Chương 75: Caution

The next morning, at the New headquarters of Kazuno Technologies, a few heads of the research department and some people from the security department were sitting on the conference room. They were waiting for two people to join in. The mysterious CEO who barely shows up and the even more mysterious owner of the company who hasn't showed up since the company began.

"Hey Matsumoto, do you think Winter's going to show up?" Matsumoto Kippei, otherwise known as Void Android was asked by the head of network security who was known in game as Squid God.

The two of them have been with the company since the beginning. Even though they preferred to bury themselves in their works, they were very concerned about the company, especially when it involved their benefactor and the future wife that he left to take the lead.

"Probably not. It's already rare enough that he joins conferences like these. He's a research nut like me so he'll only show up when he really needs to. I wouldn't even be here if it weren't needed" he replied.

The pioneer members of the company were still very much interested in Kazuya but from the start of the company to the present, their schedules have not allowed them to have time to be distracted. The passionate workers Kazuya was able to recruit, completed their tasks non-stop and helped the company grow at a pace that even Kazuya had not expected.

They assumed that Kazuya had buried himself in research because he was always one of the main contributors to all the research projects that were released. He always played a key part while taking none of the credit for everything they released which everyone found strange.

Since Kazuya had taken care of some of the key parts of their research, he felt no need to take the credit away from the original developers. This was the reason why he remained in the background while helping them with the projects they would eventually complete even if it weren't for his help.

Due to his help, people were free to help with the other researches which increased the productivity of everything they had been working on. Of course, the main projects still needed to be perfected and their releases needed to be timed correctly so the company had been releasing some of their minor projects which have been gaining popularity that no other company had expected.

"Hey Mame-san, how about you? Have you met with the big boss? and I don't mean the CEO" Squid God who was known as Muni Ika in the real world asked one of the security employees that were with them as they waited. "I heard that most of the members of the special security personnel were tested by him"

"I have but… I cannot disclose anything about the young master" Mame shook his head. It was already a known fact that Kazuya had been young but only the ones recruited by Kazuya knew who he was. This gave them a sort of superiority over the researchers who were supposed to be recruited by him as well.

"Damn… Winter is really a thorough guy. I wonder if I should just hack him" Ika grinned. He was usually busy with handling the systems, helping with the programming or goofing off with games so it was only at times like this when he wasn't on the game with the Kazuya did he think about his real identity.

"Don't do it. You'll only get yourself in trouble like last time" Kippei warned this former hacker friend of his.

This impulsive guy tried testing the waters and attempted to infiltrate the server that Kazuya used to send large amounts of research data to the research center. He was curious as to where Kazuya was doing his work so he tried tracing the source of the information but the system found out before he could do anything and Ika almost got his personal computer fried.

[Get Back to Work] was the message appeared on his screen before his computer really broke down and it made him learn his lesson to not mess with the big boss.

Of course, this was also his own handiwork from Kazuya's past life. This was one of the most ruthless anti-hacker programs that he sold to one of the biggest security firms in the world. It was what protected Kazuya's connection and the main files of their company. It would not have been that merciful if the connection came from an unknown source.

"Ugh… aren't you curious? Winter has been responsible for most of the successes of all the main projects while still being in school. I don't think even I would have the time to develop such a ruthless security system while doing all that research and attending school at the same time" Ika raised a point which made Mame look up to Kazuya even more.

"(You guys are going to faint if you find out how old the young master is and his capabilities in martial arts as well)" he tried holding back a laugh.

"No one should be more curious than me. You should know that when everything started, I was the very first person who joined him out of curiosity. I would probably still be locked up in my old apartment trying to make sure a cup of ramen would last me for a day if I haven't come across winter and Autumn that day" he reminisced.

Two years had already passed since they met. No one expected that a bunch of people who met up in an online game would successfully form their own company. Most of the researchers have already lost hope when they stubbornly held onto their respective projects that were deemed unprofitable but the appearance of one 'Winter Fog' changed the course of their lives forever.

"You haven't asked him to meet yet?" Ika asked. If there was one person in their group who could make Kazuya meet them then it would be Kippei.

"I asked at last year's end of the year gathering. It took a little while to make him come clean but the real reason he can't attend such gatherings is because of his mother. The big miss has already confirmed it as well. Her mother-in-law doesn't let her son go during that time"

"For real!?" Ika who couldn't believe such juicy gossip had eluded him for a long time reacted. Before he could ask for more details however, the doors of the conference room opened and Mei who had just arrived came in with her assistant who everyone was most familiar with as the one who has the most authority when Mei wasn't present.

