"100% Princess Carry?"
Aomori skipped past the text describing the blue skies and white clouds, focusing his attention on the purple-quality item, 100% Princess Carry.
"It feels like an incredible ability, similar to '100% Chance to be Parried Empty-Handed,' but it's a little embarrassing," he mused for a moment, deciding to shelve the skill for now.
Putting away the other items, Aomori returned to his study and called out a few times. Kayaba Akihiko gave no response, likely still surfing the net.
Shaking his head, Aomori went back to his bedroom, crawled under the covers, and pulled out his phone to check his messages.
Besides some work arrangements, Ms. Fujiwara had sent him a list of companies targeted for acquisition, complete with their assets and costs.
After a quick scan of the list, Aomori sent a message to Ms. Fujiwara, then closed his eyes. Before long, he was immersed in Meditation.
…
The next day, Aomori woke up early. After his morning workout and shower, he came to the study once more. This time, Kayaba Akihiko had returned.
"Well? What do you think?"
"It was great—no, it was beyond great!" Kayaba Akihiko's chibi avatar flashed continuously, showing his excitement. "Monsters, Heroes, espers, martial arts, swordsmanship—it truly is a marvelous alternate world."
"Alright, your job now is to program an intelligent AI capable of handling complex situations. I don't need them to be as emotional as Yui, just efficient and secure."
"...Understood." Suddenly reverting to a corporate drone mentality, Akihiko was a little unaccustomed.
"Oh, and your working hours will be 996. You can do as you please with the rest of your time."
"996?" Akihiko didn't understand.
The roar of a Motorcycle gradually faded as Aomori had already departed.
…
Following the instructions on the treasure map, Aomori rode his white Motorcycle to the border between City B and City C.
Gazing at the sparsely populated, desolate, gravel-filled no-man's-land ahead, Aomori put away his Motorcycle and slowly proceeded alone. A tiny black dot circled high above his head in the sky.
As he neared the target location, Aomori suddenly bent down, grabbed a handful of sand, scattered it, then shook his head and returned the way he came.
Just a few steps after Aomori turned back, a patch of sand fifty meters behind him gently shifted, and a head popped out. The eyes on the head glowed red as it spoke in a mechanical voice.
"Should we make a move?"
"I think he's suspicious."
"Fine, I'll follow your lead."
The red-eyed head watched Aomori's receding, blurry silhouette, then burrowed back into the ground.
A gust of wind blew, restoring the area to its former appearance.
Aomori feigned a leisurely retreat, but he had been constantly monitoring the movement behind him. He only let out a sigh of relief once he reached the edge of the gravel zone.
When he had approached the treasure's location earlier, he had used Mind's Eye and seen several robots lying in ambush, with a layer of metallic casing concealed beneath the thick gravel.
"Is this a secret base of The Organization? Is the treasure inside there?"
The Organization is a mysterious group that appears later in the storyline. Its members are almost all powerful cyborgs, with no shortage of Dragon-level threats.
If it truly belonged to The Organization, bringing in even Bang or Atomic Samurai wouldn't be very effective. At the very least, he would need to get Bomb or Tatsumaki involved, but Aomori hadn't met either of them yet.
He could only set this matter aside for now and return another day to settle the score and claim the treasure.
…
Z-City, inside a factory.
"Father, have you managed to sell your broken-down factory yet? I've already found a house I like and I'm waiting for your money to pay for it."
"Shut your mouth! I'll give you the money once it's sold! Why are you rushing me?!" Inside the office, a white-haired, balding old man angrily hung up the phone. He sighed helplessly while looking out the window at the accumulated products in the factory. "Do you think I don't want to sell it?"
"F-Factory Director!" An employee rushed up to the balding old man, panting heavily.
"Stop being so jumpy. It's alright to fail once in a while. Remember to always maintain a composed mindset. As long as your spirit is undefeated, you can always make a comeback," the balding old man habitually lectured, as he could not tolerate clumsy behavior.
"Ah! No, sir! Factory Director, there's a person outside who says they want to acquire our factory!" The minor employee finally caught his breath while the old man was speaking and blurted out everything in one go.
