After disembarking the dachshund-like black limo, Kaname spent some time leaning against a large metal dumpster as he waited for Tselika to return with the mint-green coupe. Now he was back behind the wheel, having booted the demon pit babe from the driver’s seat.
“The merger of the century is approaching. The family behind the AI conglomerate known as White Queen Tourism is proceeding with its online meetings to unify its five partner companies. This merger, known as the Surf Riding Project, could result in White Queen Tourism becoming the second-largest tourism company in the world…”
“Hard Engage Bridge is a famous landmark in the financial district, but concerns have been raised over its condition. Several construction firms such as Satsuki Construction and Alice Manufactories have offered to conduct maintenance efforts on the bridge, but contract negotiations are expected to continue for some time…”
“The radio shows are boring me to death, as usual.” Tselika sounded extremely uninterested. “Conglomerates, construction companies… How am I supposed to get excited if I can’t see any of the dirty details? Ahhh, just lock me in a hotel and let me browse the pay-per-view all day. Or hand me a telephone and let me bring over a few call girls.”
“Is it just me or is your IQ lower than usual today, Tselika?”
Tselika stretched upward, almost able to press her palms against the low roof. “Hng!”
“Tse— You idiot! Get your wings out of the way while I’m trying to drive! I can’t see!”
The car scraped against something as it swerved across the road. Kaname somehow managed to regain control of the vehicle and reached over, grabbing the cowlike horns atop Tselika’s head and shaking them in punishment.
“And I know it takes a whole lot of money to find a way into those places. What’s next, you’re going to ask me to front you the cash? That’s a Money (Game) Master strategy if ever I heard one.”
“Gulp. Aaah! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, My Lord! Please forgive me!”
“Wings. Now.”
“Okay, okay!! I’m retracting them!! I won’t bother you while driving again, I promise!!”
A conglomerate relied on family. That might sound irrelevant when talking about AIs, but it actually affected how the business operated in quite a few ways. They sold shares on the market without giving shareholders a say in how to run the business. That was enough to give a glimpse into the kind of tin-pot dictatorship they had going on. They couldn’t even make red-bean buns unless the water, eggs, yeast, and red bean were all produced in-house. If you didn’t agree with them, then you could go somewhere else.
You could also see their unique style of governance in how they cut their “outsider” contractors loose after a single mistake.
“You know, I haven’t had a red-bean bun in a while.”
“Now that you mention it, I could go for that myself, My Lord. Let us pick up a few along with some milk later.”
As Kaname headed to Hard Engage Bridge, he met up with sports cars and 4WDs of all colors. They clearly belonged to the other members of Ag Wolves, not because they had stickers or any other markings to distinguish them but because it would be hard to attribute the army vehicle with the military camo and the car covered in anime girls to anybody else.
In the confines of the passenger seat, Tselika reached up with both hands and arched her body, stretching her limbs. The names of several construction firms vying for the bridge contract scrolled along the curve of her body as she showed off her breasts. It looked like she was trying to wake herself up and clear her mind.
“I suppose it’s finally time to begin,” said Tselika, as if asking for confirmation.
“Good. I’m tired of waiting.”
“Are you sure about this? I wouldn’t be surprised if the path you chose turned out to be more dangerous than you anticipated, hmm?”
“…”
Several windows appeared on the windshield: a simplified map of the city, a graph of gold prices, a flowchart detailing the newest fads, and a chat window that resembled an instant-messaging service. The chat requests were all labeled “Ag Wolves.” When Kaname accepted, lines of text about one hundred characters long scrolled by in quick succession.
Lily-Kiska: Sorry about the quick start. We’ll have your welcoming party when we go for congratulatory drinks afterward.
Hazard: Which means if we fail, you can kiss it bye-bye. If you want that drink, then eyes on the prize, new guy.
M-Scope: I would think the “prize” here is us not all Falling and going into tons of debt, personally.
Zaurus: Hey, keep trying to jinx us before a job, and I’ll kill you myself!
Titan: If you wanna fight, see who can get the most kills on the job or somethin’. We gotta stay productive.
It was impossible to put all the names to faces, but Kaname could sort of identify some of them from the way they spoke.
Zaurus: So where are we holding the after-party?
Lily-Kiska: The usual spot, I guess. There’s a bunch of Italian places on Third Avenue on the peninsula.
Titan: That’s no fun! I’m tired of hamburgers and rib eye steaks. Let’s go somewhere like Coconut Isle or Diver Isle; the menus are absolutely insane there.
M-Scope: But those places just boil whatever they can find in coconut milk and call it a day. Like bats and crabs and stuff.
Hazard: Let’s stop talking about all this in front of the new guy. Don’t want to scare him off.
As much as they seemed able to keep the conversation flowing by themselves, they might get the wrong idea if Kaname’s only response was silence, and that would be annoying to deal with. Kaname operated the digital keyboard on the windshield with his gaze and tried typing out a few sentences in response.
Kaname: So how did you guys manage to put together the 1.7 billion? I would have thought you’d all be stepping on one another’s toes if you’d been upsetting the market in some way.
Titan: You ain’t gotta start a war to make money in this game. I’ve been tradin’ food futures, myself. It’s pretty easy ’cause typhoons and whatever are announced beforehand as “events,” unlike in the real world.
Zaurus: You mean cyclones, Titan. But yeah, it’s pretty easy to calculate. You can even get a program to do it for you. Not many people know that one.
M-Scope: Just think about the origin of our name, and you’ll see how we made our money. Ag Wolves. Silver Wolves. Get it?