A major meeting was called, bringing together all of Black Cell's key figures — a direct consequence of this epoch-making discovery.
But why on earth was I summoned to it?
On top of that, the head of Black Group himself had come.
I never expected to meet the Director's father here, of all places.
My head was already starting to ache.
Shortly after, the secretary who had informed me of the chairman's arrival posed a question.
"Mr. Maxwell, are you acquainted with Nathan Blackrock — the head of Black Group?"
"I know him as something along the lines of a final boss."
"...Pardon?"
The secretary's expression shifted to one of profound bewilderment.
But the description fit so perfectly that she couldn't bring herself to argue against it.
"In any case, the results of this research have been classified at the highest level, have they not? Why would the chairman himself be here…?"
"That, I'm afraid I couldn't tell you either."
For one thing, the president and the Security Director had referred to the Director as 'young miss.'
With members of the Blackrock Family embedded throughout Black Cell like this, it made sense that information would flow upward to them.
So even that witch couldn't maintain complete control over Black Cell after all.
I turned the possibilities over in my mind — all the moves that might be made inside that conference room — and followed the secretary.
Just outside the conference room door, however, Dr. Cain was pacing restlessly, glancing around in every direction.
The moment he spotted me, his face lit up — but then his eyes landed on Secretary Min Chae-rin at my side, and his jaw tightened.
'Right. She was dispatched here from the parent company, wasn't she?'
Which meant the secretary was, in all likelihood, the chairman's person.
Regardless, Dr. Cain immediately put on a show of being my closest friend.
"Ha ha ha! Maxwell! Come, come!"
"Thank you for the warm welcome. But Dr. Cain, why are you out here instead of inside the meeting that's already underway…?"
"W-well, you see! My stomach was acting up for a moment…"
Obviously, that was complete nonsense.
Secretary Min Chae-rin knew it just as well as I did.
She cut into our conversation, insisting we needed to get inside immediately — but Dr. Cain dug in his heels, claiming he had something to discuss man-to-man, and dragged me off to the restroom.
He was surely well aware of just how dangerous even this small act was.
'Is the weight of that paper heavier on his conscience than I thought?'
I'm not a scientist myself, so I couldn't quite empathize — but the doctor, who had clearly thrown his lot in entirely with my side, wasted no time offering his counsel.
"M-Maxwell. There's a Korean saying: plant beans, and beans will grow; plant red beans, and red beans will grow. So what do you suppose the chairman — Director Eileen's own father — must be like?"
"…You're saying the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
"Precisely. But he is far more formidable than the Director, so whatever you do, don't be taken in by his honeyed words——"
Bang bang bang!
"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt you both, but there's been an urgent summons to enter the conference room immediately."
In the end, Secretary Min Chae-rin's interruption cut us short, and we stepped back out having barely exchanged a word.
But I already knew the chairman's character well enough. This much of a warning was sufficient.
I gave Dr. Cain a reassuring smile. In return, he sent me a piece of body language that said: please, for the love of everything, keep your wits about you.
We came to a stop before the doors of the Central Strategy Conference Room.
**************
Secretary Min Chae-rin operated a tablet at the entrance, and from within, a special agent carefully pulled the door open.
We were allowed inside.
The Central Strategy Conference Room was larger than I had anticipated.
Black Cell's senior staff were seated around a massive circular table shaped like a giant donut.
And at the head of it all — not the trouser-wearing president I'd seen before, but the chairman of Black Group itself, the parent company.
Nathan Blackrock sat there with a warm, affable smile.
At a glance, he looked like a distinguished middle-aged man who might enjoy volunteering at a charity. But as Dr. Cain had warned me — he was that daughter's father.
I kept a firm grip on my composure, careful not to be taken in by that business smile, and surveyed the room.
With the very apex of the pyramid having graced them with his presence, every senior staff member in the conference room was sitting ramrod-straight, like fresh recruits on their first day.
There was, however, one person in the room who remained conspicuously at ease.
"Tch…."
The Director sat in her chair with her arms crossed.
She had even crossed her legs.
And she was staring at the chairman with an expression that made it abundantly clear she wanted nothing to do with him.
It was obvious she had absolutely no interest in deferring to her own father.
With that, I had a solid read on the room.
Following the special agent's direction, Secretary Min Chae-rin and I took our seats in the observer section along one wall.
Dr. Cain returned to his assigned seat at the table.
The others seated in the observer section alongside me were all unfamiliar faces.
They had to be key figures from Black Group proper.
They seemed mildly curious about me — a few glances drifted my way — but they quickly refocused on the meeting, which was a relief.
The meeting got underway, and I kept my nerves taut, wondering all the while why I had been called here.
Then the chairman raised a hand briefly and looked in my direction.
"Now that all the key figures are gathered, it seems like a good time to settle a decision we've been putting off."
He spoke Korean with remarkable fluency.
