The Corporate Event Welcoming the Heroes
It was the corporate event to welcome the heroes. A whistleblower had emerged from within Black Cell this time. The individual seemed quite capable; not only had they evaded the recent search we conducted, but they had also leaked Black Cell’s internal information to the media. The outside world was in an uproar, eager to tear us apart. However, not long after, the news that my successor Amano and I confirmed was as follows.
Black Cell Reveals Strong Stance Against False News.
Cyber Wreckers Who Issued Heavy Criticism Face Lawsuits.
What Is the Truth, Exactly?
Black Group Also Announces Direct Intervention in This Rumor.
“As expected, money really can solve anything.”
“R-right, Senior.”
As soon as the director made the textbook response, the majority of the media immediately slammed on the brakes. Those who had been criticizing us shut their mouths. Of course, there were some who didn’t stop, but since this was an evil organization, we immediately identified their identities and hit them with lawsuits.
“Those cyber wreckers… they’re a little pitiful.”
“Since they make money by dragging others down anyway, the general consensus is that they got what they deserved.”
This incident slightly damaged Black Cell’s image, and surveillance became extremely tight during work. But on the whole, other than the stock price dropping, there was no significant damage.
After confirming that this evil organization was like an impregnable fortress and giving intense praise to my past self for not doing anything reckless, I informed Amano of her tasks. We took a short tea break together.
“Ugh… The coffee’s finally helping a little.”
“At this rate, I think fifty percent of our blood is probably caffeine.”
“I’m going to end up with insomnia… Anyway!! Senior Maxwell, you were really cool back then!”
The girl praised me for offering honest advice even while the director was pointing a gun and threatening me. She was, however, an extremely curious junior.
“Senior, about Director Aileen. Does she have some other goal?”
“What do you mean?”
“On the surface it’s all about advancing the era through this and that research. But the way she got angry this time makes it seem like there’s another purpose.”
It was a very sharp analysis. In truth the director did have a personal objective, but the only thing I could say here was already decided.
“I don’t know.”
“Hee~ Senior Maxwell, are you really going to be that stingy?”
“I’m sorry, but I truly don’t know. I’m not interested, either. If you’re curious, look into it yourself.”
The proverb that birds hear words spoken by day and mice hear words spoken by night exists for a reason. There could be someone here acting as the director’s ears. There was no way I was crazy enough to say anything.
Amano looked dejected at not receiving an answer, but she quickly regained her energy and returned to her station. I also headed off to meet Gloria.
As I walked, countless inhumane experiments flashed past on either side. The reason Director Aileen—who was essentially the owner of Black Cell—was doing all this was, surprisingly….
Because she wants to become an esper herself.
It was the most vicious act stemming from the simplest possible reason.
The director here was the youngest daughter of the Black Rock chaebol family. Yet while every other member of that family was an esper, Director Aileen alone was a non-esper. To resolve her inferiority complex, she ground up other espers—an utterly villainous approach. At any rate, the director, consumed by her twisted sense of inferiority, suddenly summoned me.
I assumed it was because of the conversation we had in the Convention Hall, but—
“The Hero Association is sending a hero and a sidekick?”
“Yeah. Go welcome them.”
An entirely unexpected order had come down. Naturally, I voiced my complaint immediately.
“Out of all the numerous talented people in Black Cell, why are you sending me?”
“There’s the angle of having the world’s greatest genius welcome them, but… when I chose the person who speaks best here, it turned out to be you.”
The director laughed, saying she now understood why the young test subjects followed me.
“Oh, and the fact that you, Maxwell, have no enemies inside Black Cell is another big reason.”
“So in the end it’s because of office politics.”
Because I entered and exited the Dangerous Zone alone every day, I belonged to no faction. Moreover, I maintained decent relationships with nearly all the researchers. The director had calculated that, unless it was a special case like Marlon—who had now truly become a walking corpse—the chance of anyone feeling jealous was low.
Thanks to that it had become very troublesome, but in a way it was also a golden opportunity to observe heroes up close. I might even be able to steal a small glimpse of the Hero Association’s power.
“Understood. But what about the possibility that this is a feint?”
“There’s a good chance, but I’ll handle that part, so don’t worry.”
The association could publicly send heroes while infiltrating from another direction. Yet seeing the director so confident—
What a shame….
Black Cell was a far more powerful organization than people realized.
Some time after receiving the director’s order, today was the day the hero sent by the association would arrive. Worried I might miss dinner, I informed Gloria of the news. She naturally made a very displeased face.
“The other—”
She started to speak but stopped. I could roughly guess what she wanted to say.
“I’m too busy today, so it looks like I won’t be able to see Liberty or Victory.”
“…I didn’t say anything.”
“I was merely talking to myself.”
My answer improved her mood, but she immediately pouted and whipped her head away. Gloria’s pride was still extraordinarily strong.
With all preparations complete, I walked slowly to the front of Black Cell’s main building. The moment I opened the main gate, countless camera flashes exploded.
Click!! Click!! Click!!
Black Cell had deliberately amplified the hero’s personal inspection, turning the occasion into an even larger affair. Thanks to that, it had become a full-blown public corporate event welcoming the heroes.
