Liam raised a brow at the redhead who was sporting an unexpectedly big, warm smile. She was almost always either smirking at him or rolling her eyes, so this was new.
"Yes, you guys won. Good job." He simply smiled and patted her on the head, which made her suddenly widen her eyes. A blush crept up onto her cheeks and she tried to quickly get off, only to end up slipping and falling on him again, pressing her soft assets onto his chest.
"Careful." Liam patiently smiled. It was funny to see the feisty Alex completely drunk, and he was simply enjoying the show. However, just as the woman fumbled on top of him for a third time, a few hands popped out of nowhere and readily helped her up.
"Don't worry, sis Alex. I will help you up." Mei Mei pulled one side of her lips up, revealing a knowing smile. Next to her, Shen Yue had a small face as she also helped peel off the redhead from Liam.
"Right, thanks." Liam chuckled awkwardly as he looked from Shen Yue to his sister. They helped Alex up, and now all three women were staring at him with different expressions.
"Ahem. I will catch up with you all later. I should go and speak to our guests." He quickly fled the scene without turning back.
"Master Ning." Liam bowed to the old granny. "How are you adjusting to the game so far? I heard you guys had a resounding victory. Congratulations."
The old woman indifferently nodded. "I didn't do much."
Liam sighed. She probably did not like this party environment.
"Right, I am sorry about this. I don't think I gave a proper introduction to you and your students, so these idiots ended up throwing a party like this for you. Ha Ha."
"That's fine. We don't mind."
"Oh? Then… is something else the matter?" Liam probed.
"Hmmm… Nothing. I am considering whether to join the guild or not." The woman honestly answered.
Ha Ha Ha. Liam ruffled his hair.
Was this heading in a good or bad direction? He couldn't tell.
Naturally, he was willing to offer something extra to sweeten the pot, but at the end of the day, it was their decision and he was fine with whatever they decided.
As far as he was concerned, he had already paid back the debt that he owed. He had introduced them to the game, and now they had a better chance of survival in the real world.
"Since you've already helped out a lot with the guild war, I won't bother asking you to officially join our ranks. That decision is up to you. But…"
"Hmmm?"
"If you join us, I can promise you some amount of autonomy. You and your students can form a separate independent division of the guild, and the only requirement would be that you don't betray us."
The old woman stared at Liam for a second. In all honesty, she did not expect the young man in front of her to suggest something like this.
While she was uncertain about the future, there was something about the person in front of her, that made her want to rely on him. She couldn't quite place her finger on it.
She continued staring at Liam for a few minutes before she stood up and left with the two men. "Alright, I will think about it and let you know."
Liam nodded with a smile. At least it was not an outright rejection.
After getting out of the apartment, the granny turned to look at the man on her right. "What do you think, Meng? Tell me your opinion about the young man whom we just met."
The guy named Meng let out a sigh. "Master, he is very powerful, much more powerful than us."
"Hmmm… I think so too." The granny nodded.
The other guy then spoke up on his own, "Master… I don't think he is powerful. I think he is different."
"Different?"
"Yes, master." The guy nodded. "He seems like he has experienced life and death before."
Suddenly, the granny stopped walking. That's right. This was exactly what she was feeling as well. The reason she wanted to rely on him was that he seemed like he had already experienced something far, far worse.
Those young eyes held a deep, unfathomable wisdom that even she didn't understand. No person of his age should possess something like that, and this was exactly why she was both willing and hesitant to join him.
Willing because she could tell that he was destined to become someone powerful, but also hesitant because she knew that someone like him wouldn't bat an eye when killing his way to the top.
"Maybe I am thinking too much." The old granny sighed.
The future was after all uncertain. So if she was planning on placing her trust in someone, why not him? Her time was already over. She had to think about the other people relying on her.
"Ok. I made my decision." She nodded.
"Master?"
"Master?"
"Yes, we will be joining that guild officially and we will be playing this game seriously from now on. Inform everyone to tell their families. Everyone will start living in the dojo for the foreseeable future."
"Yes, Master."
*****
A/N Top Fan Event: As we are approaching the end of Part 1 of the story, I have decided to organize a special event to commemorate this milestone. Top 20 fans of the book can now send me suggestions for new characters that they want to see in the book. (Can be new characters, new powers for old characters, new events post-apocalypse, etc). I will try my best to incorporate them into the story as long as they are not world breaking. You can contact me here through comments or on Discord. Cheers! (To check if you are one of the top 20 fans, you can check the about page of the story where the fan ranking is listed)
