Chapter 885

Time flowed strangely in the Twisting Nether.

The realm was completely severed from the normal flow of time in the physical universe. When someone entered it in the flesh and later returned, the two timelines could fail to line up properly.

That had been an unpleasant surprise.

The other revelation was worse.

If Evenson maintained a connection to his physical body while entering the Nether as a projection, a sufficiently powerful and intelligent demon could potentially follow that connection back to its source and discover the coordinates of his world.

The thought sent a cold sweat down his back.

Fortunately, Harmondis had been an idiot.

That particular disaster had never happened.

And now that the Felscar Rift had been conquered and transported completely into Evenson’s universe, he doubted he’d have any reason to enter the Twisting Nether again.

He let out a long breath.

"So you said some things happened while I was gone. What exactly happened?"

"Mostly business."

Sacrolash sounded almost unconcerned.

"The company ran into some obstacles recently. We’ve had to make a few adjustments to our strategy."

Evenson frowned.

"Obstacles?"

He’d left for the Twisting Nether when everything had been going smoothly.

The company had just held its first board meeting and secured the support of several extremely wealthy financial families. Those families had shown considerable interest in the company’s various projects and promised to invest.

Of course, they weren’t handing over the entire fortune at once.

The company’s plans were ambitious enough that even those families couldn’t casually finance everything in a single transaction.

More importantly, nobody could guarantee that the company’s projections would actually become reality.

So the investors had adopted a cautious strategy.

Invest gradually.

Watch the results.

Increase their investment if things continued going well.

The first round of funding, however, had already arrived.

So if something had suddenly gone wrong, Evenson naturally assumed the investors had changed their minds.

"Did those billionaires back out?"

"No."

Alythess shook her head.

She didn’t bother dragging out the suspense.

"Three days ago, a guerrilla organization operating in the South American rainforest was wiped out."

"The group had been causing trouble for the local government for years."

"According to the survivors, one man did it almost single-handedly."

"He overwhelmed the entire group with overwhelming firepower, then physically smashed through the fortified shelter where their leader was hiding and killed him with a single punch."

Evenson narrowed his eyes.

"A mutant?"

Someone capable of that clearly wasn’t an ordinary human.

Even if the attacker had possessed advanced weapons and prepared an ambush in advance, overwhelming an entire guerrilla force so quickly would have been impressive.

As for the supposedly fortified shelter, the conditions in the rainforest meant it was probably nothing more than a crude structure reinforced with logs rather than an actual concrete bunker.

Still, that didn’t explain someone physically smashing through it.

So some form of superhuman ability was the obvious answer.

But that wasn’t particularly surprising.

The world was huge.

There were billions of people in it.

A mutant appearing in South America and deciding to play superhero wasn’t exactly a once-in-a-generation event.

"What does that have to do with us?"

"Even if the Black Badge Bureau is responsible for dealing with superhuman criminals, this happened in South America."

"Why would that affect our company?"

Evenson suddenly grinned.

"Don’t tell me the guerrillas were secretly being funded by the CIA."

Sacrolash nodded.

"You’re actually right."

"The CIA was secretly funding them."

"And that’s how we obtained such detailed intelligence."

"After the attack, the CIA sent a formal inquiry to the Black Badge Bureau."

"They wanted to identify the attacker."

"They provided us with footage."

"I took one look at him and recognized him immediately."

"Michael Peterson."

Evenson’s eyebrows rose.

"That guy?"

No wonder the twins had recognized him instantly.

Peterson had been the very first case handled by the Black Badge Bureau after its establishment.

That wasn’t something you forgot.

"I thought we’d handed him over to S.H.I.E.L.D. afterward."

"We did."

"He was recruited as an agent."

"But he disappeared during the incident involving Agent Coulson."

"He did disappear."

Alythess’s expression became strange.

"And apparently someone modified him."

"The Michael Peterson who has reappeared can no longer be classified as entirely human."

"He’s essentially a cyborg."