"Apologies for the wait" Mei looked at them with her usual cold demeanor before sitting down at one of the two seats at the head of the long table.

*Blip Blip* she immediately pressed a series of buttons on the table in front of her and the chair beside her started to make sounds. A hologram appeared soon afterwards which showed the character avatar of Winter Fog who every researcher was familiar with.

"Is everyone finally here?" the avatar that represented Kazuya looked around the room and confirmed that everyone that had been called was present.

He was currently inside his storage room turned research space located in the Kouzuki Household. The technology he was using was a prototype that they were developing that was designed for disabled children or those confined in the hospital to be able to attend classes at a regular school from where they were.

Kazuya used the appearance of Winter Fog to appear because they have still yet to develop the system to replicate one's complete appearance. This was also the most recognized appearance of him to the researchers so he simply used this form.

"I hope everyone has been well these past few days. The release of the 'Rucy-chan Project' is almost here so I hope that everyone is looking forward to this as much as me" Kazuya spoke. His image was being broadcasted throughout their building so everyone paid attention since it was rare for them to hear from the real person behind the creation of Kazuno Tech despite it being named after their CEO.

"I'm here today to talk to everyone about the recent incidents that I have gotten word of. This should not have been an issue because all of you are well aware of the contents of the contracts that you have signed to join the company. I am here to give everyone a report on the current situation because I expect that this matter will most likely escalate" Kazuya turned towards Mei to take over the broadcast.

"Good morning everyone. As all of you are aware, our company has been growing at an unexpected pace. While it is good news for this to be happening, it does come with a few troubles. With our fame rising, the big companies have started to turn their eyes towards our direction.

Yes, they are the same companies that have labeled the projects which made our company grow 'unprofitable and useless'. These companies have already tried prying into our company's projects and capabilities. While all of it is indeed normal, some of them have already been trying unscrupulous means to gather information about our main projects.

One such example is with the research head of the Rucy-chan project. Though we encourage those who want to be known for their accomplishments to step up whenever there is a release, please be reminded that letting your name be known will also attract this sort of attention" Mei turned towards Kippei who turned towards the camera that had shifted towards him.

"I have been receiving calls from numbers that are both familiar and unfamiliar to me recently. Those who I am familiar with were the ones that I have once in the past memorized. I memorized them because at some point in my life, and I'm sure that at some point of my other colleagues' as well are the numbers we've waited on when we were waiting for our inventions or research work to be evaluated.

These were the numbers that made me wait anxiously for weeks to months only to receive a call telling me that I should give up on my life's work and find something else that is more useful or profitable to society.

These people have tried contacting me after recent attention that my project had gained ever since it's announcement and demo. Some of them tried inquiring about the company and some of them even tried to blatantly asked how much it would take for me to take my project and move it over to their company. I find these people repulsing and I feel insulted that they would think that I would just take their offers after what they said to me and how they judged my research that is now getting the attention it deserves.

Most of you already know me here. I have been one of the very first people who joined before the company officially existed. I may not think I'm a very good person but I am not an ungrateful person. I don't need the contract to remind me that I would never join them no matter how much they offer" Kippei finished and turned over to Mei who had been surprised at how passionate and serious he had been. Kazuya told her that most of the people he recruited from the game were from the 'visions' he had of the future so this gave her a lot to think about.

"This is not a single incident but one of the many that we have been hearing with for the past couple of weeks. Even some of the project heads responsible for our previous releases were approached by such people.

We are informing everyone of this because we want you to be prepared in the event that they ever try and approach you to initiate such transactions. This reminder is also to congratulate everyone, we had done it, we have proven them wrong and the work and passion that everyone here has been ridiculed for in the past was not useless as they have declared.

Our company will continue to grow and it will not be long until we are able to stand in line with those companies by using the research they had deemed unprofitable in the past. This has been one of the goals that the people that started this company set and we are on the fast track to completing them. We want everyone to be able to stand by their own creation and tell the companies that shunned them that they were wrong and look enviously at the company that was created to cater to passionate researchers such as yourselves.

With that, we have implemented additional security measures that will be discussed by a leader of your group and department in the coming days. We have also placed additional people and functions in the living space that the company has for our researchers. Please do not be afraid to inform any of your leaders or security personnel if you have experienced or encountered some of these incidents.

