Chapter 13: Negotiations

In another room in the large high rise Association building.

Li Meiyou sat on a sofa, her legs crossed as she sat looking relaxed. She on the inside wasn't relaxed.

She was excited to know she broke the all time ESRF rookie time record, a fitting result for her hard work. But then, when she came out and saw the record board, she froze.

What she saw could have been missed by anybody, even she could have missed it had she not looked at the record screen before entering the dome for her test.

The number 1 had not Garvey Moshe, but how on earth did it suddenly change when she came out.

Yes she was first, but Garvey wasn't second but third. She had beaten the former number 1 by seven seconds, but the new number two was just behind her by three.

Heck she knew who Garvey was, a legendary talent in Europe known to have reached A-Class the years ago. That meant he had been an Ascendant for over Ten years if not more.

She turned to her Chauffeur, Lao Feng and spoke in mandarin

"Have you checked who the number 2 was?"

The middle aged security shook his head before replying

"Give us some time, we will gather the information as..."

A knock on the door disrupted him mid sentence, causing him to turn to it.

He walked to check who was outside, before coming in.

"M'Lady, it's the corp representatives"

Li Mei's eyes lit up slightly before nodded. Lao Feng opened the door, before saying to the people outside in English...

"Please one at a time. My lady will see your sincerity in your contracts"

There was a rustle of voices before a man in slacks and tie on a pair of black trousers walked in.

"Lady Li, it is an honor to meet you!"

She nodded curtly and gestured to a seat opposite her. The man quickly took his seat, elation in his face.

"Good afternoon Ladies Li, my name is Mashimoto Taka of D.I.G, Drakos International Group. Our group would like to sign a contract with you on these terms, I hope you'll be excited about her offer."

Mashimoto took out a file and put it on the table. Lao Feng took the file from the table and began to read it, nodding his head.

He then whispered a few words in mandarin to Li Mei who nodded. She replied before he answered...

"It is a good contract, but what my lady wants is your conditions. What does your company have to offer that others can't?"

Mashimoto nodded and began a dialogue about the benefits they would receive for over three minutes. At some point, Li Mei's attention drifted off, her eyes on her phone showing a bored expression. Lao Feng coughed, stopping the negotiator from speaking.

"Thank you, Mr Mashimoto, we will get back to you later"

Mashimoto was stunned, before sighing in dejection. He had failed to garner the little princess of the Li clan. Such an asset not only would help the company in popularity, but also the funding from the Li clans Military research companies would boost their financial growth beyond the roof. That's why they had even broken the bank to get her on board.

But the final decision was in her hands, and she wasn't impressed.

He walked out dejectedly, before closing the door behind me.

Lao Feng, who escorted him out, escorted another man in.

"Good day Mrs Li, I'm from the Maven Alliance..."

***

One hour and a lot of failed interviews later.

Li Mei sat down, sipping a cup of tea. She had cycled through so many negotiations, some very attractive, money or resources were never an issue. It was just, most people wanted her for her money or her fame.

She'd been born into a very influential family in the Eastern Front, the Li clan. Her prestige and fame grew slowly as the last daughter, making her the baby of the family.

At ten years old, she started a career as a pianist, gifted in the arts of music. At twelve, she'd come into global recognition as the 'Star' of the east.

At thirteen, she began training to ascend, going to rigorous training and life and death battles with E-Class beasts, becoming a master of combat at the age of sixteen.

At that time, she slaughtered her first D-Class. Such an achievement gave her the title of 'Maiden of the hidden blade' and 'Muse of Shadow's'.

She was held back from awakening for such a long time, until just recently, she ascended into a D-Class with a very terrifying stat line

A Specialist with both Enhancer and Sub Elementalist. The issue wasn't her class, it was that the element she unlocked mastery over was an esoteric breakaway off the Dark element.

Shadow Element.

The training she had gone through, plus the element she ascended into, made her a walking war machine. Many corporations in the east sought after her for many reasons...

But she wasn't satisfied. There was something she wanted so desperately.

She wanted to struggle. Yes, ever since she was born, she'd never had to struggle a day for anything. Food, shelter, comforts, everything was provided for her on a golden platter. So she had told her parents that she would not join a corp in the east and set her eyes to the west.

'Who knew she was as popular here as there'

All her negotiations had fallen through because most of them had the same offers...

Big Pay

Publicity

Facial copyrights.

'Can we just get to what I'll be doing as an ascended?' she always thought. No one ever brought up her routines in gate incursions and Evo-Beast slaying.

Just then, the door opening stopped her train of thought.

'Great another one, let's get this over with. I'm starving at this point'

It was a lady dressed in a suit and a large overcoat. She wore and eye patch over her left eye, her gait was that of a strong pillar, unmoved by anything.

'A strong woman, plus points' Li thought to herself, then motioned for the lady to sit. But sit, she did not.

"You know what let's get to the point" the woman spoke rudely, a slight annoyance in her face. Lao Feng wanted to retort, but was stopped by Li Mei.

"My name is Mikaela Tarka, I'm part of the Unit known as ASGARD. Normally we don't go out picking up Ascendants as we're a small team of elites, but we decided to make and exception" Mikaela started off, before sitting down, crossing her legs whilst keeping her eye on Li Mei.

The young lady felt overwhelmed for the first time. 'she almost reminds me of mother' she thought.

"Here's the contract. We're mostly a deep incursion unit specialized in large scale tactics, but we've needed a stealth or darkness based fighter for our hit and run tactics. And you certainly fit the bill" Mikaela continued, before tossing the file to her chauffeur. Lao Feng caught the file with disgust riddle all over his face. But he said nothing as was ordered.

He looked at the conditions, and his face went from disgust to utter hate.

"My lady, this... This contract..."

"Bring it" Li Mei spoke in English, stretching her palm. Lao Feng handed the contract begrudgingly, hoping his young lady would tear it to shreds.

"Why do you really want me?" Li Mei asked, her curious eyes shining as she saw the terms and conditions.

"Well, if I said I wasn't interested in your family connections, I'd be lying... ASGARD is a military research facility dedicated to making technology to close down the gates. But to be honest, I didn't care about you one bit, not until I heard you broke the record..."

Mikaela's words were sharp and precise, she stood up, her arms folded. It was there Li Mei saw her robotic left arm.

"Fun fact, you're not the only Darkness element wielder I know, it's just that I haven't seen anyone as good in close combat, just as you. So I won't feel too bad missing out. My team has survived too long. In the end, our job as Ascendants is to close the gates, nothing more, nothing less!" she said as a matter of fact.

Li Mei kept her eyes to Mikaela, her veil covering a smile. She reached for a pen on the desk and began to sign the documents. Lao Feng on the other hand was livid.

"My Lady, you can't really be serious about signing such a paltry sum"

Li Mei ignored her guard and signed on all the dotted lines, then she stood and handed the files

"When do I start?" She asked, smiling. Lao Feng sighed, he couldn't go against the wishes of his young mistress.

"How about we do a test, I'll get a team here in two days time, I want to see you in action, and it will start as a way to understand who you'll be working with" Mikaela replied, stretching her hand.

Li Mei took it and shook it firmly

"I will be honoured to work with you"

...And so...

Li Meiyou joined the ASGARD Corporations.