Alex woke up.
Head pounding.
Vision blurry.
He blinked.
Ceiling.
Unfamiliar.
He sat up.
"Ugh..."
Looked around.
A room.
Simple.
Clean.
A bed.
A chair.
And—
Wilson.
Standing by the window.
Arms crossed.
Looking out.
Alex jumped.
"What—"
"What happened?!"
"Why are you here?!"
Wilson turned.
Face calm.
"You're awake."
"Good."
Alex rubbed his head.
"What happened?"
"The last thing I remember..."
He frowned.
"That shop..."
"Then..."
His eyes widened.
"The illusion!"
Wilson walked over.
Sat in the chair.
"You were attacked."
"By an illegal practitioner."
"Soul extraction."
Alex's throat went dry.
"Soul... what?"
Wilson pulled something out.
A knife.
Transparent.
Glowing faintly.
Placed it on the table.
Alex stared at it.
"That's..."
"The weapon used on you."
Wilson said.
"I was investigating."
"Evil organizations."
"In the black market."
"Happened to find you."
Alex looked at him.
"Evil organizations?"
Wilson nodded.
Leaned back.
"Alex."
"There's more you should know."
"The Great Xia Nation..."
"Isn't as peaceful as it seems."
Alex listened.
"We're the largest country."
"Most land."
"Most resources."
"Most portals."
He paused.
"That makes us a target."
"Foreign organizations."
"Constantly infiltrating."
"Trying to steal."
"To sabotage."
"To kill."
Alex swallowed.
Wilson picked up the knife.
"These people..."
"Have a specific method."
"They refine contract beasts."
"Into weapons."
Alex's eyes went wide.
"Refine...?"
"Kill them."
Wilson said bluntly.
"Extract their spiritual essence."
"Infuse it into weapons."
He held up the knife.
"This blade."
"Can separate souls from bodies."
"The beast that became this..."
"Probably had mental abilities."
"Soul-related powers."
Alex felt sick.
"They... kill contract beasts?"
"To make weapons?"
Wilson nodded.
"Contract beasts are partners."
"Companions."
"But to them..."
"Just tools."
"Resources."
Alex clenched his fists.
"That's..."
"Disgusting."
Wilson put the knife down.
"The world is big."
"And full of darkness."
Alex took a breath.
"But..."
"What about the illusion?"
"I couldn't access anything."
"No bags."
"No slime."
"I couldn't even contact you through the token."
Wilson stood.
"Grade 8 Beast Tamers."
"Have two contract beasts."
"So that boss..."
"Had two weapons."
He walked to the corner.
Picked something up.
A chamber pot.
Glowing faintly.
Blue light.
"This."
Wilson held it up.
"His second weapon."
Alex stared.
"A... chamber pot?"
"Don't judge."
Wilson examined it.
"This creates illusions."
"Severs all connections."
"Traps the target."
Alex frowned.
"Sounds powerful."
"It's not."
Wilson put it down.
"Very hard to trigger."
"First..."
"User must be two full grades above the target."
"Second..."
"Target must be completely unaware."
"Unguarded."
"Third..."
"The illusion itself..."
"Has no real damage."
"Just mental pressure."
He looked at Alex.
"Plus."
"Illusionists are fragile."
"Weak bodies."
"If you broke free..."
"Or if I found you..."
"He'd be defenseless."
"Has no real damage."
"Just mental pressure."
He looked at Alex.
"Plus."
"Illusionists are fragile."
"Weak bodies."
"If you broke free..."
"Or if I found you..."
"He'd be defenseless."
Alex stood up.
Bowed deeply.
"Thank you."
"Really."
"You saved my life."
Wilson waved his hand.
"Actually..."
"You helped me."
Alex looked up.
Confused.
"What?"
Wilson leaned back.
"These people..."
"Don't usually act so openly."
"Too risky."
He looked at Alex.
"But your X-rank portal incident..."
"Made them restless."
"Greedy."
"They got sloppy."
"Showed themselves."
"Now we can clean them up."
Alex sat back down.
"So..."
"I'm bait?"
"Unintentional bait."
Wilson said.
"But effective."
He looked at the token.
"Don't worry too much."
"You have good survival tools."
"This token, for example."
He held it up.
"Even if I'd been late..."
"You'd have been fine."
"It would've protected you."
Alex touched his chest.
Where the token hung.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Wilson put it down.
"And also..."
He looked at Alex.
Eyes sharp.
"I know you have secrets."
Alex's heart jumped.
Shit.
He knows?
About the system?
He opened his mouth—
Then stopped.
Wait.
I'm the protagonist.
Of course I have secrets.
Every protagonist does.
He straightened up.
Grinned.
"I'm a man."
"Made entirely of secrets."
Wilson nodded slowly.
"Indeed."
"Like that special mask."
"And those animal sounds."
"Very... unique."
Alex's grin froze.
"I'll report these to headquarters."
Wilson continued.
"They'll become part of your file."
"Official documentation."
Alex's face fell.
"Wait—"
He stood up.
Bowed again.
Deeper.
"Can you..."
"Can you NOT report that?"
"Please?"
Wilson looked at him.
"No."
"But—"
"No."
Alex straightened.
Defeated.
My reputation...
Gone.
Wilson changed topics.
"Why were you renting that shop?"
"What were you planning to sell?"
Alex hesitated.
Should I tell him?
About the vine potions?
He thought of Lilian's warning.
The monopoly.
PharmaLux Consortium.
But...
Wilson saved me.
He's government.
Official.
Maybe...
Alex took a breath.
"I have something."
"A potion."
He pulled one out.
Vine potion.
Green liquid.
Glowing slightly.
"I wanted to sell these."
"But..."
He looked at Wilson.
