Capital

Nobuo Hirosue did not like to sleep.

Now seventy years old, every time he drifted off, he was haunted by the memory of his wife passing away in her sleep right beside him.

He had yet to fulfill his promise of returning the Huajin Group to its former glory, so he could not afford to die.

Yet, his body and spirit could not defy the passage of time. Even though his medical reports were generally good, he had a premonition that his remaining days were few.

Therefore, upon learning of the existence of the Holy Son Pill, he immediately spent a vast amount of money and favors to acquire the majority of the intelligence related to it.

The Huajin Group was not a top-tier conglomerate; it barely qualified as first-rate, perhaps ranking near the top of the second-tier. Consequently, he had almost no "insiders" within the government—only ordinary transactional relationships, and not even the advantageous kind. Planting his own people into the investigation teams was out of the question.

Since he was unwilling to give up and still wanted to obtain the Holy Son Pill, he had to find a way on his own.

Like those top-tier conglomerates, he formed a team specifically to gather information from society, attempting to establish contact with the Holy Infant Society.

However, compared to 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 without reaching a concrete plan of action. They simply decided to follow the lead of others and form their own team dedicated to gathering information on the Holy Infant Society.

Before leaving, Hideyasu Hirosue glanced at his father's back, which was held stiffly upright as he stood before the floor-to-ceiling window. Burdened with heavy thoughts, Hideyasu returned home and locked himself in his study.

"I'm home."

"How was your day?"

"As dull as pond water."

Ryomiya Hirosue glanced at the sofa. At this time of day, her father would usually be sitting there watching the news or reading the paper.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and had just begun to flash a standardized smile when she remembered she was at home, causing the expression to look a little less "standard." "Where is Dad?"

"Your father seems to have something on his mind today, probably something to do with the company. He went straight to his study after getting home and said he wanted to be alone for a while." Listening to her mother's chatter, Ryomiya Hirosue offered a few perfunctory responses, went to her room to put down her bag, changed her clothes, brewed a cup of coffee, and carried it to the study door, where she knocked.

"Dad, I'm home."

"Oh, Ryomiya is back? Come in."

Ryomiya Hirosue opened the door. Her father was sitting at the desk in the center of the study, rubbing his temples as if troubled by some major issue.

"Dad, is something wrong with Grandfather?" Closing the door, Ryomiya placed the coffee on Hideyasu's desk.

"You noticed? Sigh, you really are like your grandfather. You can guess what's going on just by looking at my expression." Hideyasu Hirosue gave a dry laugh and took a sip of the coffee.

Ryomiya Hirosue shook her head. "Mom said you've been like this since you got back from the company. If it's something even Grandfather finds difficult, or perhaps Grandfather has assigned a task to you?"

Hideyasu Hirosue fell silent. He stared at the coffee for a long time before leaning down to pick up his briefcase from the floor. He opened it, took out a file folder, and handed it to Ryomiya.

"You've been exposed to company affairs since middle school and have handled many aspects quite well. This is a matter concerning the fate of our Hirosue family, so you really should see it. Your grandfather agrees."

Ryomiya Hirosue felt the weight of those words. She took the heavy file with both hands and, without hesitation, opened it.

The study fell silent, save for the sound of paper turning and the rhythm of their breathing.

"This is indeed a major matter. I feel like my worldview needs some time to be repaired," Ryomiya Hirosue said with a long exhale.

"What do you think of its authenticity?" Hideyasu Hirosue asked.

"This isn't some empty rhetoric spouted by politicians on stage for an election. We must have paid a high price to obtain this information. The higher-ups would have been extremely cautious and verified this repeatedly. Therefore, I don't think there's any need to doubt it. If there is an entity capable of playing so many elite figures in the palm of their hand, I don't think I would be the exception," Ryomiya Hirosue stated her opinion.

Hideyasu Hirosue nodded and pointed to the file. "Your grandfather's idea is to establish contact with the Holy Infant Society and strive to obtain the Holy Son Pill. For that, he is willing to pay a great price."

Ryomiya Hirosue continued to study the documents. "Actually, establishing contact with the Holy Infant Society isn't the hardest part. The challenge is how we can do it while keeping it hidden from other conglomerates and the authorities, and then actually obtaining the pill. Compared to other factions, we have few advantages."

Having "few advantages" was a polite way of putting it; the reality was that they had none at all.

However, in Ryomiya Hirosue's eyes, their family did have one advantage.

That was the fact that the top-tier conglomerates didn't view the Huajin Group as a competitor at all.

"Do you have an idea?" Hideyasu Hirosue asked with some hesitation.

Ryomiya Hirosue nodded. "I have a rough idea. Perhaps it's worth a try."

"Tell me."

"The documents say the Holy Infant Society is currently being hunted by the authorities. Aside from their leader, a group of members has yet to be caught.

"They must be looking for a place to lay low. While I don't understand why their leader didn't choose to leave Tokyo immediately, if he did so, there might be a reason he is forced to stay.

"Compared to the deep-rooted connections between other top conglomerates and the government, the Huajin Group has virtually no public ties to the authorities. Couldn't this improve our image in the eyes of that leader?

"My idea is this: the hospital Grandfather usually visits recently suffered a 'hacker attack' that leaked a large amount of client data. This is the primary information; we can have the media report on it, but keep the heat low. One of the sub-details is: Huajin Group Chairman Nobuo Hirosue is in the late stages of cancer and has little time left. This sub-detail shouldn't be widely circulated either; it just needs to be reported enough to maintain a low-level buzz. Then, Father, you step forward to deny it, binding these two pieces of information together."

Hideyasu Hirosue pondered for a long time. "This idea is indeed feasible. But isn't the success rate a bit low? How can we guarantee that the leader will see this information? He might not even dare to use a mobile phone right now."

"Dad, we don't have many cards in our hand, so the success rate is naturally low. But if this matter becomes too high-profile, other conglomerates and the authorities will become alert. Even if we attract the leader, it would be useless," Ryomiya Hirosue explained patiently.

Hideyasu Hirosue nodded, agreeing with his daughter's assessment, while also feeling that he was perhaps falling behind the times. "Sigh, if you were a boy, Ryomiya, there wouldn't be so much resistance to you inheriting the group later."

"I'm only in my first year of high school. By the time I graduate from university, I will make those so-called elders submit, at least on the surface." Speaking of this, Ryomiya Hirosue's naturally alluring face radiated a sense of absolute confidence.

"So, have you scouted out a husband-to-be?"

"I'm in my first year of high school. It's hard to see the potential in most people; there are too many variables. But it doesn't matter if there isn't one, perhaps..." She picked up the file, her fingers brushing over a photograph, looking at the blurry figure and the scattered remains on the ground.

"...The development of the world is about to undergo a major change very soon."