Season 3 chapter 103
The 4:00 AM Strategy
The clock on the laboratory wall read 4:00 AM.
The adrenaline of the successful ignition had completely overridden their physical exhaustion. Kniya, Malesh, Filoska, Salesh, and Shuntesh immediately retreated into the cramped, heavily reinforced shipping container office. They violently cleared the ledgers off the mahogany desk and unrolled a massive, blank architectural blueprint to start drafting their geopolitical pitch.
For the next two hours, the container was a blur of high-speed corporate strategy. They didn't just want to sell a machine; they wanted to dictate the future of the country's energy grid. Rather than explaining the entire plan out loud, the room was filled with rapid, incomplete snapshots of their master scheme.
"...so we lock down the distribution rights here..." Malesh murmured, drawing sharp, aggressive lines across the paper.
"...and we will explicitly withhold the liquid processing formula so they are permanently reliant on our island for the fuel supply..." Filoska strategized ruthlessly, circling a key logistical chokepoint on the map.
"No," Kniya interrupted immediately, completely waving off her master plan. "We are absolutely not doing that."
Filoska blinked, completely taken aback. "Why? That is basic corporate leverage."
"Just wait for the reason," Kniya smirked cryptically, leaning back in his chair. "You will see."
"...they will definitely try to reverse-engineer the cooling pipes, so we need to weld the external chassis shut with the new alloy..." Shuntesh advised, tapping the schematics.
They moved on, meticulously building the rest of the airtight contract. But then, the discussion hit the most critical variable: the price tag.
Kniya grabbed a thick black marker. He popped a fresh piece of mint gum into his mouth, his eyes completely devoid of mercy.
"And for the pricing section..." Kniya announced, his voice dropping into a devious register. "We will keep the price at this."
Kniya slammed the marker against the whiteboard and aggressively wrote down a number.
The entire shipping container went dead silent.
Salesh's eyes practically bulged out of his skull. Shuntesh stumbled backward, his jaw physically dropping as he stared at the astronomical, psychotic number Kniya had just scribbled on the board.
"What?!" Shuntesh gasped, completely horrified. "Kniya... are you actually going to sell that to them at this insane price?!"
"What's wrong in that?" Kniya argued passionately, throwing his hands in the air. "We are going to make some money!"
"But sir, they can decline this offer!" Shuntesh panicked, his practical mindset completely rejecting the logic. "It is way too expensive! The government will literally laugh at us!"
Kniya let out a massive, highly devious chuckle, completely unfazed by the doubt.
"Don't you worry, my boy," Kniya grinned, tapping the side of his head with absolute, terrifying confidence. "I would manage this thing. We don't have much time, so yeah... they will eventually agree. I have a plan for that."
Salesh stared at him. Everyone in the room exchanged confused, highly concerned glances, completely unaware of what unhinged negotiation tactic Kniya was secretly brewing behind those incomplete snapshots of dialogue.
The Morning Dispatch
By 7:00 AM, the massive strategy session was officially concluded.
Kniya and Malesh aggressively washed up and changed out of their ruined, soot-stained clothes. Kniya threw on a simple pair of lowers and a T-shirt, while Malesh slipped into a plain white shirt paired with his favorite Dragon-themed silk tie. Even dressed down, their corporate auras were operating at peak lethality..
"Alright, we don't have the time for the next day," Kniya declared, grabbing the sealed folder containing the Fisluation patents. "We are going to pitch this thing to them today. We are going straight to the DI'an Energy Department."
They marched out of the laboratory and headed straight down to the massive, heavily fortified underground garage of Kavilson Steel. Filoska and Salesh followed them down to see them off.
"You guys should get some rest," Kniya ordered, opening the heavy armored door of their premium corporate steam-sedan. He looked directly at Filoska and Salesh. "You can prepare the operational details sometime else, but the main thing is that you need to have some rest right now. You are really working hard."
"Yeah, guys, you have some rest," Malesh agreed deadpan, slipping into the passenger seat and adjusting his glasses. "We will be arriving home after the deal is done. Don't worry about us."
Deep down, Kniya's unhinged rush wasn't just born out of excitement. It was driven by absolute financial terror. They needed to close this deal instantly because of the massive, looming loan they owed to Mantouse Adeius. They didn't want to alert Shuntesh to the sheer danger hanging over their heads, so they kept the true motive entirely hidden behind their confident farewells.
Kniya aggressively kicked the heavy ignition lever. The armored steam-sedan roared to life, tearing out of the underground garage at terrifying speeds and merging violently into the early morning capital traffic.
