Ray sipped his coffee while staring at the salesman promoting his trap scheme to the group of desperate first years.
He found it all too familiar. In the past, it was this guy who pushed him and a couple of other defaulters toward the slave cafe.
Not long after, the group of first years walked away, with the salesman packing his bag.
Ray calmly walked to the guy and said with a smile, "Hello."
The guy froze for a moment and then smiled back at him. "Hello, sir."
Ray just sat on the chair and stared at the guy's bag. He looked around and asked in a low tone, "Can we talk? I am kind of interested in one of your schemes."
The guy smiled at him. "Sure, sir. What scheme are you interested in?"
Ray saw the guy quickly going through his phone while pulling out a pamphlet from his bag.
Ray mumbled, "It's regarding the gaming pod." He looked up at the guy's face. "Sorry, I heard you mention the part payment method for the game."
The guy suddenly smirked for a moment and closed his phone. Ray only caught a glimpse of a list with photos.
Ray just looked down, hiding his own smirk. Now he was sure someone from the college was providing information to this guy.
The guy pulled out a couple of pamphlets from his bag. "Oh, sir, you have heard it right, and let's say it's fate that the two of us met."
Ray tilted his head. "Fate?"
The guy nodded and placed two pamphlets before him. "Yes, sir. You see, just this Monday, our company launched two special growth plans."
The guy pointed at the left scheme. "Sir, this is the latest Be Independent pack." The guy paused and scanned him. "I mean, sir, you are very young, so you must have heard the news about how players in Zenaris Online earn so much these days."
Ray played along and raised his own question. "But I heard only a few players make money."
The guy shook his head. "Nah, sir. Sure, there are a few who make that big of money, but even those with F to E level contracts earn far more than office workers."
The guy squinted his eyes. "Sir, you must know this stuff from the college, right?"
Ray waved his hand at him. "No, actually, I am asking for my friend."
The guy smirked and nodded. "I understand, sir. After all, these colleges offer limited seats. With Zenaris Online being the future, but as you know, sir, the gaming pod prices were sky high for many to afford."
"It was for this reason that our company took the initiative to support the dreams of young gamers like your friend. There are two player support packs before you."
The guy picked up the left pamphlet. "Sir, I will recommend this one for you. Here, our company will install the gaming pod at your place with a month of free game time, and then you have to pay insta…"
Ray just nodded along, a bit shocked at how much the guy was explaining.
He was not sure if it was the same in the past. It could be that he did not notice; after all, with how depressed he was at that time, it was hard to focus on these talks.
Finally, the guy asked him, "Sir, which scheme are you interested in?"
Not dragging it further, Ray said in a low tone, "So this is how you recruit."
The guy froze at him. "Hehe, what do you mean, sir?"
Ray smiled at him. "Oh, don't worry. Didn't I tell you my friend recommended you?"
"Your friend?"
"Yeah, he is a year senior and was happily recruited by you."
Panicked, the guy started looking around.
Ray tapped on the table. "Hey, no need to tense. I am not with some bullshit media."
The guy stood up. "I need to go."
Ray clicked his tongue. "Did you already see my details? Why pretend to be scared?"
Finally, the guy dropped the fake panic and stared back at him. "Kid, who sent you?"
Instead of answering, Ray pointed to the guy's phone. "You must only know about the defaulter list, right?"
The guy leaned toward him. "Kid, do you think this is a joke? I am warning you, don't poke your nose where it doesn't belong. Or else you won't be waking up in your dorm room."
Ray leaned forward. "Didn't you know my situation already? Why don't you do your work and help me join the cafe?"
The guy stared at him with wide eyes. "Wait, you know about the cafes."
Ray leaned back in his seat. "I told you my friend recommended you guys."
Silence formed between the two of them.
The guy rubbed his forehead and shook his head. "Whatever, man, I don't care. If you want to join, then just pick any one of the packages. In a month, the guy will take you there."
Ray also laughed at how the guy did not even bother to say a word about the possibility of making the payment.
Ignoring that, Ray pushed both the pamphlets back. "I guess you really don't know about the latest information."
The guy snarled back at him. "Kid, are you playing with me?"
Not backing down, Ray just looked at the guy and said, "Just this morning, those in college were shocked to find my character name disappeared from their contact list."
The guy almost jumped. "What!"
Ray just pointed to the phone. "Why don't you confirm it?"
The guy stared at him and just walked away with the phone in his hand, leaving his bag on the table. "Give me a moment."
Ray took a deep breath. This was the moment. If this did not work, it could backfire, landing him in far bigger trouble.
He stared out through the cafe's glass window. There on the road, the fake salesman was shouting at someone on the phone.
Not even a minute later, the guy rushed in with a poker face, but the shine in his eyes made Ray relax. 'It worked.'