"I already told you, you American idiot! I don't work for the Chinese and I'm not a spy!"

Daz squinted as he heard a few more similar shouts being thrown around in the mall. They seemed to be coming from the centre of the building and everyone nearby was trying to ignore it.

Freddy could be seen standing over a tied-up young man of Asian heritage who was wearing a seemingly ordinary set of clothes though he did have a single metal pauldron covering his left shoulder.

About a dozen or so of Daz's people were gathered around just watching the pissing contest of words between Freddy and the captive.

"Our 'spy', I presume?" Daz asked Dalton.

Nodding, the man answered, "Yup. I was 'avin' ma late brekky on account of not gettin' much kip last night, right? It was then that we- uh, that Fred caught 'im skulkin' about the entrance to the shoppin' centre. Thought it was wise to capture the bloke an' see what he wanted so 'e's down there doin' that while I came up 'ere to get ya. Simple enough, eh?"

"Well, for a start, the guy's telling the truth when he says he doesn't work for China or that he's a spy, and, based on his accent, he likely isn't from China at all," Daz said coldly as he walked down the broken escalator with a now slightly-nervous Dalton following behind him.

"Right... But the drongo was sneakin' about and ya can't be too careful when you're an invadin' force tryin' to take over a country an' all was our, I mean, uh, was Fred's thinkin'," Dalton defended himself.

Daz nodded. "You're not wrong, regardless, we'll find out who he is, either through discussion or Identification. I would rather not have another local worry alongside China and Gǒng."

"Fuckin' too right, mate. My point exactly. That's why we nabbed him. If only ol' Miller was with us... He's good at talkin'. I bet he could make that guy sing like the fat lady in a few hours tops. The things that fella will get ya to spew when he talks... Charismatic bloke," Dalton praised with genuine admiration in his tone.

"He is not a diplomat nor an interrogator," Daz answered, "he is a general. He leads men, he does not try to determine if a hostage is a spy or not."

"Do kings do that these days?" Dalton laughed as he took off his wide-brimmed hat and scratched his head.

"Ones that can detect lies do, yes." Daz approached Freddy's side and said, "Hello, Freddy, and hello to you too...?"

"Oh, uh, I'm Jung Hyuk," the tied up man said. "Uh, you're Daz, right?"

The man's English was good though he spoke slowly. Clearly, he had no skill or item to help him translate and his accent was thick, yet he was still very fluent in the language.

Daz nodded his head. "Indeed, Jung Hyuk. That's a Korean name, isn't it? Does that mean what I think it does?"

Jung Hyuk smiled in relief. "Yeah! I work for President Ho Ran! Some of our men in China caught wind of the most high-profile person from the auction appearing in Taiwan meeting with the Chinese and even their Emperor, supposedly."

"Who's President Ho Ran?" Freddy asked as he cocked his head in confusion, one hand still holding his frying pan cautiously. "That someone we should be aware of?"

Daz didn't answer that and neither did the captive. "What does she want with me?"

"Wow. You know that's a woman's name? Impressive. Korean is tough for foreigners. The names aren't so obvious thanks to the vastly different languages and whatnot, haha... Right, right, I'm getting off-topic. Uh, I was sent here to ask you if you wanted help? Also if you wanted to arrange a meeting with the president of our United Korea?" Jung Hyuk said in a very perplexed manner, unsure of how exactly to answer.

'Honestly, no on both accounts. I wish for no aid from a grandmother I've never met nor one who allowed Father to mistreat her grandchildren as he did but... this is an opportunity. He isn't lying. He really works for her... I should meet her and see what kind of person she is at the very least,' Daz thought.

"United Korea?" Dalton whistled with raised eyebrows. "That's nice. Guess that insane dictator up north is a few feet under then, eh, mate? Serves the rocket-boy right."

"Uh, well, obviously, what with nukes being super hard to use and with the north being so reliant on old-world tech, it wasn't much of a fight. The south has a pretty heavy gaming culture so we took to the system like fish to water, haha," the man chuckled proudly before sadness overtook his expression. "Well, those of us that survived this long did, at least..."

