The beginning of corruption

-Kill the men, kill the men, kill the men.

*Stepping back.

Upon hearing those particular thoughts from the innocent woman, Ethan decided to keep his distance and simply greet casually.

"Hello," he said nonchalantly, not paying much attention to anyone in particular.

"It's a pleasure to have you with us, Mr. Silent Shadow. As you can see, the situation isn't ideal," Frederick greeted him in a humble tone, taking the opportunity to inform him about the situation.

In a quick summary...

They had found a lead mine relatively nearby, suspiciously well-maintained with minimal structure but no enemies in sight. So, Frederick did what anyone in his position would do: hire a private team and operate the mine quietly.

Everything was going relatively well until a scout assigned to monitor the surrounding area mysteriously disappeared without a trace.

"There were no private messages, no messages in real life... nothing."

At first, the miners thought there was no problem because even if you die, you can send a private warning message, but that didn't happen.

Forty minutes after the last contact with the scout, the mine was flooded with a large number of well-armed goblins.

"They couldn't do anything, not even kill one."

It was a complete massacre.

"That's what you get for being greedy," Rebecca interrupted the conversation with a mocking tone.

"..." Frederick didn't speak, but his dark expression betrayed his annoyance at the comment.

(I don't blame Frederick; honestly, I would do the same. It's a pity that his subordinate's incompetence cost him so much), Ethan sympathized with Frederick.

Even though there could have been many uncertain factors, it's undeniable that it was his subordinate's fault for not warning, and as a consequence, he lost a lot.

(Those mining tools probably cost real money... what a pain.)

To lighten the mood a bit, Ethan put his arm around Frederick's shoulder and said:

"Don't worry, old man. I'm just here to enjoy myself, so I don't care about those little things. But... if you want me to play by your rules..." and he gave a suggestive look while staring directly into Frederick's eyes.

-Damn bastard.

"I've prepared incentives, no problem," resigned and still with a dark expression, Frederick agreed to offer benefits.

*Pats on the back.

"Very well, very well, tell me, what are we doing today?" Ethan exclaimed after giving Frederick a few pats on the back.

"We'll organize ourselves, then go and check out the situation."

"Well then, start getting everything ready, time is money, right?" Rebecca once again inserted herself into the conversation.

-Busybody...

"Yeah..." and with that simple word, Frederick went to prepare everything in his improvised shelter. His quick pace showed possible anger.

As they watched him leave, Rebecca took the opportunity to get closer to Ethan.

Very close.

"How are you? I saw you're now the champion of humanity, as expected of you, a powerful man," Rebecca began the conversation in a seductive tone.

(You're a bad and imposing guy, Ethan. Respond like one), Ethan repeated his mantra while carefully thinking about what to say.

"It was nothing, just a few useless insects. But on the other hand... aren't you getting too close to me? Be careful, I might feel like stealing you in front of your husband," he responded with a malicious smile, moving his face a bit closer to hers.

(That should do it.)

Of course, his words were just a bluff; after all, Ethan had already had that horrible experience of being replaced by a jerk.

And doing the same goes against his morals.

But sometimes life gives to those who aren't hungry, and as Ethan looked into Rebecca's eyes...

-Kiss me, do it, show that you're a superior man.

That dark thought from her reached his mind directly.

(...) Time stopped for him as a dilemma plagued his mind.

If you were a bad guy, what would you do in this situation?

A very attractive woman is giving you a seductive look right in front of her husband and with dark thoughts longing for your action.

Even if you didn't know her thoughts, just seeing her fearless face and her expectant eyes...

*Glance sideways.

Then Ethan looked in the direction where Thomas, Rebecca's husband, was.

He was right there with his back to them, chatting with Luke and the feminist ice goddess in the middle. Curiously, it seemed both were trying to impress her...

He looked back at Rebecca.

-Do it, do it.

And as if she knew what he was thinking, Rebecca smiled widely...

It didn't seem like she intended to talk and break the tense atmosphere with a joke. Instead, her behavior implied she wanted Ethan to do something more.

(She seems serious... what do I do now?)

His dilemma was great, but among many things that crossed his mind, one shone much brighter, overshadowing everything and giving him a realization.

(Damn, this is just a damn game, isn't it? Why worry? Besides...)

He looked again in Thomas's direction.

He didn't seem to pay any attention to his wife while chatting idly with Luke and the goddess.

(It's just a kiss, it's nothing, they do it in many countries, right?)

With that in mind, and for a few moments, a malevolent smile emerged from the depths of his being as he brought his face closer to Rebecca's.

*Smooch (Slow kiss)

-You did it...

Ethan's heart sped up a bit as he gave Rebecca a slow kiss on the cheek, a kiss where his tongue tasted her cheek, taking a dangerous step along the edge of her lip.

"I'll forgive you this time," Ethan warned with a whisper, then placed his hand on Rebecca's lower back and continued, "but next time... heh."

(That should be enough, right? No doubt I looked like a jerk), satisfied with his actions, Ethan moved away from Rebecca.

And to avoid anything else happening, he joined the others.

"Thomas! How are you? Do you have anything in mind yet?"

"No, not yet, but you'll be the first to know."

*Taste.

While Rebecca licked her lips with a smile...

--

Ethan's POV

"So...," someone spoke, but my thoughts weren't there.

My thoughts were swimming in what had happened with Rebecca.

(It's a game, it's a game, you didn't actually do anything wrong), I calmed my conscience with that simple logic.

Yes, this is just a simple VR game. What I really kissed wasn't a real woman, just some pixels controlled by a real woman, so I shouldn't feel guilty.

(Besides, my character is like that, so I can only blame them both, husband and wife, for what happened.)

The husband for neglecting his wife by talking to someone else while a potential jerk was near his attractive wife.

And the woman for allowing a jerk to get close and reach that situation.

Thinking about that, the guilt I felt diminished quite a bit, enough to respond with a smile to certain looks towards me.

"Mr. Silent Shadow?" and the first thing I heard was Frederick's words asking for confirmation.

"Huh? Yes, yes, of course, let's do that," not knowing what I agreed to, I just responded.

--

Not knowing what I was getting into, I was led to the lower part of the mountain, where a forest of almost white trees from the snow greeted us silently.

"Lately, we've seen many giant white wolves around here," an accompanying scout informed us.

At that moment, it was just Luke, Thomas, Frederick, and the ice goddess whose name is Yuki, along with two more scouts.

"We'll eliminate these wolves and build a safe path to the mountainside," Frederick said while looking and pointing around.

With our presence, Frederick determined it wasn't necessary to keep the mine's secret, so he decided to create a safe path instead of a secret and easily ambushable route.

To do that, it was necessary to clear the nearby threats, and that's why we were here.

"Alright, let's get to work," Luke said as he moved a bit ahead and pulled out some medium-sized boxes from his inventory.

"Partner, you're first, check this out," he pointed at me and told me to open a nearby box.

(Oh? A gift? Let's see what you've got there), curious, I approached the indicated box.

It was a green box, with no labels besides the words 'Luke Industries.'

*Open lid.

(Oh... a new toy)

Opening the lid of the box, I was greeted by the sight of two small weapons.

"Go ahead," with a smile, Luke urged me to take them.

[You have obtained: Submachine Gun Uz I-1 (9mm)]

"Wow," I was a bit surprised to recognize what I had in my hands.