Becoming A Tech Tycoon Begins With Regression

Chapter 232 232: Endgame [2]: Checkmate

"It was pretty easy," Ethan replied, "want me to tell you about it?"

"..." The collector didn't respond, but Ethan continued anyway.

"Let's start with me getting you to believe that I was a spy," he started, "or rather, that Ethan Carter could be bought for the right price."

"It all started when you sent Daniel Crowe, disguised as a cooperation officer, into OmniTech Corp."

"Crowe was smart," Ethan admitted. "He knew Lillian wouldn't plug in an unknown chip, so he gave her one labeled as a passive observation device. He promised that there would be no transmission, or access to OmniTech's private data, it was just for monitoring, nothing else."

The Collector's lips curled slightly. "And yet he still got access."

"Yes," Ethan nodded. "Because he planned for that too."

Ethan flicked his fingers, and a recording appeared on the screen. It was a security footage from OmniTech's development floor.

Daniel Crowe, casually 'dropping' a second chip near a shared terminal, letting it be discovered by a junior engineer.

"He relied on human nature," Ethan said. "Curiosity and Initiative. The desire to be useful."

The footage showed the engineer hesitating, then inserting the chip.

"That was the moment he thought he won," Ethan continued. "The moment OmniTech's systems were compromised."

"The second that chip went live," Ethan said, "Athena isolated it, copied it, dissected it and then I fed it exactly what I wanted."

He smiled faintly.

"And then I let Crowe 'discover' that I might be open to offers. That one of OmniTech's employees is greedy enough to be bought."

"And you fell for it," he paused for a short while before sighing, "well, for a while anyway."

"I really hoped to uncover your identity through that," Ethan almost seemed disappointed as he spoke, "but I guess you're too smart to be caught like that."

The praise didn't really seem like one, but the Collector still calmly listened to his words.

"And then you started digging into Ethan Carter and uncovered my true identity," he continued seeing how attentive his audience is, "you know the rest."

"But what you don't know was that I allowed you to uncover what you did," Ethan said, "just to find out who you were."

"I guess you could call it an equivalent exchange."

"Then why allow me to uncover your actual identity," the collector asked, "since you could've just switched the information and still have my identity."

"Well," Ethan placed a hand on his chin, "our game was getting boring, so I decided to end it."

"I see," The Collector muttered.

"You started getting sloppy after that," Ethan continued.

"The moment you confirmed Ethan Carter and OmniTech was one and the same," he said, "you assumed you'd finally reached the core and you convinced yourself that I had slipped."

The Collector leaned back slightly, fingers interlocked. "So you showed your hand out of boredom?"

"Yes," Ethan nodded,"but more importantly it worked to make you more sloppy and in the end, this was my win."

The Collector was silent for a long moment.

"…And what happens now?" he finally asked.

"Now, you become a puppet," Ethan calmly answered, "just like the executives."

With his words, Reid approached the collector with another syringe in his hand

The Collector, knowing that there was no use resisting,since he was completely cornered, just sat calmly as the cold needle was pressed against his skin.

Ethan honestly expected a bit of resistance, but he was disappointed by how anticlimactic all this was.

The entire room was silent for a long while before Ethan spoke up again, "now then, first order of business."

He leaned back, fingers tapping the armrest.

"Helix Global will release a public statement within the hour," he said. "Full cooperation with ongoing investigations,admission of negligence, voluntary dissolution of Helix Aegis and Helix Tech."

"And," Ethan added, "a formal apology to OmniTech Corp."

A few swallowed hard, but nodded.

It wasn't like they could deny the request anyway.

"After that," He added, "well officially start putting your mercenaries to use."

One of the executives frowned despite himself, "how do you intend to use them?"

"Well, for one, they'll also be injected with nanobots," Ethan explained, "but ones different from the ones within you right now."

"Your colony monitor cellular decay, reinforce muscle fibers at the molecular level, accelerate neural signaling, purge toxins before they become a problem," Ethan continued. "Your mercenaries will receive a specialized variant, combat-focused, obviously."

One of the executives whispered, "Super soldiers…"

Ethan smiled faintly. "If you want to be dramatic, sure."

He leaned forward again.

"Increased reaction speed, higher pain tolerance, controlled adrenaline release, rapid wound stabilization," he listed calmly.

"No mindless berserk states, no loyalty programming that fries their brains. They'll still be themselves."

"They'll just be better," he added with a smile

"And the cost?" the Collector asked quietly.

Ethan glanced at him. "There is none. Not for me."

The implication landed immediately.

"You get your enhanced forces," Ethan said, looking around the room, "and I get absolute operational priority. OmniTech missions come first. No exceptions."

"And refusal?" someone asked, though their voice lacked conviction.

Ethan tilted his head. "You no longer possess that option."

"And what do you intend to do with super soldiers?" The collector asked after getting used to the nanobots in his system, "a war?"

"You could say that," Ethan calmly replied, "but not the kind you're imagining."

The Collector let out a slow breath. "You're not trying to rule the world."

Of course that was the first thing that came to mind, after all, he was also the same.

"Yup," Ethan answered with a smile, "but I don't need your mercenaries for that."

"I see," the Collector nodded before leaning back.

Ethan then suddenly switched the screen from his real self back to his avatar before hopping off the cube.

"See you in a month," he said with a smile, "till then, complete the tasks given to you and wait for further instructions."

With that, the screen switched off leaving the executives to properly absorb what just happened in a matter of minutes.