NOVEL NEXT Chapter 544: Aberration
MCO, City A, Country X, 10:15;
Humankind was constituted of people with different looks, behaviors, temperaments, and natures. While some chose to have an easy, regular life; others fought round the clock to make a difference. While plenty lived to have just enough; there were those rare few who couldn't settle for an 'enough'. Humans could not be summarized into words. And this difference made it all so interesting, the wonder this planet was.
But then, there were those with exceptional minds and extraordinary ambitions, who refused to go on with a life of normalcy. Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe were two such individuals. People like them could not tolerate standing alongside the crowd. They had to have a path of their own, and an Everest of their own.
Rong Chang was absolutely right. People like Xi Yuan could never stay satisfied with just wealth. The man was much too far-sighted than that. This was the modern world, where power stood on the highest pedestal. While money was a luxury millions possessed, power was a strength limited to those with a passion for change. Xi Yuan understood that.
Country X was a nation with hundreds of Billionaires. Still, there remained just one Military Chief, one Prime Minister, and one President. And these people created history. It thrilled him, the irreplaceable status they shared.
Now he could not be a politician, neither did he crave to step into the Military. Xi Corporations was already a challenge enough. An empire with a net worth of 110 Billion USD, his conglomerate was, in the present, most profitable business in the world. It was a huge responsibility as it was. Switching professions had never been one of his plans anyway.
But it didn't mean he couldn't have a power of his own, did it? Aberración, or Aberration, was a company founded and owned solely by Xi Yuan. It was an enterprise instituted by the man two years after he'd taken on the Xi Corporations.
It had but one purpose. To yield to Xi Yuan's, or in matters of urgencies, to Xi Fang's orders. It was no ordinary business organization, still. It was, on-page, a surveillance corporate, looking after Xi Corporations quietly. Composed of several teams of lawyers, retired bureaucrats, skilled and elite technocrats, and even security officers; Aberration was a semi-private, semi-government institution, sanctioned by the three heads of the country themselves.
It was probably the only company in the nation who'd never been raided or taken updates from by any legal department, whatsoever. Politicians had a benefit, of their own, from it, obviously. Upon a vote of approval from Xi Yuan, Aberration could, without any restriction, conduct the highest levels of unofficial and sensitive investigations on issues of interest for literally anyone, without any accountability to any senior organization in the world.
Though, this also separated Xi Yuan from a normal businessman. It put him in a position of unquestionable power. Even the highest judicial courts of the country couldn't issue a search warrant for the enterprise. And that irked people. The exceptions the government had made for him. How could a person have ownership to both wealth and power to such an extent, they'd demanded when the company had initially been established.
But then Aberration had been a huge help to Country X, over the years. Through different sorts of situations. From investigating a politician to providing them with leads concerning national and international relationships, the company had always placed Country X in a state of great advantage. So gradually, the public began to make peace with its confidential approach. Maybe it was ideal, they thought, to have it this way and sometimes, leave things to mystery.
"Word from the men?", Xi Yuan asked his brother, as he followed behind Shou Wu in a hurry. They'd received a call from Lieutenant Zhao minutes ago. He'd found something finally.
"Not yet.", Xi Fang shook his head, "That Korean boy, the Primary Hacker in the Soulagement case, he is still under therapy. Now that he cannot speak, he is communicating by writing down his replies in a notepad. Once, he's done with his session, they'll take him to Aberration's HQ. They've even had a word with the team of doctors working on the boy. Hopefully, they'll be able to tell us something useful."
"Hmm.", the man hummed, looking ahead, "What about her brothers? Any problem on their end?"
"They're dealing with the media issues, mostly.", the younger man answered. "Mr. Shou.", Xi Fang then looked at his Sister-in-law's assistant, "Is there no way to know if everything is alright on Military Chief's end over there in Afghanistan?", he asked.
"There isn't.", the old man replied, "At least, not for the Hybrids."
"What do you mean?", the man furrowed his brows.
"Military Chief, and the Ten of them, they're quite difficult to track.", Shou Wu explained, "It has always been a headache for the Prime Minister and the President, you know. They never leave a trace behind. None of them.
"Ma'am is not just a soldier. She is the Crown to Country X's Army too. If anything is to ever happen to her on any of these missions, without a worthy successor to her throne, the nation will witness literal hellfire unleashing upon itself.
"Enemies have, for years now, waited for an opening, a vulnerability like this one. Her death, or her absence, even.
"Technically, she should not even be there, at the very center of the danger zone. But her work approach is too complicated. Instead of regulating them from above, she chooses to work alongside them. She makes them feel like a team. And while her methods have resulted in a ferocious and unparalleled success in the country's strength, they've proved to be equally life-threatening for her."
Xi Yuan listened to the two men's conversation silently for a while before his footsteps slowed down a bit. Subconsciously then, his hands reached into his right pocket as he pulled his ringing phone out.
"Are we at the liberty to involve this boy's family, Sir?", a woman's voice came through the other end, her tone steady, "Isla, here."
"Yeah.", Xi Yuan nodded, clearing his throat, "And I need you to do one more thing."
"Whatever you need, Boss.", she raised her brows, staring at the evidently harmless Chan Hyun sitting opposite her.
"Locate my wife.", he commanded, his gaze turning a few shades darker as he said so.