[Clicked. Oh, it’s that. Well, good work. Just send him to the cafe, and I’ll tell the guys there to add it to your contribution.]

The two of them stared at each other as Ray pointed his finger. The message was clear.

The fake salesman frowned.

[Is there anything else?]

"Wait, bhai, it’s not that simple. You know me, I won’t ever disturb you with such small matters. Bhai, trust me, this kid is special."

[Nah, I have already seen many like him. It is not as special as you think.]

"Bhai, just one meeting. The kid is with me outside the cafe. With you talking to him, I will be at peace about not wasting the talent."

Ray raised his eyes.

Even the other person said in a deep tone, [You are quite daring.]

The guy just scratched his head. "Sorry, bhai. It’s just that once I talked with the kid, I knew that I had to call you to get a better judgment."

Silence!

Ray continued to stare at the phone, all while tapping his legs.

After a minute-long silence.

[You really are a troublesome character. Well, now that you have come, meet me on the second floor.]

"Thank you, bhai."

Click!

The moment the call disconnected, the guy slumped down. He looked up. "Kid, I did my part."

Ray nodded to him. "Thank you."

The guy waved to him and stared into his eyes. "Kid, let me warn you, Raghav bhai is the real deal. He has been with the gang way before this game business. So don’t try to be oversmart and be respectful."

Ray wiped off his sweaty palms as he rapidly nodded. "Okay."

He took a deep breath, and finally, it was all on him now.

The guy stared at him for a bit and turned around. "We’d better not make him wait."

With that, the two of them entered the slave cafe. Unlike the silence outside, the inside was full of people.

The ground floor was a massive hall with more than 200 metal gaming pods installed in rows.

He saw a bunch of gang members screaming at the players all around the cafe, scolding them for different reasons.

The victims, though, could only nod their heads, taking in all the bashing. They looked more like living corpses.

For a moment, he saw his past self standing among the other victims, desperately nodding.

Ray shook his head and walked to the back of the hall, taking the lift to the second floor.

The second floor was more of an office setting, with a smaller hall also filled with medium-end gaming pods. It was far different from the shouting on the ground floor.

This took him by surprise, as he never thought it would be like that. Then again, this must be for the gang members.

The sales guy led them deeper into the office, nodding to everyone passing by.

Ray just followed along and did the same.

Not long after, the guy pointed to a door. "We are here."

Ray nodded as the guy knocked on the door.

Tak Tak!

A loud shout came from inside.

"Come in."

A woman in a business dress opened the door for them.

Inside, a man in his early thirties, in a black suit, stared at the two of them.

The fake salesman rushed in while saluting. "Raghav bhai."

Raghav bhai just nodded and asked while pointing to Ray, "Is this the gem you were talking about?"

Ray rushed in while bowing. "Good morning, sir."

The fake salesman did his part. "Yes, bhai. He is Ray, a second-year in Vikita College."

Unbothered, Raghav just scrolled through his phone and asked him, "So, kid, what’s your class?"

Ray just stared at the guy. For some reason, he numbed out.

All this time, he was sweating about meeting the gang member, but now it was nothing.

There was no fear, no shaking, not even a sense of relief. Just blank. ’Guess nothing could topple death.’

The unknown feeling took him by surprise, as he did not even reply.

Raghav stopped scrolling and raised his eyes at him. "What’s funny?"

’Funny.’ Ray touched his face as, unknowingly, a smile had formed on it. He shook his head and said in a calm tone, "Bhai, even those who just started playing know to hide the details of their class."

Silence.

The guy stared wide at him, but Ray just ignored him and looked at Raghav.

After a minute of staring at each other, Raghav turned to the salesman with a smile. "You really picked a confident one."

The sales guy just gulped and nodded his head. "I told you, bhai."

Raghav turned back to him. "Well said, kid. From this alone, I know you can be a good seed to invest in."

Ray raised his head halfway.

Raghav tilted his head. "What happened? Do you have something to say?"

Ray glanced at the others in the room and then said, "Sir, if I said I did not come here to be a seed but have an offer for you, will you listen to me?"

Raghav started laughing. "Haha, offer? Sure, shoot. Let’s listen to what a chick like you has to offer."

Instead of answering, Ray just glanced back at the woman and the salesman.

Raghav frowned at him. "Kid, I don’t have all the time."

Ray just smiled and pointed one finger. "Sir, I come here with one bright future. A future that lets them enter the safe circles."

Raghav stared wide-eyed and then jumped up. "Don’t tell me...."

Raghav stopped halfway as Ray smiled. "I believe it’s better to let him judge."

Raghav just turned to his secretary. "Give us some time."

She just looked at him and then dragged the salesman out with her, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

Instead of rushing in, Raghav just calmly poured some sort of alcoholic drink. As he took a sip, he finally asked, "Kid, how do you know that? Who sent you here?"

Ray shrugged his shoulders. "Can’t I come on my own?"

Raghav just smiled at him. "Well, good for you. Now show me the item. We can discuss after I check the quality."

Ray smiled at him. "Bhai, I don’t think the big boss will be happy about that. Not when the item in my hand was tailored for saving the future of a girl."

Raghav sucked in a deep breath. "Jeez, you really know."

Ray just smiled at him. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Raghav gulped the entire drink and got up. "Wait here. I will arrange the meeting."

With that, he walked out, leaving Ray alone in the room.