Marie's father stood there, mouth agape from shock as his brain slowly comprehended the information he was just given. When Marie elbowed him he managed to slightly snap out of it and mutter beneath his breath, "Yes, yes of course we'll be able to do that. Rather, it'll be an honour to do that with your extraordinary group."
"Okay, let's get this over and done with we have a whole day planned out and I don't want this getting in the way of it. How long should this take?" Chloe asked as she scrunched her face, revealing a couple of lines on her forehead.
"Well, if this is swift it should only take 1 - 2 hours; however, if something prevents this from happening right now it could take the rest of the day if we're lucky," Marie's father answered as he returned to normal. "Also I forgot to introduce myself, I was quite shocked. Anyway, my name is Jeremy Santos."
"The name's Flynn and this is my wife Chloe," Flynn introduced the two of them as he walked forward and shook Jeremy's hand firmly. With his strength having been increased so much by the fruits it slightly threw Jeremy off.
As someone who's been in the field for a long time, you can determine someone's strength and personality just from their handshake. He could tell Flynn was somewhat of a businessman or at least had frequent dealings with some.
Giving each other a nod of approval they began to leave, Chloe swiftly followed by Flynn's side, looking around at the passing halls filled with maids and butlers. It almost gave them a medieval setting vibe; only the maids and butlers were being paid fairly.
They passed plenty of windows as well, getting a great view of the city; is darken buildings due to the low lighting from all the street lights. The building seemed to have given them a better view than when standing on the grids above.
"I see you like the view." Jeremy had noticed Chloe staring around and outside, one of the many traits he has a businessman. "I worked quite hard to make it here, but the view certainly does make it worth it. Of course along with all the money."
"So have you been doing this business since the start of the change?" Chloe asked. They passed by photos, all commemorating certain events. Birthdays, grand openings, successful dealings and more. It was certainly a show.
"Indeed. Unlike others that saw beasts and coward, I saw them and along with that, the money that comes with them. We used to be a retail store but I've had dealings with farmers and exporters; I knew that certain animals would fetch a high price dependant on the difficulty in raising or hunting it. Seeing that these beasts were so rare and strong, I knew people would pay big bucks for their meat. And so, I began the business." Jeremy went onto explain the difficulties in getting the company off the ground, his first deal with a restaurant, and finally, his future plans.
"Now, although I know full well I'm not the only one in this field of business, I do, however, want to be the best in the business. Currently, I'm the largest meat distributor in the city, but that isn't enough for me, I want to expand across the whole country before even possibly going worldwide." Jeremy's ambitions were big, but with the current progress he's already made, it isn't impossible.
Clasping his hands he got onto the main point. "Now, with this deal, I also want to proceed with my ambitions as well. Which is why my daughter, will be joining you as my representative to go and start branches in other cities as well. They don't need to be as big as the main one here in Houston, but they should at least make a start."
Before they even noticed it they had already reached Jeremy's office. Walking in they were greeted with wide-open windows, looking down at the city. At their height and with the position of the room they were able to see just about everything in the city, even the street where they're starting their business on.
"Now, I've already got one of the butlers to grab the contract, you just need to look through it all and sign it," Jeremy said as he pulled out his chair and sat down. Leaning back he puffed out a cloud of smoke. "I will warn you that the road to the top of the business world is tough and willed with the treacherous schemes of others. Your reputation is your moneymaker; fortunately, you and your group have a very positive reputation."
"Granted that reputation came with a strong challenge at the start." Flynn and Chloe sat down on the chairs across from Jeremy, they both got comfortable and relaxed a bit. Marie was to the side sitting on a couch.
Jeremy gave a burst of laughter. "Indeed, being challenged by two of the world's largest military forces is certainly one massive challenge indeed. But look at you now, a lot of parents are grateful to you and would do a lot to help you out. Not to mention you have a floating island that can take you just about anywhere in the world."
"I suppose that is pretty cool; although those two military forces almost managed to snatch it up. Granted they wouldn't be able to turn it into a floating island in the same amount of time. I would probably give them 3 - 4 years." Flynn knew about the groups training and how long it took them to reach the level they were at. If the military were to attempt it they would take much longer, unless they sacrifice soldiers to only train on the island and do nothing else.
"You seem pretty confident about that estimation." Jeremy could hear the confidence in Flynn's voice and although he didn't know exactly how it worked either he wouldn't doubt Flynn. Puffing out a cloud of smoke he was about to continue but a butler burst through the doors.
"Sir, Mr Collins is here requesting more meat. It seems something happened and we weren't able to deliver the normal amount of goods to him on time so he's come to demand it now," The butler said quickly as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Jeremy sighed as he placed a hand on his forehead. "Tell him to be patient, he'll get the rest of his meat along with a little extra as compensation. Inform him that we just got a large batch of corpses and that he shouldn't stress."
