My Dream Connects to 3000 Years in the Future

"Stop!" The corner of James's eye twitched. He held up a hand to pause him and quickly retorted, "It's just that the guy realized I'm... Hmph. In this situation, it's pretty much impossible for me to get on good terms with him! If he really is 'the one,' then you maintaining a relationship with him would be a huge benefit to our faction."

"Fine, fine! Being a tsundere has its own charm." Howard nodded, pleased.

"..." After a brief silence, James said coldly, "Celestial Net, delete all of Tank's saved and downloaded data related to anime culture."

"???" Howard's pupils dilated. He let out a heart-wrenching scream, "NO!!!"

"And another thing." James glanced at Howard in disgust. The man looked like his world was ending, whipping out his phone in disbelief and frantically swiping the screen. He tried to use his Tank clearance to stop the Celestial Net, but he was a step too late; a massive amount of data was already lost. As Howard stared in growing despair at what little anime-related data remained, James continued, "In the future, you will stay far away from that anime-loving president of Tesla!"

James took a deep breath. "He and that blondie haven't had a complete falling out yet, but the chances of them reconciling are low. The honeymoon phase is over... He doesn't have much value anymore! And look at what kind of influence he's had on you!"

"...But that's so dishonorable!" Howard quickly snapped out of his grief over the deleted data, looking extremely displeased. He added, "Besides, my getting into anime culture has nothing to do with him!"

"...You're too sentimental!" James completely ignored the last sentence, his voice turning a bit hoarse. "Sooner or later, you'll pay the price for that weakness! Tank!"

When he spoke that name, it meant he was no longer speaking as a family member, but as "Priestess," one of the three leaders of the Golden Dawn.

"Perhaps." Howard's attitude shifted. His previous casualness was gone, but he still didn't respond directly.

James recognized this gesture for the resistance it was. Without commenting, he stood up again.

Howard's cheek twitched, and he quickly spoke up. "Wait a minute! So we're really going to triple his promotional budget? James, are you serious? According to the contract, our future profits were already going to be substantial! But if we triple the budget... we'll basically be working for Chu Bamboo! This is..."

Howard counted on his fingers, a pained expression on his face. "Besides, the original budget was already for top-tier resources... The promotional push was already huge! Tripling it is just a case of diminishing returns... It's practically meaningless!"

James almost tripped. He let out an exasperated laugh, turning his head to snap, "Is this about money? Shut up and just do it! Besides..."

James didn't finish his sentence. 'This is an investment, too!'

'If that person really is the Fool, this investment will pay for itself dozens of times over in the future. This younger cousin of mine is still...'

'Sigh.' James lamented internally. 'In the end, it's because we're a new-money family. Even after spending some time in high society, everyone but me is still stuck with those low-class notions of honor and morality... and that damn penny-pinching...'

James lost all enthusiasm for lecturing him further. He began walking out, his expression turning serious as he spoke. "Celestial Net... send a message. I want to convene a Secret meeting of the White-headed Eagle Faction!"

'Not a general meeting... just a faction meeting!'

...

「Back at the hotel.」

Chu Bamboo glanced around the room, his expression unreadable. He could tell at a glance that the room had been cleaned.

He went to his suitcase and opened it. A quick look confirmed his suspicions: though nothing was missing, it had clearly been searched.

'If I call the front desk now, they'll probably just trot out some cleaning staff to be the scapegoat, won't they?'

"Z!" Chu Bamboo lightly typed a single letter onto his phone screen.

The hidden program reactivated. After enabling an anti-snooping mode on the screen, Z finally responded, "Monitoring devices detected! Locations: Directly behind the television, the ceiling..."

Chu Bamboo's expression remained unchanged. He checked his suitcase with his senses again, confirming it contained no monitoring devices and no trace of the "power of thunder." He immediately finished packing, checked out of the hotel, and departed without a second glance.

At the hotel entrance, Chu Bamboo tapped his screen again. "Z, proceed with the plan I set up earlier!"

「Two hours later.」

「Inside a dilapidated coffee shop.」

The coffee shop was nearly empty. Aside from the barista behind the counter, there were only a few other customers. The decor was Victorian... which was perhaps why no security cameras had been installed.

A middle-aged man in glasses and a crisp suit sat in the corner, silently writing on a piece of paper. He would occasionally cross something out... Gradually, he became completely absorbed in his work.

Then, he heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor. He instinctively looked up to see an East Asian young man with a suitcase sitting down opposite him. His first reaction was one of awe at the young man's outstanding appearance.

