"Nope!"
Cesar immediately rejected another deal Melinda proposed after hearing the revised deal for the first time. Basically, Melinda was willing to pay double the amount of cash she was willing to relay and a free item from the shop that he or one of his group wanted to get.
It was a crazy deal, to be honest. Cesar's life will turned upside down just because he held the largest contribution point everyone had in the academy, only as a student, and used it as a bargain to grasp fifty thousand cash straight up. He will immediately enter the ranks of one of the richest students to be in the classes.
Yet Cesar was unwilling to give a single point to Melinda at this point. Right now, he was thinking of how to snatch everything from her while not garnering any losses on his side.
He had now possessed the upper card on his hand, after all. And it was only standing right beside him.
'You really had the guts to scam me out of all people, huh? I'll make you regret the choices you made this day. I swear it to my parents whom I don't know that I'll get the most precious items you have,'
Melinda's complexion grew even worse. She wasn't excluding any type of confidence as of the moment, unsure what Cesar would pull off. The only thing she wanted to do now was to appease Cesar who seems to be the leader of the group without creating a rift between her company and the Schmitz.
Forget about being fired, she'll be gone for good.
"W-what do you want to do, kid?"
Cesar looked at the clock, seeing that there were only a few minutes left till their allotted time was up. When he finished thinking about what to say, he demanded with an authoritative tone.
"I'll take the fifty thousand cash right and let me and my team choose something around the room that they wish to take for free." He beamed out a cordial smile, "In exchange, you'll get to maintain a good relationship with The Schmitz,"
"What kind of bull—"
Cesar immediately turned around upon sensing the answer she would give would be not what he was expecting but Melinda quickly changed her stance, afraid it would make matters worse.
"Wait, just wait!"
Cesar halted before seeing her continuing.
"I was just kind… shocked, haha! I mean, it's a lost business if I just straight up give you what I want in exchange for—"
Instead of letting her continue, Cesar started to be infuriated as he demanded with a more pressing tone.
"I don't want any more yapping nor finding tricks just to get on your way. Tell me if it's a yes or no," Cesar paused, "You have five seconds,"
"Please…"
"Three…"
Melinda hissed, "You jumped two seconds!"
"One…"
Melinda finally surrendered, not wanting to be pressured by some kid who was a decade younger than her. With a thump on the table, she regrettably answered.
"Deal!"
Cesar grabbed two cases filled with twenty five thousand Vennon money and turned his attention to his squad.
"Well, you heard her. Choose anything you want from this room." Cesar paused with a light smile, "It's on the house,"
…
Walking outside the Moren Shop with additional equipment on their side, they couldn't be happier. Not only would this help them, probably something that will come to clutch in a certain situation but they also managed to get it for free.
They entered the shop with nothing and now they are coming out with a few gears with their squad leader having fifty thousand cash and carrying it in his briefcase with a gleeful face.
"You know, your gamble wouldn't pay off if Melinda pushed the deal to the point of contacting my parents," Reyna chuckled, "Why do you think I don't have any Nightmare upon coming here when we could afford it secretly? It's because they wanted me to be dependent. So, my position as an heiress will not work until I really become one,"
She paused, "That's why I remained quiet throughout the time, and somehow uncomfortable with the looks she was giving me,"
Cesar stared at her for a moment, momentarily loss for words to say before shrugging his shoulders.
"It didn't matter if it was misunderstood or a misplay. If the end result is the same, that's all that really matters to me,"
In that moment of tranquility, the squad suddenly felt shivers that course through their spine. It might be because they achieved transcendence after being trained inside the academy or the sudden power-up coming from the facets, but only them had felt it.
"Hey, isn't that…"
In the next second, an alarming sound of wailing speakers resonated throughout the city, breaking through the ears of everyone present.
All of them halted.
In just a second, everyone who heard it became crestfallen. Their complexion changed into a much more timid, nervous, but also full of fear to the signal those wailing speakers meant.
It just only signifies that a Nightmare Dangers was nearby, that's all.
If only Nightmares aren't taken too lightly, everyone wouldn't be reacting this way.
Knowing what to do, probably being trained for times like this, even if fear was slowly creeping upon them, they resolved themselves to move.
The vendors closed their shops, the bustling crowd made space as they aligned themselves to prevent an unforeseen accident, and guards moved around the place to secure the trading center.
"Let's go,"
The squad also made their way towards the exit. Right in front of it, one of the guards suddenly called out to them.
"Hey, what are you guys doing? Stay inside!"
Cesar approached the guard and solemnly spoke, "We have different protocols than you sir. We're from the academy,"
Being knowledgeable enough to know what that implies, the guard tightly holding the handle of the door released his grip and spoke grimly.
"We know your academy brats protocol so go. And be careful," The guard paused, "If you can go back, I'll open the doors for you,"
Cesar nodded once before he and the others exited the Harden Training Center and made their way through the parking their van used to park. By discreetly moving through the street with a hastened yet quiet jog, they subtly noticed the changes happening in the city.
What once crowded roads and rowdy stores turned quiet and closed real click. Any type of person present in the streets is either an authoritative person or hiding through the dark corners, unable to return to their homes which are probably far away.
The only thing left that was here just a while ago was the wailing speakers to signal the forthcoming of a Nightmare.
They needed to regroup to Alms and Chin quickly.
Unfortunately enough, just as they were nearing the parking lot, a figure stood in their way.
"Ah…"
Quentin was about to step forward but Cesar immediately grabbed his shoulder, stopping him from moving any further.
"Are you blind or what? That isn't human,"
Frowning for a moment there, Quentin immediately squinted his eyes to focus more on the image standing meters away from them.
His eyes finally widened.
What actually stood there was a misshapen human figure that looked like had clung its way up to the lands of the living. Three meters tall with two heads that belonged to a human and a monster with nothing but flesh; two burgeoning arms letting out a foul stench; and its legs didn't appear human-like as one appeared a leg of a hairy mantis and a thin steed.
It was a Corrupted Human.
These are humans who have been corrupted either by being exposed to Nightmares or unable to control themselves, which is also a result of being vulnerable by them. If they are unable to check themselves through any means to make their condition stable, either physically, mentally, or emotionally, it will immediately bite them on their backs.
This was a piece of common knowledge, but it was something being reminded of them every day.
And looking at the corrupted wearing civilian clothes, one can assume he was unfortunate enough to be exposed to some Nightmare.
"Easy now, don't make any moves," Cesar paused, staring indifferently at the corrupted with a frown as he slowly stepped back, "We don't have any items to distinguish the level of this corrupted. We're lucky if it's the lowest but I wouldn't bet my life on it. This gamble is not worth it,"
The rest also began stepping back as well as they remained their eyes glued onto the corrupted. Jacqueline struck up a conversation as they did.
"Plans?"
Cesar nodded, "Let's avoid its vision for now,"
Thus, after this improvised plan was made, they continued moving backward.
Yet someone was following their steps. The corrupted slightly tilted its two heads before walking forward, matching the pace of their movement.
It made Cesar realize instantly what was happening.
They will never be able to avoid its line of vision.
'Is it sentient?'
Cesar tried to stop, making another stop as well. The creature, upon seeing him halted, also paused for a brief moment.
Only this time, two of its lips smiled, revealing hideous distorted teeth inside.
And the monster disappeared from its place.