I'm The Only One With Cancer-Chapter 168: Meeting II
Hearing his father’s sudden question, Zen thought for a moment and answered with an unsure expression.
"I don’t really know. It just suddenly appeared when I logged into the game after dying. But I suspect that the one who gave to me was my friend in the game."
Hearing his explanation, Ren and Rina nodded in understanding.
On the side, Sera was still flying with the encased meteor.
However, Margareth, Hassan, Ethan, Olivia, and Veronica glanced at each other once again.
’’’’’Someone as strong as him was killed in the game!?’’’’’
The five could not help but feel as if cold water had been poured over their heads.
After all, they had been very excited about entering the game.
But it was only now that the game seemed to be fraught with danger as well, knowing that even Zen, whom they saw as extremely strong, was killed in it.
Nevertheless, this kind of danger was not enough to extinguish the flames of desire inside their hearts.
Aside from the fact that it was a game— at least for now— they had also faced countless dangerous situations back in the war.
Thus, each and every one of them had already been honed by real-life experiences.
While they were immersed in their thoughts, Zen kept speaking, "I still need to get back in the game to confirm the details. But so far, I’ve discovered that this item is like a storage artifact in fictional stories. I don’t know how I can bring it here in the real world, but it seems like with this, I can bring items from here to the Free World and vice versa."
"W-What..." Even Ren, who always seemed valiant and stoic, could not help but stammer at this moment upon hearing his son’s words.
’’’’’The commander... is flustered!’’’’’ The five former members of the Twilight Task Force thought in unison.
Even in the past, there were few to no occasions that they could remember him being flustered— not even back when they faced the different special forces from various countries.
Beside him, Rina also could not help but giggle.
Despite this, Ren seemed to be fully immersed in his thoughts at this moment.
"This changes everything..."
He muttered under his breath, garnering everyone’s gazes unto him.
It was only after a minute or so that Ren realized and snapped out of his trance.
Clearing his throat with a cough, he turned his gaze over to Margareth, "Ehem, pardon me. Let’s get back to the topic before we discuss any further details with my son. So overall, due to the power he demonstrated, you want to gather more gaming devices, right?"
"Yes, Commander." Knowing that this was not the time to joke around, Margareth answered with a solemn expression.
"Hmmm, is that so... You know the dangers that go with this plan of yours, right?"
"Yes, Commander. We believe that there’s a high chance of our position being compromised if we ever go through with this plan."
"’We’, you say...."
Ren glanced at the people beside her and asked, "Do you all agree with this plan? Is this something that you all came up with?"
Margareth did not respond, for she knew that the person he wanted an answer from was not her.
Beside her, Hassan, Ethan, Olivia, and Veronica all nodded simultaneously.
Ren heaved a sigh, "Alright. First of all, let’s go through the details."
With Rina, Sera, and Zen listening from the side, the former Twilight Task Force members and their commander commenced the meeting without further ado.
They discussed the specifics of their so-called plan for acquiring the largest number of gaming devices in the most efficient way.
"The developer of the Free World releases new gaming devices every week, right?" Ren asked with a serious face.
Margareth answered, "Yes, Commander."
"From the time the game had launched, how many gaming devices were you able to procure weekly?"
"Since the Free World has been active for only about a month now, we’re able to secure 10,267 units. This is mainly due to the fact that it was not our priority at the moment."
"Hmmm... So about 2,500 units every week, huh? How did you distribute it?"
"Since we were still unsure of the fact that the game grants powers before you came here, the gaming devices were treated as an experimental object with minimal risk."
Margareth paused for a moment and continued, "Therefore, we did not hurry to experiment aggressively with it and treated it more lightly. Besides, we also don’t have the access to the encrypted message that you have gathered from the government."
"That’s understandable..."
Ren nodded in agreement, "Based on your situation before we arrived, nothing was really verified. Still, the fact that you were able to secure more than 10,000 units is already good enough for now."
Hearing his praise, Margareth and the others could not help but smile lightly.
However, Ren was not finished as he continued, "Our priorities should be gathering the people who were able to receive a gaming device and briefing them about the current information. Prepare data that entails the current population of Eden Republic, as well as the segmented portion that indicates the number of the population is children, adults, and the like..."
On Margareth’s side, Olivia and Veronica were quickly taking down notes as their commander kept issuing his orders for them.
Even though some of his words did not make sense from their perspectives, they knew that he must have a reason for everything.
They knew that even though some things may not make sense right at this moment, they would be able to piece everything together as time passed by.
After all, this had been the case back in the war.
And this was the main reason why Ren was known as the Clairvoyant Tactician.
The ability to see the situation in a limitless perspective that was akin to predicting the future itself.
In simpler terms, it was the ability to look at the big picture.
Their discussion lasted for about an hour before they came to a conclusion.
Margareth read the notes they had written and spoke, "To summarize everything we have talked about so far... The connections we had in various countries are expected to increase the acquisition of the gaming devices by at least 30%. This is to ensure that we’ll be able to buy enough time while preparing for the apocalypse and also...
Additionally, we must prioritize securing a gaming device for everyone in the Eden Republic...
There’s also the fact that in three months, every close connection we have in various countries will migrate here in..."
"Six months at the earliest." Ren chimed in, to which Margareth nodded in response and scribbled in her notes.
On the side, not only Margareth and the others, but also Rina, Sera, and Zen had a confused expression on their faces due to Ren’s seemingly ’strange’ priorities.
After Margareth had clarified everything they had discussed, Ren cleared his throat and gathered everyone’s attention.
He paused for a moment and spoke, "While our priorities in the real world are the gaming devices and our people who are currently scattered around the globe, including those currently detained by the United States’ government when helping us escape, we should also accelerate our plan in the Free World."
At his words, Margareth raised her hands slightly, "Commander, there’s also this thing about the acceleration of the development focused solely on the Free World.
"Mhm. What do you suggest?" Ren asked with interest.
Margareth then narrated what she and the others had discussed earlier after Zen’s test.
That, in addition to their plan to accelerate the procurement of the gaming devices, they also want to ’play’ the game themselves as soon as the new batch of gaming devices arrives.
Ren nodded, "Alright. It seems like you have also sensed the urgency of the situation. It is unknown whether the ’developer’ of the Free World will continue releasing gaming devices every week. To avoid the worst-case scenario, we must make our move early. By the way, when will the five of you be joining the game?"
"The next batch of gaming devices will arrive in five to six days. We should be ready by then. Regarding the department, we propose making multiple sectors with us being the top level. Then, as we brief the people who have received their gaming devices, we’ll also be classifying everything for the ease of operations."
Margareth spoke professionally; not an ounce of weakness could be sensed within her voice as she spoke.
Even her passive-aggressive glances with Rina had also stopped earlier, the moment the meeting commenced.
As she finished speaking, Ren nodded approvingly, "That’s good. Although we originally intended for the Daybreak Guild to be some sort of a pastime, it’s also good for us to take it a little more seriously."
"So it’s decided."
He clapped his hands once, "Since the guild’s establishment is to be accelerated, let’s lay out the plans and priorities we have for the Free World."
