Chapter 247 - 243: The CEO

Ryder looked at Reili as he frowned after hearing his author's name.

He remembered seeing that name in an article.

It was an article about how the Famous Writer Drei was killed by his wife in his own home. The article didn't have Drei's image, so Ryder right knew that Drei was actually Reiki.

Ryder looked at him and wondered if that was about to happen again.

"Reili, Do you have a girl you're seeing or a wife?" Ryder asked out of nowhere while so the girls were busy asking him for an autograph.

"No. I'm still single. Why do you ask?" Reili asked Ryder with a curious look on his face.

"Do you have a girl in mind for me?" He inquired as he chuckled.

"Not really. I was just wondering if you were seeing anyone or not. It would be best if you were careful with this," Ryder told Reili as he frowned.

" You are acting weird, bro. Why would I have to be careful when dating? I'm not a naive little girl," Reili chuckled as he shook his head.

Ryder didn't reply since he has no way to explain what he was talking about.

He couldn't just find it and say that Reili was going to be killed by his wife for some reason.

If he had known that Drei was Reili, then he might have tried to find more about his death and the events that transpired instead of just skimming through the headline. 

'Maybe it will happen this time too, or maybe it won't. Not everything is happening as it did in the past. If the future is changed, then he's safe, and he doesn't need to worry. If it's the same, then he will die in two years. The best I can do is advise him,' Ryder thought as he looked at Reili.

"Ah, Ryder? Are you alright, man? You've been dazing out for quite some time now. Did something happen?" Reili asked Ryder as he didn't get a response the first time.

" It's nothing. I just read an article before that a woman murdered her husband at night. The husband was a writer too. Just thought that I should inform and tell you to be careful. You can ignore my words if you want or just be careful when selecting a girl. No one knows how the girl will turn out," Ryder responded as he nodded his hand.

"Hai hai, I'll be careful," Reili nodded his head as he smiled, but he didn't take this warning seriously.

Ryder understood that Reili was just saying that, but he didn't say anything else. Even the future of divinity was changed, let alone the future of the world. Ryder understood that it was quite possible that he was concerned for no reason.

While Ryder was dating these things to Reili since people took his last line as him indirectly taking a jab at Imane, who was sitting silently.

Even Dan and Bastion thought the same. They, too, felt that he was using his Reili's shoulders while taking an aim at Imane. They didn't interfere, though. They believed that it was Imane's fault for what happened. Even though they were all still friends, Dan and Bastion sided with Ryder more.

While Reili was finished with his introduction and the commotion had calmed down, the others started introducing their works.

One after another, everyone talked about their work. Most of them were middle-class, white-collar workers, while others were in decent positions in his companies.

While the people were introducing themselves, Ryder was lost in a different thought of his own.

There was only one question in his mind, but that single question had many interpretations.

'How? How can I do this? How can I make her cry without using any item from my system inventory? This girl is not the emotional type that will cry at a few insults. She might simply leave instead. He couldn't let her leave, and he couldn't' He couldn't help but frown as he thought about it with a grim expression on his face.

He couldn't use violence, and he couldn't use his words as they would just fail. All he could use was his brain, which wasn't helping him in the slightest.

' Only now do I realize how dependent I'm on the system when it comes to doing tasks. I need to adapt my brain to be able to deal with stuff even when I can't use the system. This thing can happen anytime. I need to use my own strength and powers to achieve my goals,' Ryder thought as he frowned.

"Ryder?"

While Ryder was lost in his thoughts, someone called out his name.

He came out of his gaze and looked in the direction of the voice.

"You're so out of it today. It's your turn to talk. What're you doing, dazing out there? Hurry up," The girls started laughing as she looked in the direction of Ryder.

"I started my own company. It's in the initial stages, so I can't talk much about it, but you'll know about it soon enough," Ryder replied casually since he was not really in the mood to talk about it.

"Wha? You started a company? A company of that? How many people work for you?" The guys started asking Ryder.

" I heard you made games which barely earned anything. Are you really that rich? Even the registration is $50k from what I heard. How can you afford that much just by developing games? Are you sure you're not bragging?" One of the girls asked jokingly.

Shu couldn't help but chuckle. He was wondering what the girls would have thought if they had seen the car of Ryder. The Ferrari Whirlwind was a rich people's car which only the rich people could afford. Ryder was definitely not poor, but these girls were too idiot to see it. Instead, they were joking with it.

'Should I help out? I might make him angry if I do, though,' Shu thought as he wondered if he should help.

He wanted to chime in and tell everyone that the Ferrari that was parked outside was Ryder's. Even though it was going to be a lie, it wasn't a big lie. That would shock others, but he knew that Ryder wouldn't like it, so he dropped the plan. He wondered what Ryder was going to say.

"Were you really joking? Hahaha, you really got us there."

The guys heard the words of the girl and started believing her. They misunderstood that Ryder was trolling them to have fun with them.

"As I said, It's a small company that is in its initial stages. It doesn't need that much investment. Also, I have an investor that helped me with the money," Ryder said as he lied a little. All his money was his, but he decided to lie about an investor.

"Ah, so it wasn't a joke. You actually got an investor. The idea you came up with must be really great. What's the company about? What are you working on?" Reili asked Ryder with great interest. 

"It's a pharmaceutical company. As I said, it's one the beginning, and all we have is an idea. You'll know if we make any progress," Ryder let out casually.

"You jumped from a game developer to a Pharma Ceo? That's a big stream change. I don't believe it," Imane said softly. 

"You don't have to believe it. Why should I care if you believe or not? Neither you're going to pay me anything, nor I'm going to pay you anything. There's no reason for me to lie. Anyway, who's next? Take it over," Ryder replied casually without even looking in the direction of Imane.

People could see the tense atmosphere, but they didn't interfere.

"Ah, right. It's my turn," Dan let out suddenly as he smiled wryly.

While Dan started talking about his work, Ryder again got busy with his thoughts, trying to come up with an idea, and he suddenly got one.

'That's right. I can use her,' Ryder thought as he suddenly got a great idea about how he could make Imane cry. It was a long as a complicated method, but he believed that it was a surefire way to achieve it.

If he was able to pull this off, he was going to succeed for sure.

"Excuse me for a second; I'll be right back. You guys continue," Ryder suddenly said as he stood up and walked out of the room.

****

Dan and the others watched Ryder, but they believed him when he said he was going to be back.

They continued with their conversation.

Shu and Bastion didn't leave the room either since they felt like Ryder wanted some privacy for some reason.

"I work for the Dream Corporation," Dan suddenly said, shocking everyone.

His words shocked everyone. Dream Corporation was one of the biggest conglomerates in the world. Those who could land a job there could be said to be the absolute best. They were surprised that Dan worked there.