Nobuo Hirosue didn't like sleeping.
Now seventy years old, whenever he fell asleep, he remembered how his wife had passed away beside him in her sleep.
He still hadn't fulfilled his promise to restore the Huajin Group to its former glory, so he couldn't die yet.
But his body and spirit couldn't withstand the passage of time. Even though his checkup results were mostly good, he had a feeling that he didn't have much time left.
Therefore, after learning about the Holy Son Pill, he immediately spent a great deal of money and called in many favors to obtain most of the related information.
The Huajin Group wasn't a top-tier conglomerate. It didn't even rank among the first tier. It might have been near the top of the second tier, but that meant he had almost no allies in the government. His connections were all ordinary business dealings involving money, and not the kind that gave him an advantage. Placing a trusted aide on the investigation team was even more out of the question.
If he still wasn't willing to give up and wanted to obtain the Holy Son Pill, he would have to find a way to do it himself.
Like those top-tier conglomerates, he could do more than just place trusted aides on the investigation team. They had also assembled teams to gather information from across society and were trying to contact the Holy Infant Society.
But compared with those top-tier conglomerates, the Huajin Group had no advantages whatsoever.
Nobuo Hirosue and his eldest son, Hideyasu Hirosue, discussed the matter for a long time but couldn't come up with a concrete plan. They only decided to follow others' example and form a team of their own to gather information about the Holy Infant Society.
Before leaving, Hideyasu Hirosue glanced at his father's back as he stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, struggling to hold himself upright. Burdened with worry, he returned home and shut himself in his study.
"I'm home."
"How was your day?"
"As uneventful as a pond."
Ryomiya Hirosue glanced at the sofa. At this time of day, her father was usually sitting there, watching the news or reading a newspaper.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and began to put on her usual polished smile. Then she remembered she was at home, and the smile softened. "Where's Dad?"
"Your father seemed troubled about something today. It might be work-related. He went straight to his study after he got home and said he wanted to be alone for a while." After listening to her mother's chatter, Ryomiya Hirosue made a few agreeable replies, went to her room to put down her bag and change, then brewed a cup of coffee. Carrying it to the study, she knocked on the door.
"Dad, I'm home."
"Oh, Ryomiya's home. Come in."
Ryomiya Hirosue opened the door. Her father was sitting at the desk in the middle of the study, massaging his brow as if troubled by some major concern.
"Dad, did something happen with Grandpa?" After closing the door, Ryomiya Hirosue set the coffee down in front of Hideyasu Hirosue.
"You noticed? Sigh, you really are like your grandfather. You can tell what's going on just from looking at my expression." Hideyasu Hirosue gave a dry laugh and took a sip of coffee.
Ryomiya Hirosue shook her head. "Mom said you've been like this ever since you got back from work. It must be something even Grandpa finds difficult, or maybe Grandpa gave you some kind of task?"
Hideyasu Hirosue fell silent. He stared at the coffee for a long while, then bent down to pick up the briefcase by his feet. He opened it, took out a file folder, and handed it to Ryomiya Hirosue.
"You've been involved with the company since middle school, and you've handled many things well. This concerns the fate of our Hirosue family, so you should take a look. Your grandfather thinks so too."
Ryomiya Hirosue felt the weight of his words. She took the heavy folder in both hands and opened it without hesitation.
The study fell quiet, save for the rustle of paper as she read and the sound of their breathing.
"This really is a major matter. I feel like my worldview will need some time to recover," Ryomiya Hirosue said with a long breath.
"What do you think? Is it true?" Hideyasu Hirosue asked.
"This isn't some empty speech a politician made onstage to win an election. We must have paid a hefty price to obtain this information. People at the top would be especially cautious and verify something like this again and again, so I don't think there's any need to doubt it. If someone could manipulate so many top-level elites in the palm of their hand, I doubt I'd be an exception," Ryomiya Hirosue said.
Hideyasu Hirosue nodded and pointed to the file. "Your grandfather wants to establish contact with the Holy Infant Society and try to obtain the Holy Son Pill. He's willing to pay a very high price for it."
Ryomiya Hirosue continued reading through the documents. "Actually, establishing contact with the Holy Infant Society isn't the hardest part. The real challenge is doing so and obtaining the Holy Son Pill without the other conglomerates or the authorities finding out. Compared with the other forces, we don't have much of an advantage."
"Not much of an advantage" was putting it kindly. The truth was, they had no advantage at all.
But in Ryomiya Hirosue's eyes, their family did have one advantage.
The top conglomerates simply didn't consider the Huajin Group a rival.
"You have an idea?" Hideyasu Hirosue asked, sounding uncertain.
Ryomiya Hirosue nodded. "I have a rough idea. We could try it."
"Tell me."
"The documents say that the Holy Infant Society is currently being investigated by the authorities. Apart from its president, a number of members haven't been caught.
"So they should want somewhere to establish themselves. I don't understand why the president of the Holy Infant Society didn't leave Tokyo right away, but if he chose to stay, he may have a reason he has to remain here.
"Compared with the tangled ties the other top-tier conglomerates have with the authorities, the Huajin Group has almost no visible connections with them. Could that improve our standing in the president's eyes?
"My idea is this: the hospital Grandpa usually goes to was hit by a 'hacker attack,' causing a large amount of patient data to leak. That would be the main story, and we could get it some media coverage, but not too much. One detail in the coverage would be that Huajin Group chairman Nobuo Hirosue has terminal cancer and doesn't have long to live. That detail shouldn't spread widely either; it just needs to be reported enough to maintain a low level of attention. Then you step in and deny it, linking the two stories together."
Hideyasu Hirosue considered it for a long while. "Your idea is certainly feasible. But aren't the odds of success a little low? How can we make sure the president sees the story? He might not even dare to use his phone right now."
"Dad, we don't have many cards to play, so the odds of success are naturally low. But if this gets too much attention, the other conglomerates and the authorities will become suspicious. Even if we attract the president's attention, it won't help us," Ryomiya Hirosue explained patiently.
Hideyasu Hirosue nodded, agreeing with his daughter. At the same time, he wondered if he was getting too out of touch with the times. "Sigh, Ryomiya, if you were a man, you wouldn't face so much resistance when you inherited the group."
"I'm only a freshman in high school. By the time I graduate from university, I'll make those so-called elders accept me openly." As she spoke, Ryomiya Hirosue's naturally alluring face radiated confidence.
"So, have you found yourself a live-in son-in-law?"
"I'm only a freshman in high school. It's still hard to tell how much potential people have, and there are too many variables. But it doesn't matter if I haven't found one. Maybe..." She picked up the folder and ran her finger over a photograph, looking at the blurry figure and the severed limbs scattered across the ground.
"...the world is about to undergo a major transformation."