More reporters showed up than I expected.
Thirty percent of them were journalists on Black Cell’s payroll, so it was fair to call them allies. While I was answering the bought reporters’ questions, a helicopter appeared in the sky. Just as everyone’s eyes focused upward—
Fwoooooosh!!!
Two fireballs, one large and one small, dropped from the helicopter and landed in the pre-prepared safety zone. In an instant the flames scattered like beautiful flower petals, revealing two women.
“It’s Solar Flare!!”
“And Sunray, right?!”
“The association really went all out this time.”
The hero Solar Flare and her sidekick Sunray. They were considered top prospects among the new generation of heroes. And in the future these two would leave behind a very unique record.
So this is what they looked like when they were young….
They were the heroes who would later serve as mentors to the original comic’s protagonist.
The powerful heroes had made a spectacular entrance. The reporters were naturally too busy fiddling with their cameras, but Solar Flare, her brilliant orange hair streaming behind her, strode confidently toward me.
“Hahaha! So nice to meet you! I’m Solar Flare!”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Solar Flare. I am Maxwell Gray.”
“Huh? I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere….”
As the hero Solar Flare looked puzzled, her sidekick—who was practically her secretary—stepped forward.
“Sis Solar Flare! The genius of the century is this guy right here!!”
“Eh?! Is that true?!”
“Hahaha, this is rather embarrassing.”
Both of them wielded fire and, being fresh-faced twenty-somethings, were extremely passionate. But the nonstop camera flashes made it clear we needed to move indoors.
“I’d like to offer a warmer welcome, but… shall we head inside first?”
“Please take good care of us!!”
“Excuse us!!”
Because Solar Flare and Sunray’s voices were so loud, they echoed throughout the entire building. Although it was mentally exhausting, there was a high chance these two had received specific orders from the association.
In my heart I wanted to give them a chance to contact the whistleblower, but when I looked around, I saw what appeared to be the director’s minions watching our group intently from every direction.
Yeah, my own nose is three inches long.
It was truly a shame, but I sent the reporters inside the company as planned and guided Solar Flare and Sunray through Black Cell.
“As you both know, Black Cell is a pharmaceutical company backed by the Black Rock family.”
“Sis Solar Flare! You know the Black Group, right? Just think of this place as part of it!”
“Even though it belongs to such a massive group, why did those strange rumors appear this time?”
“To be honest, it’s understandable that rumors would arise.”
““Huh?””
Not only were the two extremely flustered by my answer, the reporters also raised their cameras vigorously, thinking they had caught a scoop. Yet everyone was disappointed by what followed.
“It’s because our technology is too advanced.”
“““Ah….”””
I wasn’t lying. And thanks to the bought reporters, this whistleblower incident would soon be dismissed as nothing more than a conspiracy theory.
“Black Cell has developed a drug that completely cures terminal cancer and restores severed limbs to their original state. We continue to advance pharmaceutical technology even now. Because of that, conspiracy theories once spread claiming we were torturing aliens.”
“I think I’ve heard that one before.”
“But Mr. Maxwell, this incident could have been dismissed as a mere rumor… why isn’t Black Cell letting it go?”
She truly was a sidekick who filled in the hero’s shortcomings. Still, it was a question I had already anticipated.
“Because the times have changed. As you both already know, this is the era of mass aversion. If we don’t respond quickly, it will only harm the company.”
“Even so…”
“I’m sorry, but we are not a charity. We are a thoroughly profit-driven organization. That is precisely why people like Lady Solar Flare and Sunray are so impressive.”
With that final praise for the heroes, I continued the tour. Of course the pair kept trying to subtly slip away to other areas, but they could not escape the cameras of the bought reporters or my own gaze. They were unable to move freely inside Black Cell.
In the end, the hero and sidekick, blocked by the twin walls of public scrutiny and corporate secrecy, looked quite troubled.
But even to an ugly person one gives an extra rice cake. Black Cell had prepared a gift for Solar Flare and Sunray—the civilian version of the Rapid Healing Agent that Victory had received, with nearly all side effects removed.
“Y-you’re giving us this much of something so expensive?!”
“Each one costs billions…”
“The whole world knows how much heroes suffer because of countless villains. This gift contains Black Cell’s support, so please do not refuse it.”
Since this was essentially obtaining multiple spare lives, Solar Flare and Sunray seemed to forget their original purpose and were overjoyed.
“The stories floating around online really shouldn’t be believed!”
“As expected, conspiracy theories are just conspiracy theories!!!”
“I’m truly glad you two are pleased.”
Since the two had only recently become heroes, they fell for it quite easily. However, the stain of suspicion is not something that can be erased so simply. The Hero Association had sent these inexperienced prospects as a probing move. That meant they could later dispatch veteran heroes who had survived every kind of battle.
I guided the corporate event to its conclusion, looking forward to the day those veterans would tear off Black Cell’s hypocritical mask. Yet Black Cell had greatly amplified the occasion, and it was an event that drew enough public attention for a hero to appear.
BOOOOOOOM!!
So, a villain had shown up.