Parallel Vol. 6

Chapter 6: Conference Meeting (1)

The café's staff rushed back and forth, fulfilling orders for the thirty-odd people packed into their tiny store. A cacophony of murmurs, coupled with slightly hostile glares, filled the air with palpable tension. Fortunately, the staff only had one batch of orders left. They quickly delivered the requested drinks to a long table around which ten people sat. Then they exited the store, promptly locking the door behind them.

At one end of the table, Ayumi's eyes narrowed as she looked around the table. To prevent the meeting from devolving into a screaming contest between thirty people, she proposed that each team send two representatives to sit at the deliberation table. If anyone outside the table had an opinion, they could send it to their representatives. The chosen representatives were as follows:

Crazy Heads: Ayumi, Suzuki

Nature's Vanguards: Kimuri, Taidan

Silver Spear: Natsu, Akiyo

Titan's Breath: Nagashiki Kaido, Nagashiki Kaizen

Devil's Grin: Natsue Chimei, Hiraku Yamada.

"We have some privacy," Ayumi stated once the staff closed the door. Looking around the table, she offered, "So, with your leave, I would like to call this meeting to order."

Fortunately, the people present occupied leadership positions in various organizations. Realizing the show was about to start, they obediently pulled their seats close to the table and quietened.

Ayumi nodded, pleased by the swift response. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and then faced the curious, challenging gazes. "Crazy Heads called this meeting, so I will start by showing our sincerity." As she spoke, she placed a mini-projector on the table and said, "We have no intention of withholding a single piece of intel. After all, we genuinely believe this mission has a minimal chance of success if we do not work together to accomplish it."

"That is... very altruistic of you," Natsu commented, her lips curled in a sly smirk.

In response, Ayumi shook her head. "Altruistic? No. We simply chose the path with the highest possibility of success. You will understand after watching this." Ayumi then activated the projector and sat back. Fortunately, Jade preprogrammed the video to display all their deductions in as clear a format as possible. Of course, her AI did not lead this particular presentation, as that was a personal secret.

Regardless of their initial thoughts, by the thirty-second mark, every Gladiator trainee watched the presentation with rapt attention. No one dared miss a single word once they realized how much information the presentation truly held. It was like being presented with all the exam questions and possible answers days before a final exam.

When the presentation finally ended, roughly twenty minutes later, Kimuri was the first to react, turning to Ayumi with shock and awe in his eyes. "How did you uncover all this?"

Predicting the file's origin would come into question, Ayumi previously obtained Jade's permission. So, she confidently answered, "Our teammate, Ms. Yuhi Jade, hacked into Genaco's database and found these files. They are authentic."

Kimuri shook his head. "Don't get me wrong. I never doubted their authenticity." He habitually reached into his pocket to grab a pack of cigarettes. But then, looking around, he recalled he was in an enclosed space. So, he pulled out a leaf from his other pocket and softly chewed on its stalk. "Taidan, tell them what we know. Hold nothing back."

Taidan ruffled his brown, curly hair, revealing a weak smile as he looked around the table. "Alright, first, let me just say: if it weren't for the boss, I'd most likely have held a thing or two back. So, make sure you give him your greatest thanks."