"Kids and their games," Freddy sighed. "I should have tried to be interested in that shit when my niece showed me those computer games of hers... Might have helped me get stronger in this crazy new world."

Daz stared into Jung Hyuk's eyes and said, "Let me ask you two questions. First, do you have any ill intent towards me or my people?"

"What? No, 'course not. I'm just a messenger. Deliver messages, that's what I do, not, uh, have ill intent?" he answered with a bit of confusion.

"Good. And secondly, do you know anything about what Ho Ran wishes to discuss with me?" Daz questioned. 'Rose did say that she had spoken to our grandmother and that the woman would try to become my ally at the first opportunity but blindly believing that would be foolish. This is the woman that birthed Father, after all.'

"Nah, not really. Like I said, just a messenger. I would, uh, assume she wants to talk about politics? She's a president, you're a king... Makes sense if you ask me," Jung Hyuk answered.

Daz slowly began pacing back and forth in a very calm manner. "Hmm... Would you be against me checking your status? You clearly don't wish us harm and my people have been rude to you by tying you up when it clearly wasn't necessary, but I hope you can forgive them for that and grant my request. Seeing your status description would give me some peace of mind."

"Sure, man. I don't mind. I don't have anything to hide, but, uh, don't spread my information around, would you? I'm no one important but everyone's got some secrets, y'know? I don't mind a foreign king who my president wants to meet knowing about my class and stats, but, yeah..." Jung Hyuk seemed willing which Daz was thankful for.

"I'll only look at your description. Thankfully, the system is flexible in these areas," Daz responded. "System, show me his status please but omit everything that is not his description."

"Oh, that's cool. Never knew you could do that," Jung Hyuk said while Dalton unconsciously nodded his head. Apparently, the Australian was unaware of this too.

Jung Hyuk's Status Basic Information Omitted.

Description

Jung was once an ordinary boy who only wished to enter the field of e-sports as a pro-MOBA gamer but never quite had enough talent.

Lucky enough to have a pair of wealthy parents who lived in the heart of Seoul he had the opportunity to pursue his dream several times free of financial worry but he never made any progress.

When the system tests began on Earth he adapted to them quickly and has since come under the command of Colonel Park and is now one of United Korea's most decorated solo-scout units.

Energies Omitted.

Stats Omitted.

'Former wannabe-pro-gamer turned professional post-system scout. Impressive. Though not quite the same as a recycling centre worker turned monarch, huh?' Daz thought in good humour. "Thanks. You can go. Tell Ho Ran that I will meet her when I am done here in Taiwan. I shouldn't take more than a week or two."

"Uh, sure. You really checked my status, right? I didn't get a notification like normal," Jung Hyuk said in befuddlement.

"My Identification is likely a higher rank than yours. Regardless, have a safe trip back to Korea. I would like to keep you here for dinner at least as an apology for the rough treatment but I'm expecting local guests in a few hours, so you'll have to forgive me for that," Daz said emotionlessly as he reached down and removed the ropes binding the Korean man.

"Uh, no need to apologise, I brought rations with me. Well, we'll likely never see each again what with you being a king and me being a simple army soldier but it was good meeting you. I hope everything goes well when you meet the president," Jung Hyuk said as he bowed his head then smiled at Freddy and Dalton. He then casually walked out of the mall.

"Which of you two decided to tie him up like a Christmas turkey?" Daz asked the two middle-aged men.

Dalton, being quick to realise what was going on, pointed at his partner. "It was Fred. We both spotted 'im, yeah, but it was his bright idea to fulfil his BDSM fantasies. I didn't bother fightin' 'im on it since he gets stubborn like that day he challenged your leadership, so I just rushed to get ya instead."

"Wha- You fucker! It was a joint decision! Both of those were joint decisions! Daz! I swear! Ya gotta believe me!" Freddy protested.

