Chapter 263: The Strategic Investment Department wins big! Director hurry up and transform already!
"What beautiful eyes. Tell me, do they glow in the night?"
Inside the theater.
A familiar voice echoed.
Whispers from the employees drifted through the air.
In the front row.
Topaz sat bolt upright in her seat!
She recognized it instantly!
This was… Jade's voice!
She said with a hint of excitement, "Great, Miss Jade. Finally, your scene is here~!"
Jade smiled faintly. "Why do you sound even more excited than I am?"
Jade took a sip of her drink.
She gazed at the scene unfolding on the screen.
A look of reminiscence crossed her face.
"Oh, this scene…"
"It's the first time I met Aventurine. How nostalgic."
Aventurine, wearing prison garb.
Shackles locked around his neck.
On the dais opposite him.
Sat Jade, dressed in elegant finery.
A glass of red wine rested by her hand.
She looked down at Aventurine from a position of absolute superiority.
The gap in their status was like the difference between clouds and mud.
Behind them.
A wave of cheers erupted from the numerous IPC employees!
"Miss Jade!"
"As expected, our boss has her own scene too!"
"Elegant, simply too elegant!"
"Is this the first meeting between Director Aventurine and Miss Jade?"
"An epic encounter!"
"My god! This frame belongs in the company's textbooks!"
The employees were incredibly excited!
Many had already projected themselves into Aventurine's perspective!
Going from a slave worth thirty copper coins to one of the Ten Stonehearts…
What kind of journey of counter-attack must that have been?
Although Aventurine was a prisoner at this moment.
He still spoke with calm composure, "My lady, I have obtained what I wanted—to be brought before you, to start the next high-stakes gamble."
Jade: "Then let's talk about this second gamble. Tell me, what do you intend to wager this time?"
"I wager my life. I bet you won't send me to the executioner's block."
"It's that simple. Thirty Ta-anba copper coins, the price of half my life, no more, no less."
"As long as I have this money, I can climb to a position higher than yours, hold more wealth than you… I bet you don't dare give it to me. So, call your Lanor[ Chief ] over."
The employees gasped in astonishment!
Wasn't Aventurine's tone a bit too arrogant?
Miss Jade was already an existence that countless employees couldn't hope to reach.
And yet, Aventurine, a slave at the time, dared to utter such "brazen words"!?
Jade didn't feel provoked.
Instead, she chuckled. "Interesting."
"It's a pity Diamond won't see you, and no one else can either. So, at this moment, I am Diamond's proxy, making the decision for him."
"You are wrong. Thirty Ta-anba, I will give you, and far more than that. Wealth, status, power… the IPC will give you everything you want and everything you don't."
"Kakavasha… that's a good name, though it's destined to be buried in the dirt. But you are worth keeping alive to create more wealth for us."
"Go now, pick out some clothes you like, choose a status that pleases you… and then make good use of them, child."
"May your schemes be forever concealed."
...
"Miss Jade truly has a keen eye for talent. Others in high positions might not have even bothered to look at Aventurine!"
"Miss Jade really knows how to appoint people based on their merits!"
"She's too gentle, I'm crying!"
"I am honored to be in the Strategic Investment Department!"
"Note: '[ May your schemes be forever concealed ]'—the last time this appeared was a blessing from Aventurine's mother…"
"Miss Jade is truly Aventurine's benefactor!"
"Next up is Director Aventurine's cheat-like rise to power."
...
Hearing the voices from behind.
Topaz's lips curled upward slightly.
She sighed, "This plot is too friendly to our Strategic Investment Department~"
"Not only has it strengthened internal cohesion, but it's also made the Strategic Investment Department completely famous… This is equivalent to Feathered Spirit winning us a huge market in the universe!"
"After this scene, the weight of the Strategic Investment Department within the company will definitely rise to a new level."
"It can be said to be of great significance!"
Jade nodded in agreement.
"Now we just have to see how Aventurine breaks the deadlock in the end."
"If he can pull it off, then this plot will be even more valuable…"
......
"If I successfully overcome this hurdle, what comes next? After a grand gamble, is what awaits me… another, even grander gamble?"
"Is it returning in triumph with countless chips after success upon success, or is it… never to return after a single failure?"
Aventurine's inner monologue echoed through the theater.
One could clearly distinguish the confusion and emptiness in his voice.
A frivolous voice sounded out.
"Do you have no idea what's in your heart…"
"You base gambler?"
Before Aventurine.
Another illusory version of himself appeared.
Facing a stunned Aventurine.
He said flippantly, "Forgotten me already? Who gave you the idea when you were tied to the electric chair by the warlords of Imanika?"
"I am you, even more than you know yourself, and I know exactly what you want. You are dying, and at death's door, you still want to drag a few unlucky souls down with you… That's why you came here, isn't it?"
"A great opening act, do you really think you can pull it off?"
This phantom claimed to be the future of Kakavasha.
But Aventurine clearly didn't believe it.
He felt it was just an illusion of Harmony.
Until—
He saw an Avgin child.
The moment the child turned around.
Aventurine showed a look of shock!
"Your… eyes?"
"This is impossible. Who are you?"
The young child: "They are beautiful, right? Big sister says they are a gift from the Giainthra Triclops of Fengo-Byos. Colored eyes can bring people good luck."
"Ah, mister… you have a pair of beautiful eyes, too. They look so nice!"
The child praised him sincerely.
His clothes were tattered, and his face was covered in grime.
But those eyes were clear and bright.
"Those eyes, and Mother Fengo… no, this is impossible…"
"There shouldn't be any more Avgins in the universe…"
Aventurine's tone revealed a sense of disbelief.
He chose to give chase.
To ask that child what on earth was going on.
And just as he was chasing.
That future shadow began to appear beside Aventurine, applying pressure!
"…That's exactly the kind of person you are, cautious yet self-deprecating. You've won so much, yet you're more afraid of losing than anyone else."
"People only see you betting thousands on the card table, but they don't know that under the table, there is another hand, clutching the chips, trembling uncontrollably…"
"Impressive, no wonder the Tavern sent you an invitation. You were born a good actor… not only good at deceiving others, but even better at deceiving yourself."
"How strange, why did you refuse that invitation? You had the chance to embrace Enigmata, wasn't that what you wanted most? Yet you still chose the IPC's card table…"
"For Preservation? Hmph, I don't think so. Do you have anything to do with Preservation at all?"
The live stream chat flooded with messages—
...
"So Aventurine gets nervous too, I suddenly feel closer to him!"
"This shadow is definitely the influence of Harmony! Every word is heart-piercing!"
"Forget Aventurine, I'm about to break down just listening to this!"
"An invitation from the Tavern? As expected, Aventurine almost became a Masked Fool!"
"No wonder Sparkle was willing to give Aventurine a bit of intel…"
"Is Old Aventurine really going to die! Both his past self and future self have appeared…"
"Is this how the curtain falls on you, Aventurine!"
"Don't worry everyone, there's still the boss-form Aventurine coming up!"
"Hurry up and transform, Aventurine, I can't bear to watch anymore!"
"Transformation requires a Cornerstone, where on earth is he going to find a Cornerstone now…"