Thank you for all your hard work and we hope that there won't be any people that would be blinded by greed enough to break their contracts" The broadcast ended with that and everyone in the room was finally able to relax.

"Good job Kazuno-sama" Yumi who come with Mei served a glass of water. She was not a stranger to existence of Kazuno Tech because Mei had already informed her that she would be taking over her position as Kyouko's support.

Yumi was initially shocked to find out that the person she idolized was going to leave her post. It was only until Kazuya agreed to share the secret with her that she understood why Mei was doing it and calmed herself. She found out that the evaluation she gave Kazuya on her mind was underestimating the capabilities of her young master. She was flattered that Kazuya had agreed to let her be Mei's successor while also sharing the secret that only Mei had known.

"Thanks" Mei took a sip and turned towards the hologram. "Now then, what do you plan to do?"

"First of all, I'd like to inform everyone here about my recent discoveries. Although we shared the incidents happening to give them a vague reminder that we are aware of the bribes going around, I'm not really worried about major information leaks because the levels of secrecy are quite strict. They would only dig themselves a deeper pit if they reveal identities or even more sensitive information.

I'm here to remind everyone to remain vigilant because there is no limit to human greed. It can turn close friends and even families against each other. I am sure that even if people are aware of the consequences of breaking the contract, sweet words from companies offering enough money and the guise of protection will be enough to sway some of them to think that they will be safe enough" Kazuya spoke and turned towards everyone slowly. The members attending the conference were the people leading their own teams so they would be able to pass on the message.

"You don't need to worry about the security here young master. You can count on us" Mame declared. He looked up to Kazuya the most so he spoke with confidence and honesty.

"Oh believe me, anyone who betrays the company will find out that the repercussions of breaking their contract would be the least of their worries"

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Chương 76: Caution 2

"Oh believe me, anyone who betrays the company will find out that the repercussions of breaking their contract would be the least of their worries" the smile on the Avatar that Kazuya appeared in sent shivers down the backs of Mame and Ousame.

Ousame was the person who led the delinquents to beat Kazuya up two years ago. He approached Sawada Matsuri, who was the mother of the former captain of Kazuya's kendo club to make her daughter lead him to a secluded place to fulfill their plans.

When these delinquents found out that Ousame had started working for Kazuya, they gave him a reminder to never think about betraying him. They repeated the exact words that Kazuya said that day. Kazuya's words today made him understand that the contract was merely a means to make people hesitate about betraying the company. The real punishment was when he actually got his hands on them.

"That being said, I want to inform everyone more details about the incidents that have been happening" he turned towards Mei since she was the CEO. His presence here was only to make them take this seriously because the two of them rarely made personal appearances. Both of them attending a meeting was a reminder that they took this matter seriously.

"Though there are various big companies that have been trying to gather information about us, not all of them have bad intentions. There are some that are offering collaborations while there are some that are intending to buy us out.

In the business world, this is not uncommon. The big companies always try to devour the small companies while they take all the good parts and discard the rest. A bigger company doesn't always mean a good thing. The first thing that they will do if they acquire our company is retain the name for the sake of the current employees while they evaluate the projects they deem will be profitable while slowly replacing the people they think will not be of use or simply re-assign them to projects they would be useful in" Mei explained.

"Most of the researchers here know why I risked making this company. That is why I would rather let this company go bankrupt than to leave it in the hands of those who only know how to decide whether something is profitable or not" Kazuya followed up. This was to make everyone understand that even if Mei was from the business scene, he wouldn't let her have her way if she considered things like those from the same world.

"Although there are various companies that have taken an interest towards ours, I only need to mention the most important ones. There are currently three types that we've taken attention to, those that are trying to gather information, those who are interested on collaborations or integrations and those who are merely trying to take over.

Those who are trying to collaborate with us or have already collaborated with us are Atomsoft, KIMPARK, SUNY, and gaming companies that are interested in the technology that Matsumoto Kippei-san developed that involves Rucy-chan and how she works. We might start collaborating with them once negotiations are successful.

Those who are trying to gather information about us however are pretty big companies such as Stockton International, Wawey, Shao Me, the Kouzuki Corporation and a few others who have only been keeping their ears open. They are trying to get to know our company more before they try to decide what to do next. Depending on what they learn, they will either make a move or keep on staying neutral.

