"The league is too large to curate the missions that it puts up. Anyone can go up there and put up any mission. Some of them will be real, but most of them are problematic. It is because the mission system is automated. There is a lack of the human touch and verification. So you are bound to encounter a lot of problems with it."
"If you intend to rely on the mission system of the league, odds are that you will die before you go through ten missions. My cabal is a better alternative. As you have seen with the human farm mission, my missions have been verified and curated."
"I can help you find suitable missions or information you want. But unlike the villain league, you can trust the information I offer. But there's more. I have a system of employees that will go through the particulars of a mission, plan out the best way of completing it, provide the tools you need for the mission, including weapons, and give you step-by-step assistance as you complete the mission."
"We will be your support group and even be able to offer you assistance if you need it. You can have helpers for a mission, we can rescue you if something goes wrong, and many more. So join my cabal. What do you think?"
Kelvin asked, "How much will it cost?"
Pauli chuckled. "Going straight to the point, huh? That's good. It means you are interested. There is nothing to be afraid of. The services we offer are not free.
You don't need to pay us a certain amount, though. We will only take a percentage from the mission reward if it is successful. If it is not successful, then you don't need to pay anything."
Kelvin snorted and texted furiously. "If the mission is not successful, odds are that I will die. So of course you're not going to get anything out of me."
Pauli wagged his finger at him. "Don't think of it like that. Think of it as that we have an incentive to make sure you complete the mission successfully."
Kelvin asked, "How much exactly does it cost?"
"If you use our services to find a suitable mission for you, it will cost you just 10% of the mission reward. We have done a lot to verify the mission, so we deserve it. If you decide to employ our services to determine a plan and offer total mission assistance, it will cost you another 10%."
"As for other services like backup and rescue during a mission and other kinds of assistance, it will cost you another 10% of the reward or a certain amount in case of mission failure."
"All in all, it is a fair price. With our assistance, you can complete a mission every day instead of taking days and weeks to plan. You can also go to missions with the confidence that we have your back."
Kelvin considered it while Wrath whispered in his ear. He decided to ask the question Wrath was curious about.
"Why didn't we have this conversation over the terminal?"
Pauli shook his head. "I just said that the mission system can't be trusted. I didn't mean only the unreliability of those who put up missions. The thunderstorm villain league is unreliable too."
"You should know that they are always snooping on everyone. Their system is a good source of information for the league. They are especially out to get villains who have made names for themselves like me or perform a lot of suspicious activities like put up assassination missions for their own heads."
"But I have other reasons why I don't think it is a good idea to poach their talented clients right from under their nose. That reason is that my cabal plans to become a league in the future."
"I am not afraid of telling you this, as my ambition is not a crime. It is pretty normal for anyone to want to grow and become stronger. But saying so within their system will tag me and increase their scrutiny of my activities.
"They might even decide to investigate my actions outside of their system if they consider me a threat to their hegemony. So I thought it best that we meet outside of it."
Kelvin nodded. He believed most of it, but he also believes that a physical meeting would allow Pauli to make an ant with a tiny camera strapped to its back crawl onto his clothes. Unfortunately, this last part has undermined a lot of what Pauli said.
Still, he was tempted by the offer. He said to Pauli, "Can I think about it?"
Pauli smiled and said, "Sure. You have a week."
He stood up and extended a hand to shake Kelvin. Kelvin shook his head and didn't take it.
Pauli didn't mind. He smiled and said, "It is fine. But you need friends in high places if you want to reach high places too. You have talent, but that has only granted you potential. With my help, you will be able to turn this potential into reality and achieve success."
He looked at the skyscrapers around them and said, "Don't be discouraged by the limit of your beta ability. If you are destined to do great things, you will do them as long as you advance to the professional league."
"Look at Thunderhead and his rats. Do you know that he started out as an information broker too? He also started with a small gang that dealt with the transportation of fuel for the rich into the city. He was good at it because he could use his rats to scout his way and avoid danger. But he didn't limit himself to that. He decided to risk his life in the professional league."
"A lot of people thought he would fail and die. But his destiny was not to be so. He got lucky and got a great ability. That was five years ago. In five years, he replaced the previous dominant league and went from being a truck driver to someone powerful enough to carve out part of the city for himself."