Chapter 708: Beach Guy.
"You sure keep getting yourself into deeper trouble, huh?" Viktor’s reaction was exactly how he had expected it to be, all the way to him holding his head as if he were having a headache. "Did you really have to start problems with Gaia?"
"They were in the way, that’s all."
Far from it. Dante never had an interest in the megacorporation, other than the hatred he felt toward its kind. He could have just ignored it and gone on with his life, but that’s not what he had done.
"I still don’t understand what took you all the way to the bottom of the continent," Viktor said.
"Pretty sure I told you I was on a vacation."
"We both know you aren’t a beach guy. Don’t tell me you felt bad for the revolt going on and-"
"Nope." Dante interrupted him. "Not even close."
"Well, I just hope you know what you’re doing." Heaving a sigh, Vik pressed his mouth into a line before letting out another one. "A... friend of mine is looking to buy some Voltane. I promised to get him a good deal, so if it’s not too much to ask..."
"What can you get for us out of this?" Dante asked.
"Implants," Vik replied. "And tech. The best Orvakia has to offer."
"I will leave the negotiations to you then. You can have 30% as your cut."
"Now we’re talking." Vik grinned at him for a moment, but his expression soon turned serious. "From what you’ve told me, it should be obvious that you have been drawing a lot of attention lately."
"Pretty sure it’s unavoidable," Dante replied.
"Fine, but are you sure that’s what you want? I thought lying low and not standing out was your strategy."
"That’s behind us now. I don’t have a reason to be afraid."
"Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure."
Leaning back in his chair, Viktor stared at the ceiling for a while, diving deep into his thoughts.
"It’s gonna be tough if you want to play their game. You might be rising in the underworld, but you don’t have the status or the connections."
"What about you?"
"Not the kind we need. I might have access to the higher levels of the Union, but it’s not strong enough to cause change."
"Can we find dirt on them?"
"Even if we do, then what? Keep in mind that they’re playing this game as well. If you poke them one too many times, they might retaliate, and if you can barely take what they’re handing now, what do you think would happen if you suddenly went to war?"
Dante had obtained the power to rival the world’s strongest, but it was still that of a single individual. That would have been fine if his goal was still to kill Paragon, but he was already past that. Going forward, he would be fighting against Eidolon and everyone who benefits from it.
In a way, he would be fighting the world’s most powerful nation, the Radmir Union, as well as its ruling class and every rich bastard propping it up. That was the reason why he wanted to take a different route by buying his way into their circles while looking for the right moment to strike, but it seems like that was going to be more difficult than he thought.
"You can always take a more direct route," Vik said.
"And that is..."
"Just..." He swiped his thumb across his neck. "Everyone who’s in your way."
"That... sounds like a very bad idea..."
Of course, that option had always been in the back of Dante’s mind.
’If only things were that easy.’
Going after the world’s top wasn’t anything to take lightly. Their status made them some rather shiny targets, and the longer they manage to survive, the better the security they have. Unlike most of his enemies so far, he wouldn’t be able to just walk in and kill them one after the other. Even if he took one out, the others would go on high alert and wouldn’t rest before they crushed him.
"Then your only choice is to play the game," Viktor said. "It’ll take some time, but if you try and get the right cards, you should be able to force them into the negotiation table."
"This is going to be really annoying, isn’t it?" Dante grimaced.
"Do you have better ideas?"
The two sat down and discussed their future plans, which could be boiled down to sabotaging the businesses of all those who are blocking his path, striking them where it hurts until they give up. This has to be done slowly and over time, all while ensuring none of it comes to light, which means Ghost couldn’t just go around blowing up factories and kidnapping workers.
"I miss when things were a bit simpler," Dante said.
"You can always go back, you know," Viktor said.
"Yeah, that’s not happening." Heaving a sigh, Dante thought for a moment before remembering something. "By the way, how’s Finn doing?"
The question caused the fixer’s face to drop, and he suddenly looked several times more tired than he already was.
"Did something happen?"
"Not sure." Rubbing his temples, Vik grimaced. "He has been going out a lot more lately. I thought everything was fine since he’s always been back before his curfew, but..."
"Don’t tell me he got himself into another mess..."
"Well, maybe if you had kept an eye on him, you wouldn’t be wandering about that."
Dante opened his mouth to retort, but he realized that he didn’t have the right. He had forced the brat on the fixer, then went and distanced himself. Right now, he couldn’t afford to have any distractions, and besides, it would be for the best if the boy kept his distance.
-Yeah, right. Keep telling yourself that.-
After a moment of thought, Dante seemed to remember something.
"I have yet to build his workshop..."
He was still holding on to the boy’s money, too. Maybe it was time to make good on his promise.