"What?! You idiot, why didn't you say so sooner!" The calmness vanished from the balding old man's face. He rushed out of the office, only to hastily backtrack a few steps to put on his suit jacket and straighten it out before running out again, knocking over several trash cans along the way.
"Factory Director! Be calm, be calm!" the minor employee yelled from behind, feeling a sense of vindication.
Arriving at the factory entrance, the two saw the factory's sole female employee leaning close to a handsome, refined, and elegant young man in glasses, offering him warm greetings.
A sense of pressure washed over them—the aura of a superior.
The balding old man's eyes narrowed.
"Is that him?"
"That's right, it's him. Go for it, Factory Director!"
After an exchange of glances, the balding old man smoothed his sparse hair and approached the young man in glasses with a faint smile.
'So handsome, so tall, so sturdy!'
Observing him up close, the balding old man felt even more overwhelmed. Meeting the young man's scrutinizing gaze, he swallowed hard, forcing himself to remain composed as he spoke. "Hello, I am Kenji Takahara, the President and Factory Director of Kurosho Company. And you are?"
"My name is Omohara, and I'm here today to discuss the acquisition, as well as take a tour of your esteemed factory."
This handsome young man was, of course, Aomori. After his unsuccessful treasure hunt, he had returned to Z-City to handle the company acquisition.
Last night, he had messaged Ms. Fujiwara, asking her to bring her professional lawyer friend over today. Ms. Fujiwara had replied with an "OK" this morning.
It seemed Ms. Fujiwara and her lawyer friend hadn't arrived yet, so he would have to conduct the inspection himself first.
"Excellent, no problem!" The balding old man, Kenji Takahara, wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and eagerly led the way for Aomori, providing commentary as they went.
He left the sole female employee to feel sorry for herself and nurse her secret disappointment.
"Our Kurosho Company was a leading enterprise back in the day! The tractors we produced were sold in twenty-six cities! Look, just look at this tractor's design, its graceful lines, the imposing front, the massive headlights, the thick exhaust pipe..."
"Also, listen to that engine sound—deep and powerful. Our Kurosho brand tractors are absolutely top-tier in the industry!"
"It's a shame, though. Later, everyone got used to farming in greenhouses, and tractors became obsolete. The company's business has grown increasingly bleak. If it weren't for my son being a terrible novelist who can't be of any use, I wouldn't sell it, no matter what."
Kenji spoke passionately, tears welling up in his eyes at the emotional parts of his tale.
"Factory Director, you're saying nice things, but you're missing the point!" The minor employee frantically signaled with his eyes, but Kenji ignored him.
Aomori noncommittally nodded. He wasn't interested in the story; he was mainly checking whether the production equipment was complete and how many new purchases would be necessary.
Finally, thanks to the minor employee's tireless efforts, Kenji snapped back to attention. He chuckled awkwardly and continued to show Aomori around the factory, though this time his commentary focused on how advanced the machinery was, how excellent the factory environment was, and how pretty the female employee was...
Throughout the entire process, Aomori remained silent, his expression consistently cold, which left both Kenji and the minor employee feeling uneasy.
After completing the tour, they returned to the office. Kenji, parched, poured himself a glass of cool tap water while serving Aomori fragrant tea.
"Well, Omohara-san, what do you say? Are you interested in our company?"
"Wait," Aomori said, sitting upright on the sofa. He uttered only that one word, then fell silent, his eyes slightly lowered, seemingly lost in thought.
'Wait? Wait for what?' Kenji and the minor employee were utterly bewildered, but they dared not ask.
'This is all your fault for talking too much!'
'This is all your fault for not reminding me sooner!'
In the agonizing wait, their eyes, like swords, darted between each other in silent blame.
Finally, the clear ring of a mobile phone broke the tense atmosphere.
Aomori picked up his phone and answered the call. "Good. I'm already here. Have the young woman bring you up."
"?"
They soon found out what he meant.
Accompanied by the rhythmic tap-tap-tap of high heels, the office door opened, and two graceful, charming women walked in.
One was mature and alluring, the other refined and elegant.
Kenji and the minor employee were left dumbstruck.
————
You can read the ahead chapter on Patr if you're interested: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]