50 Guns grew visibly angry, recalling Merlin_13.
He ranted, "That reckless son of a sow created a disastrous problem and then perished! If I could resurrect him, I would ensure he suffers immensely."
Old Curler sighed. "If he were here, he would be deeply disappointed to hear you say this."
50 Guns raised his right eyebrow at Old Curler, a challenge in his gaze. He demanded, "What do you mean?"
"You have constantly complained about the scarcity of special characters dedicated to liberate humanity from this game. Merlin_13 bought into your ideas, and he had the sheer audacity to actually do something about it, unlike you," Old Curler explained, her eyes fixed firmly on 50 Guns.
50 Guns smacked the table with both hands, sharply rising to his feet. He raised his voice at Old Curler, a furious edge to it. "You dare insult me!"
Old Curler burst into uncontrollable, mocking laughter. 50 Guns wasn't going to tolerate her blatant ridicule. He swiftly grabbed the air, pulling out a menacing brown-on-black mottled revolver. He aimed it directly at Old Curler.
"Stop!" Lady Flux yelled, her voice lashing out with fierce anger.
50 Guns' revolver seemed to deteriorate in his grip, dissolving like metal soaked in acid. He let the fragments drop onto the table surface. He felt a chilling presence at the other end of the table. He looked over and saw an ominous undead creature, clad in dark gothic body armour, staring directly at him. The creature's eyes within its helmet glowed with an eerie green light, perfectly reflecting 50 Guns' image.
The undead creature was Lady Flux's summoned entity. She was a Necromancer, ranked at the Pillar of Calamity tier, and her summoned creature was also ranked at the same formidable level. 50 Guns glared fiercely at the summoned undead.
With an assertive, commanding tone, Lady Flux ordered 50 Guns, "Sit down!"
50 Guns turned his intense glare towards Lady Flux.
"Sit down!" Lady Flux commanded once more, her voice brooking no argument.
50 Guns glared at Old Curler, who stared back with a wide, mocking smile still plastered across her face. 50 Guns reluctantly settled back into his seat.
Lady Flux scowled at both Old Curler and 50 Guns before stating, "You two are utterly insufferable. If it weren't for the fact that we are in such a precarious situation, I would truly not wish to work with you lot."
50 Guns bowed slightly and offered, "Forgive my manners, Lady Flux." He regained his calm demeanour, looking as if he hadn't lost his temper mere moments ago.
Lady Flux continued from where she had stopped. "As I said, we have been stretched thin to adequately deal with potential troublemakers. We must rearrange the distribution of capable personnel and vital resources."
She looked pointedly at Old Curler. "Oldy, you will have to cease your operations in Section 3."
Both Old Curler and 50 Guns expressed their clear shock at this sudden decision.
Lady Flux continued, "50 Guns will join you on the Clue Finder crew."
50 Guns furrowed his brows, clearly confused by the decision. Old Curler also wore a similar bewildered expression. If both of them joined the Clue Finder crew, there would be three Omnipotent-Pillar-of-Calamity characters on the team. The Omnipotent rank was one of the highest ranks within the Pillar of Calamity tier. Lady Flux was suspected to be even above this rank. However, apart from her tremendous power, there was no concrete proof that she was indeed above the Omnipotent-Pillar-of-Calamity tier.
Lady Flux stated, "I will personally oversee all matters concerning Section 1, Section 2, and Section 3, leaving the Clue Finder crew to manage them. I possess powerful items that will greatly assist me in conducting day-to-day operations."
She smiled, a hint of wry amusement in her voice, and half-jokingly added, "Who knows, I might even conquer and claim Section 3 for humanity while you guys are away."
Old Curler and 50 Guns did not find her joke amusing. Instead, they eyed her suspiciously. They deeply suspected that the pale lady before them was no longer on the same rank as them. They felt a growing urgency to level up their own powers before she could widen the formidable gap between them.
Ivan woke up five minutes before 7 PM. He had fallen into a deep sleep after dozing off some minutes before 3 PM. He checked his phone to see that he had four missed calls while he was asleep. Moreover, there were more than ten messages from the group chat he and his friends had created. Roger and the ladies had been complaining that Ivan hadn't picked up his calls. These messages had appeared ten minutes ago.
Ivan texted: "Hey, guys, I'm up. Just napping; that's why I didn't take the calls. You guys like to worry over nothing."
Roger texted: "Good, you have resurrected! It's almost 7 pm; we've got to get going, or else the restaurant will give away our table."
Chioma texted: "I'm already dressed."
Daiyu replied to Chioma's text: "Hope you didn't dress like you're going for a ball, Cinderella."
Chioma and Daiyu were the ladies among the four friends. Chioma was a light-skinned beauty and the shortest person among the quartet. Daiyu was equally beautiful, with pale skin, and she looked like she hailed from Southwest Asia.
Ivan texted: "See you guys in ten minutes."
He dropped his phone and went into the bathroom for a quick shower.
Ten minutes later, Chioma, Daiyu, Ivan, and Roger were all seated at a table close to a sidewalk on the street. They chatted and laughed, their spirits high. Roger was busy with the food most of the time. Chioma had a habit of picking on Roger, but Roger possessed quick wits, so his retorts were always sharp and fiery. The relationship between the two was akin to a sibling rivalry.
Roger said to Chioma, "Chi, if you would take a liking to eating frequently like me, you wouldn't be below five feet."
Chioma was momentarily stunned, left speechless. Ivan and Daiyu sympathetically expressed, "Oof."
Chioma couldn't muster a comeback. She bit her lips and declared, "Nice one, Roger. You won tonight. My comeback will burn. Better watch out for it."
Roger teased, "Your comeback? By chance, are you insinuating that you will grow a few inches taller?"
Roger laughed and promptly choked on the steak in his mouth. Chioma was so elated at Roger's misfortune that she burst into peals of laughter while clapping her hands delightedly. Ivan rushed to Roger's side and offered him a bottle of water to clear his throat. Roger gulped down some water, and his airways were swiftly cleared.
Roger was thoroughly embarrassed. He didn't dare look at Chioma, who was still laughing heartily.