"Sending people over is fine—as long as they don't interfere blindly."
Lucas had no objections to that condition. At worst, it meant keeping a few idle officials sitting in offices and collecting paychecks.
Given his background and connections, those people would certainly not dare to meddle recklessly in the city's reconstruction.
Besides, with a few benefits distributed discreetly, most problems would resolve themselves.
"That's good to hear. If you're certain, I'll contact the state government office immediately,"
Ellis said, sounding noticeably relaxed as he joked,
"They've lost nearly seventy percent of their territory. Hearing your proposal, they'll probably be begging you to step in."
"Alright," Lucas replied.
"When the time comes, tell me the location. I'll go and talk to them personally."
After hanging up, the aura around Lucas surged. In the next instant, he transformed into a streak of light and flew toward the headquarters of his company.
---
Lucas's corporate headquarters was located in Washington, D.C.
Why choose this place?
The reason was simple.
Whether it was the DC universe or the Marvel universe, incidents almost always happened in places like New York, Los Angeles, Metropolis, Gotham, or Central City.
Washington, on the other hand, was different.
Even if something did happen here, the primary target would inevitably be the White House and the person sitting inside it—not the surrounding city itself, unlike the chaos-prone urban centers elsewhere.
Before long, Lucas landed in front of his company's towering headquarters.
The company had already been renamed "Saiyan corporation", and it now occupied an entire commercial skyscraper in Washington's business district.
The moment he stepped inside, the front-desk receptionist—an elegant young woman—froze for a split second upon seeing his face. Then she hurried out from behind the counter and approached him.
"Boss! I'm Clarisse Fawkes, head of the front-desk department. Welcome back to the company—this way, please."
"You recognize me?" Lucas asked, slightly surprised.
After all, he had left most of the company's management to Johnny Whittaker and Phastos.
It made sense for senior executives to know him—but how did frontline staff recognize him?
Clarisse immediately explained,
"Mr. Whittaker showed us your portrait when we first joined the company. Only the front desk and security departments were allowed to see it."
"He said it was in case you came in person one day, so we wouldn't embarrass ourselves by failing to recognize you."
Whittaker was Johnny's surname.
Lucas showed no particular reaction. He had never instructed Johnny to hide his identity anyway. By now, most major capital groups in America already knew who truly owned this conglomerate.
Soon, under Clarisse's guidance, Lucas arrived at the executive level.
Inside a conference room, Johnny was in the middle of a meeting.
Through the glass wall, Lucas watched him standing confidently at the front, speaking fluently while gesturing toward a virtual projection filled with data and strategic diagrams.
Lucas smiled faintly.
Compared to two years ago, Johnny had changed dramatically.
Not only had his net worth skyrocketed from a few million dollars to hundreds of millions, but more importantly, in order to manage the company competently, he had taught himself extensively and earned multiple degrees in business and management.
That dedication alone made Lucas value him greatly.
Johnny, still immersed in explaining the company's future strategic layout, suddenly caught sight of Lucas outside the room—and froze on the spot.
He rubbed his eyes, thinking he was imagining things.
When he finally confirmed it was really his boss, he immediately stopped the meeting and rushed to open the door.
He led Lucas inside and said simply,
"The person standing before you is the true owner of the Saiyan Corporation. I don't think I need to introduce his name."
There were no flowery words, no exaggerated praise.
Johnny knew Lucas disliked that sort of thing—and as his subordinate, he had no intention of indulging in it.
The mid- and high-level executives seated around the table all recognized Lucas instantly.
After all, he was the world-famous 'Terminator'—a name known not just across America, but globally.
And only hours ago, the live broadcast of the Los Angeles super earthquake had once again displayed his overwhelming power.
What they hadn't expected was that the Terminator was actually their company's real boss behind the scenes."
Once the shock passed, the room erupted into applause.
Lucas raised a hand slightly, signaling for quiet, then turned to Johnny.
"Call Phastos over."
Johnny's eyes flickered. He immediately walked to the internal communicator and said,
"Tell the Doctor to come to Conference Room No. 2 immediately. The boss is here."
Lucas smiled.
"Looks like you usually can't summon him so easily."
Johnny shrugged.
"You misunderstand. The Doctor normally doesn't attend meetings unless they involve core product releases or major strategic decisions."
"I avoid disturbing his research, and frankly, he isn't interested in routine management matters either."
Lucas nodded and patted Johnny on the shoulder.
"Good work. You've done well."
"You flatter me, boss. This is nothing worth special praise," Johnny replied sincerely.
Lucas laughed.
"Then keep it up."
Before long, Phastos arrived and exchanged a brief hug with Lucas.
"This time, I came to the company to announce a new project," Lucas said, raising his voice so everyone could hear.
"Everyone here should already know what happened in Los Angeles, correct?"
The executives exchanged glances and nodded.
With a wave of Lucas's hand, real aerial footage of Los Angeles appeared on the conference room's display.
Looking at the images—where the city's former outline was almost completely unrecognizable—everyone fell silent.
A once world-famous megacity had effectively vanished.
"The project I've accepted," Lucas said calmly,
"is the complete reconstruction of Los Angeles."
The room fell into stunned silence.
Only Phastos remained composed—after all, as an Eternal, he had witnessed events far more dramatic than this.
"B-Boss… are you serious?" Johnny asked, voicing what everyone else was thinking.
"When have I ever lied to you?" Lucas replied.
"Of course not," Johnny said quickly.
"As the saying goes, the boss's word carries absolute weight. But may I ask—which groups will we be cooperating with?"
"Cooperate?" Lucas looked at him.
"Yes. Gotham's reconstruction was led by Wayne Group, but many other conglomerates participated as well," Johnny explained.
"Do you think I need to cooperate with anyone?" Lucas asked in return.
Johnny's eyes widened as a bold thought crossed his mind.
"…You mean—"
"That's right," Lucas said firmly.
"The reconstruction of Los Angeles will be handled entirely by our group alone. No other corporations will be involved."
Johnny took a deep breath, forcing himself to steady his emotions.
This was the reconstruction of an entire city.
The profit potential alone was staggering—even outsiders understood that much.
And Wayne Group's explosive growth during Gotham's rebuilding was the perfect example standing right next door.
...
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