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The room fell into a brief silence. Everyone present was particularly interested in the Nen abilities that Kurokko spoke of.
"So how can one gain such an ability?"
Feitan directly asked. The others also turned their gaze to Kurokko, as he was the one who brought it up.
"I've only heard of this ability; I haven't seen it myself."
"However, the Elder Council should have people who possess such abilities."
Kurokko stood up and walked to the window. Outside was pitch black. Due to severe air pollution, Meteor City couldn't even see the moon.
"The intelligence we currently have is that the other party possesses Nen, a special ability."
"And they are a mysterious organization colluding with the Elder Council or a specific elder."
"Based on these two points, we can deduce that the other party had a certain purpose in kidnapping Machi."
"And right now, we don't have the ability to rescue Machi."
"Are we just not going to save her? That's Machi!" Nobunaga couldn't stand hearing such talk and immediately stood up, shouting.
Kurokko slightly turned, looking at Nobunaga and the others, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"My meaning is, when all of us have learned that Nen ability…"
"We can go and probe, probe the depths of that mysterious organization."
Nobunaga "tch'd," crossed his arms, and sat back on the bed, sulking.
"Don't worry. Since the other party used gentle means to take Machi, there should be no reason to harm her."
"You must understand, they possess special abilities. If they wanted to harm Machi, there would be no need to deceive her."
Kurokko looked at Nobunaga's worried expression and spoke to comfort him.
"Tomorrow, I will go to the Elder Council again to see if I can find anything."
The United States of Edime, Southern Border Region.
Seven days later, a hundred kilometers south of the border city of Blanca, six buses and one sedan were slowly moving.
"Who exactly are you people?"
Inside the black sedan, Machi stared at Kurokko, who was driving, and questioned him with a cold expression.
"Hmm, you finally asked."
Illumi, in the guise of Kurokko, was driving. He looked up at Machi in the rearview mirror, who was staring at him with a cold face.
"You discovered it on the first morning, didn't you?"
"Why did you only ask now?"
As Illumi spoke, a white light shimmered around him, transforming him into a 24-year-old youth in a suit with a short fringe.
"Franklin, Uvogin, Pakunoda, Feitan, Nobunaga—they were all fakes, weren't they?"
"Because other than the first time, they never showed up again."
Machi carefully observed Illumi, committing his appearance to memory, then looked at Pride sitting to his right.
"Besides, no matter if I discovered it or not, I wouldn't be able to escape your grasp."
"My premonition tells me that if I go against you, nothing good will come of it."
Pride showed her a smile.
"A very accurate premonition."
Machi's pupils constricted. Pride's body suddenly sent out a large number of shadows that enveloped the rear compartment, and scarlet eyes appeared on the car roof, staring intently at her.
"Don't worry, we mean you no harm."
Pride's shadows transformed into small hands, wrapping around Machi's body and stroking her cheek.
"We just feel that someone with your medical talent shouldn't stay in a place like Meteor City."
"That would be too much of a waste."
Machi's pupils trembled, pressured by Pride's powerful aura. Fine beads of sweat continuously broke out on her forehead. She dared not move, dared not speak.
"Your talent should be used in a more suitable, more crucial place."
As Pride said this, the large number of shadows retreated into his body and vanished without a trace.
"Huff… huff…"
Machi finally recovered, panting heavily. She pressed a button to open the window, her expression noticeably relieved.
"What talent do I have?"
Machi looked up at Illumi, who was driving. He chuckled softly.
"I'll tell you when we reach our destination."
The car fell silent again. Under Envy's arrangements, the six large buses and the sedan drove directly into the airport. They rented an airship and headed for Paggurose.
After such a back-and-forth, forty-five days had passed.
Paggurose, Sugland City, Airport.
Illumi and the others, along with 120 young men, disembarked from the airship, still attracting quite a few curious glances from people at the airport.
"Boss, you've worked hard."
As soon as Illumi stepped off the airship, a man dressed as a city office worker greeted him. It was Alvin.
"Your aura has grown much stronger."
Illumi observed Alvin. Both his aura and his demeanor were completely different from before.
"Power brings confidence."
Alvin pushed up his glasses, looked at Illumi, and chuckled softly.
"But compared to you, I still have a long way to go."
Alvin scanned the 120 young men behind Illumi, then his gaze suddenly shifted, landing on Machi.
"Is this our new companion?"
He keenly sensed that Machi was different from the others; this girl was too close to the boss.
"Pardon my rudeness."
"I am Alvin Elmore."
"Machi."
Alvin introduced himself simply. Machi glanced at him and replied coldly.
"Where are Ging and the others?"
Illumi walked past Alvin, stepping towards a ready-made black limousine. A driver in a black suit opened the car door, and Illumi bent down and got in.
Alvin, Pride, and Machi followed closely, bending down to enter the car.
"The others are still training. As for Mr. Ging…"
"Today, three special guests arrived. Mr. Ging is entertaining them."
Outside the window, Envy was organizing the 120 young men to board the buses. Once they were all settled, the driver started the engine, and the six buses and one sedan headed towards the Umbrella Corporation Headquarters.
An hour later, the industrial park of the Umbrella Corporation Headquarters appeared before them.
Umbrella BioTech, in Illumi's definition, was a company involved in high technology, cutting-edge biotechnology.
Entering the industrial park, Envy arranged for the 120 young men to disembark and, led by company security personnel, proceed to the training base deep within the industrial park.
Envy himself followed Illumi and the others to the top floor of the company headquarters building, where Ging Freecss was meeting with three special guests.
"Ding!"
The elevator doors opened. Illumi instructed them to wait in the office inside, while he and Alvin stepped into the conference room.
Over forty days had passed. The top floor was no longer entirely offices; a portion of the area had been partitioned off to create a conference room.
