The Midnight Inn. What could he say about it? A lot, actually. The na was so simple. So deceiving. Almost as if it were just a generic building, the signs of age and wear covered with cheap paint, cramd together with other old, cheap buildings, found in the heart of an old city. The na made it sound like an Inn with an exciting nightlife, with drinks being served by pretty barmaids, and the crowds getting rowdy every chance they got.
But the reality of it was so much greater than it seed. Or maybe that's what the na actually ant. The Inn was like the night sky, filled with a trillion stars, hiding galaxies and countless wonders, all ingeniously hidden in the dark. That had to be it.
Or maybe there was an even deeper aning to it - one that Chen could not quite understand. It certainly wouldn't be sothing arbitrary, such as representing a random ti of day when one suddenly thought of making an Inn. It certainly wouldn't be because the hand that wields destiny, and writes out fate like an omniscient being thought the na sounded cool.
No, Chen was certain that there were nurous mysteries hidden within the na, just as the Inn itself held countless mysteries that he had yet to uncover. Even after spending years at the Inn, it was funny that he discovered new things about it everyday.
Then again, he did spend most of his ti working.
"Boss, it's ti," soone said as they knocked on the door, causing Chen to open his eyes and release the breath he had been keeping in. As soone who had been in the Nascent realm for a little over a year now, he didn't really need to breathe, but he liked to do it anyway.
Chen, nominally known as Brother Chen, had been running a successful business with his sister inside the Midnight Inn for years now. Everything was so different from the life he had once known. For a long ti, it had felt amazing beyond description.
But lately, Chen was beginning to feel… unfulfilled. He was beginning to feel as if there was sothing lacking in his life. That was not to say that he wanted to return to his previous life, where every day might be his last, and losing his loved ones was an inevitability, with the only factor to be determined was the ti of their parting.
No, Chen missed nothing of his old life, living in a zombie infested world. But that did not he was completely satisfied with his current one either, and until he resolved this ntal block of his, he could not attempt to rise to the level of an Immortal.
Brother Chen, forr soldier now successful businessman, put on his overcoat, attached his sheathed sword to his hip, and left the room. Inside the Midnight Inn, he did not need the protection of his overcoat called the Matrix-look that he bought from the Gift Shop, nor did he need his weapon, but he carried them with him always - mostly because a cute girl once complinted him about the look and now he just kept repeating it, but also because he did want to allow himself to lose his vigilance.
Outside, there was a large entourage waiting for him. There were a number of werewolves, transford of course, a few centaurs here and there, and a number of beasts. One by one they fell in line as Chen walked through the Inn feeling completely absurd. But such was the way of the world.
If he showed up to a business eting without a sufficient following, many powerful businessn wouldn't take him seriously. But the fact that he needed to impress others irked him even more. What was the point of his success if he still needed to play by soone else's rules?
"You look distracted," said Lily, his sister, who approached him with a protective detail similar to his.
"I question if this deal is even worth it," Chen said, looking forward. He did not make eye contact with his sister, and she knew why. He was upset that she forced him to follow all of these rules. But if they wanted to succeed, those were the rules that they needed to play by.
Instead of responding, she only sighed. They had had this conversation countless tis already. There was no point in repeating it.
They soon arrived at the site of the eting, a small village, far away from the cities, occupied entirely by Elet Corp, a massive company within the Origin realm that controlled three different star systems.
Suffice to say, their operation was much larger than Chen's and Lilys. The guards checked Lily and Chen before they could enter, and insisted that Chen leave his sword behind, which made the forr soldier frown.
But he relented, and handed the sword to one of his own guards.
"This is a complete farce," he said to his sister, through his spirit sense.
"Please, this is the last deal," Lily responded. "After this, we will sit and talk about how you want to proceed with the business. But if we can land Elet Corp as a buyer, our scale of operations is going to explode."
Despite the friction they were experiencing, the two did not let it show on the outside as they finally t with their potential clients.
Elet Corp was run by a race called Wingans. They were small, at only two to three feet tall, with dark brown skin, four wings and arms, but no legs. Despite the unusual shape of their bodies, they were absolutely lethal, and their wings could cut through almost anything their level, and did not break easily. They were also very smart.
"Gentlen, we et at last," Chen said with a smile on his face, almost as if he didn't hate these things and their entire business.
"Brother Chen, Sister Lily, your reputation precedes you," one of them said, flying up to eye level as a sign of respect. "Please, co in. There is much to discuss."
In the background, a screen showing the Midnight Gas was playing.
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