The Pusher's Preparations

As soon as Hatano's proposal came out, the air in the boardroom tightened again.

Two weeks.

That time window was locked down tight.

Hatano was clearly not planning to leave anyone any more room to practice tai chi.

Either approve it or reject it. Stop leaving it hanging.

Nakayama Takuya mulled it over for two days. He did not rush to find Hatano, but first knocked on the door to his father's office.

Nakayama Hayao was reading the newspaper.

His reading glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, and a cup of green tea that had been steeping for too long sat at the corner of the desk, its color already darkened.

Hearing the knock, he turned a page of the newspaper without even lifting his head.

"Come in."

Nakayama Takuya closed the door, sat down on the sofa, and did not speak first.

Nakayama Hayao turned another page before taking off his reading glasses.

"What do you think of Hatano's third production line?"

The old man asked first. Nakayama Takuya was not surprised at all.

The day after Hatano threw the formal proposal onto the boardroom table, the news had spread throughout the entire building.

There was no way Nakayama Hayao would not know.

"I think it should be approved."

"Reason."

"Cartridges are still far from being eliminated. Demand on the handheld side is steady, and GamePocket's installed base is right there. Mega Drive may be going downhill, but third-party cartridge OEM orders are still coming in. More importantly—" Nakayama Takuya paused for a beat. "The logic behind building a line in Mexico isn't betting on how long cartridges can survive. It's about thoroughly eating into the North American market's supply chain. Shipping by sea from Shenzhen to Los Angeles, tariffs plus freight—the extra cost on one box