Inside the conference room, Ging Freecss was exchanging discussions with three middle-aged men dressed in white shirts with graying temples.
"These are Dr. Ballard Benjamin, Dr. Baldwin Bartholomew, and Dr. Boyce Nathaniel."
Illumi and Alvin entered the conference room. The three hired biomedical doctors and Ging Freecss stood up together. Ging Freecss introduced them to Illumi one by one.
Illumi wore a kindly smile and shook hands with the three doctors in turn.
"Please sit."
After shaking hands, Illumi waved for everyone to sit down. Illumi took the main seat at the long conference table.
Illumi knew these three.
In fact, Isacape had separately reported all personnel screening in this area to Illumi. However, his understanding of them was limited to their personal information.
Dr. Ballard Benjamin, currently forty years old, had worked at Ozma Federation's Comoros Company.
Headquartered in Quistat City of the Ozma Federation, the company primarily focused on innovative pharmaceuticals, life sciences, and cutting-edge functional materials technology, driven by technology to create value for patients and clients.
As of this year, Comoros Company had 106 branches and 28,000 employees in dozens of countries and regions worldwide.
Dr. Ballard Benjamin, however, was dismissed by Comoros Company due to a medical error and was currently at a low point in his life.
Indeed, even after being dismissed, he continued his research independently. Over time, his personal financial situation became quite awkward.
Currently, his wife had divorced him, and custody of their children had been awarded to his wife by the court.
Therefore, although Umbrella was still a new company, the generous remuneration convinced Ballard, who was in a difficult financial situation, to agree.
In Illumi's mind, Dr. Ballard Benjamin's information flashed by, and he then shifted his gaze to the other two doctors.
Dr. Baldwin Bartholomew and Dr. Boyce Nathaniel's financial situations were not much different from Dr. Ballard's, both quite concerning.
It was precisely this reason that forced the two to accept employment with Umbrella Corporation under immense financial pressure.
This world was unfair; talent did not necessarily guarantee important positions or opportunities to utilize one's abilities.
Therefore, countless geniuses fell into hardship for various reasons.
And this led to a series of deeply regrettable incidents.
These three doctors, despite possessing certain talents, had fallen into personal lows due to misfortune.
But if someone could give them a chance, they were very likely to rise from the ashes. Otherwise, they might waste their lives away.
"Three doctors, I'm very pleased that you have accepted our company's employment."
Illumi sat in the main seat, his hands resting on the armrests, leaning back in the chair, a kindly smile on his face.
"I know that, in fact, the three doctors are not willing to accept our company's employment."
"Of course, I also admit that our company is indeed a new company with no great technology."
"However, here, I can reveal something to the three doctors."
"The true research and technology of this company…"
Illumi tapped the armrest. Alvin nodded, stood up, opened a silver-white briefcase, and took out three documents, handing them one by one to the three doctors.
Dr. Ballard, Dr. Baldwin, and Dr. Boyce accepted the documents handed to them by Alvin with puzzled expressions and casually flipped through them.
"This, this is…"
The three doctors only read the first page, and their expressions changed from initial nonchalance to solemnity and gravity.
"Whoosh…"
The three doctors' fingers flipped through the documents slower and slower, as if they were devout believers holding a Bible, reading almost word by word.
Illumi sat in the main seat, instructing Alvin to get him a bottle of red wine. He gently swirled the goblet in his hand, occasionally taking a small sip.
He waited patiently for the three doctors to finish reading.
Sixty minutes passed. By the time the red wine in front of Illumi was almost finished, the three doctors had finally finished reading the documents in their hands.
"Where did these things come from?"
Putting down the materials, Dr. Ballard impatiently asked Illumi.
"Where they came from, you don't need to know."
Illumi slowly swirled the goblet in his hand, looking at Dr. Ballard with a smile.
"Only this company in this world will research such things."
"And I can guarantee that 99.99% of the people worldwide don't know of its existence."
Dr. Ballard and the others fell silent. Indeed, even with their status and position, they had never heard of such miraculous substances in the human body.
And from these documents, based on their experience, the authenticity of this information was very high. Fabrication was almost impossible. All that was left was for them to conduct experiments.
"If what's on here is true…"
Dr. Baldwin's expression was serious. He looked at everyone present and said.
"Then, if we research it deeply and develop based on it, it will greatly advance the speed of human evolution."
"You all should know what a truly great undertaking this will be."
Illumi looked at the three excited doctors, his eyes narrowed slightly. The Nen abilities displayed in the original work were simply too few.
In reality, this peculiar ability could be massively applied in various fields: medicine, armaments, high-tech products, human life, and so on.
In fact, Illumi was even wondering if it was possible to invent a device that could store "aura," using it as a new energy source.
However, at the current stage, Umbrella Corporation's starting capital was only 10 billion Jenny. While seemingly a huge sum, in terms of scientific research and development, it could even be described as financially stretched.
And this amount of money, for the Zoldyck family, was not even worth a fart.
Even building a company headquarters cost over a billion Jenny, not to mention the future establishment of other branches, security companies, and most importantly, foundations and military bases.
Buying land, building factories, research and development—Illumi could already imagine himself working himself to death to earn money in the future.
"Should I go ask my father Silva and my grandfather Zeno for money?"
Illumi pondered deeply, but the Zoldyck family, with its tradition of being assassins, had produced an anomaly like him. Whether his father and grandfather would support him was truly uncertain.
"The fastest ways to make money, besides assassinating, are armaments and pharmaceuticals."
However, he hadn't even found any talent for Nen ability weapon research yet, so he couldn't even think about that.
As for pharmaceuticals, Illumi looked at the three doctors. Perhaps he could start from this aspect.
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