Both Daniel and Greed knew that what the General said was correct. Especially since they need the General to suppress this company and give them a wide berth to build their company and powerplant. The General needed even more of his credibility to make various authority and governance offices listen to him.
"As expected…" Daniel muttered.
The General saw Daniel expression that was a mix of frustration and worry, he decided to help in someway.
"I could help you to prolong her judgment and move her to a better single cell so that only she will stay there to protect her from other prisoners that might take their hatred on her. But I can't help relocate her to a better environment since she is still recognized by the masses as a traitor and a terrorist. And judging from your capabilities, if you decide to break her out of there, tell me the exact time and your estimated time that your operation will take, I'll reduce the guard and disable the surveillance system on that day." The General offer his help
After listening to the General, Daniel nodded in appreciation.
"Thank you for your offer General, I'll think about it." Said Daniel
Daniel then glanced at his suitcase, placed it on the table, and opened it for the General to see.
Inside was a stack of money, thick with hundreds of US dollars. This was the "grease money" Daniel had prepared for negotiations to facilitate the process, but since the General had agreed to help him without it, Daniel decided to gift it to him as a show of sincerity on his part. The General could use the money as he saw fit.
"This is a gift. I hope you will use it to facilitate our cooperation," Daniel said as he pushed the suitcase towards the General.
"Of course, Mr. Emberweave. I know what to do," the General replied, a knowing smile on his face, as he accepted the suitcase. He understood that Daniel intended for the money to be used as a fund to suppress the corporations that would cause trouble. He wouldn't squander it uselessly.
After Daniel and Greed had returned to their home for a few minutes, the General noticed writing on one of the banknotes in the center of the stack. He pulled it out, read it, let out a small laugh, and closed the suitcase.
"You can come out," the General declared, and a certain part of the wall opened, revealing a secret passage from which numerous soldiers dressed in black emerged. They were the same group that Daniel had dealt with earlier.
"Sir, should we pursue him? His physical prowess is beyond that of normal humans, but with proper planning, we could outmaneuver him," the soldier who led the team began to ask but was interrupted by the General's action.
The General showed a banknote with something written on it for the squad leader to read.
'Tell your men who were hidden in the wall not to do anything stupid. You're still on probation,' read Daniel's message on the banknote.
"Wait... he knew!?" the squad leader exclaimed in surprise. He never expected the man who had come with Victoria Goldwyn to know their hiding place.
They had lost their connection with their General, which made them suspicious, so they had quickly come to provide support. However, they were taken aback by the camera feed recording in the room, which showed the man easily overpowering two members of their squad within ten seconds.
That's why, even though they had arrived and were prepared to confront him, they were afraid that he would take their General hostage, which is why they didn't come out.
One of the soldiers dressed in black approached the General, holding a thin stack of papers, and handed it to him. The General briefly checked the contents of the papers before letting out a small smile.
"I see... the Emberweave family, a long-standing lineage since the golden age of Ancient Greece. They were involved in the textiles and cloth industry. Before his early retirement, Daniel served for a short but intense five years in the USA black ops. We don't know the specifics of the operations he was involved in. Ah, a veteran war dog through and through, that Daniel. Currently, he has a wife and an adorable five-year-old daughter. No wonder he chose early retirement and ventured into business," the General read aloud, offering his commentary on Daniel's achievements during his brief military service in the USA.
Unknown to the General, this information had been prepared by Greed, designed to be discovered by anyone in the mundane world who was curious enough to search for details about Daniel. The information had been scattered in bits and pieces to create the impression that whoever gathered it had pieced it together themselves.
"What should we do, General?" the same squad leader asked.
The General smiled and walked towards the large glass panels behind his desk. He looked down at the ground, where Daniel was about to enter the armored limo, and saw him looking up with a knowing smile before getting into the car. The General had a hunch that the last glance Daniel gave him before entering the car was no coincidence.
"Of course, we will follow the agreement. Besides the fact that I don't want to mess with Victoria Goldwyn and that man, I also despise the Confederacy. They won't sincerely make deals with anyone who isn't white. Even if you're white, once you fall into their hands as a slave, they consider you less than human. That's why I hate them and have decided to overthrow that son of a bitch. Don't you all feel the same?" the General asked his soldiers in black.
The soldiers removed their tactical masks, revealing their faces. Sullivan's soldiers consisted of black people and individuals from various ethnic and racial backgrounds, including natives from the Tessia kingdom and nearby islands. If the Confederacy were to gain a foothold here, these people would be the most affected, as the Confederacy did not view them as equals.
"Moreover, I know I may be too optimistic, but... if we can gain something from their super soldier project by proving ourselves trustworthy, it would be a great accomplishment. Even obtaining a diluted version of a super soldier would be considered a success for us," the General spoke with optimism, sensing the potential in this cooperation.
Having grown up in this country's lower social strata, he understood the needs of the people. Providing affordable and clean energy would enable the citizens to have more disposable income for other necessities, and it seemed like a promising idea to begin with.
—
A few days swiftly passed as Daniel devoted his time to establishing his company. The company's main focus was advanced technology research and innovation, and its inaugural product was a cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy solution to be provided to the people of the Tessia Kingdom.
In the aftermath of the bomb incident, the area surrounding ground zero remained vacant. Utilizing the land rights he had acquired from the Willow family, Daniel began constructing the headquarters of his company near the epicenter. This location was strategically chosen as it connected to the main road leading to the dock, where Daniel's secret base was concealed.
The power plant, constructed near the dock but away from residential areas, was completed swiftly with the assistance of Daniel's metal scarab swarm. Being nearly 100% automated, the power plant required minimal human personnel. Daniel had brought along Atlantean scholars who he had actualized back then and some of the Veneziale's men who served as security guards to act as employees in the power plant.
However, he still needed to recruit numerous individuals with expertise in this industry to assist with the operation, as the Atlantean scholars were too valuable to be employed as power plant operators. Therefore, he made the decision to hold a press conference and the grand opening of the power plant on the same day, while also opening his website for recruitment.
—
In a small apartment within the Tessia Kingdom, Karl, a former power plant technician and engineer, found himself in a difficult situation. Recently, he had been dismissed from his high-paying job after voicing concerns about the safety measures in his boss's plan for a new nuclear power plant. Karl had meticulously calculated the risks associated with the substandard materials his boss intended to use, foreseeing potential issues with the integrity of the power plant's core chamber.
Despite his best efforts to secure a new job, Karl discovered that all the power plants in the country had swiftly removed him from their recruitment lists. He knew it was his former boss's way of exacting revenge. Now, faced with mounting hospital bills for his mother's surgery, Karl was at a crossroads, uncertain about his next move.
During this critical moment, a news report about a new power plant caught Karl's attention. The television broadcast announced the arrival of a groundbreaking technology that promised to deliver affordable and clean energy to the people.
"Hello, citizens of Tessia! My name is Daniel Emberweave, and today I am thrilled to introduce you to the latest innovation from our Astral Tech Corporation: the Ether power plant," Daniel's voice resonated from the television, his words carrying a sense of confidence and excitement. Dressed in a distinguished blue suit, he stood tall behind the podium at a press conference.
"You must be wondering what Ether is. In short, it is a new element that I have recently discovered, and it holds limitless potential for us to create a new source of energy!" Daniel explained, capturing the audience's attention with his explanation of the revolutionary element.
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