That night, Lex finally decided to get some sleep. He could have meditated or practiced his techniques some more, but going too long without sleep was still detrimental to him, despite being a cultivator.
Speaking of sleep, Big Ben was still knocked out as well. His new fiance was very concerned about him, if for nothing else then because he hadn’t eaten in a while, but Roan, the barkeep, assured her that he would be absolutely fine.
As he got into his bed in the cozy little room he’d designed for himself in the backyard, he asked Mary for an update. Other than the usual stuff, there were only two things worth mentioning.
First was that the Galactic Sovereign turtle had encountered some beasts with a unique bloodline that would aid him in managing the greenhouse, and thus had taken it upon himself to hire them. Viewed only on the surface level, there was nothing wrong with this. In fact, it was even great since the greenhouse was getting big anyway, and it required specialized workers to manage.
The issue with the situation was that even Mary could not directly hire people on behalf of Lex, let alone anyone else. The hiring process required the potential employee to undergo a test generated by a platinum key, and only then would they be acknowledged as a proper employee. Even when Anita and Qawain entered the Inn, and directly expressed their desire to work there, Mary needed Lex to generate the platinum keys.
Yet on more than one occasion, the turtle had shown itself to be an exception to this rule. Not only did it hire itself as Lex’s gardener, it adopted Little Blue as a pet,pet, and now it had hired beasts to tend its garden. The turtle, although having only helped Lex with everything he needed, proved itself to be immune to the rules of the system. Or at least, it was able to interact with the system in a way no one else could. Heck, even Lex could not hire someone officially without using a platinum key.
Since Lex was trying to get a deeper understanding of the system, this was something he needed to pay attention to. While he was at it, it would be best if he did some research on the details of the turtle’s species.
The second thing was that the date for the Earth Expo was coming up. Miranda, the representative for the council back on Earth, had a huge list of requests for the expo venue and itinerary that Mary required Lex to approve.
With everything else done, Lex went to sleep. Tomorrow would be an interesting day. He would have to pay protection money. He wondered how much was an appropriate amount. He would have to talk to Dino about this as well.
*****
Earth, USA
Anakin Indiana McClane resisted the urge to smile. He had to look like a normal employee, and not attract any unnecessary attention. He had been planning his heist for months, from the first moment he got his hands on a golden key to the Midnight Inn.
He was not some idiot who would pull off a heist, only to get caught later. He had planned this heist in excruciating detail, so much so that he had shaved every hair on his body, put on a wig, and was wearing an artificial skin suit with fake fingerprints. Using modified shoes, he looked taller than he really was, and had especially learnt a spiritual technique to alter his voice.
All of these were necessary, for he wasn’t acting as a person he made up. No, he had taken the place of the real employee who worked at this bank. He didn’t harm the man, he just put him to sleep with a powerful sedative.
It was easy to get away with using this identity, for he hadn’t replaced the bank manager, but the janitor who cleaned the bank.
He did his job regularly, right up until he saw someone heading towards the bank vault. He activated a special talisman he’d bought from the Midnight Inn guild room, and turned invisible. He followed the customer into the bank vault and, instead of robbing the bank, he activated the golden key and entered the Inn. A few hours later, when the bank closed, the heist would begin.
*****
The next day, Lex woke up refreshed and full of energy. After washing up and making sure he looked presentable, he quickly exited his tavern. It was still early, so the street was mostly empty, especially since it was still dark, but fortunately Dino’s bakery was open.
After getting a suggestion from him about what kind of salary the girls expected, he brought up a question about Elio Ricci. This greatly troubled Dino, and it was clear that he was hesitant to say anything on the subject, especially since his relationship with Lex was still new. In the end, he said enough to let Lex know that should the Ricci family feel like he owed them money, they would be very open and clear in communicating it. Before then, he should not offer to pay them, as that may actually end up offending them.
With a better understanding of what to expect, Lex returned to the tavern. The streetlight outside was well lit due to street lights as well as lights embedded directly in the streets. There was no room to allow even shadows to form too deeply.
This was starkly different from how things were when either Sol or Frio birds were around. Though the Frio birds brought along with them snowstorms, they gave off an ethereal light that could somehow shine through the snow softly, similar to moonlight. As such, whether it was Sol-light or Frio-light, when they were around, no one needed to be so careful of the dark. An example of this was how you could sleep in a dark room without a night light.
Overall, there was not enough darkness to contaminate the spiritual energy. Now, though, with the town surrounded by the unending void, they had to be extra careful.
After appreciating the beauty of the well lit town, he returned to his tavern. Whether it was dark or light, it did not matter to Lex. After all, the town’s security was handled by someone else, and since the town had survived this long, they surely knew what they were doing.
The day seemed slow, not only for the tavern, but for the whole town, as the number of people walking on the streets had visibly reduced.
Around noon, however, things suddenly picked up for the tavern. A small crowd of sailors entered the tavern with a thirst that could only be quenched by the strongest of drinks. After chatting with them a bit, it turned out they were a part of a merchant ship that had to take an emergency break at Babylon after it got dark while they traveled. They would have to stay till some Sol-birds returned.
Lex was especially active while chatting with them, for he wanted to understand what kind of trade the merchants in the area conducted. The answers he heard only confused him and betrayed his expectations.
Time seemed to fly, for Lex had joined a group of sailors on their table and, while conducting his investigation, listened to the various stories they had to share. As interesting as this new group was, however, Lex eventually had to get up, for the guests he was most anticipating had arrived.
Elio Ricci walked into the tavern followed by eight other men, all of them sharing the trait of looking large and mean, while he himself followed another man. Unlike Elio, who had once again attempted to dress formally, the man in the lead made no such attempt. He had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and wore loose and casual pants. His hair was long and messy, despite being tied in a pony, and he was growing stubble that told it had been a few days since he last shaved.
The man looked older than Elio, but in no way did he look old. This was the one thing about cultivation that Lex could not get used to. A person’s appearance usually had nothing to do with how much they had aged, so it was often difficult to tell someone’s actual age.
“Mr. Lex,” Elio said, his tone warm and his smile casual. “Meet my father, Mario Ricci. I told you we’d come.”
“Yes, of course. It’s a pleasure, Mr. Mario.”
Mario, after he was done surveying the tavern, looked at Lex up and down. Finally he said, “no need to call me Mr. Mario, just Mario will do. I’m not like these young kids who pay attention to so many things. Back in my day, respect was in one’s eyes, not in one’s words.”
‘What does that even mean?’ Lex thought, but did not let it show on his expression.
“In that case, Mario, have a seat. What kind of a drink would you like? I’m sure you’ll enjoy our selection.”
Before Mario had a chance to answer, however, the door to the tavern was loudly slammed open, followed by a jeering voice.
“Is this the trash heap that’s claiming Pvarti spent the night here? How drab. This place is too dirty even for my servants.”