The "week" Silver Wolf had demanded wasn't a seven-day marathon, but a commitment to one 6v6 match every day for a week. In the past, such intense mental synchronization might have pushed Julian to his limit. But since the tournament, his connection to the Path of Enigmata—and the sheer creative energy he drew from the Pokémon phenomenon—had deepened. He was no longer just a developer; he was a conduit.
His feigned "exhaustion" earlier had been a simple tactical bluff to keep Silver Wolf from asking for something even more outrageous. If she realized how much his mental capacity had grown, Julian would never hear the end of it.
True to her word, Silver Wolf sent the list within five minutes. Julian scrolled through it, and while he recognized every word, their technical arrangement made as much sense to him as ancient prophecy.
He tapped a button, and a holographic projection of a small, business-suited cartoon character flickered to life. Stephen Lloyd.
Even though Stephen had become a "colleague," he still insisted on the suit and the avatar for professional discussions. He was currently wearing his own set of virtual reality glasses, his hands moving through an invisible interface.
"What's up? I'm incredibly busy," Stephen muttered.
Julian's lips twitched. "Maybe take off the VR goggles before you say that?" Shaking his head, Julian continued: "Stephen, take a look at this directory. I need to know which of these IPC technologies we should squeeze out of Topaz for the 'Real World' project."
He transferred the list. Julian knew that with Stephen's genius, they could eventually replicate almost anything, but "eventually" was a luxury they didn't have. It was far more efficient to take the IPC's finished products.
"Wait a second..." Stephen said.
Julian turned to brew a cup of tea, expecting a long wait. But before the water had even boiled, his terminal chimed with a series of highlighted files.
"If your priority is efficiency and long-term stability, these five are the keys," Stephen replied.
The list was formidable: two simplified high-speed algorithms, a revolutionary spatial storage expansion tech, an incomplete prototype for a "Regional Interplanetary Network," and a logic-enhancement module for AI. These weren't just standard upgrades; they were fifth-generation technologies.
In particular, the Regional Interplanetary Network caught Julian's eye. It was designed to bypass traditional IPC relay tolls by creating localized mesh nets between star systems. The project had likely been mothballed because it threatened the IPC's own profit margins from communication taxes.
"And this," Stephen added, his tone shifting to something more serious. "If you can get your hands on even a fragment of this, your MMO plans move from 'fantasy' to 'reality' overnight."
Julian looked at the final entry. His breath hitched. He recognized the name immediately.
The Emperor's Scepter.
In the history of the galaxy, the Scepters were the pinnacle of raw computing power—relics of the Emperor Rubert and the Mechanical Emperor's War. A single scepter possessed more processing potential than entire planetary grids. Even the Simulated Universe used by Herta only utilized a fraction of such power.
"They'll never give me that," Julian whispered. "That's like asking for a dormant star."
"Not a functional one," Stephen corrected, pushing his glasses up. "The Intelligentsia Guild lost track of several 'dead' units during the Imperial War. They're basically chunks of high-density scrap to them—star-annihilating machines that no one knows how to turn back on."
Julian frowned. "If I try to bring a star-annihilator onto the Luofu, the Cloud Knights will arrest me before I hit the dock."
"Hmph." Stephen patted his chest. "That's where I come in. If you can get the hardware, I can strip the weapon systems and turn it into the ultimate server. I'll modify the core logic so it only thinks about Pokémon. It's the perfect irony."
Stephen's eyes darted around, clearly excited by the prospect of taking apart an Emperor-class relic.
"STEPHEN! FOUND YOU!"
A loud shout interrupted them as Silver Wolf's projection burst into the room. Stephen jumped, nearly knocking over his virtual desk.
"Don't even think about running! Gold and Silver just launched, and you're dodging my challenge! Get in the lobby right now, be serious for once!"
"I'm collecting new data! I don't have time for your meta-gaming!" Stephen protested.
"Too bad! We have a showdown in seven days. If you stand me up, I'm hacking the Space Station's internal sensors to find your real-world coordinates. I'll come find you in person!"
"Hey! That's a violation of privacy!"
Julian watched the two geniuses argue, feeling like a teacher in a classroom for the gifted. He quietly muted the channel as a message from Colorful Star arrived. It was the valuation report.
Arceus Studio's current net annual profit was projected at nearly ten trillion credits. For a 20% stake, the "fair" price was 200 trillion. But for Topaz to buy in now—at the height of the hype—Julian was going to ask for thirty times that amount in tech, influence, and credits combined.
He took a deep breath, straightened his coat, and headed back to the conference room. It was time to see if Topaz was ready to trade a piece of the Emperor's legacy for a piece of the Pokémon dream.
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