Lastly, the companies that we have found that are responsible for trying to poach our employees, learn our secrets or have plans to take over the company are the Kurogane Conglomerate, Drumpf Organization and the Ringo Incorporated. The second one is more interested in our real estate but they are still trying to poke their noses to where they don't belong"

This news came as a surprise because they never expected to gain the attention of such big companies. Some of them were even international companies while some are those that dominate the country's market. What they paid more attention to the most however were the ways these hostile companies have been trying to infiltrate their company.

A lot of people trying to sneak in have already been apprehended by the security. What the outside companies were not aware of was how much time Kazuya had spend designing a system that would be hard for people to infiltrate. Even those who were trying to pose as food delivery would only be able to make it as far as the reception desk even if they really were called or not.

"Hey boss, how about you let me do some reverse infiltration on their companies" Ika made a suggestion. He and his team were the first line of defense while the secret system that he would have developed in the future was the last means of protection. Kazuya designed it this way so that this employee of his that couldn't stay still would have things to keep himself busy with.

"As long as you can guarantee that you won't leave any traces and do it without using any of our company's systems then you can do what you want in your spare time" he tacitly agreed to the suggestion since he had been listening to their conversation way before Mei arrived.

"Are we just going to let them keep trying to infiltrate our defenses?" Kippei was concerned that some people would eventually give in to greed and betray them. He was outraged by the news ever since he knew about it and he was not the only one.

Mei was satisfied with their reactions. She was worried that they would be tempted because of how demanding their contracts were so seeing them react as such made her feel a little relieved over the matter. She had a plan to thwart their competitor's plans but it would have been for naught if most of their employees wanted to jump ship.

"Do you think I would be the type of person to let anyone try to bully us just because we don't like to mingle with the crowd as we continue our success?" Kazuya turned towards Kippei.

This made him feel like he asked a stupid question. Winter Fog has been their guild leader in the game and as the guild's vice leader, he of all people should know how he handles things. The big guilds who try to poach their members or try to make things difficult for them for not complying to their requests would only end up running whenever they would see their guild.

"Though we do trust our own employees, I would like the help of the department heads to make sure that everyone knows how to handle such problems if they are approached by individuals whether or not they claim that they are from those companies. We will take additional security measures on our end and want to make clear that we will not be lenient on any people that choose to break their contracts" Mei reminded. They were at a very sensitive time right now and their company's future will depend on the success of the major projects they will be releasing.

"We will handle the matter about the counter-attack so I hope that everyone will coordinate with the security team on how we can prevent information from being leaked. Mine and Mei's identity are one of those secrets let me remind you. Her current status is as most of you are aware of, one of the members of companies that have been observing us and waiting for information" This was the question that had been on some of their minds when they heard the name of the Kouzuki corporation because when they looked Mei up, her name was synonymous to Kouzuki Kyouko, the owner and CEO of the Kouzuki Corporation.

"I'm sure that most of you are hesitating to ask it because of my position here but I assure you that while I am the assistant of the Kouzuki Corporation's CEO at the moment, I have been making preparations for a peaceful transition over here. This girl who came with me will be taking over the position there" She presented Yumi who bowed respectfully at them.

"Make no mistake, Mei is one of us. I also will not hide it from you that we have been thinking about collaborating with the Kouzuki corporation in the future because they are the most reputable company out there that we can collaborate with" Kazuya followed up after Mei. The researchers were not aware of his real identity yet but those who were, knew that the Kouzuki Corporation would rise up as soon as the secret was revealed.

"Are there any questions for me? If not, I would be leaving the rest to everyone who is in charge. I still have classes and I am already running a bit late" he turned to look at everyone who remained silent. He nodded before looking at Mei who showed a rare smile in front of everybody.

"Take care, You can leave everything to me. I'll be seeing you tonight" Mei grinned at him. She didn't care what everyone else thought, but she had recently started a new habit that would test Kazuya's reactions.

Kazuya maintained a poker face because he was still in front of everyone. He didn't know that everyone was very envious to have heard those words from such a beautiful and talented woman like Mei. He wouldn't have been able to hold it in like usual and would have reacted in a way that Mei had grown fond of. He instead nodded and let his avatar disappear.

"Now then. As usual, I would be refraining from coming here too much. I don't want these people suspecting my involvement in the company. This is also to prevent implicating the Kouzuki Corporation. Matsuri will be in charge and I will continue taking care of my responsibilities from my end" Mei took over and these were the last words that were transmitted to Kazuya.

