Season 3 chapter 99
The Surprise Envelope
Kniya stopped dusting and looked down at Shuntesh, his expression softening into something incredibly rare: genuine, unfiltered empathy.
"Shuntesh, we have something special for you," Kniya said quietly, his voice losing all its usual obnoxious volume. "I was absolutely not intending to give this to you today. I was thinking that I should give this to you after the project was fully completed as a massive celebration gift. But... you are looking totally depressed and devoid of life right now. I think I need to give this to you now. Just take it."
Kniya reached deep into the inner pocket of his coat and pulled out a slightly crumpled, heavy parchment envelope.
He handed it down to Shuntesh.
Shuntesh wiped his eyes with the silk handkerchief, his hands trembling as he took the envelope. He slowly broke the wax seal and unfolded the letter inside. He recognized the handwriting immediately. It was from his family—his mother, his father, and his younger sister.
Dear Shuntesh,
We are so incredibly proud of you. But first of all, we are so, so sorry. When the civil turmoil hit and the economy crashed, we let the fear blind us. When you defaulted on your university debt and our land got seized, we panicked. We cut all of our ties with you just because you were unable to secure a stable job in that massive crisis. There were so many financial problems among us, but we really did wrong. We did something that we cannot ever forgive ourselves for.
It was a time when you required our support the absolute most, but we left you. We abandoned you when you had to sell everything to survive. We are really, really sorry from the bottom of our hearts for what we did to you.
Shuntesh, we are reading the letters you sent, and we are really proud of what you are doing now. You are brilliant.
(From his sister): Big bro, you can really do this! We are so proud of you. You are literally creating history right now. We know that you can do this. We know that you can change the world with your mind. Just please, don't lose your motivation. We believe in you.
With all our love,
Mom, Dad, and your annoying little sister.
The Rebirth of Motivation
Shuntesh stared at the paper, his hands shaking violently.
Fresh tears spilled from his eyes, but this time, they weren't tears of despair. They were tears of absolute, overwhelming relief.
His life had been a living nightmare for so long. He had lost his family, he had lost his home, and he had been forced to work 12-hour shifts in a shithole factory, getting beaten with a leather belt just to pay off the interest on his debt. He thought he was completely alone in the universe.
But as he held the letter, reading the words of apology and love, a massive surge of motivation ignited in his chest. His family was back. The people who mattered were standing behind him. Everything in his broken life was finally getting fixed.
Malesh looked down at him, letting the emotional weight of the moment settle before speaking.
"Shuntesh, you forgot one major thing," Malesh reminded him smoothly, pulling his attention back to the laboratory. "The bulb glowed for two seconds. Which means it is producing raw electricity. That is a massive achievement. Do not worry about the funding for the fourth prototype. We will provide you the funds by the evening. Just take your time, have some rest. I know you are going through a really hard time, so it is really required for you to have some rest right now."
The Bedtime Abduction
Shuntesh nodded slowly, wiping his eyes. "Thank you, sir... thank you so much."
He stood up, his legs still slightly wobbly from the emotional rollercoaster. He was preparing to walk over to his chalkboard to start writing down the new thermal equations for the fourth build.
Suddenly, Kniya and Malesh stepped forward.
Without a single word of warning, Malesh smoothly grabbed Shuntesh by his left leg and right leg, while Kniya aggressively grabbed his right arm and left arm.
"Woah! Sir, what are you doing?!" Shuntesh yelped in pure confusion as the two billionaires physically hoisted him into the air like a piece of corporate luggage. "What are you doing?!"
"We are taking you to the place where you are required the most!" Kniya declared loudly, marching across the laboratory floor while carrying the completely bewildered researcher.
They carried him straight out of the lab, down the corporate hallway, and directly into the executive breakroom, which had a small, comfortable cot set up in the corner.
With a synchronized heave, Kniya and Malesh unceremoniously dropped Shuntesh directly onto the soft mattress.
"Oof!" Shuntesh grunted, bouncing on the springs.
Before he could even sit up, Kniya grabbed his left boot, and Malesh grabbed his right. They aggressively yanked his heavy industrial boots off, followed immediately by his soot-stained socks, tossing them onto the floor.