"Yes, sir." The butler left in a hurry.
"So how exactly does your business work?" Flynn asked as he clasped his hands and leaned forward.
"To briefly summerise it. We buy corpses from the explorers guild, separate the parts and sell them to different businesses. Retail wants the hides and fur, restaurants want the meat, while the researchers and weapon makers want the claws and teeth," Jeremy replied. "Oh yeah, weapon makers are fairly new so you might not know them. They similar to blacksmiths, the only difference being they use all and any materials to create a weapon."
"Such as beast claws and teeth?" Chloe added on to the conversation.
"Yes. Those beasts' claws and teeth are sometimes just as strong if not stronger than metals. Creating weapons with them is quite useful; cause although guns are quite good it's also great to have a knife or sword in case of emergency." Jeremy nodded as he puffed out another cloud of smoke.
Another butler burst in, forehead covered in sweat. "Sir, the Explorer's Guild leader is currently here waiting for you at the ground floor. He says he wants to meet with you immediately as it's an urgent business."
"Did he saw what he was here for?" Jeremy asked.
"No, he wants to talk about it privately," The butler replied.
"Okay I'll deal with it, you go see what's taking so long for the contract to get here and deal with it." Jeremy sighed deeply as he got up and began to walk out. Before he left the room he turned to the two. "Sorry about this, hopefully, you can read the contract completely as I deal with these distractions."
"Don't worry we're all good, you go take care of business," Flynn waved him off as he leaned back and slouched on the chair. "Well, this is going great, hopefully, he's not away for too long, I don't want to read the entire contract."
"Well considering it's the Explorer's Guild leader it might take a while; whenever he's involved it always takes a long time to deal with the matters he brings." At that moment Marie chimed into the conversation. She had been quietly minding her own business, looking at some computer screens.
"Do you know anything about the contract?" Flynn asked with a bit of hope. He knew how contracts worked, it was always best to read them entirely before signing off. Which is also why businesses always make them extremely long, to deter people from properly reading it and looking between the lines.
"Nope, he keeps all his contracts rather secretive so only himself knows about it," Marie replied. Just as that happened the butler walked in carrying a stack of papers, he walked to Flynn and Chloe before plopping them all on the desk in front of them.
"This is the contract, enjoy reading through it all," The butler said before taking his leave.
Flynn and Chloe both felt their eyes sink into their heads at the pile of papers. Splitting it in two they both took one half; however, as Chloe took her half she noticed a small picture frame on Jeremy's desk. It was a family portrait, it looked rather old as Marie looked a lot younger in the photo. Granted she doesn't exactly look here age right now either.
By Jeremy's side was a gorgeous woman, who had long black silky hair, her eyes were bright blue and her skin was ever so slightly tanned. Looking towards Marie Chloe couldn't help but ask, "So where's your mother?"
She realised very quickly that it might not be the best question to ask. Chloe was able to swiftly piece things together; considering that the only photo he has with the whole family is when Marie was young it was high probably something had happened to her.
"She died 7 years ago. A side-on collision with a truck, the driver had lost control while going around a sharp corner. She died instantly as the car was basically flattened against a wall next to her," Marie replied.
Chloe knew it and felt slightly bad. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that, sorry if it brings back any bad memories."
"No no, don't worry about that you were going to find out anyway. That's how my dad works, he makes sure the people he's doing business with know just about everything concerning himself and the company. He does this to make sure the people that stay, really want to stay," Marie responded as she waved her hands in the air.
"Suppose that isn't a bad motto to do business by," Chloe said before silence reigned the room. Flynn elbowed Chloe softly before pointing towards her pile of papers.
"Okay, okay, I'll get to it then." The room remained quiet after that as the two read through the contract. Jeremy never returned during the time they were reading, he only showed up near the end, constantly apologising.
Welp, their entire plan was ruined. Fortunately they have one more day to go through with the plan. And this time, they won't let anything get in their way.
Hope You Enjoyed!
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Vote Now:
1x Double Release - 300 Power Stones
2x Double Release - 400 Power Stones
3x Double Release - 500 Power Stones
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Top 10 - 11 Weekly Chapters
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The last day began, the group awakened from their sleep on the island. Flynn and Chloe were the first to depart, they left in a hurry shouting that they won't be held back this time. The next to wake up was Lachlan, Phoebe, and Sarah.
Phoebe was sleeping in Lachlan's hut along with Sarah, it gave them a nice sense of comfort and Sarah enjoyed Phoebe's company a lot which made him quite happy. He wouldn't exactly know what to do if Sarah hated Phoebe, but fortunately, she saw Phoebe as an older sister.
