BXBX NOVEL Chapter 156 CH 150: THIRD PIVOT
When Adam appeared in Yui\'s room, she was not even surprised and simply sighed,
"I seriously need to upgrade the security of this place."
"Haha sorry."
Adam was feeling like he was becoming some kind of super thief. Firstly, he simply hides his presence by locking all his power, then created an illusion using the crown chakra.
After becoming invisible that way, all he had to do was to muffle all sounds by stopping them with his gravity. Finally, he would create the illusion that the door stayed closed even when he opened it.
"I can still smell you and your usage is still a little rough it seems."
"Smell huh? This is something hard for me to change. I can affect sight and sound easily for now but my nose is still human. So there are limits to what I can do."
She chuckled, "Well, your power will still be useful."
She spoke here and hesitated a little, "Adam, I have two very good news and a proposal. What do you want to hear first?"
Adam raised an eyebrow at this.
"The good news first."
"Very well."
Yui nodded and took a party horn and blew it while throwing confetti all around,
Finally, she chuckled at the dumbfounded face he made and explained,
"Congratulations, we finished calculating what you earned last time. The final result is pretty good I say."
Adam\'s heart pounded a little, "How much?"
"$80K." [1]
Adam took a deep breath.
This was an amount many people could only make after one year of hard work waking up every day early in the morning and only going back home at night.
He had made the same amount in just one night or rather, in just a few years.
"I must say, this was honestly quite surprising. But from what I could see from the camera, you made quite the show and this brings me to the second good news."
A mischievous light danced in her eyes,
"You received a stage name. So now, dear Cinder, Prince of Midnight, I am happy to meet you."
"..."
"..."
"...What?"
"Pfft!"
Yui caught her stomach as she laughed so hard tears were trailing down, "After your little speech about Midnight and you vanishing for a few days, my clients went crazy."
She had a hard time speaking coherently, "So now they ever call you the Midnight Prince or the funniest one decided to call you Cinder as in Cinderella. Pfft!"
She tapped the table as she fought to control her laughter, "I must have a prophetic gift. Who would have thought that this would happen."
Adam facepalmed. He had let himself go too much and made a grave mistake.
"Is it possible to change this?"
"Nah. Never, not even on my grave."
She made a firm X with her hand.
"In fact, thanks to you, I decided that all the high-ranked boys will have a masculine version of those Disney princesses."
Adam paled at her words. He was already not particularly friendly with all his co-workers. But this? He would definitely become the number one enemy.
"Heh, don\'t look at me like this. I am serious. The irony is interesting and I believe my clients will love it."
She was already making plans for a new party following fairy tales. She planned to have such a theme once a week or every month.
"I don\'t really see how this is good news."
"Well, it is. For me at least."
She jested a little before sighing, "Okay. Enough jokes. Now come to the proposal."
Her eyes became serious, "Adam. How far will you go down with me?"
"What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. Until now, you have always been a great helper. Be it back then as a fighter or now as a Gigolo. I always made sure that you could walk on the thin line so that no matter what happened, you would never truly be a criminal."
In the past, she did so because Adam was just a human in her eyes. If he became a true part of her gang, he would be exposed to danger and this was something she didn\'t want.
"Adam you see, I am not satisfied with simply being some small boss in a small town in LA. I want more...much more."
She wished to obtain an influence over all of LA at minimum, to be at the same level as Feng and Hanekawa.
For that, she needed subordinates, people she could trust with her back and who would fight alongside her.
But Adam was so much more than that. Be it in terms of influence, the relationship the two shared, or even his personal power.
"Currently, the supernatural part of the underworld considers you to be my little brother."
She smiled, "I can deny it. If you want."
She took two candies from her table and placed them in her hands.
"This is your last chance Adam, there is no turning back after this and this will be the first and last time I will ask you this."
Adam focused, he could feel that this time, Yui was not facing him as a friend but as a member of the underworld.
"You take the blue candy. We forget we ever had this discussion. You will continue working as a Gigolo for me, make a shit ton of money, nearly no risk and you can leave any time you want."
If she had to be honest. Deep in her heart, she wished Adam would take this choice. She would have never ever made that proposal in the first place if she didn\'t know he had awakened.
"Or...You take the red candy. You officially become recognized as my brother, which would make you the heir of this organization I am building. Of course, with this power will come the responsibility you will have to bear."
Nothing was free in this world. Yui was alone. Her executives were powerful, but she lacked something. Someone who could stand at the same level as her and bring as much fear as she did to her enemies. This was more so in this current situation.
Sharks were smelling blood and were trying to bite her to death. But she could ask no support from her two families and the Heavenly Court would never interfere in such a situation. Adam was her greatest hope.
Of course, this was also a gamble on her part. If Adam accepted, she was essentially giving him the mean to stab her in the back later on or he might not be up to the task and cause more harm than good in the long run.
But she was willing to take the gamble. She was sure that she would not regret it and that Adam would bring her a few beautiful surprises.
"No matter what choice you make, my opinion of you will never change. Even if you take a third choice and simply choose to leave right now. I will not hold you accountable."
Tick-Tock. The sound of the horologe was the only thing that could be heard as Adam looked at the two candies in Yui\'s hand.
He could feel it. He was at a crossroads and the system seemed to agree with this.
[Pivot: Avaritia -- A Sin Oh So Sweet--!
Description: Make your choice. Walk the path of Darkness and Light, take everything you can take from those two paths without hesitation. Use everything at your advantage to obtain the maximum benefit. Be Greedy
Reward: +5000 karma]
[Pivot: Caritas -- A Virtue Oh So Tiring--!
Description: Refuse to walk the path of Darkness as your path in the light is already certain. Fight for everything that is beautiful in the world.
Reward: +5000 Karma]
[WARNING: Pivots are choices, important or unimportant at the instant, that might change the direction of the future ordeals given to you...]
Adam closed his eyes. He thought back to the feeling of powerlessness that had filled his heart ever since what happened at the park.
This time, the crossroad was different from everything before.
The first time he pathed a pivot, he chose a virtue, that of Castitas. The second time, he once again chooses a virtue, that of Diligentia.
He opened his eyes. His decision was made.
"I choose..."
[1]: One thing I am always confused about, and would be happy to have an answer to, is it 80K$ or $80K? or it doesn\'t matter?
(AN: Avaritia is Avarice in Latin and Caritas is Charity. This is the 3rd Pivot.
The first pivot was Luxuria (Lust)/ Castitas (Chastity). The karma offered was 50/50
The second pivot was Acedia (sloth)/Diligentia (Diligence) for 500 Karma each. )