How did this guy get so good at manipulating people?

The Federal Tax Bureau.

A saying had long circulated in District 25: better to provoke the Peacekeeping Forces than evade taxes.

The Peacekeeping Forces would, at most, send Special Operations Personnel to arrest you. But if you evaded taxes, you would be facing the Mecha Corps.

Of course, that rule did not apply to the top conglomerates.

But it was more than enough to deal with sewer rats like the Destiny Organization.

Aungus had no idea when he had leaked the information.

In theory, no one knew about the transactions between the Destiny Organization and the other major conglomerates except him and a few of the organization's higher-ups.

And only one person truly controlled that information and had the ability to submit it to the Federal Tax Bureau as evidence.

-Amau Sueko.

The timing was far too coincidental. Just when everyone had begun to suspect Amau Sueko, the Destiny Organization's information had been leaked.

This made Aungus even more certain that this series of incidents was a scheme to sow discord within the Destiny Organization.

The people from the Federal Tax Bureau were difficult to deal with, but fortunately, the Destiny Organization had prepared a contingency for this long ago.

After collecting a series of falsified documents, the bureau's investigators left.

Of course, those documents might cause new trouble later, but by then, the conglomerates working with the Destiny Organization would have to step in and smooth things over.

After all, exposing the details of those transactions was hardly good news for them either. Those conglomerates would not sit back and let their interests be infringed upon.

Although there had been no actual losses, the Destiny Organization's subsequent operations would inevitably be restricted.

In other words, any major moves would be all but impossible for the time being.

Enlis District.

Aungus's eyes were shadowed as he leaned back against the sofa, an unfinished drink in the glass before him. Looking at the man in front of him, he asked:

"Mr. Sirka, what did you want to see me about?"

The man called Skarl sneered at the question. Looking at Aungus, he asked in return:

"Don't you know why I'm here?"

Aungus frowned, but before he could speak, the other man continued:

"You can't even keep your own people under control, and you're asking me why I'm here?"

At those words, Aungus guessed what had brought him here.

His heart sank. He was just about to speak when the other man continued:

"The Bond Conglomerate will be terminating its cooperation with you," Skarl announced unilaterally, giving him no chance to explain.

Aungus's heart sank further, and he asked:

"Why?"

"Why?" Skarl sneered. "We can't trust an organization that could leak information at any moment."

"This is..."

Aungus was about to say that this was a plot by the Wetting Conglomerate, but the words caught in his throat.

He knew perfectly well that, whatever the truth was, the Destiny Organization had leaked the details of their transactions.

So he fell silent and did not argue.

Seeing this, Skarl lost interest in holding him to account as well. He stood and said:

"The Bond Conglomerate reserves the right to hold you accountable. Once this phase of our cooperation is complete, the Bond Conglomerate will no longer work with you in any capacity."

With that, he ignored Aungus's reaction, turned, and left with his entourage without looking back.

Once he was gone, Aungus began to grow agitated.

Losing their partnership with the Bond Conglomerate only compounded the Destiny Organization's current troubles.

The only silver lining was that, for now, only the Bond Conglomerate had chosen to end its cooperation. Their partnership was already in its final stage, so the losses remained within an acceptable range.

He took a deep breath and considered what to do next. Just then, a ringtone suddenly sounded.

He glanced at the upper-right corner and saw an incoming Communicator call from an unknown user. After a moment's hesitation, he answered.

A slightly low voice came through the Communicator:

"The Tax Bureau investigated you?"

Aungus recognized the voice. It belonged to Rick, the elite hacker known as [Gecko], who managed the Destiny Organization's intelligence department.

During their last attack on the Wetting Conglomerate, he had been the one to breach the Alt District's surveillance system, causing the district to spiral completely out of control.

Aungus had a vague idea of why he was calling, but he still answered truthfully:

"Someone leaked our transactions with the conglomerates."

"Who do you think it was?"

On the other end of the Communicator, the voice of the man known as [Gecko] carried a sinister edge.

"I don't know," Aungus replied.

"No, you do."

The voice on the other end of the Communicator grew irritable as he said darkly:

"Do you think the conglomerates working with us would leak this information?"

Aungus knew perfectly well that those conglomerates valued their own interests above all else. They would never do something that hurt others without benefiting themselves.

But he said nothing, remaining silent.

"Don't you get it yet? It was that bitch Amau Sueko."

Rick's voice turned thoroughly furious.

"You moron, you idiot, and you're still hesitating!"

"Do you know what information the scripts I planted in our members' Communicator messages have scraped?"

"They're planning to personally interrogate Amau Sueko under torture, and they're already prepared to face the consequences afterward."

"If it actually happens, what are you going to do?"

Aungus took a deep breath and said:

"I won't let that happen. Someone is stirring up trouble inside the organization, and I'll root them out. I won't spare a single person who's trying to drive the Destiny Organization apart."

"You think I don't know all that?"

Rick sneered:

"But it's time to make a decision. If you keep dithering like a woman and the Destiny Organization falls apart, you'll be the one most responsible."

With that, the Communicator call ended.

Aungus fell silent.

The Wetting Conglomerate.

Jonas looked at the Communicator interface before him and said with a smile:

"Mr. Sirka, thank you for providing the information this time."

On the other end of the Communicator was Silka Bond, though his expression was far from pleasant. No one could look happy after being threatened into terminating a partnership.

"I've fulfilled the conditions I agreed to. You can delete the evidence now, can't you?"

"Of course."

Before his eyes, Jonas deleted the evidence he had recorded in the Red-Light District last time.

Sirka's expression softened slightly, but then he heard Jonas say:

"I had no choice in this matter either. I hope you can understand, Mr. Sirka." Jonas adopted a helpless expression, making Sirka grit his teeth in anger.

-What the hell do you mean, you had no choice? I'm the one you forced to end the partnership!

Then he heard Jonas continue:

"As an apology, I have a joint project to offer you as compensation. Would you be interested, Mr. Sirka?"

Sirka, who had been feeling rather resentful, perked up at those words, and much of his pent-up frustration dissipated.

"Let's hear it."

Standing to one side, Miss Eiffel saw the familiar smile appear on Jonas's face at those words and could not help grumbling inwardly.

-Here it comes. The tactic Mr. Jonas does best.

How on earth did this guy get so good at manipulating people?