Chapter 88: Gathering

chapter 88: gathering

adam truly didn't know what the outcome of the battle was going to be. cowboy and warlock were the most powerful adapters that he knew. when it came to adapters of an even higher level, he had either never met them before, or he had met them, but never seen them in action, such as may.

"let's hide and make sure we keep ourselves safe. the best thing we can do to help them right now is to not get in their way."

adam was well aware of what his role in this battle was, and after the acid rain subsided, he immediately continued to run away with shae still wrapped up in his bandages, and he only drew to a halt after he was already far away from the battlefield.

having gotten so far away from the battlefield, adam wasn't even able to clearly see what was happening in the battle anymore. however, judging from the rumbling explosions ringing out in the distance and the lights of different colors flashing over the sky, it was clear that the battle was very intense.

"is this how powerful elite adapters are? it's like watching a battle between two armies!"

shae had never witnessed a battle between advanced adapters before, and she was thoroughly enthralled by what she was seeing.

"it definitely is a spectacle to behold. i was also shocked the first time i saw something like this." adam gave shae a recount of his first encounter with cowboy. "at the time, a man by the name of oni no hanzou from the oni organization took on a mission to assassinate me, but cowboy also happened to be there, and the two got into a fight. it didn't take long before the entire street was completely destroyed. it was like watching a battle between a pair of superheroes! but even that battle wasn't as intense as this one. masao yamamoto is even more powerful than oni no hanzou."

"are we going to die here?"

"i don't think so. the surveillance cameras here are directly connected to mechguard's data center. once it's detected that everyone's been standing still for too long, it'll be determined that a psychological clash is taking place, and mechguard officers will intervene. no matter how powerful masao yamamoto is, there's no way he'll be able to take care of both cowboy and warlock in a short time."

......

indeed, adam's judgment proved to be correct, and the battle only wore on for five minutes before drawing to a halt.

at this point, cowboy's clothes were already in tatters, while half of the barrel of the revolver in his left hand had already been eroded away. as for warlock, he looked as if he had been possessed by evil spirits, with squirming eyes growing all over his entire body, and it seemed that he was already in very bad shape.

the two of them were clearly well and truly on the back foot, but if the battle were to continue, they would still have been able to drag on the fight for a long time with their self-preservation tactics.

however, masao yamamoto decided to relent. n0velusb.c0m

"not bad at all. to think that you were able to keep up with me for so long, looks like wax figure's quite capable when it comes to training his subordinates."

"what do you think you're talking about? we weren't trained by wax figure!" cowboy took a moment to smooth down his hair, then spat onto the ground in an uncouth manner. "do you want to keep going?"

"let's stop here for today," masao yamamoto replied before immediately departing.

cowboy and warlock exchanged a glance before also leaving the psychic world.

shae was able to sense their departure from her psychic world, and she informed adam of this development.

"should we go as well?"

"sure."

after returning to the real world, adam noticed an immediate change. the breeze felt more realistic, and the lush lawn also felt softer beneath his feet. he opened his eyes and inspected the scene before him.

the battle that had just taken place had been quite intense, but it hadn't lasted very long, so adam had thought that it wouldn't have attracted any attention. however, as he swept his gaze over his surroundings, he discovered that virtually everyone was looking this way.

cowboy's voice rang out from behind him.

"that bastard, masao, set us a trap, and we fell right into it."

"what's that supposed to mean?"

"he's showing off his power to intimidate all of the shareholders."

not only was this gathering attended by the members of the kim family, some of the other shareholders of golden teeth incorporated had also been invited.

only after hearing cowboy's explanation did adam realize the implications involved.

masao yamamoto's invasion of shae's psychic world wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision that he had made on a whim. instead, he had clearly planned this in advance.

if possible, he wanted to plant a mark of fear in shae's mind during the battle and truly strike fear into her heart. if he could do that, then everything else, including the negotiation, would've gone far smoother for him than if shae had been more resilient and defiant.

even if he couldn't accomplish that objective, he could still secure a dominant victory over cowboy and warlock to show all of the shareholders just how massive a disparity in power existed between them. all of the other shareholders of golden teeth incorporated were naturally also very wealthy people, and the average person may have been unfamiliar with concepts like adapters and psychic worlds, but that was not the case for them.

instead, they were extremely sharp observers, and not only did they immediately notice the conflict that was taking place, they were even able to tell who had secured victory judging from cowboy's pale complexion.

the shareholders could decide who took charge of the company, so everyone, even those who weren't afraid of being threatened, would be more inclined to instate the more powerful party as the company's top dog.

this was an open conspiracy, and what was most damning about it was that cowboy had no choice but to play along.

however, at the same time, only someone with sufficient power would be able to pull off something like this. otherwise, not only would the plan fail to achieve the intended effect, masao would've been shooting himself in the foot instead.

"i didn't expect masao yamamoto to be so strong," cowboy continued. "i thought warlock and i would've at least been able to hold our own against him. looks like we'll have to update the files that our organization has on him."

while cowboy was speaking to adam, masao yamamoto approached shae.

"ms. kim..."

having witnessed the battle that had just taken place, shae had become a little fearful of this man, so she instinctively wanted to step back to keep her distance from him, and she was only prevented from doing so by a nudge from behind from adam.

"sometimes, when you get too heavily involved in something, major consequences will arise. even if you have allies and backers on your side, those consequences will still fall on you. no one can protect you from everything. that's life."

masao yamamoto turned and departed after delivering that threatening and cryptic message.

tanner took a glance at shae, then also departed with a disdainful sneer.

after that, it was time for the family gathering.

nothing of particular interest took place during the gathering. under the instruction of a lawyer from the organization, shae was constantly approaching the other shareholders attending the gathering, making small talk and chatting with them about rather inconsequential subjects.

that so-called lawyer was none other than warlock.

in contrast with his mysterious visage in the psychic world, warlock in the real world was an archetypal serious and professional lawyer.

"he's not like you at all." adam didn't dare to eat anything during the gathering, and he stood beside cowboy as he jibed, "you look exactly the same both in the psychic world and in the real world."

"that tells you that i'm true to myself, unlike that two-faced bastard. he looks serious and unscrupulous on the outside, but deep down, he's a very fun and lively character." cowboy didn't share the same qualms as adam, and he tossed a grape up into the air as he spoke, then caught it in his mouth. "he's a shareholder in many law firms in sandrise city, and he's also a very capable lawyer himself. if you ever get in trouble with mechguard, you can go to him for help."

"i see." adam shifted his gaze away from warlock before turning his attention to shae. "it looks to me like even though those shareholders aren't openly ostracizing shae, they're clearly more friendly with tanner. this isn't going to spoil our chances of securing the operating rights, is it?"

"it's not that simple. these shareholders are all sly old foxes. the loss that we suffered today will only be one of many factors that they need to consider. besides, the shareholders aren't casting their votes today, this is only a dinner gathering. all we have to do is ensure that everything else goes smoothly so we can seize back the momentum, then grant the shareholders certain benefits in private, and we can still easily turn the tables. as for things like right to succession and operating rights, at the end of the day, it's all just a contest of money and power. in cases where the two parties fighting for supremacy are roughly evenly matched, the neutral parties become very important. from here onward, they'll do many things to create momentum for themselves, so you have to be careful. i have a feeling that there's more to come from the psychic mutants."