The Receptionist's Confusion
Kniya and Malesh navigated the massive armored sedan through the bustling streets of the capital, finally pulling up to the towering, heavily guarded architectural marvel that housed the DI'an Energy Department.
They stepped out of the vehicle and confidently marched through the heavy glass doors. Despite Kniya wearing simple lowers and a T-shirt, and Malesh wearing only a plain white shirt with his Dragon-themed silk tie, they still projected an intense, overwhelming aura of authority.
They walked straight up to the pristine front reception desk.
The young receptionist looked up from her heavy leather ledger book. She blinked, initially startled by the sudden, commanding presence of the two corporate titans standing in her lobby. As she took in Malesh's sharp, calculating features and Kniya's intense, striking eyes, a deep blush suddenly crept up her cheeks. She quickly adjusted her posture, looking extremely flustered.
"Uh... how may I help you?" she asked softly, trying to maintain her professional composure while clearly losing her train of thought.
Kniya and Malesh exchanged a highly confused look. They had absolutely no idea why she was acting so flustered. In Kniya's mind, he just assumed she was having a mental breakdown. Are all government officers completely mad in the head? Kniya wondered. After all, They did not exactly have a warm, friendly relationship with the federal government, and they were used to being treated with extreme suspicion, not blushing stares.
Pushing past his confusion, Kniya leaned casually against the polished marble desk.
"Well, the thing is that we want to meet the head of the DI'an Energy Department," Kniya requested smoothly. "We want to have a really important talk with him, as it is a really important deal we have to discuss. It is a highly critical task."
The receptionist stared at them, completely mesmerized. She hesitated for a long moment, her fountain pen awkwardly hovering over the thick paper of her ledger book without writing anything down.
Malesh noticed the bizarre delay. He slowly adjusted his pristine cuffs, his deadpan mask firmly in place as he tried to figure out what was wrong with her.
"Is there anything wrong with the request?" Malesh asked flatly.
"Oh! No, sir, there is nothing wrong!" the receptionist quickly corrected, her blush deepening as she frantically scribbled something completely illegible into her ledger book. "The thing is... the Head of the Department is currently not right here at the office. He is expected to arrive in approximately thirty minutes. Until then, you can wait in the VIP lounge. And yeah, I can definitely arrange the meeting for you the moment he arrives."
"Perfect. We will wait," Kniya nodded.
The Unfortunate Bowel Movement
Kniya and Malesh were escorted into a highly lavish, air-conditioned waiting room. They sat down on the expensive leather couches, perfectly still, entirely ready to execute their geopolitical pitch.
Thirty minutes passed.
Then forty-five minutes.
An entire hour passed, and they were still sitting in the freezing air-conditioning, staring at a potted plant.
Finally, the heavy oak doors of the waiting room forcefully pushed open.
A slightly overweight, highly stressed-looking government official in a rumpled suit burst into the room. He was sweating profusely and aggressively clutching his stomach like he had just survived a warzone.
"Oh, sir! Sorry! I am incredibly sorry for making you wait for this long!" the man apologized frantically, practically sprinting toward them while still holding his gut. "Actually... I was taking a massive shit!"
Kniya and Malesh completely froze. Their perfectly calculated corporate auras instantly short-circuited.
"I was actively dumping my guts out," the official overshared wildly, groaning as a sharp pain hit him. "My stomach was absolutely not fine this morning, and it is still not fine! Oh... God, it is hurting again! The thing is, I ate excessive, highly spicy street food yesterday, and I consumed way too much! It is an absolute disaster in there!"
Kniya stared at the man, his jaw slowly dropping in pure, unfiltered disgust. Malesh simply closed his eyes, aggressively rubbing his temples as he realized they were about to pitch a multi-trillion-credit nuclear reactor to a guy who was actively fighting for his life in a bathroom stall.
"Well, no worries!" the man forced a highly strained smile, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "I got the urgent information from reception that you wanted to discuss something incredibly important with me. Let me officially introduce myself. I am Thukesh Blester. I am the Head of the DI'an Energy Department."
Thukesh stood up a little straighter, his eyes narrowing slightly as he looked at the two tired guys.
"And in my professional opinion..." Thukesh stated, crossing his arms. "You two are Kniya and Malesh. Am I right?"
Malesh slowly opened his eyes. The disgust instantly vanished, replaced by a cold, highly lethal, pragmatic baseline.
"How do you know about us?" Malesh asked flatly, his dark eyes locking onto the Head of the Department.