He took his gear of and turned towards the silent girl that was silently waiting for him. Tomoyo was no stranger to Kazuya's research center and she would spend some time here with him whenever she came over.

"Sorry for the wait. Let's go" the two left the room after Kazuya finished locking it and went over to Jirou who was waiting while anxiously drinking tea.

"What took you so long?" Jirou looked at his watch and frowned.

"Big Sis called and needed me for a few things. She may need to hire a few more people since the company is getting bigger" Kazuya smiled at Jirou since he was one of the few people that they needed to include in their secret. He was in favor of Kazuya's plan but wanted Kyouko to be told of it as soon as they could afford to.

Jirou's cooperation was said to be one of the wisest moves Kazuya made. It was beneficial for both sides to have cooperated because Kazuya was able to ensure the quality of his security personnel and Jirou could provide more options for employment for those who have completed their training in the dojo.

The quality of the personnel that Jirou recommended actually made Kazuya make the first subsidiary which was Kazuno Securities. It was a security firm that Jirou started to secretly handle. He had already handed the Shiroyuki businesses over to his sons and focused on the dojo but after managing a big company for years, he still had a small desire to handle something of a lesser scale so he was perfect for the job.

"I see…" Jirou crossed his arms as he led them towards his van. He was already aware of the recent threats that have been looming around the company so he cooperated with Kazuya and discussed the countermeasures that was now being discussed within the company.

Though Jirou was in the know about Kazuno Technologies, he attributed everything about it as Mei's accomplishments. Both Kazuya and Mei didn't bother correcting him about his misconception because it would save them the trouble of explaining things because even they admitted that Kazuya was indeed quite an enigma. Mei decided to spare him from the puzzle that she had found interesting to solve herself.

"I'll reach out to that old bat and ask him if he has a few reliable men that can keep their mouths shut. The company is growing more and more. I cannot produce that many trusted talents that can pass both of your standards you know" He started driving as soon as he confirmed both children had their seatbelts on.

"By old bat you mean…" Kazuya's eyebrows twitched. There was another change in the past two years that he hadn't accounted for.

"Yes, it's the grandfather of the girl who you prevented from taking the individual kendo championship from ever since you entered the competition. It's the grandfather of that Kuronuma Ayame who joined your school's middle school" Jirou sighed.

He thought that Tomoyo's future competition for this boy would have lessened now that Ayame was out of their division but Kuronuma Ayame transferred over to join the Sacred Forest Academy's middle school department and unexpectedly showed up in front of them on her first day.

The only consolation was that since she was three grades ahead of them, she would be in high school by the time both Kazuya and Tomoyo joined the middle school department. Jirou was worried for his granddaughter since she and Kazuya were already inseparable whether she realized it or not.

"I see… I'll leave it to you then grandpa Jirou. I just hope that we don't need to tell him more than what he needs to know" Kazuya understood that Jirou wouldn't go to him if he had any other choice but regardless of what they felt towards Ayame and her grandfather, protecting the company was more important.

The two of them discussed how to handle things and as usual, Tomoyo listened quietly. This lasted until they arrived at the school where the two had to run for it so that they could make it. There weren't any students hanging around anymore so Kazuya's attention was immediately caught by the strange sight of two students talking to a teacher leisurely at the side of their department.

"They are…" the two student's identities didn't register to him right away because he was only introduced to him via their profiles and voices yesterday but the staff member they were talking to and flattering them, he was familiar with.

It was already suspicious that many members of S class attended school yesterday. Aside from Takaya and a few other exceptions who liked to attend school, Kurogane Suzaku and Muimina Ringo were truants who only attended when the school required them to. To snobs like them, talking to people like teachers were something that could have been done though messaging or calls.

For people like them to actually personally talk to people that aren't influential alerted Kazuya. It was extremely fishy behavior and the specific person they were talking to made it even more suspicious so he assumed that they were discussing something that should leave no traces.

"(The two of you and your families seem to have some kind of ill-fated relationship against me. I was trying to think of how to take care of that guy for a while so it's good that scum of the same pile stick together)"

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As for the people that were asking about the changes to the cover, they were indeed character designs for the characters that are currently in the novel. I was just resizing them since the site doesn't have the auto resize function not does it support putting images in between the chapters.

For reference, they were; Mei, Kyouko, Kurumi, Tomoyo, I think that has appeared so far? I don't think I've put up the characters from Edea up yet (I think)

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