"He wears powered armor that’s extremely resistant to conventional weapons, along with a powerful weapons system."

"At minimum, he has miniature missiles mounted on his shoulders and forearms."

Evenson stared at her.

"Please tell me the missiles aren’t called—"

He stopped himself.

"No. Never mind."

He thought for a moment.

"Interesting."

"A cyborg."

"So the problem is that we’ve suddenly acquired a competitor?"

The company’s core products included both biological enhancement and mechanical augmentation.

Those technologies represented a major portion of its military contracts.

Michael Peterson’s sudden appearance was therefore an obvious problem.

"This was a product demonstration, wasn’t it?"

"The United States government wants to work with whoever is behind him."

"Exactly."

Sacrolash nodded.

"Not long after the attack, someone secretly claimed responsibility."

"They’ve already begun contacting senior military officials."

"They’ve even quoted a price."

Evenson’s expression sharpened.

"Have we analyzed the armor?"

"How does it compare with ours?"

Alythess didn’t hesitate.

"It doesn’t."

"In terms of performance, it has no advantage over our technology."

"They can do everything we can do."

"But their manufacturing and operating costs are considerably higher."

Evenson relaxed.

"Then what’s the problem?"

He spread his hands.

"An inferior product that costs more isn’t exactly a winning business strategy."

"Even if they have a flashy brand, our name is already better established."

"Did they hire some celebrity to endorse it?"

Alythess stared at him.

"You really don’t understand how wealthy people play the market."

"I’d love to learn."

Evenson looked offended.

"You two never give me a chance."

He brightened.

"Speaking of wealthy people, can I get a larger allowance next month?"

"I’d like to experience the glamorous life of the upper class."

Sacrolash sighed dramatically.

"You cannot imagine the suffering of the wealthy."

She placed a hand over her chest.

"So much money."

"So much pain."

"I’d be happy to help you carry that burden."

Evenson immediately seized her hand.

His expression was completely sincere.

Sacrolash pulled free and shoved him backward.

"Helping us with our suffering would be the greatest source of suffering imaginable."

"Anyway, we’ll discuss your allowance later."

Alythess brought the conversation back on track.

"You’re looking at the wrong issue."

"Technologically, they aren’t competitive."

"Financially, they’re inefficient."

"But their existence alone is a threat."

"Until now, we effectively controlled this section of the market."

"The military had no comparable supplier, so we held all the leverage during negotiations."

"Now there’s another seller."

"They can use that fact to negotiate with us."

"They don’t need to offer a better product."

"The military has enough money to buy from them at an inflated price purely to pressure us."

"They can deliberately spend more on an inferior product and tell us to lower our prices or improve our technology."

Evenson’s expression finally changed.

"Oh."

Now he understood.

"So that’s the game."

He thought back to the CIA’s inquiry.

Something about it had always seemed strange.

The Black Badge Bureau and S.H.I.E.L.D. had jointly handled the original Michael Peterson incident.

The operation had caused far too much destruction to simply disappear.

Even if the details were classified, the CIA had enough resources to identify Peterson without needing to ask the Black Badge Bureau.

If they couldn’t, they might as well shut down the agency.

So the inquiry wasn’t really about identifying Peterson.

It had been a message.

A deliberate one.

The government wanted the company to know that it had alternatives.

"Michael Peterson."

Evenson clicked his tongue.

"I should’ve let Mack kill him when we had the chance."

It was mostly frustration.

Peterson himself wasn’t the important part.

The technology was.

Kill Peterson, and someone else would eventually appear.

But then Evenson remembered something.

"The company behind him isn’t exactly clean, is it?"

Alythess nodded.

"We investigated."

"The company is a shell."

"The real owner is Ian Quinn."

Evenson’s eyes lit up.

"Well, that’s easy."

Ian Quinn.

One of the wealthy men connected to the Clairvoyant.

The same man who had put three bullets into Skye.

He was already in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

"Then we can classify the company as a terrorist organization."

