Ch.6060. Variables and Singularities

With the head of security gone, almost all of Owen’s followers had disappeared.

Now only his secretary remained loyal to Owen in the company.

As they ascended to the top floor where the president was, the mute sniper Vans whistled.

Whew~

[Wasn’t this unnecessary for us? Honestly, I think everything could have been handled at the director level.]

Kathy shook her head.

“My father can give Owen a big slap in the face, but he can’t reclaim the presidency.”

Of course, with the head of security leading key personnel on a rampage, the damage would be considerable.

But considerable damage wasn’t the same as a decisive blow.

“From the beginning, they were implanted in people who were like white elephants.”

“White elephants?”

“You know, things too precious to give away but too scary to use yourself.”

“Ah, you mean ‘gyeryuk’.”

“Gyeryuk?”

“It’s a Chinese proverb.”

“Amon, you’re surprisingly knowledgeable about Japanese and Chinese culture?”

Amon held up the Japanese sword he’d received from the president’s associate and said:

“Their cultures make good cold weapons, so I naturally learned about them.”

“That’s true. Anyway, only a minority are infected with the virus. That alone isn’t enough to take over the company. When we first came in, we had to fight directly.”

Although the virus was lethal, the company’s forces remained largely intact.

In contrast, the forces remaining by the president’s side were just a few executives and one director.

Most executives were non-combat personnel, so there weren’t many useful fighters.

The former president didn’t have enough physical force to occupy this company.

“So have confidence. Without you all, I couldn’t have made it this far.”

“It’s also thanks to your courage.”

At Amon’s words, Kathy shyly punched his shoulder.

As he said, what ultimately mattered was Kathy’s courage.

This was also why the president didn’t activate the virus in the future where Kathy and her friends were annihilated.

Even if he wanted to help, it would be meaningless if Kathy had decided to run away.

Even if the virus threw the company into chaos, if Kathy fled, no one in the company would defect to her side or remain neutral.

In that state, the company would be wounded but would still have enough strength to annihilate Amon’s party.

In other words, the president’s help would have been meaningless.

Therefore, the president had to choose Owen’s side, albeit reluctantly, to ensure the prosperity of the family.

It was heartless as a father, but a rational choice as the head of the family and former president of the company.

In other words, in this timeline, the president chose Kathy.

For one reason only.

“In the end, without trying, there are no options.”

At Kathy’s words, her companions expressed their agreement in their own ways.

Having strengthened their friendship, they continued up to the next floor.

On the way, Kathy foresaw the battle with Owen.

“Amon, Sonia, and I will handle Owen.”

The Owen that Kathy knew wasn’t just a bookworm who sat at a desk.

As much as she hated to admit it, Owen’s talent was real.

“That man has always been smarter than me and had much higher compatibility for procedures.”

Centuries ago, strength came from training a talented individual over decades.

But in modern society, how many procedures one could undergo determined the measure of strength.

In that sense, Owen was born with a naturally gifted body.

He received far better genetic procedures and magical engravings than Kathy, yet his side effects were limited to mild allergies.

“He won’t be as strong as the head of security, but he’ll be quite powerful.”

The power of future sight is formidable.

Enough for an unarmed Kathy to crush armed assassins.

In the end, unless one had overwhelming speed or firepower, the person who knew all patterns would have the advantage.

Although Owen’s computer-generated future sight was imperfect, it was undeniably powerful.

“Would it help if I told you he was a running back in high school?”

Her companions nodded at her words.

That alone was enough to gauge Owen’s physical abilities.

American football is a sport filled with monsters who can flip light armored vehicles and leap four meters at once when charging with intent.

The fact that he participated in such a sport gave them an idea of Owen’s physical capabilities.

“You guys take care of Owen’s secretary.”

The buffalo humanoid Torso, the mute sniper Vans, the ogre Vox, and the versatile mage Hen all nodded.

For reference, his secretary was also a high school classmate who had played American football.

“Status?”

Although they had just fought their way up from below, Amon’s party was almost at full strength.

Thanks to farming equipment from the Seanrai Group previously, Amon and his companions’ gear had been significantly upgraded.

In terms of combat power, they were on par with a top-tier special forces unit of a major corporation, and with their experience added, they matched a Megacorp security team.

Clearing out the security team on the lower floors wasn’t solely due to the former president’s help.

They had at least the minimum level of skill required.

“Shield status normal.”

[Still plenty of special ammo.]

“Enough explosive compounds.”

“I conserved a lot of magical power on the lower floors.”

Like checking before entering a boss room in a dungeon, each gave their report.

Kathy naturally looked toward Amon and Sonia.

“I’m not dead yet.”

“Plenty of bullets and divine power.”

Satisfied with their answers, Kathy nodded.

“Let’s go.”

*

They met Owen earlier than expected.

To reach the president’s office, they needed to take the elevator, walk down a corridor, and cross a large atrium.

Owen had left the president’s office and was waiting for Amon’s party in the atrium.

With his secretary beside him, he sat in a chair in the middle of the atrium.

As soon as he saw Kathy, he muttered with gloomy eyes.

“Until the end, father only loved you.”

Owen lamented.

He resented his father for planting a virus in the company for 20 years for Kathy’s sake.

But Kathy denied Owen’s thoughts.

“Father loved you until the end.”

As proof, the former president had given Owen countless opportunities.

When Owen failed to awaken his power of foresight, he continued to pour oil even as he cut his own wrist.

– “That can’t be! Please!”

