Blood Nemesis-Chapter 113: Deal

"Mr. Sathyamoorthi, I can help you with that," Oliver said.

His eyes flicked to his phone as he spoke. Then, a knowing smile playing on his lips, he turned back to Sathyamoorthi.

"Your main challenge is the lack of sufficient funds to complete the research and development of the communication device you conceived. You lack both a patent and a prototype to demonstrate the feasibility of QCM resynchronization. All you possess is a theory and some experimental proof."

Oliver paused.

"This is why you haven’t secured funding. Furthermore, the rumors about the lawsuit claim that your previous company’s technology was used. It was just a secondary contributing factor that stopped you from getting funded."

Oliver’s tone grew slightly more serious.

"I can provide all the necessary funds to complete the initial proof of concept device, a prototype."

The proof of concept device Oliver was thinking about was something that could transmit data across gates without any intermediary, irrespective of distance, while maintaining Quantum Coupled Metal’s synchronization state. Or, should decoupling occur, it should be capable of resynchronisation.

To date, no such device exists. Consequently, QCM was considered an exhaustible resource. Once a working proof of concept is created, the world will be transformed by this technology. Then, neither the lawsuit nor competitor threats would matter. Everyone would be eager to acquire the technology.

Safeguarding these secrets and preventing reverse-engineering will be a crucial challenge, though.

Oliver wore his most affable smile and added, "If you can make a prototype, I can connect you with the Thunder Emperor."

Sathyamoorthi’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Yes, the S rank hero you were just thinking of," Oliver continued.

"He would also facilitate acquiring QCM in bulk for your experiments."

QCMs were exceedingly costly and difficult to obtain, primarily used by the military for communication. Therefore, they likely possess an inventory of decoupled QCMs. As someone high in the chain of military command, the Thunder Emperor could certainly assist in acquiring them.

A glint of certainty shone in Oliver’s eyes. He had just presented an offer Sathyamoorthi couldn’t refuse.

Observing Sathyamoorthi’s shocked expression, Oliver offered a satisfied smile.

"Are you sure?" Sathyamoorthi asked after a moment’s pause.

"Of course, I am."

"Can you really connect me with the Thunder Emperor?"

"Certainly, where else did you think my confidence originated?"

In his past life, Oliver had erred by not fully leveraging his connections. This time, he wouldn’t repeat that mistake. He had already briefed the Thunder Emperor, who agreed to assist upon the prototype’s completion.

Oliver agreed to this arrangement. In exchange, he promised a ten percent stake in the business. It was a win-win for everyone.

Oliver checked his phone again, thinking, ’Nobody can deny free money.’

Simultaneously, while he was with conversing with Sathyamoorthi, Oliver was engaged in something fun. His occasional glances at his phone were to ascertain if Root, his dear friend had taken the bait.

And it seemed he had.

A small red icon appeared in the left corner of Oliver’s phone.

The icon indicated unusual CPU and network activity. Normally, the Root he knew would have bypassed his phone’s security unnoticed, but this was his younger, less skilled self. Thus, Root tripped the trap Oliver had set on his phone when he hacked into it.

That was the reason for his peculiar smile.

’It’s not every day that I can outsmart him.’

Often, Oliver himself was the one Root would trick. For example, he suspected the weird coin Root gave him was the reason for his regression, a trick he might have planted to send his back.

’You knowingly, or unknowingly, made me regress. So, don’t think for a second that you could live a free and carefree life, my friend. It doesn’t matter if it’s this life or the previous, you are going to help me,’ Oliver vowed, resolving to recruit Root into his team.

His first attempt at recruitment was detecting the phone hacking attempt.

Immediately, Oliver pressed the red icon and locked the phone screen. He no longer needed to concern himself with Root. The rest would proceed as he intended.

He turned to gaze at Sathyamoorthi, who was deep in thought.

"Sir, what do you think?" Oliver asked.

He made no attempt to rush Sathyamoorthi’s decision but was still interested in his thoughts on the offer.

Sathyamoorthi remained still for a while and finally expelled the stale air from his lungs.

"Will it be possible to meet someone from the Thunder Emperor’s side?" he asked.