As they got up they stretched their bodies, grunting loudly before they walked out. Unlike previous times when they've been near or above cities. This time they've brought the families into the city during their stay above Houston. Allowing them to get clothes and try out different foods. Fortunately, their situation was similar to Flynn's in that their banks accounts still worked and still had money in them.
Now then, Lachlan, Phoebe and Sarah were currently located near the edge of the island. Although the breakfast in the city was good Lachlan thought the coconuts on the island were much better; both nutrition-wise and taste. He couldn't get enough of it, it felt so primitive, breaking the coconut with his bare hands. But that's exactly what he enjoyed about it, how simple it was.
Granted, Lachlan had already forgotten that the coconuts required a massive amount of force to crack them open. Even bullets would struggle to break through the shell; they certainly wouldn't be coming back out the other side.
Giving the three of them a coconut each they sculd down the contents, finishing them up within minutes before looking down at the view. Although the ocean view was quite nice, there was just something more comforting and pleasant having a nice natural view. Especially with the knowledge that there's an entire city beneath the ground, hidden from the beasts that roam in the wild.
Looking at certain points in the ground they could see the entrances. The handles were camouflage rather well, all while being quite small so only a human could use it. Although it wasn't an impenetrable fortress it certainly worked rather well.
"So, what should we do today?' Lachlan asked as he inhaled the fresh air, leaning back while using his arms as support pillars.
"I want to try one last thing. Although I very well have done it much earlier I wanted to save it for last. Let's get some sushi; with the evolution, all the ingredients should have gone up in tastiness," Phoebe explained joyfully.
Lachlan frowned. "Indeed, but because the ingredients come from the ocean the price is also going to be absurd. just rise wrapped in seaweed would probably be rather steep in price, let alone having fish in it as well."
"How about we make a deal with them?" Phoebe questioned as she raised a finger. "If we bring our own fish they can turn it into sushi. And after that, they can keep the remains so that we don't have to pay."
"Well, I suppose that can work. And since you so dearly want it along with you being the only one to have an aquatic beast; how about you get those ingredients while I take Sarah into the city," Lachlan suggested.
"Sure, just make sure not to eat too much, we want a lot of room for when we have the sushi," Phoebe said as she shot off into the skies, swiftly breaking the sound barrier as she headed towards the ocean.
Lachlan looked over to Sarah. "Alright Sarah, remember one important rule, never leave Lachlan's side no matter what. Also, go to the toilet before we head into the city, I don't want you going into those bathrooms alone."
Sarah sighed and frowned before walking off. She knew Lachlan meant well, the world they're currently living in isn't exactly the definition of stable. Any person on the street could harm her, especially since she doesn't have any strength to defend herself right now.
When she came back she slightly complained about how Lachlan was keeping any dangers away from her. Along with all the benefits to come. "Lachlan! Why can't I get a tamed beast yet? Why not let me train?"
Lachlan was slightly flustered by the abrupt questioning. Although he knew he would have to deal with it eventually, he just didn't know how he would do it so he came up with something on the spot. "Well Sarah, your compatibility is rather rare, we haven't come across amphibians in a while. As for training, I've given you plenty of time to go off and train on your own. There really isn't much to it, no special techniques or anything, just do as you've seen online or tv before the world's evolution."
"What about the fruits, I think I can handle the pain," Sarah said with confidence. Although Lachlan wasn't exactly too sure on whether or not he should trust that confidence. Sarah was still young, she hasn't felt a great deal of physical pain.
But Lachlan sighed, grabbing hold of Sarah they returned to the house and Lachlan brought out the fruits. He brought them to Sarah. "Okay, now listen closely, the pain you might feel could be excruciating but you can't lose consciousness. Also, instead of focusing on training and getting stronger you should be getting taught with the others."
Grabbing hold of Sarah's shoulder Lachlan brought her closer. "Those parents are trying their best to teach their children useful skills. You should join the other children, that way you can also get smarter."
"But I don't want to go to school!" Sarah complained loudly.
"You've never gone to school," Lachlan said back. "You don't know whether or not you'll like it. Also, Sophie will be going to the other children to get taught as well so you won't be alone. You can also make some new friends and reunite with old ones. Have you ever talked to the children you were with at Mount Barker since we came here?"
"I don't need to talk to them since I have a big brother here, as well as Sophie, and Phoebe, and everyone else," Sarah replied with her childish voice. Lachlan sighed as he rubbed her head, roughing up her hair as she squinted her eyes.
"Indeed, but it isn't a bad idea to make a group of friends, people you can trust with your life. Not to mention you're all living on the island, it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to form a friendship group with them," Lachlan explained. "Like the relationship I have with everyone in the group; we spent two years together on this island, we can trust each other with our lives and secrets. You need to try and make friends like that."
