Chapter - 11
"You are fired."
The three words hung in the air, and the room went silent.
Ethan blinked in confusion as his brain took a moment to process the sudden 180-degree turn. Just seconds ago, she congratulated him, offering him the job.
Anya had welcomed him and they were on their way to sign the contract.
And now?
"Excuse me?" Ethan asked, a frown marring his face, "Miss Jasmine, I think I misheard you. You said I am hired, right?"
Meanwhile Jasmine had turned her gaze away from him, and was staring at the phone in her hand with anger, clutching it so hard that her knuckles had turned white.
"You heard me, Mr…" She turned to look at him, "Whatever… I am sorry but we are not going to go with you after all. We will find a better candidate."
"You can leave."
Anya, standing to the side, looked just as shocked as Ethan, "Jasmine?"
"What are you doing? We just saw how good he was. He looks brilliant, and trustworthy."
"We literally just shook hands on it."
"The decision is made, Anya," Jasmine snapped, narrowing her eyes at Anya, "I have reviewed his file again."
"There are just too many blanks here. I don't see any educational history, digital footprint or anything to run a background check on him."
"He is like an alien, as Trump would say."
"He just suddenly showed up here with all the solutions and the right answers?"
She grabbed his file and pushed it into Ethan's hands, "I don't think we are the right place for you."
'That's bullshit,' Both Ethan and Anya thought. She never even peeked inside that file.
"And we are restructuring our security protocols. We cannot have an unknown unpredictability in sensitive PR positions handling deals with millions."
"I might be unreasonable, but we can't have you here right now."
Ethan stared at her. He knew every word of hers was bullshit.
Ethan knew it, Jasmine knew it, and Anya knew it.
This was all because of that phone call. Someone had pulled a leash on Jasmine that made her change her decision.
Ethan wasn't the type to beg, but he did not want to go back home and face the smug look on Richard's face.
"President Clinton," Ethan said, his voice slowly losing the politeness he had earlier, "You are firing me because my background is way too clean? Aren't you being a little too unreasonable?"
"Is this the standard you are setting for your company?"
"Reasonable? Unreasonable?" Jasmine's face didn't lose colour, "This is my company. Last I checked my paranoia is law here."
Then she looked at her watch, "I am busy right now. I have a meeting with the Bureau Chief at the Chambers of Commerce in thirty minutes."
"Instead of wasting my time here, it is best you turn in the visitor's badge and leave without making a scene. Otherwise…" She waved her hand dismissively.
Ethan stood there for a moment, his jaw clenching. He looked at this woman. She was beautiful, powerful, and currently the most unreasonable woman.
Without saying a word more, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the visitor's pass that he was given before that crisis management test. He slapped it on the desk so hard that it made Jasmine flinch slightly.
"Fine," Ethan said, his eyes locking onto hers, "Good luck dealing with the backdoor genius you are getting.."
He turned on his heel, ignoring the apologetic look Anya gave him, and walked out of the massive office, closing the heavy oak door behind him with a loud thud.
"Fuck!" Ethan stood in the hallway, with a loose tie. He cursed in frustration.
"Unbelievable," he muttered, pressing the button for the elevator. "Restructuring my ass. She just didn't like that I heard her getting scolded like a child on the phone."
Ding!
The elevator door opened, it was empty. He stepped inside and pressed the lobby button, "Must be crying like a baby in Anya's arms right now."
"But now I am back to square one because of her," he cursed under his breath. "No job. No memory. And now, I might have pissed her off as well."
"Richard will be happy," He could not help but sigh again.
But just then as the elevator doors slid shut, a piercing sound exploded in his head.
[ Ding! ]
Ethan jumped, covering his ears. It sounded like a large church bell had been struck right next to his ear drum.
[System Initializing...]
[Neural Link Established…]
[Full-class Random Experience System activated!]
"What the hell?" Ethan stumbled back against the elevator wall, looking around frantically, "Who's there?"
"How are you speaking in my head?"
He looked up at the corners of the elevator, expecting a camera or a speaker. But he could not locate any.
"I know all about your pranks. You can't fool me." Ethan spoke, but there was no reply, "Come out now."
[ Host Identified: Ethan Smith ]
The voice resonated inside his head again.
[ Loading Status... ]
Suddenly, the air in front of him shimmered, and particles of blue light appeared merging to form a translucent, holographic screen that hovered in mid-air.
Ethan blinked, and rubbed his eyes hard. What was happening to him?
But the screen remained floating there.
"I am finally losing it," Ethan said to himself as he tried to touch the screen. But his hand just passed through it.
"The stress has finally snapped my brain. I am having a psychotic break." He slapped his cheek, but the screen remained there.
[ Status Window ]
[Name: Ethan Smith / Asura/ ???]
[Age: 23]
[Race: Human (90%), ??? (10%)]
[Strength: 25 (Average Human: 16)]
[Agility: 29 (Average Human: 18)]
[Stamina: 31 (Average Human: 14)]
[Charm: 35 (Average Human: 18)]
[Intelligence: 21 (Average Human: 15)]
[Memory: 0/10 (Recovery in progress)]
Ethan stared at the screen, his mouth slightly agape.
What in the devil's name was it?
There was his name, but next to it was Asura? As in the Devil? And why was there a '???' next to it?
This made no sense?
And his Race was another messed up thing.
"Wait... Human 90%?" Ethan whispered, He put his fingers on his chin in deep thought, "What is the other 10%? Am I really a devil from the underworld?"
"What in the world is going on?"
The only thing that made the slightest sense were his stats. He was definitely stronger and faster than an average person. He knew that for a fact.
While he was confused over the stats in front of him, the mechanical robotic voice spoke again in his head.
[Current Employment Status: Hired and Fired ]
[System Override Initiated. ]
[First Experience Job Assignment: Corporate Security Guard! ]
[Current Mission: Please report to the Aura Media Security Department in the basement immediately to clock in.]
[Job completion rate: 0% ]
[When the Job completion rate reaches 100%, new job assignment will open and the host can switch to another job assignment]
[Welcome Gift: Security Guard Registration Pack ]
[Reward:
$10,000,000 (Deposited in your bank account)
Bugatti Centodieci 'Édition Royale' - Value: $14 Million ]
Ethan froze.
"What the fuck?"
** ** ** ** **
[
Author's Question: How do you think Ethan is going to frisk all the ladies in the company?
Wrong answers only.
]