SCC Chapter 9 The World Reacts(1)
FCY 437, 2nd Month, Day 8
Heels clicked against the sparkling floor, attracting the attention of everyone gathered within the room. They were reporters, each from a different station. They had gathered here today because of an invitation. It was one where refusal would leave you with plenty of regrets. And among all business chains, this one was the most prominent in the world because of a certain invention that allowed even babies to start cultivating passively, without any effort on their part.
Park was one of those sent to this place upon invitation. He had worked hard for twenty years, and had recently been allowed to go out into the field, and by chance, the others had been busy elsewhere, giving him the chance at this. He had noticed that even though the people here appeared to be harmonious, there was an undercurrent of tension and competitiveness.
But what had surprised him the most was the lack of clamor. He had seen reporters making noise at even micro-second delays, yet here, even with five minutes past, no one was complaining.
"You look new to the place... Mmm... Oh! The Daily Cult! Mamadou was actually sidelined?"
"He was busy, senior."
"Ah! The rioting of those asteroid miners. He should cover that. The sects are getting too arrogant in their actions, I wonder why the Federal government hasn't moved..."
Park kept quiet as the man rumbled on. Politics were a delicate matter. Even some state governors deferred to the sects. If he aired out his opinion here, he might not even know how he died. People like this man had significant background. He didn't.
"...I must have bored you lad." Keep working hard. With a pat on Park's back, he walked away. That must have been bait for him.
The one in heels, a woman beautiful enough to cause the downfall of nations, had been perusing a holographic screen with blurred information, blatantly preparing for her announcement right here. Others had to have everything already done before appearing, yet she was flaunting her power here.
"Has everyone made ample preparations?" asked the woman.
"Do you take us to be amateurs?" mumbled a person beside Park, and the woman's gaze drifted towards her like shark having smelt blood.
"Miss... Something. Hasn't anyone told you how important these kinds of events are? Stock prices can dip or rise because of these announcements. They alone can influence many people, not to mention the fact that our Muti biotechnology is a big name around the world. Any small mistake can plunge those you work for down into the pits of hell. Imagine this. A small spiritual energy wave can interfere with your device, making you miss everything, while your colleagues capture the moment."
After chastising her, the supermodel woman, who went by the name of Latina gathered herself and looked to the reporters below. Park and the others couldn't become mesmerized by her beauty. That was a low level mistake no one could make. Everyone here could become like her after all.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
"Today, our Muti biotechnology group will be making an important announcement. Mr. Mumaso Reed our CEO, who has been in secluded research these past ten years, has come out."
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"He's out! I have to hurry and buy those shares. They are going to become valuable!" shouted Avan as he mentally made certain to purchase his shares. He had been connected to the network waiting for this exact moment. This morning, there had been a notification that Muti Biotechnology had been about to make an important announcement, and now that it had been made, Avan, a NEET who loved to stay within his room was now eagerly purchasing shares.
Stock trading had made him what he was today. All the resources that had allowed him to advance to the Core Formation stage in his 50s had all been purchased through this.
'That man is coming out of seclusion, so many more stocks are going to rise. I shouldn't focus on those that will fall. That will be a blunder... Shit! It dived? How can the stocks of this company fall? Let me see... Ah! A competitor! Too many useless companies on the index. What the hell are those reviewers doing?'
All these thoughts ran a marathon within his mind even as he furiously traded, expending his mental power. The charts had to be monitored down to the tenths of a second. Predicting highs and lows was a stressful endeavor.
After a few minutes, Avan came out of his high calculation state. Those few minutes had exhausted him by a lot. A drink was dredged from a nearby cabinet, and without even taking a look at the logo, he chugged it down. A few moments later, a warmth traveled from his stomach to his head, alleviating the tiredness he felt.
'I only managed to earn 850,456 credits before the market stabilized. The losses were about 541,635 credits. That means that I only earned about 300,000. That's good. It means I was lucky.'
Though, he could earn more in the next few hours. There were still going to be some fluctuations. Not to mention the fact that the man might have something new on the shelf. The Auto-cul had already made him step into the Core Formation stage at such a young age.
Core Formation... Even with 500 years of lifespan, there were still those that failed to make it to the Nascent Soul stage. And resources had started to become scarce. The efforts to nurture new ones artificially were working, but the demand far out weighed the supply! The President had been a visionary in allowing the construction of Khaatam.
"I should probably get some rest." mumbled Avan, setting alerts that would awaken him in case some major even happened. Then, he rested his head upon the back of his seat, and closed his eyes, entering a familiar dreamscape.
And he wasn't the only one affected by the announcement. Many more, around the world were hatching plots, planning the future, or even finding ways to attempt communication with the man.
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Rivulets of golden particles, surpassing the trillions, flowed within the walls of the room, their glow bathing the room with their color. The extravagance of even a single wall within this room would make a multimillionaire tycoon bankrupt if they attempted to copy the decor.
And what made these golden flakes special was one simple fact, it was spiritual energy attuned to the gold. Yes, gold. The rivulets were lines of an array that was supposed to enhance the designated occupant's power to a level that went beyond the peak of the Nascent Soul. It was a marvel of array technology hard to be replicated.
Within this expensive room was a pillow, one whose purpose was to be seated upon. And on this pillow was a man that would make you feel like you were before a lion.
His light golden locks of hair were akin to a lions' mane, and you could feel the power rippling through his muscles, whose veins were visible even though he wasn't really tensing his muscles. His shirtless chest exposed a golden skin tone that was far different from a normal human.
His eyes were closed and his brows were furrowed as deep long breaths were taken before a long exhale.
An hour later, his eyes opened and a majestic presence erupted from him like a tsunami. The iris were golden. If a mortal from 1000 years ago saw him, there was a chance he would be worshipped like a God.
The tsunami of spiritual pressure was reflected by the walls and reabsorbed back into his body, after which he stood up and walked towards one of the walls, which slid open and he exited.
"Oh! Gerard! I didn't expect to see you here." spoke the man upon encountering his assistant, a buff man clad in a suit clearly too small a fit for him.
"That brat Reed, is out of seclusion."
"Hoh!" A gleam appeared within the man's golden pupils.
"His assistance will be needed if we want your body to evolve further."
"Is that why you asked me to keep up to date with anything about him?" Gerard asked the man known to the world by his moniker, The Golden Merchant.
"Yes. Your path of body refining is unique. But it requires an astronomical amount of resources. Now that you are equal to the Nascent Soul in cultivation, artificial resources are going to be needed. Almost every single resource in this world has an attribute. That means, that they won't work for you. He's the most accomplished biologist in the field. If he can't do anything, then we will have to resort to pumping more money into warp drive research."
"Then... Are we going to meet him, or should we send an invitation!"
"The two of us will make the trip... And it will be something public. Those sect bastards have started becoming even more bold. Maybe that will give them food for thought."