"Freddy, 500 laps around the mall without using any skills. 250 for tying up what was essentially an emissary, the other 250 for lying to me," Daz declared.

Dalton grinned under his wide-brimmed hat which didn't go unnoticed by Daz. "I don't know why you're smiling. 150 laps for not stopping him - you're equally as strong as him so it's not like you couldn't have forced the issue. And do another 250 for also lying to me. Now go before I give you worse punishments."

The two men immediately began bickering with one another but they did leave the mall and started running circles around it.

Daz sighed as he motioned for all on-lookers to return to their assigned tasks or whatever else they were doing before this whole 'show' began. "I swear, those lieutenants of Greg's are children in the skin of middle-aged men..."

"You're sure you don't need any more help?" Vanessa asked Rose as she ran her fingers through the girl's long platinum hair.

The two had just finished having a bath together, much to Rose's dismay. Madison simply refused to help her clean herself anymore ever since she'd learned of her attraction to her older German friend.

She'd claimed it was a great opportunity for the two to get closer despite how much Rose insisted it was weird. Before they would take turns looking after her but now it was like Vanessa was Rose's personal maid and that bothered her to no end.

Vanessa put down the hairdryer in her other hand and smiled. "Mmm, all dry now. We could go play a game or two now, right? You have time for something not work-related, don't you? I even bought a laptop so we don't need to screen-share anymore."

"T-Thanks, Vanessa, but I really need to work tonight. I'm only 60% done with building the code for New Earth's information network system. It's tough since I need to-"

"'Need to make it impervious to system-aided security risks', I know, I know," Vanessa interjected with a pout.

She rested her head atop Rose's hair and grumbled, "We haven't played anything in ages. You're always working in your VR capsule or busy in meetings with Lyle and the keep advisors... We never have any us time, y'know? You're like a little sister that doesn't want to act like a little sister! You should play with me more. The airship's nearly done being rebuilt and revamped and I don't really have another project to fill my days after that... Maybe you could hire me? I could work with you!"

'A little sister...' Rose hid the bitter look that had appeared on her face as she answered, "No. You're a great person, Vanessa, but you're not a coder or smart enough to be of use, uh, no offence. You're smarter in other areas."

Vanessa giggled as she wrapped her arms around Rose and squeezed her. "I know what you mean, still, you work too much for an 11-year-old!"

Rose's face turned red and her heart began pounding wildly in her chest. 'She's so close! Damn it! Why the fuck does she smell so good?! Arg! This is torture!... M-Maybe one or two games wouldn't hurt? I do need to unwind from time to time and being so physically close to her is only making me even more stressed...'

"Fine. Uh, what do you wanna play?" Rose asked as she squirmed about uncomfortably. Being held so tightly by Vanessa made it hard for her to think straight.

"Hmm..." Vanessa scrunched up her brows in thought. "How about a shooter? I'm good at shooters. Well, at least I think I am. Maybe one with mechs or something? Or flying. That would be cool. I'm not too bothered so long as we can play together. Choose a game that you like."

"Sheesh... Fine... I guess we can play Borderland 3 or something. One of the characters has a mech as their ult," Rose mumbled.

"Sounds good," Vanessa said with a smile as she scooped Rose up into her arms and brought her to the girl's bed.

Once she'd placed Rose down, she reached over to her backpack that was laying sloppily on the floor and retrieved her new laptop from it. "So I need to download it, right? How do I do that? I mean, google isn't a thing anymore..."

Rose shrugged, relieved to be free from the grasp of the girl she so deeply yearned for. "The Rose has an archived version of the old world's internet. You can look it up and download it from there. If you need help just let me know."

Vanessa nodded as she clambered into Rose's bed and laid down next to her. "I've been looking forward to doing something like this for weeks! Madison was right. I just needed to keep pushing then you'd give in, hehe."

