Kazimir Petrov, Milana's father, was the leading shareholder of the small company and would now be Ci-ci's boss for all intents and purposes.

To a person on the outside looking in, this was a foolhardy attempt by Ci-ci to keep his head above water, so to speak. After all, only a company as desperate as Petrov Technologies would even consider hiring him at this point – and even then, Ci-ci had technically tricked them into doing so. But, Ci-ci had a very clear goal in mind. Petrov Technologies was going to be his foothold into an entirely new world.

That said, Ci-ci also knew that there was be many challenges as he hopped into his Vintage Camaro SS… And the first was location.

On the large West Continent, there were many provinces. Grandbell University was a part of the Legacy Province, a coastal, warm and economically rich location. Ci-ci's home was further inland and much closer to Algood City, which was why it took him hours to drive to Grandbell the previous day. Due to the improvements in technology, even without the use of planes, driving across the West Continent – a distance of about eight thousand kilometers – would take only a single day if you were willing to go without sleep for twenty-four hours.

However, Algood's environment wasn't very good. Due to governmental neglect, not many regions were as peaceful as Legacy Province. In fact, it was the complete opposite. The income motility and disparity between the rich and the poor on West Continent was troubling.

Petrov Technologies was lucky to be among the few relatively successful businesses within Algood city, though. This was partially due to it being one of the only sources of necessary tech in the area, but, Ci-ci knew there was more to it than that… And a lot of it had to do with Kazimir's illegal activities.

'Let's start small, one step at a time.' Ci-ci accelerated onto the express highway – a place with a speed limit of 600km/h – with a focused expression

**

Less than a half hour later, Ci-ci had made his way to East Algood city.

East Algood City was colloquially known as downtown Algood. It was a relatively busy and commercial area and it also happened to house both of Ci-ci's ident.i.ties. The first being his role as an inventor – Ci-ci Bell. But, the second was just as important to his plan – that being his role as Lucius Grant the lawyer.

The area was bustling, and it was quite frankly annoying trying to maneuver such a wide based vehicle through the traffic.

City planning had vastly improved since the 21st century pre-apocalyptic era. However, that was only true for the most prestigious of cities. Algood City suffered from the same cramped roads, over-population and odd smells as any large commercial hub had back then much to Ci-ci's disgruntlement.

After what probably took more than hour, Ci-ci had finally dodged enough street venders, ill-parked cars and one-way roads to finally reach Petrov Technologies. Unfortunately, at this point, he was late.

Ci-ci could only sigh as he looked at the large touch screen monitor in his car. '11:36 AM… Fantastic. The great Ci-ci Bell stumped by traffic.'

The truth was that Ci-ci rarely came to East Algood. His interactions with his firm as Lucius Grant were all limited – he was practically a ghost. Unfortunately, that was out of necessity. His lawyer's 'license' and 'degree' had been so abruptly created that he needed to keep a low profile and ease himself in slowly. Soon he'd increase his connections with the firm, but, it had to be done incrementally to decrease suspicion.

The other time he came to East Algood was to speak to Milana's father, Kazimir Petrov. But, he had to do so secretly for legal reasons. So, he had not only traveled as Lucius Grant, he hadn't even used his own car, instead opting for a taxi service.

All in all, this was Ci-ci's first time dealing with East Algood traffic and roads on his own. And, it was clear he had underestimated it.

'Not much I can do now…' Ci-ci scanned the area before catching the reserved underground parking lot of the company from the corner of his eye. After retrieving a ticket and parking in the relatively small s.p.a.ce, Ci-ci noticed that the doorway to head to the building directly was electronically gated, so, he had no choice but to awkwardly walk back up the cement hill he had just driven down to duck under the security bar.

Finally, Ci-ci made it to the front of a three-story building.

If it wasn't for the minor renovations, the company would look like an upper middle-cla.s.s apartment complex. It was covered in deep red bricks with accents of a somber brown. However, the windows were clearly enlarged past normal apartment standards and the 'Petrov Technologies' was etched in large black and curved letters just above the peak most floor.

Off to the side of the main outer stair case, was a trench like structure with a smaller set of steps. It seemed to lead to a bas.e.m.e.nt floor that sold some of Petrov Technologies' products. It was panned entirely of gla.s.s, allowing pa.s.sersbys to see the display of products during their drives or walks by.

Just as Ci-ci was about to climb the larger steps to the bronze doors of the main company building, he suddenly felt the vibration of his phone. 'I thought I set it to silent this morning…'

Ci-ci didn't usually forget things. So, the only explanation was that this message was from someone he white-listed. Reaching for his phone, Ci-ci hesitated. If this was from the person he thought it was from, this wouldn't be a simple matter to deal with. He didn't want this to weigh on his mind right now.

Suddenly, the load bang of an opening door snapped Ci-ci out of his thoughts. Looking up, Ci-ci found two large tattooed men arguing with a shorter and almost comedically round, man. The truth was that this round man wasn't all that short compared to most, it was just that these tattooed men would comfortably stand taller than two meters.

"The boss doesn't appreciate ultimatums, Petrov." One of the tattooed men looked down as the round man, speaking with a heavy Russian accent.

Ci-ci raised an eyebrow. Accents were rare in this time considering apocalyptic events tended to blur the lines between culture and languages quite efficiently. For this man to have such a heavy Russian accent, it was either a tough guy persona he was trying to play, or, he had grown up in one of the ghettos of West Continent.

Despite the rarity of accents in the parts of society Ci-ci interacted with, there were many cultural bubbles spread across West Continent that insisted on maintaining the culture of the ancestors. These places were often run-down and ignored by larger society because of their choice to be self-governed. Unfortunately, because of the lack of economic boost provided by trade, communication and things of the like, these areas, coined as ghettos, were among the poorest and most crime ridden areas of the continent.

However, they were also known as being some of the only regions that spoke languages other than English. For this man to have such a heavy accent, although it wasn't too worrisome for someone like Ci-ci, it was still worthy of note.

"Watch your mouth kid. I don't remember asking you what your boss did or didn't ask. If you want to collaborate properly, then we'll do so. If not, you won't last as long as you want to. I'm still here for a reason and your boss would do well to remember that." The round man didn't seem too perturbed by the tattooed man's threat. He flicked his left wrist, spinning a loose watch on it to check the time before his face reddened in anger.

Seeing this, Ci-ci chuckled, "Hey big guy, what's up?"

Hearing Ci-ci's voice, Petrov looked to the bottom of the steps with clear displeasure written on his features. "You're late so I have every right to fire you. Leave and never come back."

Ci-ci's hands slipped into his jean pockets as he walked up the stairs, ignoring Petrov's words. "You know it's not that easy."

Two strong auras pa.s.sed Ci-ci as he made his way up. They caused him to pause and look back at the retreating tattooed men. Maybe they weren't so simple after all. Or maybe, Petrov wasn't so simple to still be able to ignore their threats.

Shaking his head, Ci-ci reached the top steps to stand in front of the round man. "Don't be so angry, it's not good for your health."

Petrov's expression darkened, and his voice lowered as he led Ci-ci in, "I'll warn you now. I'm not used to being played."

"Played?" Ci-ci blinked innocently, pretending not to understand.

"Just know that I'm never fooled twice by the same person, and that's because they're usually not around after the first time."

The round man looked back toward Ci-ci.

Despite his body's shape, there was an undoubtable athleticism to his figure. His chest was strong and didn't sag, his torso was tight even in its roundness, and his legs were powerful. Even with Ci-ci's 1.9-meter height, Petrov was barely a centimeter shorter.

The light clicking of the door closed behind the two men as their gazes set off sparks in their war of wills.