Make sure to check my Patre.on out if you want to support me and want to read advanced chapters: Patre.on.com/VQuintessence
[20 Chapters in Advance on Patre.on]
........
Chapter 51: Fuck Hydra
........
The air in the pressroom was a physical thing; a thick soup of anticipation, cheap cologne, and the tang of overheating electronics.
It was a storm waiting for a lightning strike. The moment Adam Cypher walked through the door, the storm broke.
A wall of sound and light erupted. Camera flashes popped like a string of firecrackers, their strobe effect freezing the scene in a series of stark, white tableaus.
Dozens of voices overlapped, shouting questions that dissolved into an indecipherable roar before they could even be fully formed.
And at the center of it all, Adam was an island of unnerving calm. He was impeccably dressed in a stark white three-piece suit that seemed to reject the very concept of a wrinkle.
His white, almost silver hair was swept back from his forehead, and his heterochromatic eyes; one a warm, natural hazel, the other a cool, chaotic grey; swept over the crowd with an air of detached amusement that instantly commanded the room.
He didn't need to shout; his presence was a volume knob, and he had just turned everyone else down.
Following a step behind him, Domino provided the perfect visual counterpoint.
Dressed in practical, form-fitting black tactical gear, her white shock of hair and the lazy confidence in her stride made her just as compelling a subject as her employer.
The journalists' glee was palpable; they had a story just in the entrance.
Then, they saw the third member of the party.
Padding silently behind them, its metallic feet clicking a soft, precise rhythm on the polished floor, was the mechanical wolf. John.
It was larger in person than it seemed in the videos, its chassis a seamless blend of brushed titanium and matte black composites.
Its movements were fluid, unnervingly organic, with none of the jerky servos or whirring gears they expected.
Its optical sensors glowed with a soft amber light, scanning the room with an intelligence that was anything but artificial.
A second, more frantic wave of flashes erupted. This was the story. The "CGI" creature was real, a walking, breathing; metaphorically speaking; piece of the future, and it was here, now.
[Phew! What a fucking entrance.]
[Adam is so handsome! Mwah!]
[They thought something so simple was CGI? Hmph, underestimating Doom's intelligence... Peasants.]
[Damn, he's sticking to the Doom act. Respect for the commitment, my dude.]
[Doom does not act. Doom just is.]
[...] [...] [The Clanker does look cool.]
Adam took his seat at the simple podium, adjusting the microphone with a practiced hand.
He gave a slight, dry cough. The effect was instantaneous. The cacophony died down to a restless murmur, then to a hushed, eager silence.
John, in a display that made several reporters gasp, fluidly leaped onto the long table, settling on his haunches beside Adam like a loyal, cybernetic familiar, his glowing eyes passively surveying the crowd.
"Good morning," Adam began, his voice a smooth, resonant baritone that carried effortlessly through the room.
"I am Adam Cypher, founder of Cypher Enterprises. You're all here, I assume, because of our recent product launches: Pulse, Flow, and Messenger. I'm pleased to announce that their monetization frameworks are now active for our growing creator community."
He reached out and casually scratched John behind a sensory node, a gesture of such bizarre domesticity that it further blurred the line between machine and pet.
"But today isn't just about social media," He continued, his gaze becoming more intense.
"It's about vision. My passion has always been the art of creation. Engineering doesn't just reside in my mind; it lives there, rent-free."
He offered a charming smile. "I remember watching some of the old series about big, bulky robots. Especially the recent Transformers film. They have… a presence. Aura. The coolest shit I'd ever seen."
The word Aura, delivered with such casual, earnest conviction, seemed to land in the collective consciousness of the room.
You could almost see the journalists mentally filing it away, a new piece of vernacular gifted to them by this strange, charismatic man.
["The coolest shit I'd ever seen." This is the most un-CEO-like CEO in history.]
[He's selling a personality cult. And it's working.]
[I think he just introduced "Aura" as a meme!]
[When did Aura meme become a thing?]