The young man had typically East Asian features, but incredibly, his face was not only handsome by East Asian standards but by the standards of Europe and America as well. It was a rare and remarkable thing.

After all, the two regions' standards of beauty weren't entirely aligned. And it was clear the young man hadn't made any special effort with his appearance. To have such an effect could only mean one thing: his looks were top-tier, the kind that were universally captivating.

"...You are?"

"Mr. Hodges!" Chu Bamboo waved with a beaming smile, his tone carrying an unreadable quality. "I'm the prospective tenant who made an appointment with you. I'm here about the short-term rental!"

Hodges was at a low point in his life. He was being squeezed from all sides, had lost his job, and was forced to take under-the-table work typically reserved for illegal immigrants.

Moreover, while he had once saved up a considerable fortune, he was now constantly dipping into it to offer rewards for any information on his missing daughter.

He had spent a fortune and gotten nowhere, but he refused to give up.

Since he still owned a large house, Hodges had finally decided to rent out a few rooms. Of course, given the... eclectic... nature of New York's current population, he had set very high standards for tenants to avoid inviting trouble into his home.

And... no one had applied.

Hodges had to search with great effort just to find his own rental listing. He strongly suspected that a certain Old Ma... had deliberately put in a word to have his listing buried in some obscure corner of the internet where no one would see it.

Of course, the main reason he hadn't pushed back was that he'd already asked Old Ma, who claimed to be unable to find his daughter. If they had actually used his daughter as leverage, he would have caved.

But as it was... the more they pressured him like this, the more stubbornly he resisted.

"Alright," Hodges said, pushing his glasses up his nose, his voice trembling slightly. "Well then..."

"Let's discuss something first," Chu Bamboo said, folding his hands. He swept his Spiritual Power over the man, and after confirming he wasn't carrying any bugs or listening devices, he casually picked up the phone from the table. To Hodges's stunned expression, he simply turned it off.

Once that was done, he added cheerfully, "Let's talk about your daughter."

At this moment, the cafe was suddenly silent.

"...You!" Hodges's body trembled slightly as his mind raced. 'This is bad. He has my phone. If I call for help... No, it's too late!'

'He suspected this empty, unmonitored cafe was chosen for a reason. If he cried for help, the few other people here would just run for it, not come to his aid.'

'Having lived among the White-headed Eagle People for so long, Hodges knew exactly how apathetic they could be. And that was before you even considered that he and the young man weren't white. He'd be lucky if they didn't kick him while he was down.'

After a long, tense moment, he slumped in defeat. "Just say it... What do I have to do to get my daughter back? I should warn you, I'm bound by several secret agreements, so in this kind of situation..."

"You've misunderstood." Chu Bamboo held up a hand to stop him, a subtle look on his face. "The kidnapping has nothing to do with me. Your secrets are none of my business, either. I came to find you simply to..."

"Hm, let me introduce myself." Chu Bamboo straightened his collar. "I am the president of C Company and a major shareholder in Z Company. Don't give me that confused look. In the future, these two companies will far surpass the likes of Fruit, Nvidia, Petal, and so on, becoming truly great corporations. Oh, and they'll also surpass Tesla and that capitalist's rocket company."

Hodges: "..."

"Okay, I know you don't believe me right now, but that's not important. What's important is your daughter." Chu Bamboo paused for a moment before beginning to explain what he knew about the Maya Civilization ruins. Of course, he was presenting a version of the intelligence that he had personally... fine-tuned.

He explained away the Golden Dawn as... a certain Cult that had a tacit understanding with the officials. And he also made sure not to reveal anything related to the Extraordinary.

Hodges's expression shifted multiple times, but he finally said with iron resolve, "If... you can rescue my daughter, then..."

"It's a deal." Chu Bamboo tossed the phone back to Hodges with a swiftness that shocked the man. "Let's go."

"? Go where?"

"Your place, of course." Chu Bamboo gave Hodges a puzzled look. "Weren't we here to discuss the rental?"

"???" Hodges was completely baffled. 'Wait, was that right? I guess... that's right?!'

「Nightfall.」

Chu Bamboo entered a guest room, washed up, and got into bed. He stared at the ceiling. 'Thank goodness... Engineer Huo's house is clean. No bugs or listening devices!'

'Still, for this life...'

Chu Bamboo hesitated. 'Should I keep grinding away at the Maya Civilization ruins, or...'

'Forget it. I'll wait until I'm strong enough, then I'll come back and excavate.'

Having made his decision, Chu Bamboo closed his eyes.