Chapter 44: Project Dremis
Klaus met Clyde’s eyes and said, "I am someone who wants you to reach higher."
Clyde furrowed his brows and leaned on his desk.
"Never mind. The previous joke was better."
Seeing the usual reaction, Klaus frowned behind his mask and questioned the system, ’Why isn’t he reacting the way Trenton or Henry did?’
Last night he had asked it why Trenton had kept himself from meeting eyes with him.
The answer was much simpler than he had expected.
Eyes were doors to a being’s heart, and Klaus, whose impact on existence ‐aura - had transcended from the etheric layer to the mental layer, had a much more intense mind, and thus it caused others to hallucinate as someone who was of higher existence.
However, for that to happen, he had to pour out his own emotions. In the case of Henry, he was furious, and during Trenton, he was resonating with Trenton’s hatred.
And right now he was pouring his unyielding ambition into Clyde’s mind through his eyes, but there was no effect whatsoever.
[Clyde Rodgers is unaffected because he is unconsciously blocking your emotions with his willpower.]
’What?’
That was surprising. He knew Clyde was an ambitious and strong-willed man, but to have a will powerful enough to block the effect of a higher auric layer was really unexpected.
Seeing him fall silent, Clyde smiled smugly and asked, "Were you expecting a different response?"
"I was," Klaus nodded.
"Don’t think too much of it. You aren’t the first person who has felt this way after meeting me."
"Is that so?" Klaus mumbled. "Then I believe there is no need to beat around the bush."
Clyde sighed and shook his head.
"No matter what you say, nothing would make me interes—"
"None of the people that you suspect are the culprits," Klaus interjected.
Clyde’s body stiffened. "What?"
"Project Dremis is your ticket to promotion to managing director. But you haven’t been able to do anything meaningful yet, am I wrong?"
Clyde narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists. "How do you know that?"
Klaus leaned on the desk and asked with a tilted head, "Does that matter?"
Hearing him, a furious fire burned into Clyde’s eyes, and he spat, "Yes, it does."
He sharply pointed his finger at Klaus and added, "The only person who can tell you about it is the bastard who has been leaking information to our competitors. No matter how tight-lipped you are, I will get that name out of you."
"Haha!" Klaus held his abdomen as he laughed loudly, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes.
Clyde’s face turned red in fury, and he muttered, "Do you think this is funny? Do I look like a clown to you?"
The next instant, Klaus’s laughter stopped and his eyes turned sharp.
"Not at all."
The sudden change in his demeanor caused Clyde’s heart to freeze in shock for a moment.
"I don’t think that you are a clown; if I did, I wouldn’t have come here to meet you. The only reason I am treating you as one is that you seem to think that I am a clown."
Clyde furrowed his brows and asked in a confused tone, "What do you mean?"
"Do you really believe that I came all the way to your office, told you that I am aware of Project Dremis without any kind of safety measure?" Klaus asked, his tone relaxed yet sharp.
Understanding appeared in Clyde’s gaze, and he said, "If you want me to beg for information, then you must not know what kind of person I am."
"That’s where you are wrong. You still believe that everything is under control, and once you find the person leaking the information, everything will return to how it was."
Clyde leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs as he asked, "What makes you think that it won’t?"
’Took you long enough,’ Klaus remarked inwardly. It was finally time to end this little game.
He smirked behind his mask and said in an unsure tone, "Maybe the fact that more than one employee is leaking the information about the project?"
Clyde’s expression crumbled, and he blurted, "What?"
Klaus feigned surprise and placed a hand before his mouth, which was already covered by the face mask.
"Don’t tell me that you thought that all of it was a single person’s doing?"
He shook his head. "Come on. Project Dremis is to create a modern city never seen before; there’s no way someone as great as you believe that your competitors will leave you alone, right?"
Clyde fell silent.
Project Dremis was supposed to be TREG’s biggest venture to spread their influence all over the world. Every employee had signed a legal document to stay silent about it, so he naturally believed that it was a single person’s doing, but if it were more than one, then even if he caught any, the information leak would continue without any problem until all of them were found.
’It was a big oversight on my part,’ Clyde remarked inwardly and looked at Klaus, who was staring at the awards and pictures placed on the shelf on the right wall.
"What do you want in return for everyone’s name?" Clyde asked.
"I have already told you," Klaus said without looking toward him.
"If Project Dremis is successful, I would naturally rise to the position of managing director," Clyde stated, unable to understand Klaus’s real motive or whether he even had any.
"You won’t because the project would fail," Klaus stated.
Clyde furrowed his brows. "That’s impossible. All kinds of experts are working with us to build it; there’s simply no way for it to fail."
Klaus turned his head to him and said flatly, "It would fail."
"I believe you have a reason for saying that?"
Klaus nodded. He indeed had a reason for saying that, but it wasn’t one he could tell him. Even if he did, Clyde wouldn’t believe him.
’It will fail because you won’t be able to complete it within the next five years.’
"Take me to the site, and I will show you."