Becoming A Tech Tycoon Begins With Regression-Chapter 224: Helix Tech

The higher ups of Helix Global how quickly learnt how dangerous the man known as the collector was in the past month.

They also learnt exactly how influential he was, thanks to this R&D department they had suddenly started funneling funds into.

This was a secret operative, on almost entirely handled by this mysterious man and with his help, all data about it was stored on an external server, since he absolutely hated their excuse of a secured firewall.

At first, there had been resistance.

Helix Global prided itself on its security, their internal systems were audited, layered, and monitored by teams that cost millions a year to maintain. For an outsider to waltz in and declare it insufficient had rubbed more than a few executives the wrong way.

That irritation vanished the moment the Collector proved his point.

In less than five minutes, he had pulled confidential board communications from their own servers, displayed them on a shared screen, then erased all traces of the demonstration before their security team even realized something was wrong.

After that, no one complained.

So now, the real work happened elsewhere.

The external server sat in a location none of them knew, accessed through channels only the Collector approved, with credentials that rotated so frequently even Helix's top engineers couldn't keep track without his permission.

And what flowed into that server was the heart of Helix's ambition.

A tech company, one meant to rival OmniTech Corp, surpass it even. At first, they had tried copying their products, a task which proved almost impossible.

Like Google, whenever they tried copying Sentinel, there was always something missing from the base code they managed to replicate.

So they gave up...well, until OmniTech Corp suddenly let the full code leak.

The Helix higher ups didn't know the circumstances or why the company did what it did, but they suddenly handed the code to another company that had been trying to replicate it now for months.

Maybe they were trying to create competition, or maybe it was some kind of mistake, but Helix didn't care enough to find out.

All they needed was the code and getting it had been easy enough. So for the past month, they had been trying to replicate Sentinel and they had finally done so successfully.

Though the product was still on its testing phase, they had tried multiple ways to hack into dummy files they protected with it and the software just kept adapting.

But that wasn't the only thing they were working in, after all, the aim wasn't to just be releasing products months after OmniTech had done so.

No.

Their goal was to completely stomp on OmniTech Corp, which was quickly becoming a household name, and give the public a new tech company to adore.

Helix Tech.

They had been funding multiple projects, one more ambitious than the other as they tried to build tech that ranged from medical tech, military tech to public tech.

One of such projects was, coincidentally, nano bots.

If they could successfully figure out that, then the tech world would change forever, after all, the use of micro sized bits were basically endless.

They could easily make anything from Medical to military tech, all with a single colony of nanobots.

But unlike what they first thought, the closest they had gotten was a black viscous fluid that was electrically charged.

Though they wouldn't tell the board that, as per the instructions of the collector.

All the board knew was that, every week, funding increased

Every week, progress accelerated.

And every week, the executives felt a little more like passengers rather than drivers.

In one of Helix Global's private conference rooms, several senior figures sat around a polished table, the atmosphere tense.

This was the first time they had actually come together physically to discuss something, usually, they sat behind secured screens, discussing whatever was needed.

That way, they felt a lot safer and we're sure of the safety of their identities. But thanks to the collector's demonstration, he had ended up revealing the identity of each to the other.

Hence the reason secrecy was useless amongst them right now.

"This pace isn't normal," one of them finally said, fingers tapping nervously against a tablet. "We're burning through funds projected to last five years in a matter of months."

"And yet results are coming in," another replied, though his voice lacked confidence, almost as if he himself wasn't sure of said 'results'. "Breakthroughs we couldn't even conceptualize before."

"At what cost?" The third member of the board asked. "We don't even know what his end goal is."

The room fell silent.

Because that was the real problem.

They didn't know what the Collector wanted.

He hadn't asked for shares, hadn't demanded public credit, hadn't tried to insert himself into the company hierarchy.

He simply provided influence, capital, and protection, and in return, Helix complied.

Even the pawns he had stated to need from them hadn't been requested yet.

By all definition, this was a partnership without terms.

Which was far more terrifying than one with demands.

As if summoned by the thought, the lights in the room dimmed slightly.

A secure screen came to life at the far end of the table.

The Collector's face suddenly appeared on it as he looked at them with a smile.

"Ah, there's my favorite nine," was the first thing he said before pausing and observing them.

"I sense hesitation," he said calmly, his voice losing the playful tone, "that's unfortunate."

Several executives straightened up immediately. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"We were just reviewing projections," the CEO said carefully. "Some concerns about sustainability."

"I see," the Collector placed a hand on his chin, "and what were these concerns."

"With the way funds are being funneled into Helix Tech, Helix Global would barely last a month before going completely bankrupt," the woman among the nine executives was the one to answer.

Her voice was calm, but there was a bit of hesitation in it, almost as if she feared letting them out in the collector's presence.

"Ah I see," the Collector repeated softly, the smile never leaving his face.

For a moment, none of them could tell if he was amused or annoyed, and that uncertainty was far worse than either.

"Don't worry though," he added looking at each of them, "that's exactly why I'm here."

The executives frowned, but none interrupted his words as even though the smile didn't leave his face, they wouldn't want to annoy him.

Though, a single member of the executives didn't like the fact that they were tiptoeing around the collector so much.

His pride as a member of a former royal family would let him tremble like a coward towards a man such as this.

"And what exactly do you intend to do?" The man, Vladimir, asked with a small frown on his face.

His voice showed his confidence and he completely believed that the man before him was nothing to be trembling around.

"Vladimir Romanova," the collector calmly stated his name, "a little birdie told me that your family still has ambitions to take over Russia again, I wonder how the current President would feel about that."

Vladimir's eyes immediately went wide as he looked at the screen before him, the collector hadn't said it in a tone of threat.

Infact, his words sounded as casual as could be, but everyone in here knew that it was a clear threat.

Vladimir stiffened, his confidence shattering in an instant.

The room went dead silent.

Even the faint hum of the air conditioning suddenly felt too loud.

The Collector watched him for a few seconds longer before letting out a soft chuckle, waving a hand dismissively as if he had merely brought up the weather.

"Relax," he said lightly. "If I intended to expose that little ambition of yours, you wouldn't be sitting here right now."

Vladimir swallowed, forcing his expression to steady, but the damage was done.

Everyone in the room now understood the rule, the Collector had leverage against them all.

"Now," the Collector continued, his tone shifting back to pleasant and conversational, "let's address your concerns about sustainability."

The screen behind him changed, displaying charts, projections, and timelines that none of the executives had seen before.

"You're worried because Helix Global is burning money without a visible return," the Collector said. "That's reasonable. Which is why it's time you stop thinking of Helix Tech as a future project."

The charts switched and a product name appeared at the center of the screen.

HELIX AEGIS.

Several executives leaned forward instinctively.

The CEO frowned. "That's…"

"Yes," the Collector said smoothly. "OmniTech's Sentinel."

No, correction...

"My Sentinel, and I think it's time for a launch."