Chapter 409: Do I Have Any Real Authority?
With practically no conflict or resistance, Steven very easily became the sole shareholder of Rhodes Island.
After all, with Kal'tsit's approval, the biggest obstacle to this kind of thing was basically cleared right from the start.
And if we're talking about who was the happiest in this entire transaction, it was undoubtedly Closure.
She knew all too well what it meant to latch onto Steven's thick, golden thigh.
Money—endless money.
With this walking money tree joining Rhodes Island, at the very least, the Operators' long-overdue salaries could finally be paid.
Not to mention they could even improve the living conditions of the patients a little.
You have to understand, the food in the Rhodes Island cafeteria had already been rated as something even Kroos refused to eat.
That alone showed just how terrible the quality was.
As for Steven himself, spending an amount of money that was basically insignificant to him to acquire 30% of Rhodes Island's shares? That was certainly no loss.
He was a Minecrafter for fuck sake, with Mods, gold practically unlimited for him.
Being able to exchange a bit of it for shares in one of the most crucial organizations in the entire main storyline—how could that possibly be a bad deal?
Just the World Acknowledgement Points he earned from Rhodes Island alone were more than enough to make up for the trivial amount of gold he spent.
"Speaking of which… does this mean you're technically my employee now? Do I have the authority to appoint elite Operators?"
Not bothering with a contract and simply giving Closure a verbal agreement to contact Czarny, Steven looked over at Kal'tsit.
What he cared about most at the moment was whether being a shareholder came with any actual power.
He spent money, after all—shouldn't he have at least some authority to give orders? Otherwise, wouldn't he just be some powerless mascot?
"…Shouldn't you at least learn what Rhodes Island actually does before asking that?"
"And what do you even need appointment authority for?"
"With your current capabilities, do you really need elite Operators to handle anything for you?"
Kal'tsit didn't even know how to respond.
It felt like, in Steven's eyes, everything was child's play.
The things he focused on were always so unexpected.
She had been preparing to explain the origins of Rhodes Island—how it was formerly Babel—yet the thing he cared about was whether he could order people around?
"Well, there are things that are hard to do alone. Like yesterday—Nian said she wanted to play this 'Mahjong' thing with me and told me to bring two people to make a full table."
Steven nodded seriously.
There really were some things that no amount of strength could solve—like how you simply couldn't play a board game by yourself, right?
"…Good grief. You've become a partner of Rhodes Island—a shareholder, even—and you're telling me you want to recruit people just to play a game? Can you please try to be serious, just a little?"
Kal'tsit sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
Talking to this guy was always a stress test—his train of thought was unlike anything she'd ever seen.
"But this is a serious issue for me."
"I have to know whether I have real authority."
"If the boss can't even invite his employee to play a game with him, how am I supposed to command Operators for anything else?"
"Am I really just a decorative mascot who pays the bills?"
Steven shook his head, clearly unable to accept Kal'tsit's criticism.
Wasn't this a serious question? At least to him, it absolutely was.
As for what Rhodes Island used to do or what it planned to do in the future—well, that wasn't something he cared about at all.
In the end, Rhodes Island was nothing more than a place that researched cures for the Infected—or, if one wanted to be bold, an organization that, like Talulah, could raise the banner of "Infected lives are lives too" and start a rebellion outright.
"You do have the authority to appoint Operators. But when you issue missions, you need to report to me and discuss things first. That much is reasonable, right?"
"I need to know what you're sending those Operators to do—and whether you're forcing them into something that goes against their principles."
Seeing that Steven was so unshakably determined, Kal'tsit could only sigh helplessly before adding:
"And one more thing: missions have priorities. I'll be the one to determine those. You know the situation—Rhodes Island is extremely short-staffed right now. There are many tasks waiting to be handled."
Just as she said, Rhodes Island was already struggling with manpower shortages.
They hardly had enough Operators to dispatch on real missions, yet he still expected to pull people away to play a game… That was definitely pushing it.
"Alright, that's all I needed to hear. So basically, as long as someone's not assigned to a mission, I'm free to recruit them for a board game, right? Filming a movie is fine too?"
Steven wasn't the type to be unreasonable to the point of ignoring basic logic.
He understood priorities perfectly well, he just needed an official title to justify things.
"As long as you have their consent, and it won't cause trouble for others, then of course it's fine. It's not like you wouldn't do things like that just because you weren't a shareholder."
Kal'tsit gave him a helpless side-glance.
"Good, that settles it. Now you can tell me—what's Rhodes Island planning for the future? Let me see whether my investment was worth the money."
Waving his hand casually, Steven sat back down on the bed, then asked the question as if it were an afterthought—a matter of little concern to him.
"This is something I need you to understand clearly. After making that decision of yours, you no longer have the option to take it back."
|You are now officially a member of Rhodes Island—and naturally, you must bear the responsibilities that every Rhodes Island member must carry."
As she said this, Kal'tsit's expression grew even more solemn.
This was no longer one of those casual, joking moments from before.
"Huh?"
"What's there to 'bear' in a broken company like yours?"
"You're just a pharmaceutical organization."
"Don't tell me you have some infamous medical malpractice scandal that landed you on some country's blacklist or most-wanted list?"
Seeing her act so serious, Steven instead became curious.
A pharmaceutical company could only be so bad, right?
It's not like she was going to tell him:
"Rhodes Island may look like a medical company, but in reality, we're the exiled government of a nation, secretly preparing to restore our homeland."
With Rhodes Island's current capabilities, Steven felt that—even in his original world—the most they could probably take on would be… the Vatican City.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
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