Chapter 49: Landscape Investment Company

"David, are you absolutely sure you had nothing to do with that remote sniper cannon firing?" On the way back in the car, Myron switched on the autopilot, then turned to David with a serious expression.

"Myron, you were standing right next to me at the time—if I made a move, wouldn't you have noticed?" David replied with a shrug.

"Of course I know, it's just too much of a coincidence!" Myron shook his head, sighing.

"I agree, it's quite the coincidence," David said with a laugh.

"David, you didn't hack into the city defense system and activate that remote sniper cannon, did you?" Myron ventured, his imagination running wild.

He was well aware of David's solid foundation in electronics, and had seen the mid-sized server delivered by Lexin Security Company. Such a professional-grade server was far beyond the reach of ordinary users.

"That's a military city defense system, not my home’s civilian security setup that a handful of mercenaries could crack," David replied helplessly, glancing at Myron.

Just then, Myron's identity wristband chimed with a notification. He opened it and, upon reading the message, was momentarily stunned.

"David, this is serious. That sniper cannon shot hit Mr. Ster precisely!" As Myron spoke, a sudden thought seemed to strike him, and he stared at David, mouth agape.

"Myron, how is Mr. Ster?" David asked, feigning surprise.

Seeing David’s expression, Myron reconsidered. Although the relationship between David and Mr. Ster had been awkward at best, to think David would want him dead seemed far-fetched—unless David were truly deranged.

From his recent interactions with David, Myron was certain David was anything but unstable. On the contrary, he was easy to get along with, lacking even the arrogance often seen in prodigies.

Initially, Myron had approached David hoping to gain Garen’s guidance. But after spending time with David, he’d come to believe that David was worth befriending. Even his father, Mayor Bernard, thought so—investing in a prodigy was something many would do.

The military visit to the city wall had gone so smoothly only because of Mayor Bernard's involvement.

"Mr. Ster is dead," Myron said at last, abandoning his line of questioning. He needed to speak with his father about how things would proceed. After all, both he and David had been present, and it might implicate them to some extent.

Neither spoke further. Myron dropped David at home, then hurried away.

Watching Myron’s car disappear, David felt a pang of guilt. He resolved to make it up to Myron when the opportunity arose.

Back at home, David went straight to the server room. This time, instead of entering the virtual world, he logged into the security core of the Ster Hotel.

He had paid close attention when overhearing Mr. Ster and Trainer Jeremy discuss the company established under an anonymous identity. In the security core, he found the unremarkable company: Shanshui Investment Company, its legal representative a code generated by a specific authentication program.

Such anonymous companies were unique to the Interstellar Federation, used to mask certain activities. They could remain anonymous only while not engaged in business; as soon as profits were generated, a real individual had to be designated as the legal person.

Mr. Ster had used this anonymous company to acquire the Central Hotel and West City Hotel. Presumably, those hotels never imagined anyone would buy them, so they had let their guard down. While large by ordinary standards, such hotels were mere trifles to the truly wealthy or to big corporations.

Only an organization eager to boost Mr. Ster's influence would keep pouring in credit points to help him, giving him the means to carry out his plan.

David transferred the hidden authentication software to his own mid-sized server, making Shanshui Investment Company his private property. At least until the hotels’ dividends were paid in July, the company would not have to appoint a real person as legal representative.

While reviewing the company, David found forty million credit points still on its books, earmarked to periodically acquire shares in the Central and West City Hotels. David had no interest in controlling those hotels and would have sold their combined forty percent stakes outright, had he not feared attracting too much attention.

He canceled the scheduled acquisitions and moved the forty million credits to his anonymous account at Yaka Bank.

Shanshui Investment Company was now an empty shell, holding forty percent shares in each hotel. By July, after his college entrance exams, he could leave Peran City for Naan City at any time. Whether he sold the shares or registered himself as the legal representative wouldn’t matter.

Most importantly, as his cultivation progressed, his need for resources grew. The supply of Level 1 fortified meat he’d been eating lately all came from Myron, but even that would only last until his strength reached a thousand kilograms; after that, he'd have nothing left.

He wanted to buy more, but Level 1 fortified meat wasn’t something one could simply purchase with money. Occasional small quantities were available, but a steady supply required special channels. Such meat could only be obtained from killing Level 1 Zerg. Civilian warriors hunted them slowly, and most meat was sent through existing distribution networks to larger cities.

There was so little Level 1 fortified meat left in Peran City that someone at David’s level couldn’t buy it even if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to keep relying on Myron’s help, either. Favors, when called upon too often, could strain a friendship.

Pushing thoughts of fortified meat aside, David logged into the Ster Hotel’s security core once more. He erased every trace of his presence, restoring even the account he’d used to its original state.

Finally, he left behind a small program, then exited the security core. Once he left, the program ran automatically, wiping out any record of his departure before deleting itself.

From that moment on, there was no trace of David's presence in the Ster Hotel’s security core. Unless someone already suspected him and brought in an expert in this field, it would be nearly impossible to find any clues.

———

"Garen, what exactly have you taught David?" In an office at the Justice Department, Hans looked at the projected image on his wristband and asked.

"Hans, your son is a genius—or no, genius isn’t even the word, he’s extraordinary. You’ve held him back," Garen complained, clearly displeased.

"Garen, whether David is a genius doesn’t matter. There’s been trouble over here and David’s involved. I just want to know if you taught him anything else," Hans said, unmoved by Garen’s praise. He’d never put much stock in talk of prodigies; he knew his own child better than anyone. He just wanted answers to matters that concerned him most.

Though his relationship with David had been strained for years, his concern had never waned. Through the smart housekeeper, Emma, he kept track of much of David’s life.

"What happened?" Garen picked up on the tension and asked quickly.

"Mr. Ster was killed by a remote sniper cannon. David was on the city wall where the cannon was stationed at the time," Hans said gravely.

"Mr. Ster—Bersha’s father? You suspect he was behind the trouble with David?" Garen asked, equally shocked.

He knew who Mr. Ster was. In fact, upon receiving David’s detailed profile, he too had wondered whether Mr. Ster was involved in the schemes against David.

The reason was simple: Ster Hotel’s chief of security, Amos, had been found lurking outside David’s residence. Post-incident investigations showed that Amos’s wristband had been located there for several days.

It was impossible that Amos was protecting David—Mr. Ster had no reason to do so, nor would he have known David was in danger. Deploying a warrior to surveil David suggested a deeper plot.