Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again. - Chapter 297

Chapter 297: A lie for survival.
The room that had been relaxed became tense, the silence heavy enough to crush words before they could form in the billionaire’s mouths. Not that they were too eager to talk as they were nibbling on fresh croissants and sipping hot teas and chocolates.

The team from fortress four was the one with the most people that wore serious faces. In fact, they were not just serious but almost unfriendly. Hades stood near the long metallic table, his arms crossed, his stare fixed on the group of men looking away from him like children caught cheating during an exam.

“I cannot help but feel that you people intentionally lied to us when you claimed you wanted to share resources and survive together.” He said. “This is enough reason to break that alliance, you cannot just take from us, yet you hide the valuable things that can be used for all of our benefit.”

Some of the billionaires exchanged brief, guilty glances. None of them spoke.

It was Jon that broke the silence first. “You cannot keep threatening to break this alliance every time you hear a rumor, Hades.” He began.

“Rumor, you say?” Hades responded.

Jon nodded, leaning back in his chair, he exhaled sharply, then said, “It is public knowledge that one of Sheldon’s companies was into genetic engineering. It’s not exactly breaking news that he would have genetically modified seeds with him. Right boys?” He asked his friends.

Kris shrugged, pretending nonchalance, but the faint tremor in his hand gave him away. “As far as I know,” He began, “the hybrid seeds project has never been a success story. It is a conspiracy theory people made up along with that nuisance about the rich controlling food reserves and stuff like that.”

Hadrian slammed his fist on the table, startling everyone. “That is a lie! And you know it…. at least Sheldon does.”

Jon frowned, his face tightening. “What are you talking about?”

All the billionaires looked at their friend like they wished to gouge out his eyes.

“When Sheldon was in the recovery room,” Hadrian snapped, “barely conscious from the surgery, all he could talk about were his hybrid seeds! He said they were worth more than silver!”

“The future of the world, I believe he said.” Warren chimed in.

The room fell quiet again, this time heavier, darker. Everyone waited for Sheldon to admit or refute his claims.

Sheldon sat rigid at the end of the table. His expensive jacket half unbuttoned, beads of sweat rolling down his face. He lowered his head for a fleeting second, muttering a curse under his breath, as he pinched a croissant.

Jon rose abruptly, his chair scraping harshly against the floor. “Wait a minute, Sheldon is it true? Why did you hide it from the rest of us?”

Hades chuckled darkly, his amusement sharp and bitter. “So much for the transparent friendship that you have going on there, huh?” The tone of his voice was filled with mockery. “I guess you do not know everything about your friend Jon.”

Sheldon’s eyes snapped up, cold fury replacing the tiny guilt he felt initially. “You all make it seem like I committed some kind of sin. We all have trade secrets as businessmen especially you Hades and the entire fortress four.

You don’t tell us about your technology; hell, you never warned us about the apocalypse. If Jon was not obsessed with you, we would not have known about this base. You have secrets, so do I and so does everyone around here.” He said defensively, his voice low but firm.

His words struck a small nerve. There were secrets in the base, that much was true. And no, they would never share those secrets with the billionaires.

Sheldon faced his pals. “I was not hiding anything from you guys out of maliciousness; I just chose not to reveal it yet because the seeds are useless if there is nowhere to plant them. Think of it this way, I was curating the seeds while waiting for the perfect time. Besides, I was planning to sell the hybrid seeds eventually, but I was waiting for when we had a permanent safe home, and they can withstand any climate.

But make no mistake, I was not going to share the seeds for free, I am a businessman, not a charity organization.” He gave a mirthless laugh. “In the times we live now, food is currency. My decision to stay silent was a business one. No offense.”

Jon stared at him with his mouth half open. Hadrian mentioned something crude under his breath, while Hades just shook his head. In another time, he would understand Sheldon.

“Sheldon is not entirely wrong, we all have aces up our sleeves. However, if this alliance must hold, we cannot hide basic needs like food, water, medicine. We have given you people some things for free.

We provide protection to you without expecting much in return. I am not suggesting that you give us the seeds for free, that would be shameless of me. I do hope you will sell some of your seeds to us at a reasonable price.” Sunshine said. “Now that we know you have them, hiding them away is useless anyway.”

Sheldon blinked at her. “You want them? I don’t mind selling some genetically perfected wheat, corn, quinoa and other things to you. But I do not want to be blamed if the seeds are planted and the results are not what you expect. Also, I might crush your hope because I don’t plan to sell cheaply.”

“We will pay cash or gold only.” Hades told him. “Do not get any wild ideas, the moon is far more valuable than some seeds that we do not know if they will grow.”

Sheldon let out a scoff. “Oh, they will grow, believe that. We did see some progress in the two years when the project was running. Of course, the soil was not tainted by mist and acid rain, which is why I originally said that I don’t want to be blamed if you don’t see the results you want. If you get results, I believe that you will give me more than a moon in exchange for more seeds. Food is the ultimate currency and topmost need in an apocalypse after all.”

“How much!” Major Elio was slowly losing his patience.

Sheldon leaned back, his fingers tapping the steel table in slow, deliberate rhythm. A faint smile crept across his face, smug and calculating.

Jon’s patience snapped. “Why the hell are you thinking so hard about?” he snapped. “Just state the damn figure!”

Sheldon did not flinch. “Whose side are you on Jon?”

“Survival’s side.” Jon snapped.

“This is business,” Sheldon said coldly. “I need to think.”

The seconds dragged like hours. Finally, Sheldon lifted his chin and said, “Five hundred thousand dollars or twenty gold bars for half a kilo of just one type of hybrid seeds. You can also pay the equal in diamonds, frankly I don’t care which. So which ones will you be buying….beans, corn, sunflowers, pumpkin, oats?” He bit into a croissant, smiling secretly like all this had been his plan.