Cooperation

Two days later, a news story appeared among the trending topics, but it didn't attract much attention—not compared with a celebrity who had suddenly come out. Even fewer people cared about the related report that the chairman and CEO of Huajin Group was seriously ill, aside from the group's creditors and some of its business partners.

Perhaps feeling pressured by the rumors, the group's heir quickly came forward to clarify that they were false. His father was in good health and worked until one or two in the morning every day. How could he be seriously ill?

Still, mainstream media continued to treat the Huajin Group chairman's serious illness as fact. There were a few more reports, but aside from people in related industries, few paid them any attention.

"A group chairman with terminal cancer?"

Shiraishi Wataru was scrolling through his phone when he tapped on the story to learn more. The media outlet had helpfully included a summary of Huajin Group's rise and Nobuo Hirosue's achievements, giving Wataru a basic understanding of the company.

It had started out operating a chain of hotels and had since branched into hotel design, training hotel management staff, and running wineries.

The group had gone through a period of decline. After Nobuo Hirosue took over, he carried out sweeping reforms and managed to bring it back into the ranks of second-tier financial groups. However, it was clearly no longer capable of challenging the first tier.

The Holy Infant Society couldn't keep hiding at the bottom forever. Wataru had been looking for a financial group to make a deal with, trading interests so the Society could continue to grow and occasionally remind people it existed.

In Wataru's eyes, the Holy Infant Society had already served its purpose as a stone tossed ahead to test the waters. The fact that it still existed was a bonus. Given the right opportunity, he could even arrange for the Society to work directly with the government and gain more support.

But the time wasn't right yet. So the group sheltering the Holy Infant Society shouldn't have too many interests tied up with the government. A family-run business where one person called the shots would be ideal, and it shouldn't be too powerful.

After looking up more information about the group, Wataru couldn't help thinking Huajin Group was a perfect fit. He might as well get in touch with them.

Two days later.

At two in the morning, Nobuo Hirosue arrived at the company parking lot.

He had kept to this routine for the past few days, waiting for the expected contact. When he got tired, he took a nap in his office and waited until the appointed time to leave.

Today, the contact came.

He walked over to his car. Unlike usual, the driver hadn't gotten out to open the door. He was slumped over the steering wheel, as if asleep.

The rear window was one-way glass, so no one outside could see inside.

Nobuo tried to steady himself, then reached out and opened the back door. A stranger sat inside, looking unremarkable and wearing an ill-fitting office shirt.

"Are you... the Dharma Protector?" He had seen the company president's photo, and this man looked nothing like him, either in build or appearance. So he thought of someone else whose title he knew, even if he didn't know what he looked like.

"So you know who I am." The Ninth Guardian sounded amused. Nobuo looked much like the photos of him online: a typical elderly executive, dressed with meticulous care, doing his best to maintain his hairstyle, and sporting a short beard.

There was nothing about him that suggested he was seriously ill.

Nobuo nodded, got into the car, and closed the door.

"To get in touch with the Holy Infant Society, I had to resort to a little trick," Nobuo said frankly.

The Ninth Guardian hadn't actually realized the news story was an invitation to contact them. It hadn't been particularly prominent, after all. If he hadn't made a habit of checking the top twenty trending topics, he probably wouldn't have noticed it.

Now he was even more interested in the man before him. Nobuo must have had some confidence in his approach. What had led him to that conclusion?

"That was clever," the Ninth Guardian said with a nod. "How much do you know about the Holy Infant Society?"

"Divine punishment is coming. Only those who believe in the Holy Infant can find salvation and enjoy the redistribution of the world's wealth after the punishment." Nobuo answered without hesitation. He had been reviewing this information for the past few days. He hadn't made a point of memorizing it, but he had learned it all by heart.

"Are you willing to join the Holy Infant Society?" the Ninth Guardian asked bluntly.

"My son and I are both willing to join." Nobuo didn't hesitate. He even included his son, looking ready to devote the rest of his life—and his descendants—to the Society.

"Hmm." The Ninth Guardian didn't say whether he agreed. Instead, he asked, "Who came up with this way of contacting us?"

Nobuo finally hesitated. "My... granddaughter."

The Ninth Guardian opened the car door and handed him a slip of paper. "Tomorrow, go to this nursing home and pick up this person. Find him somewhere safe to stay."

Nobuo read it several times, committed it to memory, then crumpled the paper. "Understood, Dharma Protector."

The Ninth Guardian left.

Nobuo glanced at the unconscious driver, got out of the car, and made a phone call.

Before long, someone arrived. They swiftly strangled the driver with wire, put him in the back seat, and drove the car away.

A few days later, his family would receive a generous sum as compensation for the driver's death. The official story would be that he had bravely fought off robbers to protect company property, but had ultimately lost his life.

The next day around noon, Hideyasu Hirosue drove a company car to one of the group's hotels. It looked like an ordinary inspection. No one noticed that he had disguised his appearance, taken a prepared car, and driven to an inconspicuous nursing home.

Using a family birthday as an excuse, he picked up a little old man named Kutsui Goro.

Nakai Hayato had to admit that going to South Korea for further training had been the right choice. Makeup had been part of the program, and his skills had already come in handy many times.

"Since you passed the Dharma Protector's test, we should hold your initiation ceremony as soon as possible." Nakai had received Wataru's instructions the day before. He also hoped he could get out of living in a nursing home soon. Every day, he had to disguise not only his appearance but his personality, chatting with a bunch of old men about dull, pointless things. It would be much more satisfying to take on the investigation team again.

Ahem. After experiencing the bliss of power, his way of thinking had gradually been led astray.

Still, what had happened last time had taught him a lesson. He didn't know many of the investigation team's methods, and if he found himself surrounded again, he couldn't be sure he'd escape.

"President, is there anything we need to prepare in advance for the initiation ceremony?" Hideyasu asked cautiously.

"Things are simple for now. There's no need to prepare much. It's all ordinary stuff. But your top priority is to protect the Society's members without exposing yourselves."

"Yes. We'll carry out our initiation duties perfectly."