Gu Erin freshened up, still slightly aware of the fact that his shirt would occasionally open uncontrollably from the lack of buttons. Although he truly could care less, his mindset right now was quite fragile. Even with all of his experience torture was not something he had ever participated in or been on the receiving end of, besides the side effects of certain cultivation techniques were a kind of torture within themselves.
Leaving the bathroom, he found Lucy waiting for him leaning up against the wall, however, her carefree attitude from before was long gone as she eyed Gu Erin warily, it seemed she no longer viewed him as a kid, he was now squarely an unknown or a threat. Gu Erin however, did not know what to make of Lucy, she first came across as a tigress, yet there were certain moments where Gu Erin felt some form of kindness from her, yet he felt if he pointed that out he might end up worse than the man he tortured.
Thinking of that man his thoughts soured, thoughts of Lucy and everything else vanished for a split second as the man's dead body limply sitting in the chair entered his mind. Though Lucy's next words quickly blocked that train of thought.
"Our boss wants a word." She said simply, Gu Erin could tell she wasn't in the mood to talk, and to be perfectly fair neither was he, but unlike Lucy he couldn't unwind from what just happened.
Lucy led him back to the common room before departing from Gu Erin heading straight to a small bar, its wall was lined with different poisons. Gu Erin would have been tempted to join her if it wasn't for the small gathering in the center of the room. What drew his attention the most was the newest member to the group who wasn't present when he arrived.
His presence demanded attention and it commanded the room, low conversations were held between members before they all finally noticed him, after which they all went silent.
The man in the center gestured to the arm chair across from him, isolated from the group. Gu Erin did not argue and walked over to the seat taking his time to analyze the older man.
He was a heavier set man perhaps in his fifties or maybe later forties, yet he gave the impression of being younger than he looked. His piercing eyes never left Gu Erin for a second, they would have made any lesser man look away. His appearance was nothing special, aging slightly wearing down his handsomeness. A frown seemed permanently etched onto his face. His son Kei Sung sat silently on the side his presence completely nullified by his father's.
During this time a tense atmosphere formed in the room, like two mountains colliding neither gave way and nobody dared put themselves between the two. Although one was their boss and they respected him due to his ability, the other was a young demon who easily tortured someone else. Although this fact didn't faze them to much it was the manner in which he did so. Even now Gu Erin's emotionless mask gave a few of the keener and more experienced Blood Jackets a dangerous feeling.
Gu Erin decided to break this silence, knowing a bit about Kei Jiahao from his old friend who was now as meek as a kitten. "Greetings to boss Kei, I am Gu Erin, and I come with an offer that would prove most beneficial to you and your…. Group."
Gu Erin was thinking about inviting his entire organization; however, Gu Erin did not want or need the outer members of the Blood Jackets. Common thugs were hard to control and impulsive by nature, something he did not need during the starting stages of Heaven's Mercy. What Gu Erin did want was Kei Jiahao and the Blood Jackets, they were talented and experienced, and most of all they would be willing to follow orders as long as Gu Erin kept giving them benefits. Thanks to his knowledge Gu Erin luckily had an abundance of those.
However, this was a very dangerous situation, from what he knew about Kei Jiahao from Kei Sung, he was a businessman, certainly he was ex-special forces, and now a mercenary. But, in the end he will only look for what's profitable, and if Gu Erin told him the full truth of the situation he might just be laughed at before summarily killed. So, Gu Erin resigned himself to continue on telling half-truths and stall for time till tomorrow. When the Heaven's descend and madness ensues his offer wouldn't seem half crazy.
"I see, and how is it that you came to know about us?" Kei Jiahao asked, his voice stern and domineering, Gu Erin could already see a few shifts in the mercenaries around him. If he answered incorrectly, or to an unsatisfactory extent he would be dead without a doubt.
Gu Erin however, did not mind this threat of death, death really didn't scare him anymore, certainly it would be something to avoid, but he would not cower before it.
