John then had a discussion with the women about what sculpture he wanted made and where he wanted to make it.
John decided he was going to buy a plot of land on the highway leading into the capital. As with how many people were migrating to it, given the current state of the world, it would be incredibly busy. And that's what John wanted. He wanted everyone to see his monument.
Maybe then he would fool them. They wouldn't know what he did to ______.
John talked to a landowner and bought the land there quite easily. Then he took some money out and gave it to the woman who would make his statue.
Overall, construction was started quickly and without much difficulty.
John felt reasonably confident that the sculpture would be made to a high quality.
Now there was only one thing left for John to do.
Bury his sin.
John looked up what the most opulent graveyard in the world was on his phone. Suprise surprise.
It was in the capital.
John found that it was quite easy to secure burial plots on the internet. But the plots cost many times more than he expected. Overall, it cost fifty thousand dollars to bury ______'s body.
John brought ______'s body to the graveyard and they buried it.
And now this is where he stood.
It had been months since he came to the capital.
His eyes had gained circles. And a beard had sprouted from his chin. He had managed to stay semi-clean shaven with knives and other sharp implements. But John had stopped caring recently.
Here lies the green dragon.
That's all the headstone said. No dates. No names.
No one would be able to tell if there was even an actual person buried there.
Yet here it was.
A stone atop a mound of dirt. It was the only testimony to a kind life that died from the decisions of an evil man.
John's world began to warp. He smelled salt. John was back. Once more he was in the deep blue ocean.
"I'm......" It was like a concrete block had been shoved down John's throat.
He couldn't speak. Through the stone. He couldn't breathe through the ocean.
Murderer.
It was floating above him. Pressing into him.
With my new toughness. I wonder what height I would need to jump from to die?
"You seem like you're feeling some kind of way." Said a voice from behind John
John turned his head to that voice.
Standing a foot to John's left and a foot behind John was a woman with a face that was half made of metal. She was a strange combination of robotic and human components. And despite the fact that John towered many feet above her. She almost seemed like a Giant to John. She was a person who submersed any room that she entered.
"Who...…." John pushed through the block in his throat. Because this was important. This was something that needed to be said.
"Who are you?" John asked.
"You would think you would have heard of me. I'm the most powerful woman in the world."
John fell onto his ass. Her robotic appearance. Her aura. She was Mechna. The leader of the mechanoid empire.
Mechna looked down at John.
"The great thing about power is the knowledge that comes along with it."
She took a few small steps towards John. She bent down. And booped his nose.
A wide grin appeared on her face.
"People used to always get mad at me when I did that. But now that I'm an empress. No one so much as flinches." She says with a wide smile on her face.
John didn't laugh.
A small frown appeared on her face.
"Oh. Really? That usually works." She said
John simply looked up at her.
Maybe she had figured it out. What he did. The sins he committed. Maybe she knew.
What if she knew?
"I'm here to offer you an opportunity," Mechna said
John's face paled. She was going to threaten to kill him unless he followed her.
"I've seen how much you've grown. Your power is now that of one of the top ten warriors of the Sunshine Republic. Of course, with the systems introduced into the world, they will soon be getting stronger. But still….. To shoot from the power of an entry-level warrior to that in just a day is insane. And I know you were part of the Sunshine Republic's latest battle. The one where the Troll king sparred with Joe and Samantha. I also know that for major battles like that the growth. Limit is removed. It's not too hard to put two and two together. That growth can be replicated. And I will pay to have that power. Your salary will start at one billion dollars per year. And it will increase by a hundred million for each year that you grow in power." Mechna said
John looked up at her. His jaw practically fell off.
John just stared at her.
One billion. Not in assets. Not in net worth.
In salary.
John would be one of the richest, if not the richest, man alive with that kind of money. It was insane.
John had been an accountant. A mild-mannered, massive-bodied man. He had made just a little bit of money. He had just barely managed to eke out a living. Most of his money each year went to food. The rest went to rent cable and gas. Other than those things he did almost nothing.
But now.
One billion.
Just because of his ability to eat. To chew and consume. This.....
It just couldn't be real. There was no way that it was possible. No chance in hell. John wasn't someone who could ever be a billionaire. That was just the way of things.
John continued to stare at Mechna.
"What? Do you not like money." John just stared.
Even if this is a dream.... I don't care!
"Can I ask for a little something extra?" John asked
Mechna scowled.
"I can't pay you more."
John shook his head.
"No. I want you to build a monument. One so titanic and grad that it will be like a modern wonder of the world." John said
"Sure. But then you'll get paid less."
"I'm okay with that."
"Okay. I'll dock your pay based on the construction costs." Mecha said
John smiled
If he could give ______ a monument. Then it would be worth it.