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Alex returned to the office with his menagerie of rescue animals, creating an immediate stir among the employees. The women were delighted by the adorable cats and dogs, while the men were equally pleased—though their enthusiasm stemmed from Victoria's presence as much as the pets.
Pretty girls had that effect on dopamine levels, like the emotional equivalent of dessert for the brain.
"What cute little kittens!" the female employees gushed.
"Look at those adorable puppies!" they continued.
"Damn, look at that gorgeous woman," the guys thought privately.
Several cats were temporarily stationed in the main office area where employees could interact with them during breaks. The three dogs went to the yard, settling into the territory formerly occupied by Prettyboy and Basin.
"Are you going to rename them?" Elizabeth asked, kneeling beside the Shiba-style dog and scratching behind its ears.
"Who?" Alex replied, momentarily confused.
"I was just thinking out loud," Elizabeth laughed. "This one has such a serious, straightforward personality. What are you calling her?"
"Let's go with Shibe," Alex decided.
"Like the internet meme?" guessed at his reasoning. "That's actually pretty clever!"
Alex nodded without elaborating. He'd actually borrowed the name from a novel he'd read in his previous life featuring a Shiba Inu, but explaining that would be complicated.
"What about this one?" Elizabeth pointed to the husky-type dog.
"Husky," Alex said simply.
"Husky! That's hilarious but perfect. Hey there, Husky," Elizabeth said, lifting the dog that was much smaller than actual huskies but had the same striking blue eyes and distinctive markings.
While Alex and Elizabeth played with the animals outside, the female employees inside had started gossiping in earnest.
"Who's that beautiful woman with Alex?"
"Could she be his girlfriend? She's absolutely stunning!"
"Alex has excellent taste. They look perfect together!"
"Well, he's pretty amazing himself—handsome, successful, talented..."
"As a straight woman, I'm still checking her out!" The female staff whispered among themselves while the male employees communicated through meaningful glances and suppressed sighs.
After Elizabeth left, Alex returned to his office and logged into Infinite Realms' community forums to check recent developments in their server region.
The posts painted a clear picture of Shadow Guild's increasing dominance and arrogance:
"Shadow Guild has gotten completely out of control. They're killing everyone on sight like they own the whole server!"
"They've always been arrogant, especially Shadow Lord. That asshole has been terrorizing players since the early days. Remember when Immortal Banner's leader used to shut him down in duels? That's what started their whole feud."
"Yeah, Immortal Banner kept Shadow Guild in check for years. While those two guilds were fighting, everyone else could actually play the game."
"Shadow Guild's growth is really thanks to their VP and other veteran officers. They've managed operations professionally while keeping Shadow Lord's worst impulses under control. Without that structure, they would've pissed off every guild in the region years ago."
"This is fucking unbearable! I was leveling an alt and they ganked me five times. When I switched to my main to retaliate, they brought a whole squad to camp me. I asked my guild for backup but those cowards told me to just deal with it!"
"New players can't even quest anymore. Shadow Guild has been camping spawn points and monopolizing resource nodes. They're straight-up bullying at this point."
"Can't you report them to the admins?"
"We tried, but they have deep pockets. Admins give them slap-on-the-wrist punishments, maybe a few days suspension, then they just rotate in fresh accounts to continue the harassment. It's a joke."
"Isn't there any other guild strong enough to put them in their place?"
"Immortal Banner used to keep them honest, but now all their top players defected to Shadow Guild. They're at peak power with nearly half the region's best players. Who's gonna challenge that? Plus they're smart—they don't mess with major guilds, just pick on smaller ones that can't fight back."
"Can Immortal Banner ever recover?"
"Doubtful. I heard their leader's original account got turned into some kind of humiliation display in the main plaza. Their new guild disbanded after like a week."
"No wonder Shadow Guild feels invincible now!"
"Holy shit, they're finally targeting major guilds. Saw them hunting World Destroyer members yesterday. I expected World Destroyer to fight back, but they just took it and ran."
"Where's World Destroyer's guild leader been anyway? Haven't seen him in ages."
"Shadow Guild members are actually bragging in forums about wanting to make Perfect Angels their 'personal harem.' Can you believe that arrogance?"
"Perfect Angels is one of the Big Five guilds. I heard their leader is some wealthy socialite with serious connections."
"There are so many legends about Perfect Angels. Every male player fantasizes about that guild."
"Newbie question—are Perfect Angels really all female players?"
"About eighty percent, supposedly. Though who knows how many are actually dudes with female avatars."
"Perfect Angels had members at last year's gaming convention. Most of them were legitimately gorgeous and obviously wealthy."
"Breaking news! Heard Shadow Lord and VP Horizon had a massive fight. Horizon's guild tag disappeared from his profile today—looks like he quit!"
"No way! Is that confirmed?"
"Word is Horizon wanted Shadow Guild to tone down the harassment. He criticized how out of control some members had gotten. Shadow Lord didn't appreciate being lectured, so they had it out publicly."
"Inside source here: Horizon demanded they dial back the griefing and called out specific members for being toxic. Everyone else felt like they were finally on top and wanted to enjoy their dominance instead of following rules all the time. Led to major internal conflict, and Horizon rage-quit when Shadow Lord sided against him."
"Shadow Guild is about to become completely lawless now!"
"This region is about to explode into total chaos!"
"Time to get the popcorn and watch it all burn!"
Reading through the community discussions, Alex smiled with satisfaction. His infiltration strategy was working perfectly. David's intelligence had helped orchestrate Horizon's departure, and now Shadow Guild was fracturing from internal power struggles just as Alex had hoped.
In the Morrison Group executive offices, a nervous young assistant knocked on Marcus Morrison's door.
"Mr. Morrison, I'm really sorry," the assistant began apologetically. "I contacted that ShadowLord player again, but he absolutely refuses to sell the account at any price. I've tried multiple approaches, but he's completely inflexible."
"He won't sell for any amount?" Marcus frowned deeply. "Keep trying different angles. There has to be something he wants more than that game account."
"Yes sir," the assistant nodded, looking uncomfortable about the continued rejections, and left the office.
Marcus sighed heavily after the door closed. He deeply regretted his impulsive decision to sell Alex's gaming account during their argument months ago. His anger and traditional authoritarian parenting instincts had led him to make a choice that damaged his relationship with his son.
Looking back, Marcus realized he'd never truly treated Alex as an equal or tried to understand his perspective. He'd always maintained the superior position, believing he could control every aspect of his child's life through financial pressure and paternal authority.
He'd never bothered to understand Alex's interests, psychology, dreams, or emotional needs. Communication had been minimal, and when it occurred, it was usually Marcus issuing directives rather than engaging in genuine dialogue.
Recent events had forced Marcus to confront an uncomfortable truth: while he might be a successful businessman, he'd been a terrible father.
The gaming account represented more than virtual property to Alex—it was a symbol of achievement, identity, and passion that Marcus had callously destroyed out of spite. Now he desperately wanted to repair that damage by recovering the account, but the current owner had every reason to refuse any offer.
Shadow Lord knew exactly whose account he possessed, and keeping it was probably worth more to him than any amount of money Marcus might offer.
The situation perfectly illustrated how Marcus's authoritarian approach to parenting had created problems he couldn't solve with wealth or corporate power. Some mistakes required genuine understanding and relationship repair rather than financial solutions.