So, Gu Erin chose a different approach, "do not pretend like your actions are invisible to the higher ups. We are extending this offer to you because you are a lesser evil that is deemed necessary to reestablish control once chaos breaks loose. In return you will be given benefits based on how well you cooperate."
Again, a silence fell upon the group however, this silence was far deadlier than any other, Gu Erin could practically see Kei Jiahao gritting his teeth in anger. This was Gu Erin's plan, to seem important, and paint a fictional backer powerful enough to both know about the Blood Jacket's operations, and strong enough to be willing to subdue them in a negotiation.
Kei Jiahao finally responded his voice on the verge of a growl. "Who is we?"
Gu Erin shook his head, "that is something you don't need to know till tomorrow, I am assigned to be your guide during the chaos, it would be best to gather your trusted personnel during this time, once it starts we will not wait for stragglers. This will be a time sensitive extraction, and you are not the only group."
This explanation didn't seem to appease Kei Jiahao, in fact it seemed to only make him angrier, sensing that things were not going well Gu Erin continued. "Perhaps mister Kei doesn't believe me? If That is the case I would request you wait till tomorrow, at midday you will be forced to believe me. Although I can't promise the transition would be as smooth it would still be manageable."
Gu Erin had to admit, when Kei Sung mentioned that his father was a stubborn opportunist he was not kidding. Gu Erin thought that an offer such as this even if sudden and crazy was still worth it as it didn't present much of a risk if he was wrong. But, Kei Jiahao was more stubborn than even Kei Sung portrayed.
After staring into Gu Erin's soul for a solid minute Kei Jiahao looked towards the African man, "James show him to his room." He then looked back to Gu Erin. "For your sake I hope your information is good."
Relieved Gu Erin smiled, which seemed to make Kei Jiahao's frown deepen. But, Gu Erin couldn't have hoped for a better outcome, his only goal in this case was to just stall until tomorrow. If he made it till then he would have an escape route. Plus, once the Blood Jackets see it with their own eyes they would most likely listen to him. He only hoped that everyone else would take his word to heart and follow his instructions. If they didn't it would give him a setback.
James the tall black man stood up, and walked over to him, Gu Erin did not wait for instructions and stood up as well, following after James who changed his course towards the living quarters. Gu Erin could only hope that wherever he was going to be held was at least comfortable.
James led him to a room, the door looking fairly normal, however, Gu Erin noticed that the wood of the door was actually metal. James moved aside letting Gu Erin enter. "It's not a cell if you're wondering, you can leave, but don't be surprised if you get shot." James said in his deep voice.
Gu Erin simply nodded to him, finding himself mentally exhausted, the stress and adrenaline of the previous conversation was wearing off. Leaving Gu Erin to a mind full of negativity, thankfully he gained the time needed to meditate and to calm his Dao heart. If he went into Heaven's Mercy with this mentality he might have to sacrifice precious time to fight a heart devil, but since he was still in a world without qi he could still settle his Dao heart without consequences.
Gu Erin shuddered thinking of his last fight with a heart devil, they fed off negativity and trapped your mind in an illusion of suffering or happiness. Their goal would be to break your Dao heart in which case they would be able to take over your body. It was possible to reverse this, but that technique would only be discovered a few months in to Heaven's Mercy. At that time people's heart devils would consume so many people that countless lives would be lost as they go on a bloodthirsty rampage.
Gu Erin sat down in the lotus position and began to clear his mind, it was perfectly silent in this room, no doubt it was built in mind for the previous floor's activities. Gu Erin breathed, each and every inhale and exhale measured to help calm him mind and roiling emotions. Gu Erin had one goal in his mind and that was to set his Dao heart.
He originally thought that he would be willing to do anything and everything no matter how many times in order to make sure that his planet and the ones he cared about were safe. Yet after torturing that man Gu Erin found his resolve wavering.
Was torture necessary on his path to power? Would he do so to the innocent? No, he wouldn't, he would only use controlled cruelty. As time passed he kept sinking deeper into thought, redrawing his moral lines once again.