"Haha, I think I've found a perfect ally," he murmured, not loud enough for anyone present to hear, but they had all heard his voice.
"Huh?"
Everyone's gaze shifted to him, wanting to get what he said clearly.
"I was just asking, are there no cards to play or better, a Casino pack? We're not gonna sit this way all night, right?" Rino asked.
At the question, every other person who had fun of themselves before now reclined to their seats.
"Bayo!" Malcolm snapped his fingers to the far left corner of the lounge. "The pack."
Without wasting time, the attendant standing at the corner, an average adult in a suited uniform, brought a carved rosewood box to their table. He carefully opened the lid of the box to reveal decks of custom cards.
The first was the Edges that were somewhat black-gold, and the latter was Crests embossed in red.
"The House plays," Reynar said, drawing a deck and starting the shuffle.
Hearing the voice, Rino turned in his direction. He had not paid rapt attention when Zaria introduced him at first to know what his fond name was.
But, well, he will just have to observe.
Sitting back with a half-smile, Rino thought. This is the game before the game.
He knew why he had brought up the topic of playing games.
If there was nothing he imagined, he knew that when a group was gathered and involved in any kind of leisure activity, the members of the group tended to spit out some information.
That was his plan.
He needed to get his hands on some information concerning the Red Tann.
He had tried to get this info, as usual, using his wealth vision, but for some reason, he knew nothing about it, it failed.
Maybe because his skill was still at Level 1, it has some limitations, Rino thought.
Having shuffled the cards, Reynar dealt the cards to every occupant of the table.
As soon as Zaria got hers complete, she took it and tapped the glass table with her nails rhythmically.
"Speaking of playing hands..." she broke the unspoken silence that was a result of the patience of everyone as the cards were dealt.
"A new development might be creeping into Medar sooner than we expect," she added.
Everyone who had collected their cards and started the play seemed to pause, except Rino. Even Amaka shifted this moment.
Zaria continued. "To the much information I've got, the Commerce Economic Department plans to designate a Tech Hub in Medar. Even the Federal Government is currently on a survey in the area, maybe they will soon make an environmental investment."
"You got to be playing, right?" Malcolm said, his brow arched. "Is this some rumor or Intel?"
"Why am I called Blogger Chick? Have I ever looked like I drop rumors?" Zaria replied.
Right?
From the start, Rino knew their nicknames had something to do with their activity dealings.
Apparently, Kasper will also be an important asset for him.
Zaria was not done yet as the game went on.
"Even, some conglomerate businesses were already maxing out plans for their investment in this particular area. What's the name again?" Zaria tapped her chin in trial to remember the name of the particular company.
"My brain seemed not to be functioning right now, but I think they're planning to build a smelting facility near Medar," she added.
"That's a huge project that cost billions," Kasper confirmed. "And suddenly, the government finally got interested in sampling developing cities around, using Medar for a start. Is that so?"
Nobody replied to him. They took it as a rhetorical question since that should be the first thing to occur in their minds. That is, this was the first time they were getting informed about the investment opportunities.
And it happened to start, focused in Medar.
So, the question was not necessary.
Zaria once again broke the silence. "My Intel also tells me the Green Lords are making silent moves to attract favor from these companies, and the government. We know what that means, right?"
"Tsk," Kasper scoffed, laying a jack of spades. "Those vultures want to box us out even before the real deal?"
For fuck's sake, that's how investors work in business.
Rino yelled in his mind.
"This is all due to our delay in taking action, you know?" Dalia said, adjusting her bracelets. "This was how we watched them secure the Southeast grid permits, now, they're gonna pitch themselves as the only viable outlet before summer."
"Does the Southeast really matter?" Amaka said quietly, shocking to Rino. "The darn zoning laws in Medar are what matter. They are what will determine the future skyline."
Exactly. That was a perfect decision I had made.
Rino smiled unknowingly to others, having remembered his company in Medar was the first he was going to be developing.
"... without those, the Green Lords are just squatters with fake blueprints."
"That's more like Cold Call," Malcolm smiled. "This means we need to act first."
One after the other, they made their suggestion on the better plan to execute like they were on a betting table.
Malcolm wanted to step into the Green Lords' negotiation chain and create a rupture.
As the investor, Kasper favored luring the investment reps to a private showcase. That way, be planned to show them what Red Tann could offer.
Dalia proposed to chip into the Green Lords' secrets, by setting up spies among themselves. According to her, seduction was going to go a long way to cause any of their males to spill the milk.
Even Zaria had a plan to have the media, her digital empire, create a tailored narrative that could blacklist the Green Lords in the online space.
Even Reynar contributed.
Only Rino was yet to speak.
He kept staring at Amaka, each time he got the chance to. Whenever it wasn't his turn to place the cards.
Inside his mind, he invited the system to help him check if Amaka would be a good match for his ally.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
«↓ Test Initiated | Subject - Cus Amaka ↑»
«↓ Progress: 16%... 54%... 98%... | Test Complete ↑»
«↓ Trustworthy [5/10]
- Communication [8/10]
- Vision [7/10]
- Accountability [9/10]
- Support [10/10] ↑»
«↓ % Quality Points: [78%] ↑»
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rino blinked.
Crossing the 70% mark meant she was fitting, plus her Support will be awesome.
At this instant, it was Rino's turn to play.
With a soft smile, he laid down his card on the submitted cards.
"Game," Rino muttered.
Other players leaned in to be sure he had won.
And yes, he had won with ten red hearts.
"Dude's got lucky fingers," Reynar said, tossing his cards on the table.
Rino leaned back in his chair and spoke casually.
"So, all of this... stress... because some Green Lords might beat you to taking charge of some companies?"
Taking in the immediate pause, Rino continued to speak.
"I'm not necessarily saying it's a less important matter, I'm only trying to understand why it matters," he shrugged. "Who are the Green Lords?"
He had listened to them as they debated and made suggestions, often mentioning the Green Lords. But, he didn't know what they meant by that.
Or, if he understood their language, this latter group could be their rivals, so, he wanted to at least know about them.
Malcolm leaned forward.
"Not all things should be said in front of outsiders, you know? Even ones with surnames that ring bells," Malcolm's voice was low, but they came with a loud bang into Rino's ears.
They kind of... hurt.
Rino didn't let anyone at the table understand how he felt at the moment. He only raised a brow but said nothing.
"If you want full clarity on the matter, why we're here at this table, why Red Tann isn't just about a nightclub's elite suite..." Malcolm continued.
"...you need to be a member."
And that was the reason Rino couldn't get info about the Red Tann from the system.
That was a limitation, he guessed.
He needed to be a member if he wanted to get access to their details.
Is being a member going to be worth the risk?
"So, Mister Cat... do you wish to be a member? Because if you do, the process will carry on immediately. Good enough, you were recommended by one of our own," Malcolm said, tossing his cards on the table.
Rino glanced at Zaria, and then at each of the persons seated on this table.
Eyes were on Rino as well.
Maybe they had started seeing him as an asset since he was recommended.
Would he accept to become their member?
Rino thought hard.
He didn't want to take any risk not worth risking.
He drummed his fingers on the glass table... once... twice...
Then, he reached for the dropped cards on the table to shuffle a new round.