"I can arrange a meeting."

Sathyamoorthi nodded.

"Can we get into the specifics of the initial investment and how you would like to proceed?" He asked.

Oliver was pleasantly surprised. Although no agreement was signed, the question indicated significant progress.

"I can. The initial investment will be 10 million creds to create the prototype. For that, you will be required to hand over 50 percent of the company. After that, we will invest more based on success. What do you think?"

A gentle smile touched Oliver’s lips, but Sathyamoorthi frowned slightly at the proposal. Handing over fifty percent of his startup seemed a significant amount.

"How about 10 million for thirty percent of the equity?" he suggested.

The counteroffer was necessary for him to maintain control over the company. Otherwise, he would once again become a powerless figurehead.

"That..." Oliver paused, not replying instantly.

He stalled for time, glancing around the room, giving the impression of serious consideration. In truth, he merely wanted to create pressure on Sathyamoorthi.

Although prepared for this exact situation, Oliver wanted Sathyamoorthi to feel he had fought for and earned the benefits. Delaying was the only way to achieve this.

After a while, Oliver’s gaze returned from the bookshelves. "That would be difficult," he said with a serious tone, pausing dramatically to imply rejection before continuing slowly, "How about adding a clause that we will renounce our voting rights? No, I can actually transfer our voting rights to you. What we need are dividends, the profit the company would be making. How about that?"

"Are you sure?" Sathyamoorthi asked, genuinely surprised. He wanted to agree immediately, but posed a question instead.

"Hm... I am sure."

"Do you represent the Thunder Emperor too?"

"Yes," Oliver nodded. "But, we hold the right to purchase your share if you are selling it in the future. Do you agree?"

After a pause, Sathyamoorthi nodded.

Soon, an hour passed as they ironed out the important parts of the agreement.

—

Meanwhile, in another room, Root played the video on his computer, downloaded after hacking into the phone of the suspicious young man talking with his father.

The video displayed a smug-looking young man with the most self-satisfied smile Root had ever seen, sitting on a chair in an empty room.

The young man stared through the screen, into Root’s eyes, and spoke, "It’s nice to meet you. I anticipated you might do something like this, so I recorded this video before coming here."

The young man took a banana from a nearby table, peeled it, and ate while continuing, "Your ability is indeed special—communicating with computer systems directly with mana. That’s one hell of an ability if properly used."

The young man’s voice was muffled by the banana.

"So, I want to recruit you. Don’t be quick to reject. I know what you are thinking." The young man raised his hand.

"You see, by now, I might have already agreed to invest in your father’s company. There is no stopping it. I am already part of it, whether you want it or not. We are going to meet a lot in the future."

This time, the young man, still seated, picked up a cup of tea and took a sip, savoring it with a smile that thoroughly annoyed Ajay. If possible, Ajay wanted to slap those extremely slappable cheeks.

Unfortunately, it was just a video recording.

"You thought of slapping me, right?" The man suddenly leaned close to the camera, displaying his cheeks.

"Hehe." He giggled.

"Not happening, brother." He giggled again.

"Anyway, I recorded this message to annoy you and possibly recruit you into my guild. The guild name is ’Nemesis.’ You might have heard about it—it’s the best guild in the world, obviously because I am part of it."

The man licked his lips.

Ajay felt the man deserved more than a slap. He considered delivering a kick or two to the smug individual.

However, the young man on the screen didn’t wait for Ajay to imagine anything further. He continued with a silly smile, "If you decide to join me, send an email to this address." An email address appeared on the screen, covering half of it.

"If you don’t want to, I will personally come and get you."

"Don’t worry. I won’t ask you to work for free. I can also help you get what you want—for example, joining the hero academy, becoming rich, being famous, etc. So think hard, my boy."

The screen flickered, and the video stopped playing.

"Who the heck was this idiot?" Root, otherwise known as Ajay, gazed at the computer monitor, perplexed.

The screen flickered again, and the man reappeared, wearing a silly smile.

"Fuck you. I am not an idiot," he said before the screen went black.

The second appearance caught Ajay off guard. He stared at the screen in shock.