And despite holding the highest position in the room, he was using polite, formal speech.
People who perform humility like that are always the most difficult to deal with.
In any case, the meeting first turned to the matter of naming the source of superhuman ability discovered within the Vestigial Organ — the extraordinary factor they had found.
"Wouldn't it be fitting to name it after Black Cell?"
"Then we'd have something called the Black Cell, found by Black Cell."
"Alternatively, following the precedent we've maintained until now, naming it after its discoverer wouldn't be a bad option either."
"Is that really necessary, though?"
Suggestions poured in — Esper Factor, P-Factor, EX-Factor, Cain-Factor named after Dr. Cain, and more.
But the chairman gave a faint, awkward smile and shook his head.
"Making a fuss over a great discovery like this in the current era will only produce the opposite of the intended effect."
Just as quantum mechanics wasn't named Planck Mechanics, and the light bulb wasn't called the Edison Bulb — the chairman wanted something clean and unassuming.
As a result, the discovery was simply named the Awakening Factor. And with that, the moment I had been waiting for finally arrived.
"Now it's time to discuss Black Cell's path forward. As I mentioned just a moment ago… shouldn't we hear from the one who actually made the discovery?"
The instant the chairman finished speaking, every eye in the conference room turned to me.
Officially, the Awakening Factor was attributed to Dr. Cain's discovery.
So the uppermost echelon knew the full truth after all.
Secretary Min Chae-rin beside me gave me a pointed look. I rose from my seat.
And so I found myself in conversation with the seated chairman.
"Maxwell Gray — I hear you're called the genius of the century. Is that so?"
"It's more than I deserve, but yes, that is what I'm called, Chairman."
"More modest than I expected. But you have earned that title."
The chairman lavished me with praise and expressed his gratitude for laying the groundwork that had made this great discovery possible.
"Now I understand why Eileen — our Director here — visited you three times."
"Tch…."
The Director's expression darkened further at her father's words.
The temperature in the conference room seemed to drop another five degrees because of it.
But the chairman paid it no mind and turned his question to me.
"Forgive me for all the preamble. Then, Maxwell — what would you like to do with this discovery?"
One wrong word, and I'd have my throat cut right here in this den of wolves.
But a disappointing or foolish answer would earn me a permanent black mark from the chairman.
Silence filled the conference room as everyone leaned in.
At last, my mouth moved.
"In this day and age, sharing joy invites envy. Sharing sorrow invites exploitation."
"What you mean by that is…."
"I believe we must conceal our current achievements and results until the right moment comes."
Murmurs rippled through the room.
Even the chairman's expression shifted to one of surprise.
But Dr. Cain raised one arm with careful, restrained enthusiasm — as if to say: that's exactly it.
The chairman, however, pressed immediately for the reasoning.
"Please, tell us why you think so."
"There are many reasons. The most critical among them is this: the moment a drug capable of awakening superhuman abilities is developed… the privileges of those who already possess them will crumble."
The same truth holds everywhere people live.
The moment anyone feels their position or rights are being encroached upon, fierce hostility follows.
If this announcement were made while we were still in an uncertain position, Black Group would find itself facing a coalition of powerful adversaries.
My argument for concealing the great discovery was sound enough that every senior staff member in the room visibly came around to it.
But then the chairman rose entirely from his seat and continued.
"I understand why Mr. Maxwell would make that argument. As you say, the government, the Hero Association, and the established superhuman families will not welcome this discovery."
To any observer, it might have looked like agreement.
But one devil was attempting to seduce me with honeyed words.
"And yet — fire changed the way humans lived. The steam engine transformed the structure of industry. The internet reorganized the flow of information entirely. And now, the age of superhuman ability has arrived."
A dark mist rose from the chairman's body.
He moved toward me as though teleporting in rapid succession — and before I knew it, he was standing directly in front of me.
"Then, Mr. Maxwell — allow me to ask once more. What kind of impact do you believe the technology to awaken abilities will have on humanity? Do you truly think Black Cell — and by extension, Black Group — is too weak to weather that leap?"
His argument was simple: even if it was dangerous, perfect preemption was the answer.
From where I stood, knowing the future, the answer was already decided.
"Yes. If this is announced, Black Group will fall."
The bluntness of the reply froze the conference room in an instant.
Even the Director dropped the pen she had been holding, her expression going blank.
But I did not stop.
"The first steps will be remarkably stable, of course. Everyone will smile and celebrate this great discovery. But that joy will swiftly become a black serpent carrying lethal venom."
Superhumans would fight to protect their privileges.
Corporations would do everything in their power to seize the technology.
Nations would never tolerate a monopoly.
So I turned the question back on the chairman.
"Is Black Group strong enough to survive becoming the enemy of all humanity?"
With that, the conference room became a killing ground.
But one person — the most important person in the room.
Chairman Nathan's expression shifted into that of a man who had just discovered a fascinating new toy.