The next morning, Aida and the others woke up and meditated with gems. Nobody came to ambush or steal anything from them after that one person. Because they didn't have food, they used gems to abate their hunger instead. Gems served the purpose of replenishing their energy well, but after so many years of eating 3 meals a day, it felt odd to not eat.
Finally around mid-morning, there was a knock on the door. Aida went to open the door and saw that it was the same guard as before. He stood cautiously by the door, ready to run at a moment's notice.
Aida rolled her eyes, she hadn't even done anything to him yet. He said in a tentative voice, "The leader wants to meet ya."
"Lead the way," Aida said in a cold and clear voice.
Taking clear steps, Aida and the other two children plus Xiao Ai hanging around her neck, headed towards a building at the center. As they entered the largest building on the base, she was brought upstairs to the penthouse suite. On the way in, there were many people lined up on the side wearing old, worn out black suits, acting as security guards.
Xiao Ai vibrated on Aida's neck, clearly laughing at the scene. They looked like knock off Men in Black. Aida patted Xiao Ai to calm her as they finally reached their destination.
The leader was sitting on a black swivel chair with his legs propped up. He leaned back and was playing with a knife in his hands. There was a practically naked little girl standing by his side, massaging his calves.
Artie, who had been silent all this time, voiced his thoughts, "What a foolish Variant. He's an Earth-type but he chooses not to be near his own strength."
Aida laughed inwardly as well. A foolish leader was clearly to his benefit. Artie, who had gained sentience, now provided more than just information about the Variants but also side commentary.
Surprisingly, among all the people here, there were no psychic type Variants and only 2 other elemental type Variants. All the other thugs on this base were physical type Variants. She silently shook her head at their decision, just because the other types were weak to begin with doesn't mean they would be weak forever. They unknowingly got rid of the more important Variants for short term gains. How foolish.
While Aida was thinking about all these things, the Green Base leader also remained silent. He was assessing Aida and the others as well. He snorted while thinking, "A woman and 2 kids, what a useless bunch. At least the woman is pretty." His eyes slowly turned lascivious.
The little girl who had been massaging his leg looked up when she heard his comment and seemed to freeze for a second in shock before unintentionally digging her nails into the man's leg. Angered, the Green Base leader kicked her away. The little girl was flung several feet before hitting a wall. She didn't scream or cry but instead acted as though the one abused wasn't her and quietly crawled back to the Base Leader.
Seeing this, Aida's eyes turned colder. Behind her, Rose had already secretly formed an ice spike in her hand. Aida had noticed her actions and felt her anger through their connection and subtly patted her on the shoulder, reminding her to stay calm.
Aida declared, "I want to challenge you. If you win, I'll pay you in the form of 100 gems. If I win, this whole base will follow me to break into City M."
The people in the room began to mutter and snort in derision, clearly not believing that a woman could defeat their leader nor provide them with 100 gems. Even with all their resources, they only had a total of 100 gems in their vault. It was hard for them to believe that a woman with 2 children would be able to fulfill her promise.
The leader continued to twirl the knife around his hands, seeming to ponder the offer. Then he suddenly threw the knife towards Aida, who didn't blink or move at all. Aida held onto Rose's shoulder to keep her from moving. The knife flew narrowly past her face and hit the wall behind her. Aida then casually brushed her hair in derision and said, "So?"
Seeing this, the leader's eyes hardened slightly before saying, "I don't trust that you have 100 gems. Instead, if I win, you will have to be my servant from now on."
A familiar glint passed through Aida's eyes as she heard this but she still responded in her cold, authoritative tone, "Deal."
The base leader nodded, "My name is Gary, I was formerly known as Gambling Gary. I've just returned from outside so I would like to have a meal before the fight. You may join me."
Aida simply stared at him as if he were trash before responding, "Set a time and I will be there. I'm afraid I will lose my appetite if I have to see your disgusting face."
Gambling Gary simply laughed at her comment, not offended at all. He simply said, "Ok. 2 hours, meet on the field."
Aida simply turned around without bothering to respond and left. There was only one thing that they could possibly agree on, and that is that food should always come first. She had no intention of staying at the base for lunch, who knows what kind of disgusting drugs these barbarians would place into the food.
Gambling Gary took out another knife and continued to flip it around in his hand as he watched Aida leave. The little girl on the side had her head down as she continued to shiver in fright and pain.
He liked a girl with good mental fortitude. He licked his lips in anticipation, the thorny and proud type women were the most fun to dominate. All the women here had become too submissive.
One of the men beside him whispered, "Boss, she seems strong. Will we be okay?"
The leader stood up and waved him off, "Let's go eat lunch."