Once the automatic door confirmed who had arrived, it opened on its own.
Rufus stepped inside—and immediately heard a voice.
"Get ready. When the time comes, collapse the Sector 5 and Sector 7 plates."
Rufus frowned.
His pace quickened slightly as he walked up to his father.
"What do you mean, collapse the Sector 5 and Sector 7 plates?"
"Exactly what it sounds like. We threaten those people. They have family living in those areas, don't they? If they surrender obediently, then nothing will happen."
After saying that, the father before him laughed.
He did not care at all about the lives of the people living on those two plates.
So Rufus drew his gun and aimed it at someone.
Bang!
He fired without hesitation, forcing Scarlet, who had been operating the system, to stop.
"Heh, heh, heh. This was the president's order. If you want to cause trouble, you should take it up with him."
Scarlet spoke with a hint of mockery.
What was the point of getting angry at her if he did not dare get angry at his own father?
Still, the vice president had apparently spoken with the other side. What exactly had they discussed?
The enemy had used something to generate a powerful electromagnetic field, disrupting the surveillance footage on their end and cutting off the sound.
But Scarlet had understood one thing.
Nero, a 1st Class-level SOLDIER, had turned out to be useless. He had not caused any real commotion at all. By the time they discovered him again, he was already a corpse.
It was precisely because of that change that President Shinra had finally begun to feel afraid. Then, thanks to Scarlet's kind "reminder," they had decided to use this method to threaten the intruders.
"Rufus, if you intend to interfere, don't blame me for having you locked up."
"Interfere? Father, I don't think you understand what kind of foolish thing you're doing. I suggest you stop Hojo's operation right now. Those monsters he released have been implanted with Jenova cells, but Jenova isn't an Ancient. It's an extraterrestrial life-form—"
Rufus immediately told his father the truth.
However, his father's reaction was somewhat different from what he had imagined.
He did seem a little surprised, but more than that, he seemed indifferent.
Unmoved.
"I always thought there was something wrong with Jenova. How was Hojo stupid enough to believe those were Ancient cells?"
Scarlet could not help but cut in.
Although she and Hojo were colleagues, and even cooperated at times, their research fields were different.
Hojo leaned toward biological weapons research, while Scarlet specialized in mechanical weapons.
Whichever side produced greater progress would receive more favor from the president, which meant the other side's research budget would be cut.
In other words, the two of them were competitors. Now that Jenova's danger had been exposed, Scarlet was naturally happy to kick Hojo while he was down.
But as Rufus continued, Scarlet's expression gradually turned solemn.
If Rufus was not lying, and if the intelligence he had obtained was not false, then this was extremely bad.
If Hojo was allowed to continue acting recklessly, and Jenova truly broke loose, then no one nearby could be trusted.
That thing could simulate others by reading their memories and emotions, then alter its appearance, voice, and behavior accordingly. By then, who would know whether the person beside them was human or monster?
No—not just people.
It could mimic other life-forms as well.
That erased any sense of safety entirely.
What came next was the truth about Mako, which also left Scarlet stunned for a moment.
Was that true?
"Are you finished?"
"Father, you don't believe me?"
Rufus could tell from his father's impatient attitude.
"Heh. I believe you. But how much of it is actually true? If there really were such a huge problem, could Shinra Company have grown to this point? Rufus, go cool your head. You were foolish enough to be misled by the enemy."
As soon as he finished speaking, the door behind Rufus opened.
A group of armed soldiers walked in and headed toward him.
Clearly, his father intended to have the soldiers take him away and imprison him.
"Scarlet, collapse the Sector 7 plate immediately. Let those intruders understand the consequences of their actions."
"Sorry, Mr. President. It looks like this device has been damaged."
Scarlet put on an expression that said there was nothing she could do.
In reality, the control terminal had not truly been damaged by Rufus's shot. She had deliberately broken it herself.
She could not leave herself with no way out.
If what Rufus said was true, and if the intruders below really did have the ability to destroy Shinra and refused to accept threats, then she would definitely be held accountable.
Especially if she personally operated the system. She would absolutely die.
So Scarlet deliberately tampered with the terminal in her hands and made it break, forcing the president to operate and authorize the order himself.
She did not want to bear that "sin."
"What a useless fool."
Yes. She was useless. Fine.
The president personally awakened the system in his desk and began operating it, entering the authorization himself.
And seeing that scene, what kind of reaction would Rufus—who was about to be taken away—have?
Scarlet saw the hand holding his gun trembling faintly.
The next moment, just as the soldiers were about to step forward and seize him, he aimed the muzzle at his father.
Interesting.
"Hmph."
The president did not take him seriously at all. He continued operating the system, and electronic prompts sounded one after another.
"Authorization confirmed as…"
"Safety locks disengaging…"
"Send evacuation warning?"
Denied.
A countdown began.
Ten seconds remained until the safety locks were fully disengaged.
At the same time, the president initiated a broadcast to the intruders, declaring that the Sector 7 plate would fall in ten seconds.
He also had the screens near the floor where the intruders were located activate, broadcasting a live feed of how Sector 7 would collapse.
"Stop!"
"You want me to stop? Then do it."
The president sneered.
He even acted deliberately, suddenly activating a transparent bulletproof partition so Rufus could not step inside the desk area and interfere with him.
But he left one opening.
An opening through which Rufus's gun could fire unobstructed.
It was an obvious message.
If he wanted to stop him, he would have to shoot.
So, would this vice president choose justice over family?
Scarlet did not think he could do it.
If he failed, she would look down on him intensely.
And after this incident, the righteous son of the president would be despised by even more people within Shinra.
"Safety locks fully disengaged."
All that remained was for the president's large hand to press the confirmation panel.
Once he did, Sector 7 would collapse.
Just as his hand was about to touch it—
Bang!
A gunshot echoed through the office.
But the sound of that gunshot was wrong.
As a weapons developer, Scarlet could tell that Rufus's handgun could not produce such a heavy report.
And logically, the sound should have come from Rufus in front of her.
But unexpectedly, gunfire had also sounded from both sides behind her.
It was as if, the instant the shot rang out, echoes erupted from every direction at once, making it impossible to determine where the true source of the gunfire was.
But Scarlet, of course, knew the truth.
The answer was that three bullets had been fired almost simultaneously.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]