"There's a problem."
Wilson took the bottle.
"What problem?"
"The monopoly."
Alex said carefully.
"PharmaLux Consortium."
"They control everything."
"If I sell this openly..."
Wilson's eyes sharpened.
"They'd come after you."
"Yeah."
Alex nodded.
"That's why I came to the black market."
Wilson examined the bottle.
Held it to the light.
Then—
His eyes widened.
"This..."
He stared harder.
"No restriction seal."
His voice changed.
Sharp.
Intense.
"This has NO seal?"
Alex blinked.
"Uh..."
"What's that?"
Wilson looked at him.
"Every major potion formula..."
"Has a magical lock."
"A curse."
"Prevents analysis."
"Prevents copying."
He held up the bottle.
"PharmaLux owns those locks."
"Controls them."
"But this..."
His grip tightened.
"This is completely open."
"Anyone can study it."
"Replicate it."
Alex's eyes went wide.
Oh.
OH.
Auntie was too kind for that! Holy shit! She should have added a seal for it!
Wilson stood up.
Paced.
"Do you understand?"
"This breaks their monopoly."
"The government can copy this."
"Mass produce it."
"Without their permission."
He stopped.
Looked at Alex.
"Where did you get this?"
Alex swallowed.
"I... found it."
"Found it."
Wilson stared.
"Where?"
"Does it matter?"
Alex deflected.
"The point is..."
"I have them."
"Multiple bottles."
Wilson's jaw tightened.
Thinking.
Then—
"The government will partner with you."
He said decisively.
"We'll buy the patent."
"Exclusive rights."
"You get 15% of all profits."
"Forever."
Alex's jaw dropped.
"15%?!"
"Of everything?!"
"Yes."
Wilson nodded.
"You provide the formula."
"We handle production."
"Distribution."
"Protection."
He paused.
"Most importantly..."
"We handle PharmaLux."
Alex grinned.
"Deal!"
"Absolutely!"
Perfect!
Let the government fight them!
Not my problem!
Wilson smirked.
Cold.
Dangerous.
"PharmaLux has controlled this market..."
"For too long."
He looked at the potion.
"Their good days..."
"Are over."
Alex leaned back.
Relieved.
Crisis solved.
Money secured.
And I'm safe.
Wilson took a few bottles.
Put them in his coat.
Then—
Pulled out a document.
Thick.
Very thick.
At least fifteen pages.
Placed it on the table.
"Sign here."
He pointed.
Alex stared at it.
"This..."
"This is huge."
He flipped through.
Dense text.
Legal terms.
Clause after clause.
"Is this..."
He looked up nervously.
"Some kind of trap contract?"
Wilson raised an eyebrow.
"Trap?"
"No."
"It's protection."
"For both sides."
Alex squinted at the text.
"Protection how?"
"Prevents you from selling the patent elsewhere."
Wilson explained.
"To competitors."
"To foreign entities."
"Standard procedure."
He sat down.
"Your money is guaranteed."
"15% of net profits."
"Paid monthly."
"Government-backed."
"No tricks."
Alex flipped more pages.
"But this is so long..."
"Legal requirements."
Wilson said calmly.
"Intellectual property law."
"Tax codes."
"Distribution rights."
"All standard."
Alex bit his lip.
Should I trust this?
He looked at Wilson.
The man who saved his life.
Government official.
Gave him a protection token.
Probably fine...
Right?
He picked up the pen.
"Okay."
"I'll sign."
Started writing his name.
Wilson watched.
Alex finished signing.
Put down the pen.
"Done."
Wilson smiled.
Picked up the contract.
"Good."
He flipped to a page.
"Oh."
"One more thing."
Alex froze.
"What?"
"Clause 7, Section B."
Wilson pointed.
"If you obtain any other potion formulas..."
"You must offer them to the government first."
"Exclusive negotiation rights."
Alex's eyes widened.
"What?!"
"If you refuse..."
Wilson continued calmly.
"Penalty is 100,000 spirit stones."
Alex's mouth fell open.
"ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND?!"
"Standard breach of contract fee."
Wilson said casually.
"Prevents you from taking government resources..."
"Then selling secrets to others."
Alex stared at the contract.
Then at Wilson.
"You..."
"You're all foxes."
Wilson's smile widened slightly.
"We're the government."
"What did you expect?"
Alex slumped back.
Trapped.
Completely trapped.
But then—
His phone buzzed.
Payment notification.
He looked.
Eyes went wide.
[Transfer Received: 500,000 bucks]
[From: Xia Nation Treasury]
Alex's jaw dropped.
"This..."
"Signing bonus."
Wilson stood up.
"50 spirit stones equivalent."
"Your first payment."
"Monthly percentages start next month."
Alex stared at the number.
Fifty spirit stones.
Just like that.
For signing a paper.
He looked up.
Wilson was already at the door.
"Go ahead and explore."
"The black market, I mean."
"Just be careful."
He paused.
Looked back.
A strange smile.
"Actually..."
"If you happen to attract more trouble..."
"More evil organization members..."
"That would be helpful."
Alex blinked.
"You want me to be bait?"
"I want you to be yourself."
Wilson said.
"You have a talent..."
"For finding trouble."
"Might as well use it."
Then he vanished.
Gone.
Alex sat there.
Holding his phone.
50 spirit stones richer.
But trapped in a contract.
Worth it?
He looked at the balance.
Yeah.
Totally worth it.
Plus his family wouldn't get into trouble! Like Auntie!
He stood up.
Stretched.
"Alright."
"Back to the black market."
He put on his bra mask.
And system rang.
[option three finished successfully!]
[Slime's giganfication+1]
[Now level 3!]
[Slime can become 7times as big!]