"Just sleep right now," Malesh ordered with absolute, deadpan authority, pulling a heavy blanket up to Shuntesh's chin. "It is really required for you."
"Yeah! We will discuss the further continuation of the project tomorrow!" Kniya announced cheerfully, turning off the main overhead light. "Good night, Shuntesh!"
Shuntesh lay frozen under the blanket, completely baffled by the sheer, unhinged care of his two bosses.
Malesh adjusted his cuffs, turning toward the door.
"Yeah, Kniya," Malesh stated flatly, walking out into the hallway. "Let's go."
The Paradox of Wealth
Kniya and Malesh stepped out of the executive breakroom, gently pulling the heavy door shut behind them so they wouldn't wake their exhausted researcher.
As they walked down the quiet, dimly lit corporate hallway, a rare, suffocating silence fell between the two billionaires. The chaotic, unhinged energy that usually radiated from Kniya was completely gone. The cold, calculating arrogance that shielded Malesh had entirely melted away. They both just looked incredibly sad.
Kniya walked with his hands stuffed deep into his pockets, staring blankly at the floor tiles.
"You know, Malesh," Kniya murmured quietly, his voice heavy with genuine reflection. "Money is the exact thing which creates all the problems in this miserable world. But... it is also the only thing which solves all of them. I don't know what to even say about that anymore."
Malesh didn't answer immediately. He just offered a slow, deeply exhausted nod, fully understanding the absolute paradox of their lives. They had all the capital in the Republic, but they couldn't buy Shuntesh's success or erase his trauma.
They walked back to their shipping container office in silence and sat down at their respective desks. They didn't review any ledgers. They didn't make any unhinged phone calls. They just waited.
Hours passed.
Eventually, the heavy doors of the laboratory swung open. Filoska and Salesh marched across the concrete floor and stepped into the container office. They had already been briefed by the lab technicians on the floor. They knew exactly what had happened with the third prototype.
The 1.6 Trillion Credit Question
Salesh dropped his heavy stack of international dossiers onto the side table. He didn't look angry; he just looked profoundly, logically baffled.
"Kniya, Malesh, I have to ask you a highly serious question," Salesh started, crossing his arms and looking directly at his two bosses. "Why are you guys still helping him? Why are you still trusting him after all of this?"
Kniya looked up from his desk, his expression defensive but calm.
"You have spent nearly 1.6 trillion credits on those three prototypes combined," Salesh calculated, the sheer magnitude of the number hanging heavily in the air. "And still, even after he just blew up the third one, you promised him that you are going to provide him full funding again. What kind of trust is this? Why do you possess this much absolute faith that he is actually going to develop this thing?"
Kniya leaned forward, resting his elbows on the mahogany desk. The unhinged CEO was gone; the visionary leader had taken his place.
"It is due to the simple fact, Salesh, that we absolutely know this guy has the raw ability to successfully create the reactor," Kniya explained, his voice ringing with absolute conviction. "You guys don't know about the minute details. Let me tell you the actual telemetry. When the first reactor started, it completely melted down, yes. But... the diagnostic bulb literally glowed for a single blink. A fraction of a second."
Kniya held up a finger, his eyes gleaming with pride.
"During the second trial, me and Malesh watched closely. It blew up again, but that time, the bulb ignited for a full second. And this time, with the third prototype? It glowed perfectly for two entire seconds. He is not failing, Salesh. He is currently improving. Every single time, he gets closer to the absolute truth."
Kniya stood up, his passion filling the cramped shipping container.
"He is working really, really hard to accomplish his dream because it is the absolute motive of his life," Kniya preached powerfully. "And when a guy is fighting for his motive, when a guy is fighting for the sole reason to prove himself to a world that abandoned him... it becomes a battle of self definition. And he will go through absolutely any circumstances just to win that war. And I know he is going to do that."
Malesh smoothly adjusted his tailored cuffs, stepping up beside his best friend.
"Yeah, Salesh. We are believing in him because of his actions and because of the relentless effort he is putting in right now," Malesh deadpanned, though his voice carried profound respect.