“Please enjoy a great meal at our Restaurant Train in our Panda Street Instance while you wait. If you’re not feeling peckish the sights my Store Instance has to offer should also keep you busy in the meantime. I’ll have my NPCs find you and accompany you to meet me when it is your turn.” Jin told his new personnel with a wide smile. Nobody refused, since it seemed a better alternative compared to just sitting around and doing nothing.
“If that is the case, then let’s convene this meeting then.” Tiger Clan Head Yuan Ba said as he extended his hand towards Jin. “To a more harmonious and memorable working relationship.”
“Thank you for being supportive and giving me such a huge crew to support me. I did not expect your generosity and appreciated it a lot.” Jin replied as he returned the handshake and Yuan Ba could only scoff inside his heart. Jin was grinning happily too, not because he was naive, but he also had a plan in mind.
They subsequently exchanged some small pleasantries before he got teleported out of the Conference Instance (courtesy of Jin’s ‘creator rights’) and YuanBa left with a satisfied grin on his face as he drove off in his car. “Jin, Jin. You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into. Maybe, I might be able to recoup my yesterday’s losses in the future.” Yuan Ba thought to himself while he quietly drove back to his mansion.
“Sorry to hold you up while I let the others go off first, Mr…?” Jin questioned the one who was the first and whose statement he had interrupted by standing up in the meeting previously.
“My name is Fa Tai. I’m the overall in charge of the Tiger’s Refinery Industries.” The middle aged bespectacled man introduced himself. Fa Tai had a small build with a dad body and matching that look he appeared to be balding too.
Jin got the feeling that Fa Tai must have given his all to get into his current position and was very loyal to the Tiger’s no matter how one would see it. The fact that he called them the Tiger Refinery Industries with pride only strengthened his belief that this worker had no real intention to recede himself to work for the Pandas.
The dungeon supplier had a small pep talk in mind, but it appeared that would be meaningless. “Then I assume you are the president of the company?” Jin asked, and Fa Tai did not mince his position.
“Of course. I’ve made millions for Lord Yuan Ba, and if not for him magnanimously handing you the industries, I would not be here talking with you.” Fa Tai admitted without holding back. He was sure whatever Jin had planned trying to convince him to change his mind would be a colossal waste of time, so he wanted to keep the conversation as short as possible.
“So you are a man who values his time, Mr Fa Tai. Alright, it seems we do have certain things in common. Please, come to my office for a moment. I just want you to tell me a bit more about your work. A short summary will be fine while I offer you some of my hospitality too.”
“There is really no need too. I know about your store. You sure had it easy getting things done compared to us. To me.”
“I gave it my all every day and many nights, just to work my way up to the top and you merely had this tree in less than a few months. You honestly think you can handle us. Think again.” Fa Tai started to become impatient and showed his true colours since the “compensation” package had surprisingly been accepted. There was no need for any much facade, if not for the condition for that one on one talk, he would have already flown back to his state and enjoyed his holiday break.
“I’m afraid I INSIST that you do me this courtesy.” Jin stressed as he still obligingly showed the way to another room, ignoring the harsh tone of the other since he knew that he would soon change his behaviour.
“Fine. Fine.” Mr Fa Tai sighed as he followed Jin through the corridors. The dungeon supplier opened one of the doors, and Fa Tai could see that the office had minimum renovation to it. Just a desk with two chairs at each side. Other than that, there was only one cabinet at the corner.
“Have a seat first. I will get you some nice tea.” Jin instructed him.
“Please be quick. I have a flight to catch back.” Fa Tai called with the ‘nicest’ possible tone he could bring out before Jin left him at the office.
“Is this a joke? This office doesn’t feel like what a boss would have. Only two possible reasons. He is berating me as well, or he does not have money to make a proper office. Well, maybe three. This is a makeshift office. Whatever it is, it is just a quick five minute talk, and I say I will get going.” Just as he was mumbling to himself, he suddenly found that the lights went out. Fa Tai cursed under his breath after being stunned momentarily and tried to take out his phone for some light.
“This is a dungeon instance, right? How can the lights be out?!” Fa Tai questioned out loud as he tried to find the exit. But as he got up, he felt the darkness was crushing him. His gait was unsteady, and the light from his phone merely made things worse. There was no wall in front of him despite knowing that there was supposed to be one just a few metres away.
Thus he tried to move faster but the more he walked, the less certain he became since he had yet to touch any of the walls which should have been only mere meters away from him. Fa Tai could not find anything to grab on and fell to the ground. Furthermore, he accidentally dropped his phone, causing the only source of light that he had to disappear within the surmounting darkness.
“What is this charade, Jin?! I’ll complain to Yuan Ba about this nonsense. Release me right now, or your compensation package will be voided! Null!” Fa Tai shouted as he tried to crawl around, looking for something to hold on but even now he felt like the darkness itself was a physical thing, holding onto him, making him very uncomfortable.
It felt invasive to the point that he needed a way out of this. But even with his feeble attempt to portray his cultivation for a source of light energy, it seemed to be eaten, absorbed by the darkness almost immediately.
“Okay! Okay! I am in the wrong! I will tell you what Clan Head Yuan Ba said to me! I promise not to betray you! Just let me out!” Fa Tai begged after he realised that his threats got ignored, but it seemed as if his voice was getting swallowed by the darkness too.
“Oh…no. You’re not going anywhere, my little boy.” The crude voice and the clinking of boots were heard from afar.
“Please! Help me! I’m willing to pay you! Just tell me your price. All I ask is to let me out of here! I am not that good with darkness, and I have night blindness!” Fa Tai shouted, but a “tsk tsk tsk” reply echoed throughout the entire room as if repeating that particular sound over and over again.
“Please, I’m not interested in your money. Now I’ve come back from a very long workout, so you, my boy, will be the perfect stress relief.” Kraft said as he chuckled a little. It had been a long time since he could torture people and Jin gave him the perfect new year gift he could hope for.
“In the spirit of the new year, allow me to introduce you to a friend of mine, who has been neglected for far too long.” Fa Tai was still unable to see anything, but somehow the projection of an evil wide grin like a Cheshire Cat, began to appear in front of him. “You will give me everything that you have inside that jelly brain of yours. Spill every. Single. Secret. Out.”
Although only a couple of minutes had passed, to Fa Tai, it felt like years – nay – decades. And if not for the message that more people would come, Kraft would not have minded lengthening his stay to perceived centuries as he played as he infiltrated into the man’s brain and heart while playing with his feelings.
And thus, the brainwashing session commences.
