Chapter 129: Chapter 129
At Aster Core, Kenji returned from a meeting with a Grumpy face.
The moment he entered the office, anyone could tell the meeting had not gone well.
He did not greet the staff properly. He walked straight toward the inner room.
Kiri was already there, looking over a few files. A short while later, Senju also came in.
She had gone to deal with the government notice matter from her side.
Her face did not look good either.
Kenji looked at her first.
"What happened on your side?" kenji ask.
Senju placed her bag on the chair and let out a tired breath.
"I tried to explain our side," she said. "I gave them what they asked for. I kept everything as clean as possible."
Kenji waited.
Senju’s eyes became heavier.
"But I don’t think they came to understand us," she said. "It feels like they have already made up their mind to take action."
She had gone there hoping that documents would calm the matter.
Instead, every answer had created another question. The people on the other side had listened politely, but their faces had not changed. It felt less like a review and more like a path already chosen.
Kenji’s face became even darker.
Senju noticed it.
"What happened to you?" she asked. "Why does your face look like that?"
Kenji sat down slowly.
"Our new meetings," he said.
Kiri looked up.
Kenji continued, "Four meetings were scheduled."
He raised his hand and showed four fingers.
"Two companies clearly refused. They said they don’t want to deal with us right now."
Senju became still.
Kenji lowered two fingers.
"The other two canceled before the meeting even started."
The room became quiet.
Those meetings were important.
Aster Core needed new buyers. The company had grown fast because of the sudden demand, but it still needed more stable deals. If new partners started backing away now, the pressure from the notices would become even worse.
For a young company, this kind of change was dangerous. If one partner stepped back, another partner would start asking why. That was how fear spread in business.
Kiri closed the file in front of him.
"This doesn’t feel natural," he said.
Kenji looked at him.
Kiri continued, "First the notices. Now the meetings. It feels like someone is targeting us."
Kenji rubbed his forehead.
"Maybe a large company is doing it," he said. "they don’t like how fast we are growing."
"Possible," Kiri said.
Senju heard their words, but her mind went somewhere else.
She remembered Adam’s words.
He had told her there was an enemy. Someone capable enough to kill him.
At that time, Senju had thought about Adam’s danger.
Now she was thinking about Aster Core.
’Is that person targeting us now?’ Senju thought.
The idea made her chest tighten. She did not want to believe it at once. But the timing was too strange.
Adam had left the country. At the same time, pressure had started falling on Aster Core. If someone wanted to hit Adam without touching him directly, this was a clean way to do it.
She took out her phone at once.
Kenji noticed her movement.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
Senju did not stop.
She typed quickly and sent the message.
Then she looked up.
"I messaged Wil."
Kenji stood up at once.
"Are you mad?" he asked.
Senju did not move back.
Kenji continued, "We agreed that we would not trouble him unless this went beyond us."
Kiri raised one hand and stopped him.
"No," Kiri said. "I think Senju did the right thing."
Kenji turned toward him.
Kiri’s face was serious.
"This is already beyond us," he said.
Kenji did not speak.
Kiri continued, "We need Wil’s influence. Without that, I don’t think we can get out of this easily."
Kenji wanted to argue, but the words did not come quickly.
He also knew Kiri was not wrong.
He did not say it lightly.
Kiri had seen Wil’s effect before.
Companies that had ignored Aster Core had suddenly started listening after Wil moved. Some had refused before, then came back and placed orders. That was not normal. Kiri did not know how Wil did it, but he knew one thing.
Wil’s influence worked.
And right now, Aster Core needed that.
Kenji slowly sat back down.
He still did not like it.
But he also knew that acting proud here could destroy the company before Wil even knew what had happened.
Senju looked at her phone again.
The message had already gone.
At that same time, Adam was inside his hostel room.
He had finally returned there after the apartment work.
His body was still tired, but his mood was good.
The production line was complete.
He had been planning to contact Aster Core himself and tell them about it.
For once, he felt like he had a real result to show them.
This time, he had a real machine to show them, not just another strange order.
Then his phone rang.
Adam picked it up and saw Senju’s message.
He smiled faintly.
"I was just about to call you," he muttered.
Then he opened the message.
His smile disappeared.
Senju had written:
Adam, I think your enemy may be targeting Aster Core now. We received government pressure, and our meetings are getting blocked. Please come to Aster Core once.
Adam read the message again.
His eyes widened.
For a moment, it felt like the ground under his feet had slipped.
’John?’ Adam thought.
His hand tightened around the phone.
’Did John make his move while I was not here?’
The timing made his face turn colder.
He had left for only a short time, and that was when Aster Core had been hit.
Until now, Adam had been moving around John from a distance.
But if John had truly touched Aster Core, then the distance was ending.
Adam slowly stood up.
’So this is it.’ Adam thought. ’My first direct confrontation with John is coming.’
