BANG!
Somebody was thrown backward.
At the same time, a Barrier appeared around them before shattering into pieces.
Everyone looked at the person, and the person themselves looked at their abdomen after landing.
Blood.
He had been shot!
"You shot me!" he shouted with anger as he quickly stood up.
All the adrenaline in his body made him blind to the searing pain of his new wound.
"We warned you!" one of the guards shouted.
Earlier, this guy had charged forward, loudly shouting that he was going to enter the building and that there was nothing the guards could do to stop him.
But then, he got shot.
Luckily, he was only a John, which meant that his body wasn't relying on Zephosis to survive.
However, the shot still injured him quite a bit.
At least it didn't hit him in a vital area. Additionally, the shot was not loaded with any ability.
While it emptied his Zephyx and made a hole in his abdomen, no other effects were added.
Naturally, if the Veteran wanted to kill the John, he would be dead already.
"You shot him!" someone else in the crowd shouted.
"I'm going to sue you!" the guy shouted as he pointed at them. "I will get all of the chocolate you have in store!"
"Yes, we won't sue you! Just give him the chocolate!" another guy shouted.
The Extractors from the Manufacturer just glared at the rowdy group.
This was getting more and more chaotic.
By now, over a hundred Extractors stood in front of the gates.
If all of those actually tried to get in with force, there wouldn't be a lot the guards would be able to do.
Luckily, the Veterans seemed to have themselves under control.
Over the past couple of hours, a couple of Johns and Newbies had attempted to forcefully enter the building.
While the guards had simply thrown the first ones out, they had actually shot the latest one.
They wanted to make an example out of this John.
However, that seemed to only enrage the crowd further.
While the guards looked stalwart, they were actually nervous inside.
This was extremely dangerous.
But, for now, they could still hold the line.
At some point, one of the team leads came out of the building, and the guards immediately looked at him for guidance.
The team lead took a couple of guards to the side and told them that he was going to talk to other Manufacturers to get some help.
Until he returns, they would need to hold the line.
The Extractors were worried, but they believed in their team lead.
The crowd noticed that there was someone with some real authority present now and immediately started to swarm him, demanding explanations.
BANG!
However, the team lead just jumped over the crowd and entered the street.
Naturally, the people were quite angry, but none of them could catch up with a Peak Veteran.
While the guards kept the people at bay, the team lead visited a more powerful Manufacturer.
Of course, there were also Extractors from the more powerful Manufacturers in the crowd, but those were off-duty and didn't belong to the truly powerful ones.
The team lead and the guards had noticed that the more powerful Extractors were not influenced as much by the lack of chocolate.
Meanwhile, the Newbies and Johns seemed to go crazy.
Maybe it was because of Zephosis?
The team lead quickly arrived at the third most powerful Manufacturer in the city.
After going inside and asking for a meeting, he met with the CZE.
He told them about what was going on and asked for help.
"I'm sorry, but we can't risk helping you in this case. You're on your own," the CZE said.
The team lead started to beg.
He even offered them the entire company.
As long as the employees were allowed to continue working for this Manufacturer, the Manufacturer could have everything!
"I'm sorry, but we have to say no," the CZE said.
"Why?" the team lead asked in shock and horror.
"We do not want to anger certain people," the CZE said. "Now, please leave. We can talk next week."
The team lead wanted to protest, but two Peak Veterans quickly escorted him out.
'Why?' the team lead asked himself. 'Why are they refusing us?'
In the end, he had to accept and go to the next Manufacturer.
This time, the team lead immediately started the conversation with an offer of simply handing over the entire company.
They no longer cared about any kind of profit from this trade.
They just wanted to get out of this mess without dying.
However, the second-strongest Manufacturer immediately threw the team lead out.
They didn't even entertain the conversation.
The team lead started to become terrified.
Lastly, he could only go to the strongest Manufacturer.
Sadly, he couldn't even enter the building.
The two Experts told him that he wasn't allowed to go in and that they wouldn't forward his message.
He was on his own.
That was it.
The team lead was at his end.
He looked back to the distant gate of his place of work.
There were even more people present, and they seemed to become even more aggressive.
The team lead almost couldn't believe what they had done.
He knew that the chocolate made people addicted, but he hadn't expected such an insane level of addiction.
These people were no longer acting like people.
They were acting like rabid animals!
In the end, the team lead took a deep breath and looked towards the city's headquarters.
If there were any other way, he wouldn't go there.
Naturally, going to the city's headquarters would most likely solve the issue, but at a hefty price.
An investigation.
It was more than obvious that the team lead's Manufacturer did some shady things, and if the team lead told the city to intervene, the city would start a full investigation.
A full investigation would lead to the capture and death of many of their employees.
He would probably be among them as well.
Other Manufacturers would keep the shady things hidden, but the city wouldn't.
Finally, the team lead sighed and went to the city's headquarters.
As soon as he arrived, he told the guards about the incident.
And they had not received such orders yet.
Naturally, the guards could see the incident with their own eyes from where they were, but they were not supposed to intervene without orders.
And they had not received such orders yet.
One of the guards led the team lead inside and directly brought him to the highest floor.
"You can enter," the guard said, lightly gesturing to the door.
The team lead took another deep breath and pushed the door open.
As soon as the door opened, the team lead fell under a ton of pressure.
The Governor was looking at him with a cold expression.
"Why are you here?" the Governor asked evenly.
"Governor," the team lead said with a heavy voice, "Happiness Through Taste ;) is falling apart. Our four executives vanished without a word, and we have found a destroyed tunnel."
"The city is besieging us, and we can't produce the chocolate anymore. If you don't intervene, many people will die."
The Governor just looked at him in disinterest. "What's the most pressing issue?" she asked.
"The crowd in front of the building," the team lead answered immediately.
"Produce more chocolate and give it to them. That should deal with the issue," the Governor said.
"We can't," the team lead said.
"Why would you not be able to produce chocolate?" the Governor asked. "You are the producers."
"Because we don't know how," the team lead answered.
"Explain," the Governor demanded. "How can you not know how to make something that you make daily?"
"Because only the four executives know how the chocolate is made," the team lead said.
Then, he took a deep breath. "And I believe that it is a possibility that it might not even have been made inside our… building… you know…"
The Governor raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "So, you're not the ones creating the chocolate?"
"Probably not," the team lead said.
The Governor paused for a couple of seconds, looking at the team lead with furrowed brows.
"You do know that something with such an intense power of addiction can only be made by a powerful Specter, right?" she asked.
The team lead nodded.
"And you are saying that you don't know from which Specter it is coming," she added.
The team lead gulped and nodded.
This was exactly why he didn't want to come here.
"So, you can't even guarantee that the Specter is contained."
The team lead avoided the Governor's eyes.
"Tell me," the Governor continued, "is there a possibility that your company has been infiltrated by a wild Specter?"
"M-maybe. I don't know. The executives are the only ones that know, and they all vanished," the team lead quickly answered.
The Governor narrowed her eyes.
"Since you came of your own volition, you are allowed to gather your people and appear in front of the city's headquarters for a full investigation by tomorrow."
Then, the Governor's Barrier activated, and a big part of the wall moved to the side, revealing a window to the city.
"I'm going to deal with this issue."
Then, the Governor jumped out of the window.
After some seconds, the team lead collapsed onto his behind.
Well, that was it.
He was no longer in control of his destiny.
What will happen, will happen.