Pride Online

Chapter 709: The Start of The Meeting Part IV

“Now that everyone is here...”

A powerful voice sounded from the end of the table, and everyone turned to it.

A spotlight was on Payu. He interlocked his fingers on the table and continued.

“The event that occurred twenty-four hours ago prompted this urgent meeting.” He sighed. “Right now, I’m certain that everyone in this room is aware of what’s happening in our Pride world. It seems like the bad blood that Frazier left is starting to turn against us. The bad news is... Lucius, one of the blacklisted men, has already gotten a hold of the Key of Forbidden that Winter has hidden.”

His words stirred the audience.

The men next to Wisana complained in English, such as “How can you let him do that?” or “What? I thought the key was in the king?”.

Eventually, Payu raised one hand up and the voices died down.

“I’m responsible for everything.”

A low voice sounded and everyone turned to it.

It was Mavin. The spotlight came down to him for everyone to see.

“I’m the one who put the key in Vincent because I thought that Vincent’s brain wave should be able to make the key inside the AI act. I wasn’t wrong, though, because Vincent and Winter’s brain waves are similar. That’s why the AI was eventually reminded of Winter’s order. It’s a shame that she was snatched away before we could do anything.”

“What should we do, then, Mr. Mavin? Aren’t we already doomed?”

A man argued and the spotlight shone on him.

Wisana saw that he was a white plump man with a bald head. From the accent and his face, he was probably Chinese.

“It won’t be a problem now because Winter’s implemented a strong Protect into that key that it’s almost impossible to penetrate. It should be able to hold Lucius back for a long time, at least years. So, I’ll find a way to take the key back during that time.”

“Huh! You sure you can do that~!?” The bald man drawled with disdain. “Don’t get me wrong, but Viola isn’t in the organization anymore and she was the best choice that we have. She couldn’t even take Lucius down, who would?”

“I agree.”

The spotlight shone on the next person.

This time, it was a woman aged around forty-five years old. She had golden blonde hair. Her face looked like she was from somewhere in Eastern Europe.

“Those people are too strong for us to directly go in and take the key back. I suggest that you use the European branch’s data expertise to penetrate and retrieve the key back without a fight.”

“It’s not that easy, Ms. Sophie.” Payu’s voice was serious. “Please don’t forget that they have a part of Alice with them. The defense should be as tough as ours. Even if it’s you, I don’t think you can penetrate them that easily.”

Everything went quiet again.

Every spotlight, except where Payu was, was turned off.

The old man sighed softly and glanced at the audience.

“We’ll talk about the key later. We have a more important matter now regarding the king.”

Everyone turned to look at Wisana. Even so, Wisana did not fret. He was almost indifferent.

“Right now, the king’s awakened and he learned about it after the event in the past twenty-four hours. Even though the King’s Gate hasn’t fully opened, I’d like the king to learn about his goal and the organization’s intentions.”

The spotlight moved to Wisana. The young man raised his eyebrow a little. He could not see anyone anymore.

“Our king, what would you like to learn about first? We’re willing and ready to answer your every question truthfully.”

Wisana switched his crossed legs.

“About the organization. What exactly is it for?”

Wisana talked for the first time. Payu had predicted that question.

“We’re the ones who control the world’s movement.”

A voice answered from the dark before more people decided to talk. Wisana glanced around.

“We’re the leader of the world.”

“We’re the protector of the world.”

“We control the world’s evolution.”

“We’re the world.”

Then, everything went silent. Eventually, Payu spoke.

“This organization has been controlling this world ever since before history. We have no name. We’re only someone who leads human beings to the right path. We control the world’s technology and teach human beings how to live, survive, and coexist.”

Wisana narrowed his eyes. The spotlight was still on him.

“You talk like you’re a god.” He said.

“We’re not,” Mavin said. “We’re the backstage of this world. Every evolution from generation to generation is our doing. All those important people in history are all our people.”

“Alexander the Third of Macedonia.” A voice said.

“Napoleon Bonaparte.”

“Christopher Columbus.”

“Leonardo DaVinci.”

“Galileo Galilei.”

“Mahatma Gandhi.”

“Abraham Lincoln.”

“Albert Einstein.”

Every name they said was all well-known to this world. Wisana was not that surprised to hear that. He had already learned a gist of it from his sister.

‘Are you joking?’ He asked in awe.

‘No.’ Wipada said. ‘This organization’s been backstage of this world ever since before history. Our main duty is to lead the world to the right path and make sure that the evolution is at the right pace.’

‘What do you mean, evolution?” Wisana shook his head.

‘Don’t you think it’s strange that Pride owns so many things that are beyond modern technology, even though the whole world has never seen a virtual world that connects to a human’s brain before?’

Wisana went silent.

‘You’re saying...?’

‘Yes, our organization is always a hundred years beyond the world. Do you know what it’s for?’

Wisana shook his head.

‘So that it’s easier to control. Ever since before the historical period, our organization’s always owned machines or even traditions that are a hundred years more advanced than the world’s. We decide what’s good or not for this world. We throw away what’s not good and leave the good for this world to slowly develop. All of that’s to prevent any mistake that can happen to the world.”

‘Mistake?’ Wisana frowned.

‘Wars.’

The young man shook his head a little. He wanted to smile, but he could not.

‘There have been so many wars happening in history. There are so many quarrels going on in the world, including here in Thailand.’

‘That’s because of the organization’s mistake.’ Wipada’s voice was firm. ‘We’ve tried to fix so many problems by sending out our people to flip the history. Human beings have different looks and thoughts, so it’s difficult to live without any conflict. And that’s our job.’

Wisana did not understand that well. While his sister was dressing the wounds on his hand, he asked again.

‘And why doesn’t the organization want this world to be equal to them?’

‘The faster the change, the more conflicts.’ She replied. ‘The more power, the more terrifying influence. We need something to be able to control this world, that’s why better evolution is necessary and a slow improvement is more appropriate. It prevents conflicts and it’s more sustainable.’

His sister’s voice faded.

Wisana stared at the darkness around him and let out a long sigh.

“And what’s the connection between Pride and the organization?”