[Well, Aura was always a word, obviously, but I think it became popular in 2020? I remember seeing it being used then.]
[Eh, don't you guys think it's cringe how the show keeps using kindergarten memes? Yikes.]
[o7. You talked shit about the writer. The Illuminati's about to get you.]
[67] [To be fair, I agree, it's BRAINROT! Sarcasm! Please, Adam, don't kill me!]
[Aura Farming is amazing, man, but 67, tf is that? I researched what it means, and I lost most of the few brain cells I have left.]
[67? What does it mean?]
[It's actually quite interesting, so the meme is actually... Meaningless. Just an inside joke for zoomers.]
[Just asked a Clanker, and that checks out.]
[Please stop, you guys are killing me with how many stupid memes u throwing out, do u even have a life?]
[I'm a proud no lifer.] [Me too, Grass and me, we don't see each other.]
[...] [+1] [+1] [+1] [+1]
"That's my passion," Adam declared, his hand resting on John's chassis. "I want to build things with that kind of aura, that kind of soul. But you have to start small. You need capital."
"Luckily, I'm what I like to call a Novice Genius, and my brain cells are about to surpass double digits, so it's all working out rather well." The room rippled with laughter.
"As part of that progress, I'm happy to announce that Cypher Enterprises will be releasing our first public-facing product in the AI space: Oracle AI. It will be available in two months. Details will be on our website."
He then outlined the company's future focus with stark simplicity. "Our primary trajectory will be in two fields: advanced prosthetics and cybernetics."
He let the words hang in the air, his own cybernetic eye a silent testament to his commitment, but they do not know that, and the technology is nowhere near mature enough.
Not everyone is a cheater like him.
"And with that, I believe it's time for questions."
The room erupted again, but Adam held up a single hand. "Calmly, please. One question each. Make it count." He pointed to a woman in the front row.
"Mr. Cypher, your background is a mystery. What were you doing before you founded Cypher Enterprises? Why have we never heard of you?"
Adam's smile didn't waver. "I was in my garage," He said, his tone implying this was the most obvious answer in the world. "Creating miracles."
He immediately pointed to the next journalist before the first could demand elaboration.
"The scale of your company's launch is immense. How did you raise the initial capital?"
"Mostly through a series of very successful personal investments as a start-up," Adam replied smoothly.
"That, and a few angel investors who took an interest in my early, and quickly progressing, work in prosthetics. They have likely taken a liking to my appearance, too." He would continue with a chuckle.
The next question came from a man with a sharp, predatory look. "Speaking of investments, Mr. Cypher. It's come to my attention that you've acquired a significant, nearly major shareholder's stake in Stark Industries."
"The timing of your purchases and sales seems… remarkably coincidental with recent events. Can you confirm this, and do you care to comment on allegations of acting on insider information?"
A sudden, profound silence fell over the room. This was a bombshell. Owning less than 5% of a company like Stark Industries meant no public disclosure was required.
For this journalist to know, his sources were either impeccable or malicious.
But most importantly, it was news!! Today was a good fucking day for them. They were eating good tonight.
[OH SHIT! HERE WE GO! THE HYDRA PLANTS ARE MAKING THEIR MOVE!]
[He knew this was coming. Look at his face, he's not even surprised.]
[Definitely Hydra.]
[Fuck Hydra.] [+1] [+1] [+1] [+1] [Hail Hydra.] [Is it really Hydra?]
[Be careful, Adam! It could also be the government! They don't like mutants.]
All eyes snapped back to Adam. He didn't look defensive or angry. He merely raised a single, elegant eyebrow, a small, enigmatic smile playing on his lips.
"I had a lot of money lying around," He began, his tone light, almost bored. "So I invested. And I'm decently smart, so I… well, what's that excuse…"
[Tf?] [????] [Yeah, that's unexpected.]
[Guys!! Give him suggestions!!!]
................
[ 750 Power Stones For An Extra Chapter! ]
[ 1500 Power Stones For Another Extra Chapter! ]
................