Old Dorok stared at the workbench, his hands frozen mid-motion. On his side of the table, the gadget lay partially reassembled, a few stubborn screws and a tangled ribbon cable still awaiting his attention.
But, on Neo’s side, the device sat perfectly pristine, humming with a rhythmic, healthy vibration that it hadn’t possessed even before it was dismantled.
"Impossible..." Dorok whispered in disbelief as he looked at the tir.
Neo hadn’t just beaten him. He had operated with a terrifying speed and fluidity. While the old man had been reaching for his specialized screwdrivers and prying tools,
Neo’s fingers had moved like a blur of practiced instinct. He had stripped the machine down to its core components in seconds and snapped it back together as if the tal were magnetically drawn to its rightful place.
"How?" Dorok finally managed to choke out, looking from the flawless gadget to the young man standing before him.
"I’ve been working on Magic tech since before your father was born. I know every runic point, every hidden arrays. You didn’t; Yet, you did it far better than ."
Neo leaned back against the counter. Naturally he was able to do it because of his knowledge and experience from the [Godsmith] talent.
But of course, Neo couldn’t tell him that.
"Experience is valuable, Dorok, but understanding the fundantal flow of the components is better. I told you.. I’ve realized where my true talents lie".
The old man picked up Neo’s work, inspecting the casing. There wasn’t a single scratch, not a smudge of oil, and the internal alignnt was so perfect it looked brand new. No, it looked better than brand new.
"Soone kill now!" Dorok groaned, as if he had gotten several years older in an instance.
Stella clapped her hands, jumping up and down.
"I told you, Grandpa! Brother Neo is the best! Did you see how he moved? It was like he was doing a magic trick!".
Dorok sighed as the competitive fire in his eyes replaced by a deep, pensive respect.
He looked at his workshop, which was full of junk and half-finished repairs, and then back at the boy who had just dismantled 40 years of his professional pride in a matter of minutes.
"Alright, Neo," Dorok said, his voice turning serious. "You’ve proven it. You didn’t just stumble onto that Aqua Core Flask Technology. You have a gift that shouldn’t be wasted in a back-alley shop like this. If you want to build this business empire... if you want to turn the world upside down with what you can do... then I’m in. But with one condition: You must teach your godly techniques."
Neo’s smiled a little, "Fine old man. But I’ll need your connections and your eye for the market. I’ll handle the crafting; you’ll handle the logistics".
"And !" Stella chirped, tugging on Neo’s sleeve. "Can I be the... the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)?!"
Neo chuckled, ruffling her hair. "You’re still young, Stella. But maybe in the future."
"So, what will you na your company?" the old man asked.
Neo thought about it and said, "Sovereign Corporation."
After hearing the na, Dorok looked at him strangely. "Sovereign? Doesn’t that sound a little cringe?"
"Cringe, yes. But it fits the vision I have," Neo replied. "This corporation won’t be under anyone’s ownership except mine. I want full control, lest we be devoured by the ruthlessness of the business world."
The old man didn’t say anything else. "Well, Sovereign Corporation it is."
"Brother Neo, I like the na very, very much. Keep fighting!" Little Stella cheered, raising her fist.
"Keep fighting." Neo t her tiny fist with his own.
From there, Neo drove his car to the local Federation Administrative Sector, while the shiny black vehicle drawing glances from the citizens below.
He parked at the Registry Office, which was a cold, towering structure that housed the bureaucrats responsible for overseeing all comrcial licenses on Earth.
Inside, the air was was fresh mixed with noise of endless clarks working on their desks.
Neo calmly approached the main desk
"Hello, I am here to register a new entity," Neo stated, placing his identification docunts on the counter.
"The Sovereign Corporation."
The official behind the desk, a middle-aged man with thinning hair and a badge that read Registrar Vance, didn’t even look up from his screen.
"Sovereign Corporation? Ambitions are high today, aren’t they? Do you have the paperwork for your primary product?"
Neo placed an Aqua Core Flask on the desk.
"This is the flagship product. It’s a magic tech, specially designed to keep custors providing pure water all the ti. You just need to change the power cells, and you will have access infinite water."
Vance thought Neo was exaggerating things.
So when he picked up the bottle, he squinted at the blue liquid inside.
He tried to find button or functions, but there was none as it functions automatically.
He assud the product fake or flawed. As such a greedy smirk cross his face.
"Special water bottle, huh? I know what are you looking for kid. But the Federation has been tightening regulations on magic techs lately," Vance lied smoothly, leaning back in his chair.
"Don’t worry, It’s not impossible. But to register a company with a product of this... quality, there is a high-risk premium. The registration fee is 5 million dollars."
Corruption.. Pure blatant greed.
Neo narrowed his eyes. He knew the standard fee was barely a fraction of that amount.
"5 million? That is quite the ’premium’ for a simple startup, isn’t it?"
Vance shrugged,
"Take it or leave it, kid. Without the seal, you’re just a bootlegger in a back alley."
Neo couldn’t be bothered to talk to this kind of person anymore.
"Fwoosh!"
To the stupefied eyes of Registrar Vance, the young man had produced a fire blade from thin air.
Seeing this, his heart began trembling erratically. "Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump."
"Y-you’re a Beyonder!" he stamred, shooting up from his seat.
Neo didn’t deny it. Instead—
Whoosh!
The fiery blade shot forward and spun in a tight circle around the official’s neck, hovering just a few milliters from his skin.
"What did you say the fee was?" Neo asked again, but this tine each word dragged Vance’s soul deeper into hell.
Vance trembled uncontrollably.
"S-Sorry, Sir! It’s only 500k dollars. I’ll stamp it imdiately!"
Vance stamped the digital docunts as fast as his trembling hands would allow.
His colleagues watched the scene, quietly gloating at his misfortune.
"I trust the Sovereign Corporation is now a legal entity?" Neo asked, flashing a devilish smirk.
Vance stamred, "Y-yes, sir. You are officially registered. Sovereign Corporation is live."
Neo grabbed his card and the certificate, turning on his heel without another word.
Vance collapsed back into his chair, feeling as if he had just escaped an apocalypse. He swore to himself that he would never ask for bribes again without confirming the person’s identity first.
Once outside, Neo gazed at the Neon City.
"Now, where should I find my CEO?"
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