IÆm sorry The bespectacled man who Tatiana abruptly recognized as the bank representative said
IÆm not the young woman who was TatianaÆs second assistant Vye said with her arms folded Unfortunately we cannot allow you onto the premises
But The bank representative seemed at a genuine loss for several seconds Then his gaze hardened IÆm afraid I must insist Per our contract the bank possesses the ability to inspect the premises at reasonable intervals If the business model of Erickson Steel has meaningfully changed we must know of it I hope I donÆt need to remind you that the land and equipment itself is owned by us
Even so Go through official channels and bring a stamped and signed complaint if you want Vye said lazily She waved her hand as though she was warding off a persistent mosquito
The bank rep glared at Vye That stamped and signed complaint would be a foreclosure DonÆt joke about subject matter above your paygrade Everything you own would be ours Do you truly wish to force this issue I would like to speak with your supervisor
In the face of the bank repÆs ire Vye continued to just smile guilelessly Her gaze never wavered Eventually the man looked away first with a snort
Heh then I suppose IÆll return tomorrow with the police I hope your superiors understand just how royally you fucked up We will take away everything from you
You and what army But despite the question Vye simply raised her hand and waved cheerily at the bank rep as if this was the most normal conversation in the world Flushing with some dark emotion the man turned away and stormed off
Immediately Tatiana called Vye She watched the terminal and saw her subordinate pick up after the first ring You seemed to enjoy that entirely too much
Computer screen Vye shrugged That asshole has always been arrogant Did you know he asked me for a chocolate the last time he visited Then he had the nerve to act insulted when I denied having any Hmph IÆm not the Easter Bunny Besides the Lindt truffles I squirreled away are my personal treasure I will part with my life before surrendering them
Chuckling Tatiana shook her head Well IÆm glad that you are in such a dramatic mood Because I have a favor
The change in VyeÆs expression was immediate IÆm afraid IÆm very busy
youÆre not Tatiana clucked her tongue And we need this today While Randidly Ghosthound is around the facility we canÆt look half assed And Lenna is giving birth so Crosby
I hate the foundry Vye muttered
thanks ItÆs just for a few hours Probably Tatiana immediately hung off On screen Vye kicked the tall concrete wall around the Erickson Steel complex Then after she vented her anger she carefully looked around From an interior pocket of her jacket she produced a small chocolate which she gobbled up almost immediately
With a much cheerier expression on her face computer screen Vye walked out of TatianaÆs field of view Rubbing her temples Tatiana turned to the pile of paperwork sitting on her desk
No rest for the wicked
Chapter 961
Cracking his neck Randidly walked over to the bustling industrial center of the Erickson Steel headquarters Although Tatiana seemed to have a rather grim outlook on Erickson SteelÆs future it was hard to be anything but optimistic while looking around Men and women in thick leather aprons were hurrying toward the various individual smelting chambers but also there were several large groups standing around in the plaza and enthusiastically chatting
With RandidlyÆs Perception he could hear them discussing the finer points of temperature and mixture ratios in order to create a more stable metal Not exactly the sort of discussion someone who was worried about their job would have But then again Randidly supposed that for these people who owned Erickson Steel didnÆt matter Perhaps they would be just as happy to chat while employed by the government
Randidly looked at Mark with a wry grin Really seems like this isnÆt a place under constant threat of government oppression
Most average people wouldnÆt feel the weight of the dagger at our throats Mark said slowly He seemed like a rather reserved and morose person even if he had been extremely helpful to Randidly thus far Erickson Steel has that much clout Anyway sir would you like to examine our current products first Or do you want a room to work yourself
Current products first Just a few examples of each But no rush Randidly shook his head and then looked curiously around at the constant flood of slightly singed people There are a few personal things I need to take care of before I begin In the meantime IÆll just be seated at the cafeteria area over there Find me when the materials are prepared
Mark gave Randidly a careful look Ah Is there will you require any assistance with these
Randidly shooed the man away IÆm simply selecting what Path I should take next donÆt act like everything I do has some deeper meaning Like everyone else I have taken several long Paths to get where I am
But IÆm quite sure your variety of Paths are quite enviable Mark frowned You will wait for me here then Do you need
IÆll be here Randidly said with a sigh He shooed the other man away once again hoping that he would take the hint this time
Seemingly relieved by the answer Mark nodded and hurried off toward the towering stone building belching out smoke As Randidly walked over to the much smaller cafeteria tucked next to the stone goliath he idly considered the pillar of pitch black smoke running upward looking like a corridor of asphalt into the sky
The System means we donÆt have to worry overmuch about pollution right
Randidly took a seat and turned his attention inward He hadnÆt lied to Mark but he had only given him half of the truth Randidly would pick out his next Path but he also wanted to spend some time examining his images It wasnÆt that his images were damaged per se but that they were spreading their influence too far If he didnÆt act now to restrict them the images might bleed into each other with unpredictable side effects
In addition from the way the Grim Chimera image had been acting Randidly had a suspicion that the combination between the Ashen Kata and the Spear Phantom had thrown off the delicate balance at the imageÆs core Some of the annoying and insidious elements of the Ashen Image he had picked up from the Patron of Ash were beginning to manifest
Nothing concrete now but hints that foreshadowed a return to that poisonous image He had kept his images inert over the past day to simplify the task but Randidly would still need to delve deeply into the images in order to figure out what he could do to focus the images away from each other and keep the Grim Chimera under control
Well letÆs take the easy part first Randidly thought as he opened up his Path screen He twisted his lips as he considered the three options that he had settled on Ashes of Ulaat Perfect Soul Bond and Physique of the Grim Chimera
The first decision Randidly made was to exclude Physique of the Grim Chimera as a choice Physically he was in the best shape of his life Both due to high Skill Levels and extremely high Stats Yet he couldn’t deny that his physical gifts had been insufficient to handle using the Skill All Else Succumbs While Time Whirls the Earth
Even at his peak that Skill reduced him to a shuddering mess
But rather than brute forcing the issue by continuing to raise his bodyÆs capabilities Randidly believed that it would be more prudent to work on his understanding before attempting it again That way he could use his understanding to lower the demand the Skill placed on his body without seeking the diminishing returns of higher stats
Between the other two Ashes of Ulaat and Perfect Soul Bond Randidly finally settled on learning the Perfect Soul Bond Path
Ashes of Ulaat was a Path that Randidly wanted to take eventually likely as he gathered himself into the shape that would transform his Ignition of the Emerald Essence into a Skillset in its own right But at the moment RandidlyÆs focus was on Yggdrasil To that end Randidly knew that unity and growth would aid the World Tree image