Owen probably didn’t know because he was locked in his room from the shock that day, but according to Kathy’s memory, the former president was hospitalized for anemia.

That wasn’t the end.

– “Even if you can’t awaken the power of foresight, you are still my son.”

Immediately after the ritual, the president sincerely told him this.

Owen claimed that the president’s love cooled right after the ritual, but that was clearly wrong.

Afterward, the president continuously tried to talk with his son, but it was Owen who rejected all of it.

As if refusing dialogue itself, Owen moved out like he was running away.

“You shouldn’t blame father when you’ve decided you don’t deserve to be loved alone.”

“Shut up! What do you know! That’s just how you felt! Father didn’t love me because he knew I would betray him in the future!”

“Isn’t that strange? If he didn’t love you, he could have excluded you, but he left you alone until that very day?”

At her point, Owen’s body flinched.

For a moment, the scene of him strangling the president flashed through Owen’s mind.

Even while being strangled, that monster maintained his composure.

But that monster was stroking Owen’s cheek with somewhat sad eyes.

Owen shook his head to clear the thought.

If that were true…

It would be too pathetic for him.

“No. You don’t know anything. How father treated me.”

“I lived under the same roof with you once.”

Their gazes clashed in the empty air.

In the tense standoff, Kathy was the first to back down.

“Sigh… What does the truth matter now?”

Perception is subjective.

It’s impossible to know whether Owen rejected his father first or the president’s love cooled first,

Whether the president heard the prophecy and his love cooled, or his love cooled and then he heard such a prophecy,

Whether the mother went crazy first and Owen broke, or Owen broke and then the mother went crazy.

In a family that sees the future, nothing is as meaningless as causality.

Owen also smiled bitterly.

“Just because you know the future doesn’t mean you have the right to choose it.”

Emotions change based on first impressions of a foreseen future, and those emotions ultimately affect the future.

Foresight is never a blessing.

But Kathy denied Owen’s words.

“No. The right to choose the future belongs to those who don’t give up.”

Owen was a rational human.

Being rational, he quickly gave up when the failure rate was high.

The computer, reflecting Owen’s personality, didn’t show such futures as options from the beginning.

Because Owen couldn’t choose that future in the first place.

But the former president and Kathy were different.

“Father said that future sight should remain a tool.”

That’s why the president tried to do something without giving up, even knowing the unhappy future.

Keeping the head of security and managers who were burdens by his side and giving them chances,

Not disposing of Owen despite knowing he would betray him in the future.

All were attempts to change things, and as a result, some options appeared only to him.

The same was true for Kathy.

“It’s not a problem with the computer, it’s a problem with you.”

From Kathy’s perspective, the options Owen couldn’t see weren’t because the computer was incompetent, but because Owen always compromised in the name of rationality.

“If the computer really had a problem… why have all your investments been successful so far?”

Owen knew the answer.

He was confident in his investments.

It was a talent his parents had always praised.

Compared to that, confronting Kathy now…

“No.”

Owen gritted his teeth.

But Kathy’s pursuit continued.

“You know.”

But Owen denied it.

“That I felt inferior to you? Nonsense. I’m different from you. I’ve been proving myself all this time.”

“Right. That’s why I don’t understand. You were smarter than me and had a better body. Why did you feel inferior to me just because of the power to see the future?”

“I told you, I don’t feel inferior.”

“Right. I’m sure you don’t.”

Kathy sighed and readjusted her grip on her spear.

The conversation was over.

Anyone could see that Kathy had decisively won the psychological battle.

Owen twitched his eyebrows and drew his sword.

As the two readied their weapons, their companions and the secretary also drew theirs.

When the secretary threw off his coat, his body began to swell.

His upper body transformed into a giant wolf.

“Werewolf procedure, huh.”

The buffalo tank muttered.

His companions naturally looked at him.

“What.”

“Didn’t you get a procedure like that?”

“That’s a discriminatory remark against humanoids.”

The tank who claimed he was born a buffalo.

Amon nodded.

He didn’t really expect much from the question anyway.

The secretary’s procedures didn’t end with the werewolf transformation.

His right arm hidden under the suit was entirely mechanical, and tattoos all over his body emitted purple light, enveloping him in cold energy.

“This feels familiar.”

At Sonia’s murmur, Amon nodded.

It reminded him of the fully armored gorilla he’d met as a child.

The difference was that the secretary maintained his sanity.

Seeing this, the versatile mage asked Kathy for confirmation.

“Just to check, the virus on the secretary…”

“He’s only been with the company for 10 years.”

“That won’t work then.”

Sighing, Amon’s party members who were assigned to handle the secretary lured him to another location.

As if Owen also wanted individual battles, the secretary obediently followed the companions.

While the secretary and party members began fighting at a distance,

Owen finally activated his magic engravings.

“Physical enhancement, hemostasis, respiratory assistance, dynamic vision enhancement, neural assistance…”

“So basically super fast, strong, and tough, right?”

“…and I can cast some spells without incantations.”

“That’s pretty intense.”

This was the true value of magic engravings.

Allowing specific spells to be cast without incantations.

Warriors only use physical enhancement types, but Owen seemed to have talent as a mage as well.

A warrior’s body and a mage’s brain.

Seeing this, Amon grumbled.

“He should have just been satisfied with that talent.”

“Exactly.”

Sonia also agreed with Amon.

And Kathy said incredulously:

“You guys are at that level too!?”

Amon didn’t back down.

“Honestly, with future sight, you’re in our league too.”

Kathy didn’t particularly deny it.

With those final words, the three charged toward Owen.