"We send in the Black Badge Bureau, seize the entire operation, and we’re done."

Sacrolash shook her head.

"It’s not that simple."

"Quinn was arrested and charged by S.H.I.E.L.D."

"He’s being held in a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility."

"And you know how the American government currently feels about S.H.I.E.L.D."

Evenson grimaced.

"The more S.H.I.E.L.D. opposes someone, the more interested the government becomes."

"Exactly."

"If we send the Black Badge Bureau in and use overwhelming force, Washington will assume we’ve been cornered."

"They’ll protect Quinn simply because we want him."

"And then we’ll have achieved the exact opposite of what we wanted."

Evenson frowned.

"What about the financial families we’ve brought into the company?"

"They have plenty of influence."

"The company is already part of their investment portfolio."

"Can’t we have them pressure the government?"

Alythess snorted.

"They have other businesses."

"They aren’t going to destroy their relationships with the government and military for our sake."

"Not yet, anyway."

Evenson sighed.

"American politics really is reliable."

Alythess’s eyes narrowed.

Then she smiled.

"Actually, we already returned the favor."

Evenson immediately became interested.

"Oh?"

"How?"

Sacrolash answered.

"We’re opening subsidiaries."

"Subsidiaries?"

"They found another seller and want to prove that the military doesn’t have to buy from us."

"So we’ll find other buyers and prove that we don’t have to sell to them."

Evenson’s grin widened.

"Where?"

"And who’s running them?"

"One in Europe."

"One in Asia."

Sacrolash smiled.

"Natalia Vostokoff."

"Our secretary."

"We originally intended to train her for a little longer, but circumstances have changed."

"So we’re sending her home early."

"She’ll run the European branch."

Evenson’s eyes widened.

"Russia?"

He burst out laughing.

"That’s vicious."

The message was obvious.

You want to pressure us?

Fine.

We’ll sell to your biggest geopolitical rival.

Keep pushing, and we’ll move the whole operation there.

Sacrolash continued.

"And we’re planning to sell Russia something we’ve never sold in the United States."

Evenson leaned forward.

"What?"

Alythess considered the question.

"A modified Fel-powered war machine."

"We’ll convert it to nuclear power and have human operators control it."

"We’ve decided to name it—"

"Mobile Suit Gundam?"

Evenson raised a finger.

"Or Pacific Rim?"

Sacrolash rolled her eyes.

"The Sacred Mountain Mech."

"Right."

She ignored him.

"Vostokoff is already in negotiations with senior Russian officials."

"It shouldn’t be long before she has an industrial complex of her own."

"Excellent."

Evenson was practically beaming.

"Vostokoff Industrial Zone."

He paused.

"Beautiful."

Then he remembered something.

"And the Asian branch?"

Sacrolash smiled.

"For Asia, we selected a country with enormous territory, a massive population, and an impressive willingness to spend money."

Evenson’s expression changed.

"No..."

He slowly raised a hand.

"Could it be...?"

His voice became increasingly dramatic.

"The legendary land of elephants..."

"The veteran of countless wars..."

"The civilization that has survived everything history could throw at it..."

"The mighty power of South Asia..."

"India?"

Alythess laughed.

"Yes."

"India."

Evenson stared at her.

They’d initially chosen the country but hadn’t decided who should run the branch.

Now, however, Alythess had apparently found the answer.

Her eyes shifted toward Agatha.

Evenson followed her gaze.

His expression fell.

"Wait."

"You can’t be serious."

"You’ve heard what the reputation of that country is like."

"Sending a woman there..."

"Is that really a good idea?"

Alythess sighed.

"First, Agatha isn’t a woman."

"She’s a demon."

"Second, her appearance should save us a considerable amount of trouble."

Evenson looked at Agatha.

She was tall, pale, imposing, and possessed six arms.

He slowly nodded.

"Right."

"A Felguard-like demon."

"That probably does solve the problem."

...