The conference hall descended into the darkness of the galaxy projected around them.

Neville Hope’s voice resounded, "Over the course of time, we continuously challenge ourselves—always adapting, always striving to improve with society."

He took a few steps forward, the stars shining across his suit.

"A society that conforms to the norm. A society that sometimes became stuck on the traditional route."

Then his voice deepened, resonant with conviction. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"But today, I want you to take a moment—set aside what’s familiar—and open yourselves to endless possibilities."

At his cue, the endless galaxy changed. A massive, colossal starship appeared and floated above them. Gasps rippled through the hall. The sheer size was staggering. It was the visualization of the future they were aiming to make—the embodiment of their shared ambition.

"Damn. This kid’s got guts," Chief McCartney muttered, leaning over slightly. She couldn’t help but nod, her eyes glued to the starship in admiration.

Neville Hope stood beneath the projection. He had already envisioned what the future would be.

Once his audience immersed themselves in the promise of the future, Neville Hope began to introduce the main concepts of his proposal.

"With the discovery of long-distance warp travel, it will enable us to move forward into this future, a step closer to making this future our reality."

The scene changed again—this time, revealing a luminous concept model of a warp gate.

"Now, take this with a grain of salt..." He paused, letting anticipation build. "What if—just what if—this warp gate is the key to unlocking that long-distance warp travel?"

"Oh my god," Chief McCartney audibly gasped, a hand going to her chest.

Then they heard Neville Hope continue with a faint, knowing smile. "That’s right. What you were thinking of, dear board members and executives, was right."

Neville Hope flashed two bold titles on the visual presentation, each shown beside him.

[Warp Route Optimization] and [Phased Budget Plan]

MJ glanced at Chief McCartney and was startled as she nearly bolted toward the stage. He grabbed her arm. His arm shot out, grabbing her wrist and firmly pulling her back down.

"What’s wrong with you?" he whispered.

His chief slowly looked at him, eyes wide with disbelief and adrenaline.

MJ leaned in, voice a low, rough whisper close to her ear. "Easy, Chief. You want to cause a scene? Save that excitement after this conference is finished."

Chief McCartney let out a breath, her shoulder dropping slightly as she forced herself to calm down. "That Hope kid... is literally our hope, Clarkson. Even if I didn’t get into the details of his budget plan, that warp route optimization alone is enough for me to push this proposal for the win."

"Huh?" Jake’s sharp, curious voice cut in from beside him, eavesdropping again.

Chief McCartney continued, nodding to herself and ignoring Jake. "Starships and hover cars might be what our Maxwell Corporation is known for. But after building this warp gate—"

Neville’s voice carried across the hall again, unwavering.

"—it will redefine our legacy."

Chief McCartney continued with a grin, "and we will also—"

"Dominate the commerce industry."

"Dominate the commerce industry."

Chief McCartney and Neville Hope’s voices overlapped at the last sentence.

Hearing her explanation made the whole proposal even more unbelievable to his ears. A quick scan of the room confirmed that the board members and executives were also fixated on the immense prospects that this plan promised.

Neville stepped forward, his tone steady and explanatory.

"Let me give you a quick rundown of what I have on my proposal."

He raised his hand slightly, and a new set of visuals shimmered into view.

"These are the phases that I deemed important for the creation of the starship."

A soft animation unfolded, showcasing each step as he spoke.

"Phase 1: Data Acquisition. Even though we have already determined a rough outline of the route for exploration, there are still unknowns hidden in plain sight. There were asteroids and spatial debris that we’ve only avoided through manual operation and chance calculations. Since the prior research hasn’t tested for these potential ’interruptions’ of the connection, this remains one of our top priorities."

He transitioned smoothly, letting the visuals change around him.

"Phase 2: Algorithmic Modeling. Phase 3: Fleet Integration... and last but not least—"

A faint smile curved his lips, though his eyes sharpened.

"The Final Phase: Warp Gate Creation."

For a brief moment, Neville Hope flashed a troubled look and said with a wary smile.

"As much as I wanted to elaborate more on the rest of these phases, I would like to stop here. I haven’t been with the company for long, but I’ve already experienced quite a bit. Caution is always a good option."

Chief McCartney chuckled, a hint of admiration in her tone, "What a cunning bastard."

MJ nodded, lowering his voice. "He didn’t really hold back on taking a shot at whoever sabotaged him and smeared his reputation."

MJ’s gaze accidentally drifted towards their CEO, Grayson Maxwell—and he froze.

"Wait. Was he... smiling?" MJ gasped.

Chief McCartney and Jake quickly followed his line of sight. Both were equally startled at Mr. Maxwell’s obvious smirk.

Chief McCartney snickered. "Well, that explains it. That kid must be one of Maxwell’s people."

Jake looked genuinely confused. "Then why did they let all those ugly rumors run wild?"

MJ turned to Jake and sighed. He explained to him with a patient but slightly sharp expression. "Will a tiger cub still be a tiger cub if they don’t learn how to hunt their own prey?"

Jake’s brow furrowed, his confusion deepening. MJ could only pat his shoulder in sympathy.

Now, it was time for the question-and-answer portion.

Director John Hannel, the Chief Operating Officer, spoke first. His tone carried both curiosity and doubt.

"Mr. Hope. Although this is a tempting proposal," Director Hannel continued. "All I can see is that all of this is betting on the ’potential’ of an ’unknown future.’ Is that right? If so, isn’t that quite naive of you?"

Neville met his gaze with unshaken composure.

"Businesses always operate with risks," he politely answered. "That is also the essence of investment—betting on the potential of companies and projects that could greatly benefit the company in the future."

"But even so, this budget is... too big," Director Hannel countered.

Director Jaden Williams, the Chief Financial Officer, seconded him. "That’s right. It’s not that we couldn’t afford a deficit for three years of the project budget for this research. It’s just that we aren’t even sure if we will even succeed. It’s good to be the first, but it’s too risky if there’s no precedent. And with a budget that big... frankly, we’re not running a research facility here. Materials wasted for testing will also be accounted for and mounted over time."

Neville Hope nodded in understanding, acknowledging their concern.

He explained, "Which is exactly why I mentioned earlier—this isn’t just about innovation. It’s about dominating the commerce."

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Chief Cassandra Mille, Head of the Shipping Department, and Chief Sheila Saini, Head of the Sales Department, exclaimed at the exact same moment.

Neville switched to an empty slide and began sketching lines midair using his light-brain interface as he explained.

"While the R&D department is running its test, we would launch—or at least acquire—a shipping company. We could use the robots we already have and retrofit their materials with the materials we intended to test for the starships. We would offer long-distance delivery and have those robots handle it. As a contingency plan, we would make a perfect copy of the item and send it out first, on the off chance the unit malfunctions or—well—explodes mid-route."

After roughly explaining his plan, he chuckled lightly and concluded with a wary smile.

"We can go into details at a later date, because it is a little complicated and convoluted for the occasion."

Before the board could digest that, an intimidating voice of an elder was heard, resounding in the room.

"It says here that," the elder said, his gaze sharp as steel, "you will develop an AI?"