"So nice to see you again, Tarren," Jonathan said as he shook Nick's hand.
Right now, the two of them were in a big and luxurious office, which was filled with all manners of art and fancy installations.
"Also nice to see you again, Jonathan," Nick said as he put some Gourmet Spice on a huge cooked pheasant. "You don't mind me eating, right?"
"I'm used to it," Jonathan asked with a laugh. "I see you are enjoying the Gourmet Spice."
"Just call me fat," Nick said with a laugh. "By the way, what do you think of my new transporter?"
Nick used his Zephyx to move the luxurious transporter to the side.
He was in a cart that was made of the most expensive wood the city could find.
There were plenty of reliefs and engravings on his transporter.
The cushion was the most comfortable one could find in the city, and the wheels shone with splendor.
If Nick were a normal human, he would probably weigh over 400 kg.
He was insanely fat.
As Jonathan and Nick exchanged some pleasantries, Nick ravenously consumed the pheasant.
"Judy!" Nick shouted.
"Yes, sir?" a fat woman spoke as she entered Nick's office. "I want three more. Bring one for Jonathan as well, but make sure there's no Gourmet Spice on it."
Nick laughed loudly. "He's on a diet."
"Of course, sir," Judy answered before leaving the office again.
Jonathan laughed a bit. "You're living in quite the luxury, Jonathan. You even have an Expert as a secretary."
"Only the best, my dear friend," Nick said with a laugh. "Is everything working out with the Gourmet Fat?"
"Of course," Jonathan answered.
Nick released a sigh before burping. "Excuse me. I was afraid that something had happened and that you would leave my Extractors without Gourmet Fat. You have no idea how much my Extractors depend on it."
"I get that all the time," Jonathan answered.
Gourmet Fat was something Big Gourmand produced.
It could increase the amount of Zephyx an Extractor could absorb per day by a bit, but it also made them quite fat.
This was the reason why Gourmet City had no issues with new Manufacturers.
More Manufacturers meant more Extractors, which meant more customers that bought Gourmet Fat.
"The progress you made within just three years is nothing short of astonishing," Jonathan said after some small talk.
Nick shoved another fatty piece of meat into his mouth. "I'm pretty good at sniffing out Specters," he said with a laugh.
"Everyone noticed," Jonathan said. "You already have two other Specialists and over ten Experts. How many Specters did you catch in just three years? 40?" ɽÀɴó𝐛Èꞩ
"47," Nick answered with a proud smirk.
"47 Specters," Jonathan repeated with an impressed voice. "And to top it all off, almost all of them are Adults or stronger."
Nick just laughed. "Can't tell you all of my secrets, Jonathan," he said with a mysterious voice.
Jonathan just nodded absentmindedly.
"You benefitted quite a lot from Dark Brine's demise," he said.
"Oh yeah, what a shame that was," Nick answered with a smirk. "That was such a good Manufacturer, but they just didn't have their Specters under control. Luckily, I was in the area and could contain them. This could have been devastating to Gourmet City."
Jonathan laughed knowingly.
But then, the atmosphere changed, and Jonathan assumed a serious expression.
"Powerful Extractors from Big Gourmand are going missing," he said.
"I heard about that," Nick answered as he burped again. "You want to work for me?"
Jonathan was taken aback, and Nick burst into laughter. "I'm joking! I know that I can't compete with Big Gourmand."
Jonathan sighed. "This is serious, Tarren," he said.
"Oh, come on," Nick answered. "Sure, Extractors vanish, but Big Gourmand seems to be the only target. Us smaller Manufacturers are not in danger."
"That's just it," Jonathan said."The city is starting to suspect that it's not a Specter that's causing the abductions but the Manufacturers."
"And you are one of the prime suspects."
Nick's fat face scrunched up with disbelief and annoyance. "Why? What did I do?"
"Well, Dark Descent, despite its name, is ascending quicker than anyone could have thought. You just arrived three years ago, and Dark Descent is already the third most powerful Manufacturer in the city."
"That makes you and Dark Descent quite suspicious."
"What bullshit!" Nick exclaimed loudly as he angrily ate more pheasant. "You're just mad that I'm better at catching Specters and running a Manufacturer than you."
Jonathan furrowed his brows. "Tarren, I'm here to warn you. I'm not the biggest fan of your personal attack."
Nick waved dismissively. "You know exactly that I didn't mean you specifically. I meant you, as in, Big Gourmand."
"I work for Big Gourmand, and I take pride in my work. I would ask you not to attack that pride," Jonathan said.
Nick just sneered in disgust. "What's there to be prideful about? Big Gourmand ran this city into the ground. Look at all the fat people in the streets. Gourmet Spice should be made illegal."
"You guys are so filled with gluttony that you are basically eating the entire city. You could've had a good thing and just sold it to a few people at a premium, but instead, you sell it to everyone for cheap."
Jonathan narrowed his eyes. "I came here as a friend, and this is how you thank me?"
Nick groaned in exasperation. "Oh, come on. The first thing you did after meeting me was hooking me up with Gourmet Spice. You know exactly how addictive this stuff is, and now I can't stop consuming it."
"You think I'm happy with my fat fucking ass? You think I want to move around in this shitty fucking cart?"
"So, yeah, fuck you and your shitty ass attitude. I don't have to act like your friend anymore since I've established myself quite well already."
Jonathan rapidly stood up as he glared at Nick.
"You are making Big Gourmand your enemy."
Nick snorted.
"Enemy? Big Gourmand is humanity's enemy," he said with a smirk.
The atmosphere became even darker.
"Explain," Jonathan said.
"Oh, come on," Nick answered.
"Everybody knows Big Gourmand is working for Gluttony."
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