Just like Fa Tai, each one of Kraft’s new victims had had haughty thoughts towards Jin, before Kraft ‘convinced’ them to think otherwise. Jin, who had survived to tell the tale, knew what a terrible torture each one of them had to go through.
Still, Kraft had merely shown Jin a fraction of the pain and anxiety the key personnel had gone through. He had not had such fun for a long time and took this as an opportunity to refresh his skills and try out new tactics to scare the key personnel.
His methods had varied from plain boring overwhelming darkness to digging out their worst fears and portraying it out for them to relive it over and over again. However, that was just part one. The next phase of brainwashing them was to make them believe they still had hope in that everlasting darkness to cling on.
And that was when he hung the carrot bait up high for them to reach out only to disappoint them by leaving it centimetres away from their maximum extent. “For the despair upon hoping had the greatest effect on their minds, thus making them extremely vulnerable to the effects of seducing the brain to our command” or so he quoted in one of his brainwashing sessions.
“You are lucky that I was only strengthening your resolve back then, not brainwashing you to submit to my command,” Kraft pointed from the sidelines to Jin as the dungeon supplier had seen enough for the moment. He left for a moment and came back with a bottle of water and a packet of piping hot waffles.
“Too bad the System rules prevent insubordination of people from my world. If only we could kill and resurrect them, that would be so much easier. I’m sure they all would have preferred that compared to your treatment.” Jin said as he folded his arms and saw one of the personnel squirming in the middle of the room. To Jin and Kraft, the room was just as Fa Tai had seen. That relatively empty room with a desk and two chairs and a guy flapping his body like a fish on the floor. But in the personnel’s perspective, all they could see was abyssal darkness waiting to swallow them.
“Heh, if the System made it so easy, all you had to do would be to kill each and every one of them and make them our slaves… Well there should be reasons why these rules exist. How lucky you are, that I can still recruit people for you. Besides, the way the System does it uses up its processing capability to handle all of them, so I’m sure it also appreciates my efforts.” Kraft replied as he munched on the hot waffles. The blueberry jam inside suited the crispy edges of the waffles, and it melted inside his mouth. “But good on you to think about brainwashing them. I honestly did not expect you to call me to perform such a wonderful activity.”
“Meh. I needed the information in their head and making them double crossing the Tiger Head Clan will be so much more fun. I do not understand why Yuan Ba had to keep making schemes to take over me. Is that why the System hates those Zodiac clans so much?” Jin asked as he squatted and saw the man pissing on his pants while begging for mercy still in that fish stance.
“Now you’re speaking my language!” Kraft laughed as he swallowed his food with joy. “He thinks you are gullible, a person with strength and possibly wealth, but no wits. To be fair, you DID fall for like ALL of his plots. Like the part where the police did not interfere with the Rat Triad until the very last minute? There’s no way an honest police force would be allowed to do that. They had pledged their service to help the common folks, and by fencing the place up for the Rat Triad to finish you, it was a dead giveaway. Someone high and mighty is controlling the ropes. Perhaps a deal between the upper echelons of the Rats and Tigers? Who knows. I did not bother to investigate. Luckily, there are still some good fools, sry I meant people, out there, like the police chief who still had some conscience and closed his eyes to let a few of his policemen assist you.” Kraft began to wonder if these key personnel had some information of the said event. Highly unlikely but since he had his toys it was worth a shot to check.
“Now that you say it, I felt that the Tiger Triad members came at such a convenient time. Too much of a coincidence, in my opinion.” Jin started to think back to that incident. The way Ku Wai, the Tiger Princess personal bodyguard and vice leader of the Three Eyed Tiger Triad came in to save him felt like it was choreographed. However, it was a possibility that Ku Wai had been used the way Yang Ling had been taken advantage of.
“Have you ever wondered why they gave you that honorary tiger membership? Perhaps, they had colluded, and if you fall, the Tigers will try to protect you as much as possible. So, in the end, you will owe them. You are in their debt because they not only gave you an honorary position but saved your life from the Rat Triad Leader.” Kraft said so bluntly that it allowed Jin to ponder further.
“And the Rat Triad could get the district with the Tiger’s help, then pay them some commission fee or something? While I felt that is plausible but isn’t it a bit too far fetch too?” Jin asked, and Kraft could only shrug his shoulders.
“Your judgement call, mate. While I might be providing you with circumstantial evidence, you can only decide these things yourself. However, there’s one thing I might be able to add. The Tiger Princess? She is genuine.” Kraft used the paper packet to wipe his mouth before drinking some water to clear his throat.
“She might be ‘in the schemes’, but generally, her father used her as a pawn as well. Also, I heard Yang Ling tried to warn you before she was taken down by her own people. That will give you an indication that she might be a worthy ally to consider. Heh! Imagine having her as the Tiger Clan Head while under your System’s influence! That would be quite an accomplishment!” Kraft added while grinning from one end to another. “And another girl to your harem of potential wives.”
Jin rolled his eyes and denied that possibility. “Please, if I recruit her, I would want her for her knowledge and expertise in nanomechanical engineering. Compared to what I studied in school, she’s a real deal engineer which could soar our in-house technological capabilities to the skies.” He argued as he conjured a waste bin for Kraft to throw his items. After all, he did not like the office to be messy in any way.
“Please! Stop giving excuses.” Kraft snorted before snapping his fingers and the nightmare for the Tiger Refinery Industry Manager to fall to his knees.
“Wake up. Who do you think you are? Lying on the floor in the presence of your true master?!” Kraft said as he kicked the guy awake as he did to Fa Tai and the rest before him.
“Sorry! Sorry!” The manager said as he saw Jin and quickly prostrated.
“I expect an audit report of the factories that are under you, do you understand?” Kraft shouted, and the manager nodded his head, banging it on the ground before running out of the room.
“Isn’t that a bit too extreme?” Jin asked as he checked the whereabouts of the next participant of Kraft’s brainwashing.
“Nah, you got to incite that fear and power abuse in them. You might not really understand it, but those boomer old folks’ mindset is totally different from you millennials. You got to work a different angle to get things done. Don’t worry, these brainwashes are as effective as they can be. Besides, they had already made a verbal pact to the System at the end of the brainwashing procedure.”
“So, no matter what, Original Bellator’s Kraft method would ensure loyalty to the Panda Clan compared to the Tiger Clan.” The System chimed in.
“And that means willing, productive management that would perform for the betterment of the Panda Clan.” Kraft said as he was thinking of the next punishment procedure for the upcoming clueless key personnel.
