Motoko Kusanagi had remodeled the office Lynn assigned to her.
It was less of an office and more like a neural hub.
Countless screens emitted a faint blue glow.
She sat in the center, like a spider perched at the heart of a web.
Dense code flowed across the screens; it was the complex veins of the entire Vanguard empire.
Personnel files, financial reports, logistics allocation, encrypted communications...
Everything was laid bare before her, with nowhere to hide.
"Boss."
Motoko Kusanagi's voice came through the internal line.
"John Miller, Deputy Director of R&D Department Three, has had seventeen abnormal communications with a secret email address belonging to Stane Industries over the past three months."
"I intercepted his encryption path. The content of the communications concerned the early design defect reports of our Repulsor Field Grenade."
"After each communication, an anonymous sum of money from Switzerland was deposited into his bank account."
Lynn leaned back in his boss chair, eyes still closed, fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.
"Take care of it."
"Understood."
There was a three-second silence on the other end of the line.
"Boss, the security department has apprehended Miller just as he was preparing to destroy the evidence, based on the real-time location I provided. The relevant chain of evidence has been generated into an encrypted file and sent to your terminal."
"Additionally, I have simulated Miller's communication habits and encryption algorithms to send a set of misleading data to Stane Industries."
"This defect report is enough to set their latest imitation project back by at least half a year and cause direct losses of over three million U.S. dollars."
"Very good. What about that little thing in the finance department?"
"He embezzled seventy-eight thousand U.S. dollars from Military supply procurement funds. I have frozen a total of eleven bank and trust accounts under his name and his mistress's name, and submitted a complete anonymous report to the Disciplinary Inspection Office of the Military Logistics Department under a third-party alias."
"Barring any accidents, the Military police from the Military court will be more than happy to knock on his door in half an hour."
"Well done."
Lynn waved his hand.
"In the future, handle these minor matters directly. I only want to see a result report every day."
"Authorization confirmed."
This was the daily routine of Vanguard—a silent purge.
With the assistance of Motoko Kusanagi, this humanoid supercomputer, Lynn began a thorough scraping of the bone to heal the poison within the vast empire he had built with his own hands.
Those parasites, spies, and mediocrities who had snuck in during the company's wild growth were dragged out one by one.
There were no trials, no hearings.
Only a termination notice, or a transfer order sending them to the mines in Siberia to "contribute their remaining heat."
Those once high-ranking department heads vanished from the face of the earth overnight.
The entire company was on edge.
Everyone felt that invisible eye hanging above their heads, indifferently watching their every move.
Using the most ruthless means, Lynn completely tamed this commercial behemoth that had started from humble beginnings into a War Machine that obeyed only him.
And when this machine was tuned to a perfect state, it was time to give it a louder, more intimidating name.
...
New York, Manhattan.
The brand-new skyscraper was completely finished.
The building was constructed entirely of dark glass curtain walls and steel structures, with cold, rigid lines that stood in stark contrast to the classical-style buildings surrounding it.
Today, this place was the focus of the entire World.
Reporters from all over the globe packed the front of the building, and camera flashes became never-ending stars.
Lynn Morris, wearing a black suit, walked to the stage surrounded by Military and political officials.
Motoko Kusanagi, with her short purple hair, held a folder and stood quietly behind him like a Shadow.
In the crowd, the Minister of Defense clapped with a complex expression; that smile was uglier than crying.
Standing not far from him, Howard Stark crossed his arms, his eyes filled with a mixture of amazement and an unyielding fighting spirit.
Lynn's gaze swept over the moving sea of heads to look at the building that belonged to him, without a hint of pride in his eyes.
"From today on, Vanguard Holdings will become history."
Lynn's voice traveled through the microphone, spreading across the entire square and the entire World.
"A brand-new name will define the future."
He turned around and personally pulled down the red cloth covering the golden plaque above the building's entrance.
Vought International.
Thunderous applause and cheers erupted in the square.
Vought!
This name would spread to every corner of the World along with the radio waves.
It represented victory, it represented miracles, and it represented the man who had single-handedly created Soldier Boy and Human Torch, and ended the war.
Lynn stood on the stage, enjoying the deafening roar of the crowd.
From now on, he was no longer that Director of the Office of Strategic Psychological Warfare hiding behind the scenes.
He was the Chairman of Vought International.
He was the uncrowned king who commanded war and capital.
...
Top floor of the Vought building, Chairman's office.
Outside the window was the bustling scene of all of Manhattan.
Lynn sat behind a large desk.
He had just finished his call with Motoko Kusanagi and was in a pretty good mood.
Just then, a familiar system notification sounded in his mind.
[Achievement: Company Opening]
[Condition: Officially register and establish the "Super Hero Entertainment" corporate entity]
[Comment: From a ragtag team to a regular army, you have acquired the qualification to play within the rules]
[Reward: One draw opportunity]
Double happiness!
Lynn's lips curled slightly. Now that the business was large, the more talent he had under his command, the better.
Especially someone like Motoko Kusanagi.
A multi-functional talent who could be the hacker chief, concurrently serve as the security director, and keep the company's internal affairs organized—having another one wouldn't be too many.
Bring on another one!
"Start draw."
A virtual roulette wheel appeared, the pointer spinning rapidly before finally slowly stopping on a name filled with exotic charm and a dangerous aura.
The wheel dissipated.
[Congratulations Host, you have drawn — Selina Kyle (Catwoman)]
A new character card appeared.
The woman on the card was wearing a tight black leather suit, outlining breathtaking curves.
She wore a pair of cat-ear goggles, a faint smile hanging on her face, and she was toying with a large diamond in her hand.
The smile on Lynn's face faded.
It even became somewhat disappointed.
Selina Kyle?
Catwoman?
A World-famous thief?
Did the system have a problem somewhere?
He was now the Chairman of Vought International.
What he needed was a CEO capable of managing a massive commercial empire!
A general capable of suppressing a region!
A genius scientist capable of overturning physics!
Yet the system sent him a... thief?
What was this?
Was he supposed to let her steal Red Skull's underwear to humiliate him?
Or have her pry open the President's safe to see how many secrets he was hiding that he didn't want anyone to know?
Lynn leaned back against the chair, feeling speechless.
Soldier Boy represented power and could crush any enemy in a frontal assault.
Professor Pyg represented mad science and could create twisted works of art.
Human Torch was the embodiment of divinity, the perfect war weapon and spiritual totem.
Motoko Kusanagi was a ghost of information, a Guardian and a cleaner.
And what about Catwoman?
What could she bring?
Lock-picking skills and the ability to parkour on rooftops?
Lynn rubbed his temples, his gaze falling on that card.
Hmm... thinking from another angle, her skills weren't completely useless.
Some intelligence could not be dug up by Motoko Kusanagi in the digital World.
Some physical items, such as a secret document hidden in a Swiss bank safe, or a diary in some politician's nightstand, couldn't be retrieved by having Soldier Boy drive a bulldozer to get it.
Or... from Howard Stark's heavily guarded private laboratory, taking a copy of the original manuscript regarding the Arc Reactor that he would never connect to the network.
Letting her do these dirty jobs... was it the right profession?
Lynn's thoughts drifted, and an inappropriate idea suddenly popped into his mind.
Keeping her by his side as a personal secretary wouldn't be bad, would it?
plz support me if you can
readfictional.com
patreon.com/AZFANFICTION
https://www.buymeacoffee.com/AZofficial
All the novel and fanfiction are 30 chapter ahead there.