"But won't they see me as ugly?" Sarah asked as she held up her webbed hands, rolling back her sleeves she revealed a faintly scaled skin. "I don't look normal, that's why I've been getting glares from people whenever we enter any cities."
Indeed, it certainly was a problem but there wasn't much Lachlan could do. Although they could cover Sarah's arms up she still felt bad, as though she was hiding because she was ugly. However, it did surprise Lachlan as he hadn't thought Sarah would be self-conscious about her image while so young.
Likely the result of getting weird stares from everyone passing by.
Lachlan smacked his hands together as he got a lightbulb idea. "I know, how about we bring along the other children. That way you won't look out of place, nor will you be the one getting weird stares."
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked as she tilted her head.
"Phoebe and I are going to be the ones getting all the stares. Taking care of so many children, we would get weird stares from just about everyone." Lachlan was willing to do this if it meant Sarah had a good day with friends.
"Now then, shove these into your stomach and prepare yourself, you'll be in a whole world of pain," Lachlan said as he handed over the fruits. He decided it would be best for Sarah to have some strength to defend herself.
Sarah nodded as she threw them all into her mouth at once, she swiftly chewed them all up before gulping them down. She felt a wave of heat rushed through her body, it felt like stinging needles so it wasn't unbearable.
By the time the heat dispersed she stared at herself with wides eyes, wondering if there was any effect. She looked to Lachlan for confirmation but all she received was a shocked expression, Lachlan looked as though he had frozen in place. She thought it was because she had terrible luck and wasn't able to increase her strength by much.
What she didn't know was that Lachlan was shocked for the exact opposite reason. But more than that, he was shocked that Sarah toughed it through like it was nothing. Flynn, Zhang, and Brianna all had terrible experiences when dealing with the sudden influx of strength. Sarah on the other hand...
--------------------------------------------------------
Name: Sarah Wilson (Human Hybrid)
Age: 6 (Child)
Soul Contracts: 0/5
Compatibility: Amphibians (Perfect)
STR: 24, AGI: 25, VIT: 20
INT: 19, PER: 23, WIL: 20
Weakness: Everything
Strengths: Webbed Feet & Hands, Slippery Skin
--------------------------------------------------------
Took it like a champ.
Her stats had drastically increased, all her stats were way above average. She could beat most people in a fight with the strength she currently possessed. Sort of anyway. She doesn't exactly have any combat experience and would lose just about ever fight exactly for that reason.
"Are you disappointed Lachlan?" Sarah asked with her head held down. "I didn't experience the wave of pain, so I didn't get stronger."
Lachlan remembered that that's exactly what he told her beforehand. Rushing up to Sarah he hugged her tightly. "It's the exact opposite, you've gotten so much stronger without experiencing the excruciating pain. It seems Lachlan made a mistake."
"Really?" Sarah asked with wide eyes.
"Really," Lachlan replied before continuing the hug. "Now, how about we get the other children before heading to the city. That's where we'll be meeting up with Phoebe and I don't want to be late when I wasn't the one going hunting."
Sarah nodded vigorously and Lachlan chuckled. They took off to head to the other children, it's currently where Sophie was also located due to her being taught by the other parents. Flynn and Chloe wanted just one day to themselves and they believed they could trust the parents. Not to mention Dylan was in the trees keeping watch.
Lachlan waved to Dylan as they went past, he seemed to be in a much better mood ever since he told him to socialise with the parents and make some friends. He also seems to be taking his job much more seriously now, he doesn't want to disappoint them.
The rest of that day went by fast, the sushi was delicious and the sushi chef was thrilled to be given the rest of the fish for free. He even gave them a few of his specialties without charge, using some of his premium ingredients.
And although the children still got stares from people passing by, they were to busy talking to each other to notice them. As for Phoebe and Lachlan, whenever they stopped an old woman would always come up and say congratulations. Not to mention the weirds glares they were getting.
But it was worth it. Lachlan enjoyed seeing Sarah have the time of her life along with her friends, Phoebe enjoyed it just as much. Not to mention she didn't mind the stares, she just didn't take much notice of them.
Hope You Enjoyed!
-------------------------
Vote Now:
1x Double Release - 300 Power Stones
2x Double Release - 400 Power Stones
3x Double Release - 500 Power Stones
-------------------------
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Top 50 - 9 Weekly Chapters
Top 20 - 10 Weekly Chapters
Top 10 - 11 Weekly Chapters
-------------------------
Good Job! Reaching 300 Power Stones with a day to spare, much better than last week. Hopefully next week we can aim for 400 Power Stones.
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