I spent the night in Victory's cell.
Only after washing up thoroughly did I go to see Gloria.
But she was unusually sharp-tongued.
The reason, as it turned out——
"Yesterday… forget what happened yesterday."
It seemed the memory of a drug-addled Gloria acting clingy toward me had become a source of deep embarrassment for her.
I did think she had a needlessly high sense of pride.
But in a way, it was exactly like her, so I just shrugged.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're referring to. Would you care to enlighten me?"
"…Forget it."
Because Gloria had an ability similar to Secretary Min Chae-rin's — an intuitive perception of truth —
she would have caught the lie in what I'd just said.
But in the end, she seemed to decide to accept my consideration, and let it pass without another word.
After that, I was feeding Gloria breakfast again, as had become routine.
She stared at me with an unusual intensity.
She probably had something she wanted to say.
Even so, I waited calmly without asking first.
Eventually, Gloria opened her mouth.
"What do you think of that big guy?"
"You mean Security Director Yoon Carter. He handles the combat division of Black Cell, so I'd say he's extraordinarily strong."
"Stronger than me?"
"For 'right now,' yes."
It was a deliberately ambiguous answer, and Gloria looked puzzled.
But I smiled and continued.
"If Gloria were to grow further, I believe you could defeat someone like the Security Director with ease."
Gloria's eyebrows twitched.
Having registered my words as truth, she couldn't make sense of it and immediately pushed back.
"Why are you so sure about that?"
"It's hard to explain precisely, but… for what it's worth, I am called the genius of the century. Please don't be impatient — just trust me."
Was it not the answer she was looking for?
She turned noticeably sullen, yet she said something unexpected.
"So you're saying you know a way for me to get stronger faster."
Was Gloria's drive to improve actually growing stronger?
What a remarkable change.
After that, Gloria kept pressing me for ways to become stronger right away.
But even with an adult's intellect, Gloria had never received even a basic elementary education.
In a case like this, I'd need to explain things through visual media, so I promised to prepare something and bring it the next day.
She pretended not to care, but it was clear she was looking forward to it.
********************
The moment I stepped out of Gloria's cell, I called Secretary Min Chae-rin.
[You want to bring a tablet loaded with various photos and videos into the restricted zone?]
"Something along these lines."
Honestly, I'd half-expected a refusal.
But the Director gave her approval immediately.
[Director Eileen did seem puzzled when she reviewed the contents, I'll admit.]
"Everything on it serves a purpose."
[Hmm… Alright, understood. But you'll need to return the tablet as soon as you're done with it.]
With permission granted, then.
The following morning, as promised, I turned on the tablet to explain things to Gloria.
Images of various animals filled her eyes.
She looked genuinely fascinated, so I told her why I'd shown her these.
"Among predators, the lion is called the king of beasts, and the tiger is called the lord of the mountains. Yet even those powerful predators have one creature they absolutely cannot touch."
"What is it?"
"The elephant."
The elephant, with its overwhelming size, has no grand title to speak of.
It is recognized by all simply because it is strong.
"In the same way, superlatives mean nothing to the overwhelmingly strongest. Gloria is no different."
"So you're saying I'm just some brute who relies on raw size?"
"Not at all. I think you're something even greater than that."
The future Gloria becomes the strongest in the world on sheer physical dominance alone.
So what happens when even a small additional element is introduced?
Of course, my preamble had gone on too long — I could tell she was giving me the look that said to stop dragging it out and get to the point.
And so the key word finally left my mouth.
"What Gloria needs right now is technique."
"That's more grounded advice than I expected."
"In the end, the fundamentals are always the answer. But the effect will be real."
A genius is made of ninety-nine percent talent and one percent effort.
It's a harsh truth — that without talent, effort becomes meaningless.
But the reverse is equally true: without effort, you throw away ninety-nine percent of your talent.
"Technique was originally developed by the weak to fight the strong."
"I know that much."
"Then this will be easier to understand. But in the present day, technique has become… something that makes it impossible for the weak to ever defeat the strong."
Naturally, the weak grow stronger by honing technique.
But now, the strong honing technique has become the default as well.
And because of the gap in raw talent, the strong improve faster than the weak — and the distance between them widens even more quickly.
Soon, the tablet switched from photos to a single video.
"So let's start simply, with this."
[Boxing Basics]
And so Gloria encountered the concept of technique for the very first time.
******************
Under any other circumstances, I might have questioned whether it was right to teach technique to Gloria — the most dangerous villain of the future.
But now, all I could think was that I simply wanted her to grow and flourish.
And as it turned out, Gloria was an even greater genius than I'd anticipated.
In the lab, Gloria took the stance from the video and threw a jab at a massive steel beam.
BOOM!!
BOOM!!
