Gargoyle Supremacy

Chapter 21 - I'm Proud of My Comedian Family

Local Hospital, VIP Suite

A teenager relaxed on a patient bed, wearing a bathrobe. His father, donning a polo shirt and jeans, chilled on a sofa, man-spreading and puffing a vape even though the hospital banned smoking. 

The teenager was Jack, who attended the same high school as Carn. His father was also a licensed explorer who worked exclusively for a private mercenary company. 

While waiting, an elderly white-haired man in a doctor's gown entered, followed by five top physicians of the hospital. When they spotted that the father had been smoking vape, their expressions changed, but nobody voiced complaints. 

The hospital director stared at the explorer and his son. He smacked his lips. 

"Smoking in a hospital is illegal, Mr. Hornet. I'll add the smoking fine to the hospital bill after this."

The explorer, Darius Hornet, sneered at the hospital director. He pulled a platinum credit card from his wallet and waved it.

"I can pay. Also, I'm vaping, not smoking. They're not the same."

The director sighed and got to the point, trying to chase this annoying family from the hospital as soon as possible. 

"The results are out. Congratulations. Your son's mana concentration is 1.5%. It's 50% lower than average explorers at the moment, but this is enough to take the ECD examinations. Would you like me to file the report to the government for you?"

Elated by the result, Darius smirked and looked at his proud son. He bragged, "He's already a star quarterback in his school. Once he's passed the ECD tests, he will surely rise to the top. Those greedy agents from the ECD will be bidding to recruit him!"

Darius laughed and shifted his attention to the doctors in the room, "You people better treat my son with respect from now on!"

The team of doctors rolled their eyes. The director sighed and informed the family, "The examination is over. Please check out before noon and pay the smoking fine properly."

Darius scoffed and flickered the credit card, which hit the elder's forehead. The edge of the card left a small cut wound on his forehead. 

"Heh, doesn't matter. Get it done for me."

"…"

The director calmly wiped the dripping blood from his forehead and picked up the credit card. He scoffed in disgust and turned around, leading his people out of the suite and closing the door behind him.

After the doctors had left, Jack got up in excitement. He asked his father, "So, when are we going to the ECD and take their tests?"

Darius proudly smiled, "Probably tomorrow or a day after that. The Secret Service moves fast. They will come to our house early in the morning."

Jack continued to ask, "So, what's the comparison between your company and the ECD? I heard you quit ECD because of the low pay?"

Darius reminisced about the past and laughed. He bragged to his son, "Private mercenary companies pay more than those lousy government jobs. We lose the tax exemption, but we can earn millions from one exploration! Do you know how much my company earned from the last expedition? My cut was 20 MIL AFTER TAXES! How do you think I bought you a Lamborghini and a mana potion to spike the concentration in your blood?"

Jack smiled, proud of his father, but he was more interested in another perk. He thought about Carn's childhood sweetheart, who had been catching his eye recently. He wanted to humiliate her in front of Carn.

"About the slavery rights, father. Is it true that private explorers can possess slaves?! Can we enslave people too?"

Darius grinned as he could guess his son's evil thoughts and intentions. He revealed a secret that no government agent wished to disclose.

"Yes and no. Obviously, it's impossible in our country or anywhere in Europe. But if we're talking about a third-world country somewhere, yes, we can!"

Jack laughed, "What about the enslavement restrictions? Can I enslave anybody I want?"

"As long as you have enough hush money to pay their relatives and the permanent immigration fees if you want someone from our country…"

Darius and Jack exchanged looks with each other. Figuring out their true intentions, they burst into laughter. 

.

.

After completing the examination in the maze-like facility, Eric led the family to an office, where Han, Wong, and Carn sat, filling out a daunting 20-page document to register their family and finalize Carn's enlistment in the ECD. 

In the stack, Carn was handed a contract to sign. He paused, reading over the header and clauses carefully. 

Most clauses covered the standard military requirements like service obligation, training commitment, and code of conduct. But in the benefits section, Carn spotted something interesting.

[As a pre-enrolled candidate in the Eldritch Containment Division (ECD), Party A (Carn) shall receive a monthly stipend equivalent to 50% of the entry-level ECD salary. This stipend is designed to support the candidate's educational and personal needs while enrolled in the military installation public high school.]

Carn pursed his lips, surprised by the ECD's generosity that he would receive around $3,500 monthly just for attending high school until graduation. 

Then, he found a clause that made his parents practically salivate:

[Upon Party A's formal agreement to join the Eldritch Containment Division (ECD), Party A's parents will receive a one-time signing bonus equivalent to one year's worth of Party A's entry-level ECD salary.]

In summary, his parents were selling him out for $85,000. Carn shot them a death glare in protest. 

In response, Wong grinned shamelessly while Han avoided eye contact, sweating bullets.

Shaking his head in resignation, Carn signed the paper. He might be surrendering his freedom today, but he vowed to decide his own future once he graduated.

"Well done!" Han let out a sigh of relief, wiped his sweaty face with a handkerchief, and passed the stack of documents to the officer seated across from them.

Carn looked up to size up the officer. 

The man wore a black military uniform, different from the usual army attire. The clothes came with an octopus cartoon character emblazoning over the U.S. flag on his right shoulder, which looked strangely out of place on the official uniform.

The officer flipped through the documents, checking if all signatures and details were in order. After checking every page thrice, he nodded in approval. 

"Thank you very much for choosing ECD. Please stay in a designated guest house for the time being. We will finish the transfer protocol within seven working days."

Wong wasn't finished. She asked to make sure, "When will we get the signing bonus?"

The officer laughed as he could see through Wong's greedy nature, "It should be next month on the 20th."

Wong widely grinned and patted Carn's head. 

"Finally, you are a decent human being!" 

Carn rolled his eyes, "So, I wasn't a human for the past 16 years?"

"Of course, lah! You were a pig. You ate. You slept. And you fu… No, you didn't even know how to fuck a woman. What a spineless pig. You were supposed to score some rich chicks and give me 20 grandsons while you make seven figures before you reached 15. What a disappointment, lah."

"…"

Carn shot Wong a strange look, speechless by the impractical demands. 

The officer and Han looked away and held back their laughter. The other officers in the same room overheard the conversation and giggled.

Carn facepalmed, but he inwardly smiled. Thinking back and comparing to other unfortunate children without parents, he felt lucky to have such a warm and funny family.