NOVEL NEXT Chapter 34: 034
Ep. 34
–
Administrative district of T&C Special Trade Center.
It was a completely different image from the rest of the Earth, which was bathed in artificial light created by billboards.
Life with nature.
According to the slogan symbolizing the administrative district, well-maintained trees and bushes were planted on both sides of the marble sidewalk blocks. Small birds were flying and chirping between the trees.
Beyond the lush forest of trees, white rectangular high-rise buildings stood tall. They were branches of prominent companies operating in government offices or megacorps.
If you pass by the beautiful but flat buildings and go to the center of the Earth, there is a building with a unique appearance that is taller than any other buildings around.
The building, which has a spiral exterior reminiscent of a twist and has a design that looks like open hands at the top, offers a panoramic view of the city.
The name of the majestic building is Monument.
As the T&C family values efficiency, the building symbolizing the first space city was given the simple name Monument.
Lyla Chamberlain, Saddam Chamberlain's youngest daughter and general manager of the Special Trade Center, resides on the top floor of the Monument.
Currently, she was holding a meeting with the city's leaders.
Lila and team leaders from each district office were sitting around a mahogany round table, and among them, only the assistant team leader of the human resources management team was standing nervously.
Lila, a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, opened her mouth while reading the report.
"Human Resource Management Team."
"Yes yep!"
"This time, the amount of supplies arrived decreased by 3%. Can you tell us the reason?"
The assistant team leader hiccuped at her question.
"Hi! That means production has fallen this year on the Z-101 ranch planet and the P-82 livestock planet…" "
Our special trade center can replace up to 20% of the 'employees' to be sent to the entertainment district through other routes. However, a minus 3% supply volume cannot be said to be a small figure. "You can't be confident that it's within the allowable range."
"That's true, but that's it…"
"Everyone knows that 40% of the income of the special trade zone comes from the entertainment district. "If the human resource management team loses 3% of the supply, the burden will inevitably fall on the entertainment district."
Lila spoke in a calm tone, but everyone knew what she was talking about. It was a warning asking why another route was not opened to fill the quota.
"Assistant team leader, Mr. Pizarro."
"Yes, yes!"
"Do you know what is most important to a merchant?"
"Maybe it's not credit…."
"Of course, credit is important, but the most important thing is credit. There are circumstances this time, so you can make the excuse that supply is difficult. But what if that breaks your credit? These are customers who have had a hard time coming here. "Once they are disappointed, they never come back."
"I will keep that in mind!"
"At any other time I would have passed over it, but this is an important time. "Everyone knows that it won't be long before the board meeting is held."
As soon as the word 'board of directors' came out of her mouth, everyone in the room nodded with a firm expression.
Anyone who worked under the T&C family couldn't have known. This is how much the head of T&C wants to become CEO of Megacorp.
"This first board meeting is scheduled to be held here at the T&C Special Trade Center. A huge number of tourists will visit this city. There cannot be even an inch of error."
"All right!"
"Contact the leadership of both planets and tell them to meet the quota somehow, such as by spraying estrus all over the planet. Do you understand?"
"yes!"
"Okay, next person. Is it an entertainment district? I'm always looking forward to it. "Get started."
"yep."
While the assistant team leader was sitting in his seat wiping away his cold sweat, a presenter from another team began his report.
After three hours, the meeting ended.
After all the team leaders left, Lila, who was sitting alone in the conference room, sighed.
"Phew."
There is one month left until the first board meeting to select Megacorp's CEO. There was still time left, but as the general manager, ten bodies were not enough.
'But if this thing goes well, the position of successor is not a dream.'
The T&C family has unique characteristics that are different from other Noble Capitals.
The exact name of T&C is Thompson & Chamberlain. It is called T&C by taking the first letters T and C of each surname.
As the name suggests, within the T&C, two surnames coexist in one family. The structure is such that the clan with the Thompson surname and the clan with the Chamberlain surname compete and the winner becomes the head of T&C.
As of now, the Chamberlain surname holds the position of head of the family, but it is unknown who will be the next generation.
'Because Thompson's side is planning it.'
If you become the head of the family, you can monopolize all of the family's rights and T&C-related interests within Megacorp.