"So that's why you were so insistent today... We can only play for an hour or two, by the way. I really need to do that extra work before bed," Rose said as she avoided looked anywhere near Vanessa's face. 'Stupid love! Why is it so hard to look her in the eyes? I know she's only average looking but why does she look so charming and pretty?! This is so frustrating... Stupid Daz, stupid Maddy... This is only making it harder...'

"Then I'll make sure to make the most out of those 2-hours," Vanessa happily declared.

An hour quickly flew by as they gamed. With how advanced Rose's internet and phone service The Rose was, the game had been downloaded in only 2-minutes and they'd been playing for the remainder of that time.

"Well, that guy there was the first real boss," Rose said as she stretched her neck and glanced over at her bed's fellow occupant. "Like I said, he's pretty easy so long as you dodge the glowing wires."

"Hmm... Why did he have a shield? And why is all so... dubstep-focused? Are those two streamers really the main baddies? It's kind of... cringy," Vanessa said in confusion.

"Uh, yeah. The story isn't very good but it's a fun game so don't pay attention to it is my advice," Rose answered.

"Well, so long as I'm playing with you, it's fun, hehe," Vanessa laughed. "It feels so different playing on my own screen instead of sharing with you for once. I never really had any consoles or games back when I lived in Germany since I was from a small village in the countryside... I can see why it's so addicting now."

"Y-Yeah," Rose stuttered. 'Stop it, brain! Stop giving me urges to say something stupid! Even if I tell her how I feel she'll just assume I mean it in a family way, not a romantic one and I'm only a kid in her eyes even if I am way smarter than her...'

It was taking a considerable amount of willpower to avoid blurting out 'I love you' or 'you're so pretty' for the young girl and that was exactly why she avoided sitting down with Vanessa for more than 30-minutes at a time.

'If I have to do this for another hour then I'm probably gonna do or say something I'll regret... Damnit! Why couldn't she be a boy my age and why do I have to be gay? This would be so much easier if she wasn't a girl 5-years older than me...' Rose complained internally.

"Hey, Rose, is that your phone ringing?" Vanessa asked.

"H-Huh?" Rose fumbled around with her hands and she almost dropped her phone as she picked it up off the nightstand it was laying on.

She looked at the device's screen and muttered, "Daz? Why's he calling me?" Regardless, she picked up and said, "Of course you'd call me in the middle of the night."

"Sorry. Did I wake you up or something?" Daz asked.

'No, you saved me, actually,' Rose thought as she rolled her eyes. "You may as well have. I assume you need something, right?"

"You assume correct, Rose. I just finished a diplomatic meeting with Taiwan's local group of champions, of course, not before beating the tar out of the handful of heroes that did not believe in my strength. Gaining control of Taiwan should now be a simple matter of just going to each of the cities and finding all the remaining people and bringing them to Yilan City. I made a deal with the Indians and I threatened the Chinese to leave," Daz explained.

"I knew about the Chinese but the Indians is a surprise... I was certain you'd have to make a bloodbath out of them since the king in charge of that group is known for being mysterious and ruthless. Good job, Daz. Now, tell me what you want so I can start working on it," there was bite in her words but also an unusual amount of appreciation.

"... Well, to be frank, Grandmother sent a messenger to me. She wishes to meet me. Tell me everything you know about her if you wouldn't mind. As loath as I am to admit it, I do wish to speak with her but anyone who has anything to do with the Hamilios is a threat I simply cannot meet without proper preparations," Daz stated coldly.

"Ah... Ho Ran..." Rose made a troubled expression as she covered her phone's microphone and whispered to Vanessa, "Uh, do you mind bringing me to the library? I need to reference some documents for Daz."

"Sure! Em, I think we should get dressed first. I'd rather not creep about the keep in my pyjamas, haha," Vanessa answered.

Rose blushed. "That's your fault for changing into them after the bath. You have your own room so I don't know why you'd think I'd let you sleep in mine..."

"Aw, c'mon, you love me really," Vanessa teased with a laugh.

'... If only you knew...' Rose took in a deep breath then moved her hand from her phone's microphone and said, "Sure, Daz, just give me a few minutes."