As Samuel stepped into Boss Jin's spot, he saw many people working. Some were cleaning the place, some others were giving out orders, others stood at the door while wearing suits. Once one of the people stopped, all of them did as they turned to look at him, whispering between them.
"Is that a monster?"
"How did it get in here?"
"Should we attack it?"
"I'm beginning to think the wings weren't the best investment."
[You may not take back your choice after it is made, or if it suffers any damage after the delivery.]
"Fuck you too, system."
"Alright! Back to work, all of you! Don't be rude to our guest!"
Boss Jin made his way in, telling everyone to cease their murmuring and continue their work.
"I see a lot of people just working here and not outside, hunting. What's up with that?"
"Most of the people that remain here are unawakened. Some were too scared, some lost a limb, and some were just unlucky, getting their kill stolen by someone else. We keep the ones that want to work, and kick out the ones that were lazing around."
"You kicked out- people?"
Boss Jin only smiled at Samuel before signaling for Samuel to follow him into the second floor. Samuel remained on alert as he followed Jin, more cautious than before after he revealed what he did to those he didn't consider worth keeping around. As the two walked on the second floor, Samuel heard moaning and even saw a few women winking at boss Jin.
"How do you have so many women in this place?"
"Lots of em decided to offer their dignity for protection. And my men need to relieve themselves after a hard day of work, so we decided to hire the willing ones, either as, y'know. This, or as fighters."
Samuel walked up another flight of stairs with Jin, who took him into a large office that had two men in suits standing guard at the entrance. The two gave a quick salute before opening the doors to the office.
"Take a seat wherever you like, Sam. I've told Zhang to bring some sweets and women to keep you company while we talk."
"Zhang?"
"My son. The kid you met at your base."
"Oh, the high schooler. Tell him to just bring the sweets and not the women."
"Are you uh? Homo? We've got a few guys if-"
"Who are you calling gay?!"
*Having a man like me in your mind? Yeah sounds like you are gay.*
Samuel was about to have an aneurysm. Not only did he have to deal with voices in his head 24/7, one of them even made jokes. Shortly after, Zhang enters the room with a tray full of snacks, followed by two women dressed in skimpy outfits who quickly took their seats next to Samuel, one on each side.
"Take off your mask and enjoy yourself, Sam."
"You might not believe me if I say this, but me keeping my mask on is for everyone's good."
"Come on, you sound like a middle schooler saying that."
"Don't blame me, then."
Samuel removed his mask's belt straps to reveal the moving void that replaced his face, which had gotten even worse now with his awakening. The other four people's faces twisted into an agonized expression, beginning to scream and even beg for him to stop.
"Boss?! What's the matter?!"
The two men at the door opened it up in a rush after hearing the screams, but they made the fatal flaw of looking at Samuel's face, making them scream too.
Samuel could only sigh, knowing this would happen. He put his mask back on and waited for the people to regain their composure. Some other people rushed in from downstairs and even the roof. They were ready to attack him, but seeing how he had six hostages, including their boss and his son, they didn't dare to be rash.
"Alright, all of you calm down. We're all fine. It was my mistake not to take my own guest's advice."
The other guards looked doubtful, but they quickly took the two women, along with Zhang, down somewhere to get them some first aid if they needed it.
"What the hell was that?"
"What was what?"
"Your face! I looked at you for not even three seconds and saw my worst nightmares until you put the mask back on."
"Shouldn't have tried to tell me what to do when I know better than you."
"Damn, forget it. Let's talk business now."
"Finally."
"Firstly, in exchange for three boxes of vegetables and spices a week, I will grant you free use of most of the services I currently control."
"What do you mean? Don't you have plenty of food here and from the monsters outside?"
"Here? We have ingredients for cookies, cakes, and sweets. While they silence hunger for a bit, they don't give the energy to fight the things outside. We have plenty of meat, but without salt, vegetables, and seasonings, it tastes awful."
"I see. So what do you offer?"
"We have a kitchen, the women you saw downstairs, electricity, working internet, a doctor... a shower." Jin mumbled the last part.
"I heard that!"
*He's right. You were sweating like you were out in the heat yesterday*
'You stay quiet.'
"So your base controls entertainment, I control food, and the others control...?"
"Survival needs. Mechanics, blacksmiths, carpenters, chefs, and the likes.
"I'll give you two boxes. Most of what you offer doesn't truly interest me."
"I'll take that. Next, I'd like your help in capturing a monster."
"Why would you want to capture it? And why are you asking for my help?" Samuel was definitely intrigued by Jin's request. He definitely had the most experience with animals, but Jin had only seen Argon fighting by his side.
"I don't trust the university guys letting people, because they let everyone live there, as useless as they may be. And... you're the strongest solo fighter I've seen with an incredible versatility of skills. Just that thing you can do with your face would be incredibly helpful."
"The university?"
"Yeah the one that those three girls say they control. We went to their place two or three days ago to discuss an alliance with them. We provide fighters and entertainment, they provide the lifestyle classes like engineers, blacksmiths, and mechanics."
"I see. What happened when you went there?"
"I brought two or three of my girls once we got there, and I noticed the stares of those scrawny nerds when they looked at my girls. They looked like dogs in heat, and when one of them tried to touch and sway the one who was arguably the strongest among the girls, she hit him so hard his head exploded into a bloody mist."
"Negotiations broke down before they even began?"
"Indeed. We had to retreat because the system declared us hostile to them."
"Alright, I'll help you with capturing the beast. I want rare armor or five pieces of uncommon armor."
"I'll give you two pieces of uncommon armor at most."
Samuel knew his requirements were insane considering how low the drop rate for even common equipment was, so he decided to check Jin's bottom line, not expecting him to be rich enough to spare two whole pieces of uncommon armor. Samuel nodded as he got up.
"When should I meet you for the capture?"
"In two days. I'll send a guy to alert you when it's happening." Jin said as he got up to shake Samuel's hand.
Samuel quickly shook his hand before going down to take a shower. He knew he smelled awful, but most places he went to were either unsafe, didn't have running water, or just had dirty water— Samuel had forgotten that he had magic to shower with now, but he could care less as he quickly dried himself off and left after putting his clothes back on to continue grinding levels.