Since Chamberlain had been the head of the family for several generations, the situation on Thompson's side was also increasing. It was clear that if the next head of the family was lost to Thompson, it would be bloody.
At that time, the conference room door opened and the secretary came in.
"miss. "This is a list of celebrities who applied to visit on the board meeting date you mentioned."
Lila checked the tablet pad handed to her by the secretary.
As she scrolled down and checked the names on the list, she was startled when she saw the name at the end.
"…is this list accurate?"
"yes. Do you have any problem?"
"Akira Eugene is attending?"
"yes. An hour ago, I received a call from the Eugene family. "They say they won't attend board meetings and will just tour the city."
"under."
Lila let out a laugh at the nonsense.
An old monster who is probably hundreds of years old is leisurely looking around the city. It's a boring joke.
'Current Megacorp CEO Akira Eugene is here.'
Lila was well aware of his exploits and notoriety, known as the Old King of Earth.
"Usurper."
Laila inadvertently mentioned Akira Eugene's nickname.
Usurper is Akira Eugene's least favorite word and an expression other Noble Capitals use to ridicule him.
As his nickname suggests, Akira Eugene was not originally the person to become the head of the family. As his name suggests, he was not qualified to inherit the family.
'Because the Eugene family values lineage.'
Each of Noble Capital's five major families has elements that they value.
The TNC family is a competing family. The Eugene family is famous for developing bloodline strengthening clothing, and the Carmelda family adopts concepts appropriate to each field, such as technology, as their family motto.
As a family that values lineage, Eugene became the head of the family with the blood of the ethnic group that was traditionally their origin.
'We are a people in an era where terraforming takes place frequently.'
She couldn't understand, but in any case, Akira's lineage was far from the roots of the Eugene family, so he was not the official successor.
The reason he became the head of the family was simple. He was the only person in the history of the Eugene family, or Noble Capital, to become the head of the family through a coup.
'Did you say Jungwoo Eugene?'
Originally, he was the one who would run the family smoothly, but the unfortunate head of the family was eliminated by Akira. After his death, all of his blood relatives met a miserable end.
'Even Akira, that crazy man turned Jungwoo Eugene's daughter into a shadow.'
The reason why Akira Eugene is evaluated as cruel is not because he kills people indiscriminately.
They are criticized for killing or torturing people from the same Noble Capital family without any regard.
Lila also goes to the ranch planet every year and enjoys hunting humans, but she never harms her family members for no reason. In that respect, Akira can be seen as a unique entity among Noble Capital.
The reason why a nerd who did not fit into Noble Capital was able to maintain his position as the head of the family was because he was competent.
It was a pity for Jeongwoo Eugene, but after his death, the Eugene family prospered to an unprecedented degree.
Lila also knows that it is not easy to control people through fear because she is in the position of controlling people.
It may be short-lived, but the opponent is a monster who has ruled the Eugene family for nearly 100 years. It would be nearly impossible for her, who is still only a rookie, to deal with it.
'threat.'
Since her father was also a difficult opponent, there was a high possibility that Akira would crush her if she responded directly.
'…no. Failure is the foundation for growth. Even if you lose to him, you can take it as an experience.'
As a descendant of the T&C family, she was not afraid of competition and challenges. Even if she lost, she thought she could recover at any time because she still had a lot of life left to live.
Will she know?
That a terrible danger has already taken root in her territory.
–
[Zuzuzu (is it delicious?)]
"Yes."
Compared to the cyborg's house, the house next door still gave off a feeling of people living there.
The furniture was neat and the entire house was clean as it was cleaned frequently. There were a lot of foods stored in the refrigerator, such as sandwiches made with artificial meat and dried vegetables.
I looked at number 26, who was busy emptying the refrigerator, with happy eyes.
'I'm hungry too, though.'
When I see the owner next door having his waist cut off by his tail, I want to tear off that fresh piece of flesh right away. But there is still work to be done.
I quickly finished the sandwich No. 26 had brought out and got up.
[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzuzu (I'll go next door for a moment)]
｢Yes. "Take care."
After entering Cyborg's house, I first looked for his communication device. I turned on the communicator next to the bed and entered the password.
