Chapter 30 – "Detectives, Demons, and Dragon Fruit Diplomacy"
Adam's morning began with the kind of chaos that could only come from mixing PTSD-laced sarcasm, military trauma, and a magical floating city full of confused farmers and aggressive mana-vegetables.
In short: Jessica punched a tree, Frank shot a scarecrow, and someone swore they saw a carrot whispering dark prophecies.
Welcome to paradise.
🧃 Morning Briefing: With Extra Sarcasm
"Okay," Adam began, pacing in front of his latest recruits, "today's itinerary is simple. No mind control, no murder, no punching the infrastructure, and no shooting the irrigation spirits."
Frank blinked.
Jessica tilted her head. "...Wait, what was that last one?"
"Don't ask."
They were standing in front of a newly completed training arena on a floating hilltop, overlooking fertile valleys of spiritual crops. Mana-rice, ether-broccoli, even a tree that grew peaches which occasionally floated away if you didn't catch them fast enough.
The farmers—recruited from Nepal, South Korea, the Andes, and rural India—were already bustling around, turning the fields into a miracle of multicultural cultivation.
One monk from Kathmandu was currently using wind magic to gently steer airborne mangoes back onto their branches.
Jessica stared.
"…Okay, this place is like Willy Wonka meets Doctor Strange on shrooms."
Adam grinned. "Now that should be the slogan for the tourism brochure."
🔍 Investigator Training Montage (Jessica Jones-style)
Jessica was surprisingly into the whole "helping Adam run a hidden society" thing. She interrogated new arrivals to ensure they weren't spies, ran background checks with a magical terminal Adam built for her, and trained local militia members in streetwise detection.
She also:
Punched a shady smuggler through a fence.
Accidentally vaporized an illegal potion seller by pointing out the inconsistency in his story.
And somehow convinced a fire elemental named Gorblox the Incinerator to take up knitting instead of arson.
"She's terrifying," Frank muttered as Jessica explained the basics of lying detection to a group of apprentice sorcerers.
Adam nodded. "I know. I love it."
😵 The Demon Fruit Incident
Then came the demon banana.
Yes. Demon. Banana.
A magical fruit from the Vault's edge trees had apparently absorbed corrupted energy during a brief dimension-phase shift. And it… spoke.
In Latin.
Backwards.
Jessica found it.
Naturally, she tried to smoke it.
The banana hissed and launched itself at her face.
Frank shot it mid-air with his morphing mana weapon (which was currently in shotgun mode), splattering cursed banana guts across the arena wall.
The wall promptly burst into demonic flames and started chanting in Abyssal.
Jessica looked at Adam. "Okay, two things. One: I hate everything about that. Two: Why do you have cursed fruit growing next to your magical cottage cheese bushes?!"
Adam deadpanned. "To build character."
✨ System Reward Time
The emotional spike triggered by Jessica nearly being possessed (and then saved by Frank) sent a wave of system pings Adam's way like a jackpot machine that just got smacked by Thor.
[EMOTIONAL SPIKE DETECTED – Jessica Jones]
Faced death by demon-fruit possession. Saved by ally. Emotional resonance with teammate.
+1 Strength
+1 Charisma
+4% Skill Fragment: Predictive Movement(2% → doubled to 4%)
+$7,500 Cash Deposited
[EMOTIONAL SPIKE DETECTED – Frank Castle]
Bonded with teammate after saving her life. Deepened loyalty.
+1 Intelligence
+4% Skill Fragment: Tactical Reflexes(2% → doubled to 4%)
+$6,000 Cash Deposited
Jessica, wiping banana goop from her coat, muttered, "If I get mind-controlled, possessed again, or end up hallucinating fruit with daddy issues, I'm quitting."
Adam threw her a mana peach.
She caught it mid-air, took a bite, and glowed faintly purple for a moment.
"…Okay, fine. That's good."
🍑 Later That Night
Frank and Jessica sat at the newly opened "Fruit of War" tavern—designed by Adam and run by a retired warlock who specialized in mana cocktails.
Jessica sipped a "Psionic Mule." Frank had a "Molten Old Fashioned" that literally steamed.
"You trust him?" Jessica asked.
Frank looked at her, then nodded. "Yeah. He's crazy, but not the bad kind."
Jessica smirked. "That's what they said about me."
Frank raised his glass. "To bad kinds."
Jessica clinked hers. "And demon bananas."
🌀 Meanwhile…
Adam stood in the Dominion Vault, staring at a sealed chamber that had just unlocked thanks to emotional resonance and another notch of loyalty progression.
Inside: a glowing cube etched with alien runes and a voice that whispered:
"Seeker of the Thread… three shall bond, and one shall break."
Adam blinked. "...That's either prophetic foreshadowing or really weird abstract poetry."
📦 Chapter 30 Summary
Stat Gains:
+1 Strength (Jessica)
+1 Charisma (Jessica)
+1 Intelligence (Frank)
Skill Fragments Gained:
Predictive Movement (Jessica) +4%
Tactical Reflexes (Frank) +4%
Cash Gained:
Jessica: +$7,500
Frank: +$6,000
Major Events:
Jessica further bonded with Frank.
Demon banana attempted possession.
Jessica saved; emotional spike triggered.
A sealed chamber in the Dominion Vault began unlocking… foreshadowing future events.
Ready for Chapter 31 – where Adam visits Luke Cage in Harlem, dodges metaphors, survives bar brawls, and drops a contract that might just change everything.