'Her hands are literally making cannon sounds.'
Her form was still a little rough, admittedly.
But the way she was channeling her strength was on an entirely different level from before.
Gloria herself had moved past mere fascination — she was visibly enjoying it.
But perhaps she caught the pleased expression on my face.
She turned her head away entirely.
As Gloria continued to shatter the steel beams like dry stalks of sorghum —
She stopped.
"……………."
"Gloria? Why are you looking at that wall…"
Gloria had stopped punching and was staring intently at a blank wall.
I wondered what had come over her.
Then I remembered Marlon, who had picked a fight with me before.
From outside the lab, you could see in.
But from inside, you couldn't see out.
It seemed Gloria had sensed someone outside through her X-ray vision, just as she had before.
But who could it be?
The members of Black Cell knew all too well how dangerous Gloria was.
Even the Director herself never came anywhere near her.
But when a voice echoed through the lab, I had a fairly good idea.
[Mr. Maxwell Gray? I have something I'd like to discuss. Could you step outside for a moment?]
"Who are those people?"
"Just some individuals who'd like to have a word with me. Please wait just a moment."
"…Go ahead."
I stepped out of the lab to find men in expensive black suits waiting for me.
And their identity was——
"It's a genuine pleasure to meet you, Mr. Maxwell."
"We've come from Black Group."
Just as the Director had warned me.
Nathan's subordinates had come to transfer me.
*************
The moment of choice had arrived sooner than I'd expected.
But then, considering how the Director's personality was a mirror image of the Chairman's…
The thought came naturally: like father, like daughter.
In any case, one of Nathan's men stepped forward and introduced himself.
"My name is Victor Haynes. I have the good fortune of serving as one of the Chairman's personal secretaries."
He sent one of his closest aides directly.
The approach really was far too similar to the Director's.
Still, Victor began saying exactly what I'd anticipated.
"Mr. Maxwell… don't you find Black Cell a little… small? You are a talent who should be working for the entire Group, not just here."
He spoke in a tone of persuasion as he extended a document toward me.
"These are proposals made personally by the Chairman of Black Group."
"Quite dazzling, I must say."
The salary was on an entirely different level from what I received here.
On top of that, the contract offered a direct placement into a research institute under the Group's umbrella — at a core executive level, no less.
But accepting this would put me at odds with the Director.
And it would bind me completely to Chairman Nathan.
Not to mention, whatever research institute they sent me to would undoubtedly involve the same kind of dirty work as here.
I closed my eyes briefly to choose my words, then handed the proposal back to Secretary Victor.
"I am truly honored that Chairman Nathan has singled me out. However, the research currently underway at Black Cell was designed with my direct involvement as a prerequisite."
This was a polite refusal.
Secretary Victor and the other men looked genuinely puzzled that I had turned down such a generous offer.
But as I continued, their expressions shifted to something closer to understanding.
"If I were to leave my post now, the continuity and momentum of the research would be severed. There's a real risk it could veer off in the wrong direction entirely."
In short: 'Would it be acceptable for the project to collapse completely because its key figure walked out?'
And this wasn't just any project — it was one of the most critical undertakings responsible for the Group's future.
The men standing before me were, at the end of the day, company employees.
They knew all too well the many reasons why corporate projects fell apart, and they had no rebuttal to offer.
Of course, I added an indirect reason alongside the direct one.
"Furthermore, the Chairman has outstanding talents like yourselves at his disposal. A first-year like me would only be a burden if I tried to insert myself among them."
"Then, Mr. Maxwell…"
"I'm truly sorry, but I still have a great deal to learn. I am simply where I am most needed."
And so I made my decision to remain at Black Cell.
I'd half-worried they might force the transfer through regardless.
"You really are worth the Chairman's attention. We'll withdraw for now… but we will meet again someday."
"I would be grateful if you could put in a good word with the Chairman on my behalf."
"Ha ha ha ha, don't worry about that."
They backed down far more easily than I'd expected.
So this visit had been little more than a preliminary probe.
Still, it ended quickly and amicably, and for that I was genuinely relieved.
After shaking hands with Secretary Victor, we parted ways swiftly.
I returned to the lab where Gloria was waiting.
She was staring at me with a deeply strange look.
She had likely heard my entire exchange with Secretary Victor through her X-ray vision —
and had certainly registered that everything I'd said out there was a lie.
I smiled at the bewildered Gloria and said,
"Where would I possibly go, leaving Gloria behind?"
For a moment, Gloria drew a sharp breath, her pupils widening.
But she immediately turned fierce again, her lips pressing into a pout.
"I want to go back."
"It has gotten a bit late. Thank you for your hard work today. Oh, and in a little while, those children you met before will be——"
"Do whatever you want."
Gloria looked, somehow, like she was angry.