Nice Consequences

The events of that day were strange, but Seamus and I somehow managed to evade the government troops. Unfortunately, everyone that we couldn't take with us was arrested.

How did we know? Well, for once we weren't watching the grass growing channel on our lounge tv.

On the fortunate side, by the time Seamus and I escaped, Lytton was able to get Kaiser out of the building. They had in fact been waiting for us at headquarters.

By this point, It has already been nearly half a day since the attack on the library. Currently, we were waiting for Kaiser to call us up.

"Hey, let's go" Seamus said to me and pointed towards the stairs seeing someone motion us up.

We went upstairs and entered the office at the end. The wooden floorboards were being illuminated by the open door but to my delight, Kaiser's curtains were drawn.

"Tell me everything" Kaiser said after Seamus closed the door behind us. It didn't take long for Seamus and I to brief Kaiser on our experience from beginning to end. This also meant we had to explain what happened to Smith Moral.

"So y'all didn't kill him huh?" Kaiser said with a deep frown. I could not imagine his mental and emotional state. From all the people that participated in the assault, only 7 returned including himself. If the gang couldn't guarantee a reward for its efforts… I really didn't know how he'd react.

"Sigh… I'll contact Rook, we will have to-" Kaiser's words were suddenly cut off.

[Current time is 7:00 AM, all Termina residents are to remain indoors at all times]

[Failure to comply WILL result in jail time. Resisting arrest may lead to escalation]

The speaker system which greeted us in mornings and nights suddenly spoke up. The voice sounded stern as it commanded every resident of Termina to stay in their homes.

"This…" Seamus was surprised by the words of the subterranean government.

"Looks like contacting Rook won't go easy…" Kaiser muttered.

He then stood up and turned to look out the one window in his office, he pushed aside the curtain and took in the visage. The dome headlights were now on and shining blindingly onto the streets.

"I think they are serious, stay sharp" Kaiser said to us. His words were reasonable.

The subterranean government knew the locations of most if not all the gangs in Termina. Though the slums had no cameras, it went without saying that if paid enough some nearby residents would be more than willing to give a tip or two.

With the blaring lights and the residents being mandated to stay inside, it was impossible to sneak out. The more one thought of it, the more helpless one felt.

Nevertheless, Kaiser still seemed calm as he looked outside. Or he had appeared calm, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Damn it! They got us!" Kaiser said suddenly gnashing his teeth. I bolted off my seat and endured my burning eyes to look out the window where orderly men in army clothing were marching towards us from the distance.

Kaiser then pushed me back and closed the curtains.

"Gather everyone, let's… Let's…" Kaiser couldn't finish what he wanted to say. No unforetold situation was unfolding, Kaiser just couldn't find the right words. What could we do?

Running wouldn't work or at least only a few would get away. That likely included me but…

"We should stay" If the government wants to arrest us in this situation it is best to be compliant. If we escape the odds of one of us getting a bullet to the back was not low.

Bang

We heard the sound of a door being bust down on the first floor. We could jump out of the window if…

Kaiser opened the curtain slightly ajar and made a wry smile.

"There are people surrounding the area" He said feeling helpless. Kaiser had to have known that this would be the end if we failed, but he still took the risk for his goal. I wasn't sure if I should call his actions foolish.

The sound of armored men rushing up the stairs was not what greeted us, however. With the dingy constructions, we were able to instead hear someone chastise somebody else.

With the odd circumstances, Kaiser led Seamus and me down to the lounge where men in military gear welcomed us.

"Hello!" A man up front said in an oddly cheery voice. Though they were smiling, I couldn't help but feel uneasy. His attire seemed to be of the subterranean military but modified to seem… fancier? Overall, he didn't inspire confidence.

"What brings you all here?" Kaiser asked, not showing a shred of his earlier panic.

"Hahaha, don't play dumb" The man said. I couldn't help but lament listening to myself and staying. I was a horrible person to listen to.

"Sigh… What do you need then?" Kaiser asked a new and bizarre question. What would they need? For us to cuff ourselves?

But the man didn't say anything. They just motioned for the men behind him to go back down the stairs.

"Let's talk in your office" The man said holding a smile. He struck me as something of a weasel but Kaiser nodded and lead the man away. I followed after them much to Seamus' surprise but neither man stopped me. Seamus looked conflicted before also following.

Once inside the dark office, the smile on the man's face grew wider.

"Fantastic!" The man said, much to everyone's surprise. I couldn't be certain if he was being sarcastic or not, and I prided myself in my satire.

"Hahaha! A great job!" He was laughing again, the man really made one feel on edge.

"Unfortunately, there were various hiccups so we won't be able to give you the full reward for the assassination of Smith Moral" The man said while wearing an expression that suggested it really was a pity.

"Wait… We didn't-" Seamus was about to blurt out something before he stopped himself. How smart!

The man shot him a glance but said nothing, still wearing that uncanny smile.

"How much are you giving us then?" Kaiser asked while seeming rather anxious and fidgety. It was subtle but as I could still see perfectly fine in the dark, I could notice his unease.

"Well, the access to the other sectors is all the authority we will be handing over to you. Do with that as you will. The rest… How about 10 crystals of the same grade as Smith?" The man said this time flashing a charismatic smile. He and Rook were probably toilet paper of the same ply.

That did get me thinking if this man was in cahoots with Rook… The group they formed part in had a rather far-reaching influence in the disquisitive party. That automatically translated to a lot of influence in the government giving the current state of Termina and Eden.

"Sure-" Kaiser was about to agree when suddenly...

"10 crystals… Is this what our men are worth?" Seamus shouted and asked. It wasn't certain if he was asking the man or Kaiser.

Whatever the case, the man was the one to respond.

"Let's see… Doing some basic mathematics… Even if your group was made up of grade 5 altered individuals, they would still need to number 1000 to match the energy value of 10 grade 8 crystals." The man appeared to have taken no offense to the question.

"Funnily enough, last I checked, your group doesn't even have 1000 members, never mind ones at grade 5. I think… Could it be we are overcompensating?" But that was just a facade as he shot back in the following sentence.

I saw as Seamus clenched his fists in response. The members were being measured based on the mutational value so he couldn't refute his logic.

"I see, that must be burdening on you. We'll lower-" The man of course didn't get to finish the sentence.

"No sir, we are not burdened at all!" Kaiser interrupted.

The man returned a smile.

"Very well then. I think it's about time I take my leave. The compensation will be delivered in the coming week" The man said with that same smile.

"Thank you very much" Kaiser said to the man as he walked past Seamus and me to exit the office.

As the door closed behind the man with a clang, Kaiser walked slowly back to his desk.

"You two may leave" He said sounding rather glum.

I nodded and went to open the door. Seamus unclenched his fists and went through the door as I held it. Before exiting, I wanted to say something but... Nothing seemed fitting.

"Bye then" I said as I closed the door. Maybe I should have stayed quiet after all. Thoughts like that plagued my mind as I followed after Seamus and returned to the lounge.

[Welcome back to the grass-growing show!]

The familiar jingle of the grass-growing show entered my ears causing me to sigh internally.

[Last time, a whole man was devoured in our deadly bushes special...]

Oh? It seemed like I had been looking down on the show quite a bit. Maybe I should watch the previous episode...