'Let's see. 'The work number is…'
As I looked down the saved contact information, I saw an impressive name.
'Crazy dog. 'This is right, right?'
All office workers tend to hate their boss. I pressed down on the name 'Mad Dog'.
As soon as the signal went off, the other person answered the phone.
"Las you idiot! "Why didn't you come when you were so busy?"
"I'm quitting."
"what? Are you crazy?"
"take care."
"What a crazy fucking bastard…!"
After finishing the call using the imitation function of the mimicry organ, I pressed the end call button.
Numerous alien workers come into this place every hour of every day. Even if one person leaves the company for no reason, there are many people to replace him.
I don't know if I have a deep bond with my colleagues at work, but Lars, the owner of my voice, doesn't seem to be that case. Looking at the team leader's reaction and his contact information and call list, he seemed close to being a loner.
'Maybe it will be forgotten after today.'
Like the dock workers he preyed on before him, Lars will be forgotten.
'But it would be better to make sure the work is finished.'
I opened the laptop in the living room. If he sends his resignation letter to his workplace using the work laptop he uses, it won't be a big problem.
'It could be handled over the phone, but you never know.'
I don't know if it will happen later after eating a lot of people, but it's still time to be careful.
Because it is a wealthy space city, there are many androids and a small number of defense fleets are also stationed there.
It is much wider than the previous research vessel, so there are many places to hide, but the surveillance network is also more detailed than before.
'You still have to take care of yourself.'
It's best to avoid being caught knowing that I preyed on someone. I can't hide it forever, but I have to delay it as much as possible until I'm strong enough.
'Then let's see what kind of person he is.'
In order to send an email, I needed to know roughly what the person was doing, so I looked through the files on the laptop one by one.
It seems that the owner of the laptop, Lars, was not a cyborg who lived a very sincere life. Even though it is a work laptop, it is full of things that are not related to work.
'You're right in the middle of the space age.'
Since I wasn't interested in Cyborg's sexual orientation, I deleted the file. After that, I kept opening and closing files to check, and a file with a strange title caught my eye.
'List of seizures by the smuggled animal surveillance team?'
When I clicked on the file, dense letters filled the small monitor. As the name of the file suggests, it was a summary of seizures of creatures brought in for the purpose of smuggling.
'It's a smuggled animal.'
Even at a quick glance, there were a lot of different types. Most of them have been transported to other planets, but there are still quite a few creatures left here on Port Earth.
'If you eat these, you will get quite a lot of essence.'
This apartment can be said to be a good restaurant in its own way, but it is not as good as the smuggled animals in the port district. Even if I eat just half of those animals, it will greatly help me grow.
'But the surveillance won't be easy.'
If the animal you were managing disappears midway, you will know right away unless you are a fool. If they report it to the police and an investigation begins, it will be a headache.
If so, there are two ways.
'Buying employees or finding a smuggled animal broker.'
Buying off employees is not very difficult. You can still imitate Lars with the mimicry organ, so you can use it to call another employee.
If I kill that employee and fill out the transfer documents for him, I could easily get rid of one or two of them.
'If you want to take more than that, you need a broker.'
Looking at the list, there were vague parts in the middle, such as the creature's destination being left blank. Perhaps this part was intercepted by the broker.
It would be better for me to contact the broker directly and steal the creatures, or to eat the broker and imitate the broker to steal the creatures.
'I need to make good use of Lars' identity.'
This is a friend who leaves behind so many things when he dies. I would have liked it a lot more if it had tasted better, but it's a pity.
After sending the email, I took my laptop and returned to the house next door.
｢Baby, welcome.｣
[Zuzu zuzuzu zuzu (I won't eat that)]
｢You can't choose what you eat.｣ [
Zu zuzuzu zuzuzu (I'll eat something else)]
｢Something else?｣
[Zu zuzuzu zu (Yes, you eat it)]
No. 26 blinked the light as if he didn't understand what I was saying. When I nodded to indicate that it was okay, he carefully began to eat the man next door.
I thought as I watched the man's face melt by No. 26.
Something more delicious than that is waiting for me.
I whetted my appetite, imagining the joy of devouring genetic essence.