10

"Well, yeah, we were! I mean, he was the only real friend I ever had. It has always been hard for me to get along with other people. But I could rely on Jack to keep me company. And now..." trailed John. Ashley put a hand on his shoulder.

"I am very sorry for your loss, John. But I am sure Jack is in a better place now," she said, smiling.

"Yeah, thank you for saying that. Anyway, you never told me where we are going after breakfast," said John.

"Oh, we are going to the black market," said Ashley, with a casual tone.

"The what?"

"Black Market, Dumbo!"

"What's a Black Market? And why on earth would we go there?"

"I'll tell you why. How many points do you have? That's a rhetorical question; you have none!"

John's heart sank as he realized that all his points had been spent the previous day. The thought that he would have to start working didn't occur to him before.

"Don't be worried," said Ashley, "I will get you to work to make points. That's why we are going to the Black Market. To get ourselves a mission."

"Okay, thanks. But how many points should I expect to make?"

"Well, normally people make about two points a day. Those that work hard make about 3.5 points. Some talented people go as high as six points a day!"

John was wondering how many points he would make when he saw a karaoke bar. On the signboard, it said that they also served breakfast. An aching desire to go inside the karaoke bar took hold of him.

The bar was crowded with various people. One of them had wings of fire! John wondered when he would be able to get that ability! At the drinks bar, there were a few floating masks that were flowery in color. This was amazing! John knew that such Administrators were really rare to meet, and what was more, they were often alone and not in groups. John guessed that he was lucky to have run into not one but an entire group of administrators with colored masks. People were swooning over them and offered to buy them free drinks, although it wasn't clear if the administrators could actually eat or if they even had a mouth. But they could! John saw the food lifted and then disappearing just beneath the lower curve of the masks. His stomach grumbled for food; Ashley heard it and giggled.

"Well, don't you have a big appetite!" she said.

Ordering breakfast, Ashley put her elbows on the table, with her face supported by her hands. She watched John eat as if he was the most beautiful and precious thing in the world. With his tummy about to burst, John instantly made his way to the men's room. Relieving his bowels, he began to worry about all the points he had spent the previous day, and that too on just a Gacha game win of a month-long fortune. John came back to sit at the table. In the background, people were singing on the karaoke machine. The waitress, who had come over to ask if they needed anything, looked at him and Ashley; she smiled mysteriously.

"Why the long face, boy? It isn't nice to be so sad in the presence of such a lovely girl," she said and winked at Ashley, who blushed and giggled naughtily.

John told her about his point-bankruptcy. To this, she laughed out loud.

"Tell you what, consider this your lucky day, dears! The two of you look so cute together that I will give you dessert for free!"

"How is this possible?" John exclaimed as the waitress left.

"John! That must be another instance of good fortune!"

That was, in fact, good luck! John was really excited. Then, the waitress came back with their dessert.

"You know, some black mask administrators have this ability where they can get points by being glutinous!" said the waitress after observing John's excessive eating.

"What?" exclaimed John as he took a large bite of his dessert.

The realization finally dawned on him; John understood why those religious cult people were torturing the dog. But the waitress was talking, and John thought it would be rude to not pay attention, especially after eating that scrumptious dessert. She told John and Ashley that they would need to head for Zone Three to get working and earn more points. Ashley rolled her eyes when the waitress wasn't looking. Probably because Ashley knew better ways to earn points than this waitress. She also told him something funny that John already knew.

"In Zone Three, there is no need for toilets. Did you know that?" She asked with a mischievous smile on her face.

"No, I do not know that," lied John, who was embarrassed to admit that he knew this. Ashley laughed loudly at this joke.

"Yeah? Well, you basically work so hard there that all you eat is simply consumed from within," she said and also laughed. Saying goodbye to the kind lady, John and Ashley walked out of the Karaoke bar.

"Okay, John, we need to focus now on the place we are going. Before we get there, I want to tell you some things about Gudo, the black-market place director. Gudo isn't the best of men, but as long as you are useful for him, he isn't half bad."

"Who is he?" asked John.

"He used to be a diplomat in a kingdom, I guess. He was also a spy, gathering intel about everything that happened in this kingdom. Under his command, this scout unit would go undercover in other kingdoms, gathering intel for Gudo. So, he's pretty good at unearthing secrets and gaining access to things that are not supposed to be accessed. Naturally, he knows a lot of important people."

"This guy sounds pretty shady to me, Ashley."

"Don't worry, as I said, he is good as long as you get him money. But he isn't the most trustworthy person, that's for sure."

"Well, this Gudo doesn't sound like a charming character to me, Ashley," John remarked suspiciously. They were strolling on the sidewalk of a road. John was amazed at how Ashley could navigate through Zone Two, with all its different streets. He figured that she must have a lot of experience with the map of Zone Two.

"If you get him money, then he can be charming," said Ashley, doggedly.