawless Korean and used polite honorifics despite being the highest-ranking person.
The person who pretended to lack authority was actually the most difficult to deal with.
First, the meeting discussed the name to give to the mysterious factor found in the Shadow Agency.
“It would be better to name it after Black Cell.”
“Then it would simply be called Black Cell’s something.”
“Or, as we’ve always done, following the discoverer’s name wouldn’t be bad.”
“No need to do that.”
Names like Esper Factor, P-Factor, EX-Factor, and Cain-Factor after Dr. Cain were proposed one after another.
Countless names were suggested, but the Chairman gave a slightly embarrassed smile and shook his head.
“If we made a fuss about this great discovery in the current era, it would actually have the opposite effect.”
Just as we don’t call quantum mechanics Planck mechanics or Edison bulbs, the Chairman wanted a clean name.
Thanks to that, the discovery we made this time simply became the Awakening Factor, but the moment had finally arrived.
“Now it’s time to talk about Black Cell’s future direction. As mentioned earlier… we should listen to the practical opinions of the one who actually found it.”
The moment the Chairman finished speaking, every eye in the conference room turned to me.
The Awakening Factor was publicly said to have been discovered by Dr. Cain, so the highest levels must already know everything.
Min Chaerin beside me immediately signaled, so I stood up and began conversing with the seated Chairman.
“Maxwell Gray is said to be the genius of the century, correct?”
“It’s an overstatement, but that’s how I’m referred to, Chairman.”
“You’re unexpectedly humble. But you deserved that reputation.”
The Chairman gave me various compliments, of course, and even expressed gratitude for laying the foundation of this great discovery.
“The director, Eileen, went to visit there three times for a reason.”
“Tch…”
The director’s expression turned even more displeased after hearing her father’s words.
The temperature in the conference room dropped by about five degrees because of her attitude.
But the Chairman paid no attention and asked me a question.
“My apologies for the long preamble. Then, Maxwell… what do you think about this discovery?”
One wrong word here, and my neck would be gone right here in this pit.
If I gave a disappointing or strange answer, I would be branded by the Chairman.
As silence filled the conference room and everyone focused intently, my mouth finally moved.
“In the current era, sharing joy brings jealousy, and sharing sorrow creates a weakness.”
“That means…”
“I believe we should hide our current achievements and results until the right time comes.”
Everyone started murmuring.
The Chairman also looked surprised, but Dr. Cain raised one arm carefully, giving the thumbs-up.
The Chairman immediately asked for the reason.
“Why do you think that?”
“The reasons are diverse. The most important one is that the moment a medicine capable of awakening superpowers is developed… the privileges of the powered will crumble.”
Since the world is the same everywhere, anyone who feels their position and rights are infringed upon will develop intense hostility.
If we announce this prematurely, Black Group will face powerful enemy forces.
Since my claim to hide the great discovery was truly correct, the executives in the conference room all looked satisfied.
However, the Chairman stood up from his seat and continued.
“I understand why Mr. Maxwell made that claim. As you said, the government, the Hero Association, and even the superpowered noble families will never welcome this discovery.”
It looked like everyone was nodding at my words.
But one demon tried to seduce me with sweet words.
“However, humans have changed their lifestyle with fire. Steam engines revolutionized the industrial structure, the internet rewrote information flow, and now we have entered the age of superpowers.”
Black mist rose from the Chairman’s body.
He approached as if teleporting continuously, and soon we faced each other directly.
“Then, Mr. Maxwell, let me ask again. What impact do you think a technology that awakens abilities will have on humans? Do you think Black Cell, and by extension Black Group, is in decline enough to slow this leap?”
It was the claim that perfect preemption was worth the risk.
Of course, with the knowledge of the future, the answer was already set.
“Yes, if we announce this, Black Group will collapse.”
The extremely quick answer left the entire conference room stunned for a moment.
Even the director dropped the pen she was holding and looked dumbfounded.
I didn’t stop speaking.
“Of course, the first step will be very stable. Everyone will smile and celebrate this great discovery. But joy will soon become a black snake filled with extreme poison.”
The powered will protect their privileges.
Companies will try to steal the technology by any means.
Countries will not tolerate monopolies.
So I asked the Chairman in return.
“Is Black Group strong enough to survive even by hating all humanity?”
The conference room became a land of death.
But one person.
And that was the most important existence.
Nathan, the Chairman, looked like he had discovered a very interesting toy.