'I decided.' He then muttered in his head, as resolve shone from his irises.
After hours of reading the new information on the system panels, Jack closed the laptop to pretend he was reading from it.
Minutes later, he was inside the elevator of GH Security Tower.
The building rose fifty stories above ground, with more vast and huge floors buried beneath.
Another thing he learned was that while most floors were for regular employees, a few were known to be exclusive to the Awakened. Some floors operated the ordinary operations with the ordinary public, while some worked for awakened-concerned cases.
Just like he initially thought, the truth about humanity wasn't entirely hidden from the world.
The government actually knew everything and worked hand in hand with Awakened companies to regulate the awakened, national security and public order.
One such entity, the Association, even operated as a global, government-run network that monitored and regulated Awakened activity across nations.
Thanks to the speed-reading skill, Jack had absorbed all this after hours of reading, storing the information in his system interface.
But compared to everything else, what truly caught his attention were the contracts.
'A stable income, benefits, insurance, more insurance… this is too much!'
He'd repeated that thought to himself countless times.
'I have to sign a contract.'
The elevator chimed: 48th floor.
Then the doors slid open.
The 48th floor hallway was sleek and spacious.
This floor exclusively belonged to the Vice-Executive. Thus, if Jack wanted to see Brian again, this was the place.
Hearing him stop before her desk, a female secretary sitting near the glass doors looked up. One test of the appraisal skill and Jack almost choked on his own words.
'Again question marks…' he thought.
[Riza Jane.]
[Level: ???]
[Age: ???]
[Kill count: 18]
[Race: Dryad 20% (Awakened)]
"Is Grandfather inside?" Jack asked, creating the most polite smile with his face.
The pretty but scary woman then blinked.
"Grandfather? You mean…" she paused for a long while, and clarified, "the Vice-Executive???"
The entire time Jack gave her a sheepish smile that said yes.
It felt awkward doing it for more than eight seconds, but he needed any advantage he could get. Using a family connection wasn't ideal—but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Even so, he shamelessly thought.
'I'm not exactly lying…'
Curling her eyebrows, the secretary clearly hesitated.
He glanced at the young man as if debating whether he had gone mad.
'Grandfather…' She repeated in her mind and decided to dial up the company phone as if she was between scared and confused.
"…"
"Sorry, you may go in."
"…"
She then said, after putting the phone down, as she stole curious glances at him as he left.
Entering the office, Jack's eyes almost popped up.
The interior of the Executive's office was vast, lined with glass that overlooked the city skyline.
Only then did Jack realize GH Security Tower that he was actually inside one of the tallest in the country.
Walking past shelves of thick books, Jack bowed his head slightly at the person sitting at a heavy-looking desk on the other end.
Brian was tall, broad-shouldered old man with great hair sat, imposing.
'…'
Jack swallowed as he discreetly activated his appraisal skill, hoping for different results than last time. The moment he did, that strange pressure emanated around the room again as if invading his system.
'Question marks…' he thought before unsummoning the system.
Meanwhile, Brian couldn't believe what he was seeing.
'What is he doing here all of a sudden? Why is he so obedient? And he even called me grandfather earlier? What happened?'
Brian remained silent.
The young man before him did look very different than before—ordinary, out of shape, and lacking the cold, calculating aura he once had.
Ignoring how scary the old man looked, Jack chose to speak.
"I have something to discuss."
His tone was calm, his gaze steady. He tried to make it that way.
"After thinking it over… I want to come back. I want an employment contract."
For a moment, Brian's facial expression changed into shock.
Then his lips parted—and a booming laugh erupted, echoing through his wide office.
Hearing the loud sudden laughter, the secretary outside almost jumped from her seat.
Then she was even more surprised when she realized it was her boss laughing.
'Vice-Executive Brian is actually laughing. I can't believe he got a grandson!' She thought.
Meantime, Jack forced a polite smile, hiding the thoughts running through his head.
After all, the old man's no real grandfather of mine. He was even a murderer among murderers.
"I hope you'll consider, Grandfather."
"Of course, that's possible! Will the terms be the same as your old one?"
Jack then swallowed.
"Actually, I want a new one."
Brian's laughter faded and turned to curiosity.
"A new one?"
"Yes. I don't want the responsibilities of a special rank anymore. I just want an ordinary position."
"…"
Jack had read about every rank.
Special ranks came with the most privileges—but also mandatory calls to fight, to serve in missions that risked life and limb, especially in cases that threatened or may threaten national security.
Jack would instantly die if he got assigned such missions.
"I'll take the lowest rank. Rank 1 employee. That's the one for me."
Brian tilted his head.
"Rank 1?"
"Yes. Rank 1 employee."
A long silence followed.
The old man almost grew more grey hairs hearing him.
'A rank 1 employee? Why?'
That meant starting from the bottom.
His eyes locked onto Jack's as if he just heard some nonsense but afterwards just gave a small yet slow nod of understanding.
'His rank is not important! This is a celebration!' he then quickly told himself in a silent cheer in his heart.
"Very well." He then said.
A few minutes later, Jack came back to his quarters with a piece of paper like a certificate.
It was an employment rookie contract to be with GH Securities for a total of 6 months! It was the lowest rank and the starting point for new employees who didn't come from any special background or didn't want to use their background.
Holding it, a grin couldn't help but reappear in Jack's face.
Sitting down, he flipped the few pages of the contract again, making new panels dance in his vision.
This was because the contents of the paper had already been stored in his system interface, also activating some features.
[You have activated the Employee Tab Feature.]
[Welcome User, Jack.]
[Rank: Rank 1 employee.]
[Division deployment: 12]
[Current Income: 0 Credits]
[Expected Income Next Month: 50,000 Credits]
Seeing only the number of zeroes, Jack quietly giggled to himself.
'Fifty thousand credits! I'm rich!'
'For a starting rank, it not only included a fat salary but also came in with a lot of benefits. Medical, hazard pay, incentives, bonuses, and even dormitory privileges. Not that I'm gonna use it all.'
However, looking at the system interface, he noticed a change.
A goat avatar appeared on the center top.
'What's this?' he thought deeply for a second, 'It looks cute and ominous at the same time.'
Whatever it was, Jack knew the important thing was because of this system, he have a lot of money now!
He decided to put those complicated thoughts on the back of his mind for later.
From now on, he was not unemployed anymore and even had a high salary. It was the best thing that had happened to him in years.
A soft knock pulled him from his thoughts.
Lucy stood in the doorway, now dressed casually—hoodie, jeans, sneakers. She looked less like a corporate aide and more like a college student ready to head out.
'…'
Jack blinked, feeling surreal for a moment, then smiled. "Let's go."
She tilted her head.
"Go?"
"Home," he said simply.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, he meant it.
'I could not wait to tell my parents the good news.' He thought.
***
I'd really appreciate your Power Stones, guys! I'm currently preparing for an exam, so I can only post one chapter a day for now. Bear with me.