Josh couldn't help but be impressed by the guy. He wasn't that easy to fool, or was he? He had come next to him, and straight-up told him that he knew Josh was the one that was really interested in D-23. 

But then Josh had fooled him again by playing the fool. He couldn't help but enjoy seeing the man's embarrassed beyond belief expression turn into sheer horror. It seemed to take him all his willpower to just introduce himself as 'Markus'. Good thing he didn't have a composite name. 

"Sell me D-23."

Now, that was short and to the point! 

"Y-you're the one that cleared it the first time, right?!" he had only realized now somehow. 

"Indeed," Josh admitted. 

"You experienced it first-hand, and now you want to own it exclusively? This sends a clear message that there is something valuable in there…." Josh shrugged lazily, not even bothering to answer. "Give me one good reason to grant your wish." 

"Because your goal isn't an illusory possibility of a potential profit, but to protect your people. Am I wrong?" Josh asked. 

He could see the man give a wry smile as he seemed to agree with that, but then he turned serious. "Say, if you were me, would you sell it?" 

"In a heartbeat. I'd transform that problem into funding." Josh was smiling. "But if I was the one in your shoes, I'd keep it. Well, I'd quit that government job before that. Too much hassle." He admitted. 

"A matter of having different goals in life, is it? Was the training reason real or just an artifice?" He carefully inquired. 

"Do you know the difference between the Alter Tower and the Tower?" Josh asked. 

Markus shook his head. 

"The Alter Tower is always unpredictable. With the Tower, it only happens for the Rankers. They are the ones to see the Floors for the very first time. Newbies don't become better Climbers. They just learn to follow guides better. But we've seen how that turned out with the Possible difficulty…."

"Tons of deaths. Is this project linked to Draconic in any way?" He glanced at Kasha on the side. 

"Nope. It's a personal pet project of mine. Honestly, I'll have to wait to develop it anyway. I'm just happy that everyone is busy with that godly curse BS, so they probably won't dig too much into the Disaster zone sales story." Josh shrugged. 

"I see… I can sell it to you, but I have a few conditions. Whether this deal works or fail will depend entirely on you." Markus had a solemn expression. Then he whispered a few things to Josh. 

****

Somewhere in the suburbs of Metropolis C, an ordinary-looking dark-blue flying car could be seen parking. Out of it came one man and two dead-looking women. Well, they were alive…but would anyone living lack expression so much?! 

They were so shellshocked that they looked more like ghosts. Approaching one, it was possible to hear her softly and continuously murmur: "A disaster zone. He bought a freaking disaster zone."

The other one didn't seem to make much sense either as she was mumbling, "I was seen through instantly. I shouldn't have accepted that bet. My car. My poor car." Needless to say, it looked like both had suffered an incredible trauma. 

Josh couldn't help but sigh, giving a wry smile. He had a bet with Kasha that she'd instantly be seen through and that he'd manage to buy the land without any issue. She wanted to prove herself so much that she had even put her most prized possession in play. 

"Kasha, you can keep your car. After all, I only managed to succeed in the first place thanks to you."

"Really?!" She turned her eyes upward, full of hope. She somehow looked so vulnerable right now, very different than usual. 

"Sure. Don't beat yourself up too much about it. Politics are a different battlefield altogether. It takes practice. Ah, but I may ask you for more lifts in the future. That's fine, right?" 

"Yep, perfectly fine!" Her smile was so brilliant and contagious that Josh felt its warmth make its way to his very soul. The passersby were unconsciously turning around to gaze at this wholesome-looking scene. Now, there was only one remaining.

"Lyrie, what's your bank account number?" 

"What? Why?" She seemed confused. 

"For your commission. Why else?" 

"It's **** **** **** Ah, but I didn't really do anything. I checked the contract once, and everything was already in order…." She admitted. 

"I'm kinda broke right now, but…." Josh typed on his UW and came the sound of a notification. 

"Oh my god! I'm rich! HAHAHAHA. This much commission for looking at one short contract?! This is amazing! Thank you!" 

If every dead-looking person could be resurrected that easily, Josh could have easily become a professional medic. The agent lady went home, leaving the two of them alone. 

"Ah, but what were the conditions he gave you? I'm pretty sure he was using something to block the sound since I didn't hear anything." Kasha had already returned to her lively and curious self. 

"Perhaps one day I'll tell you. Perhaps you'll have to wait for my biography to come out. Perhaps I'll take this secret to my grave. Who knows." Josh winked at her as he left, slowly walking away. 

"Where are you going?!" 

He simply waved her goodbye. 

"The Tower….Obviously…" She realized. 

On his way, Josh checked the news real quick. There was an announcement. It followed pretty much what he had guessed. It also seemed they had decided to go the extra step. How does one distract the masses? 

Bread and games. Food was in abundance thanks to technology. As for the games? Well, there was that ad: "Join the Ultimate VR Tournament Now! LV-1 Status Fights! First edition! Registering Now! Starting soon!—" Soon TM, aka the best unit of time to bullshit. 

Well, they were probably waiting to see how many would join to decide how to organize it. Then depending on the popularity, they'd probably make a show out of it. First editions were always sketchy anyway. Trial and error was the key to success. 

Well, it was time to Climb! 

[Mission: Annihilate the Brown Gnoll Pack.] 

Josh felt like he was forgetting something…but it probably wasn't that important if he didn't remember it. He couldn't help but grin. Annihilation was his specialty. Now, it was time to kill some little shits!…