Chapter 37

While looking at the dim night sky beyond the office window, Panoa took a cigarette and put it in her mouth.

*Crack*

“Huff......”

It had taken more than six hours to convey the detailed operation outline and the necessary items to the newly formed team of freelancers, led by Ban. It took more than half of that time to make sure everyone memorized the essential points, but it was also true that Panoa and the other staff members had broken a sweat during the process. Ban, after a quick glance, memorized all the necessary content and left, but it was Panoa's responsibility to take care of the rest.

Manya, who had been watching her from behind, asked, “What did the president say?”

“Say what?”

“Surely he must have said something when we received the additional funding. He must have said something, right?”

“He didn’t say anything.”

“.........”

Manya’s silence made Panoa smile bitterly.

“It means no words are necessary.”

This project, which she started by taking risks to gain control of the company, was a high-stakes game. If it succeeded, the board of directors would take the credit, but if it failed, the board of directors would use the support of the shareholders to take over the management.

Having deliberately pulled personnel from various departments to form the project and poured a huge amount of money into the planning stage, there was no turning back. Whether it succeeded or failed, Dike’s head would experience a significant upheaval. At the very least, she should be grateful for being in a position to directly influence that upheaval. Panoa thought this as she slowly shook her head.

Now was not the time to be lost in thought.

“Where’s the confidentiality agreement?”

“I’ve put it separately in the company’s underground vault. Since it’s a space used by the president personally, it should be safe until the shareholders' meeting.”

Although she didn’t tell Renock, Panoa had put a lot of effort into preventing a betrayal like the one that happened during the initial operation. She thoroughly investigated the backgrounds and affiliations of the candidates, cross-verified their information using the data collection capabilities of the Mirror Diver, and imposed various legal and personal constraints on the team members to ensure that any breach of contract would affect the organizations they belonged to.

She suppressed any complaints from the freelancers with substantial compensation. In essence, she had deliberately decided to buy trust with money.

All of this was made possible by the personal funds of the board of directors who were supporting her current project.

“If it fails, I won’t be in a good position either......”

“Will it only be you?”

Manya’s calm response made Panoa smile bitterly.

They had gathered in one place, fully aware of the risks, to climb to a higher position.

“Still, I’ve done my best. All that’s left is to rely on that wizard. We started from a hopelessly disadvantaged position and have come this far. I can only be grateful for managing to find someone as capable as Ban to keep the plan moving forward.”

“After this operation, I’ll have to give Ban something substantial. Should I look through the VIP auction again?”

“There’s no need to worry about that yet.”

“It’s not worry, it’s a gesture of appreciation.”

Panoa replied, stubbing out the remaining cigarette.

“It’s the only thing I can do now while hoping for the success of the plan.”