Su Sheng decided to behave after that. Although he wanted to do something, it wasn't really his responsibility. For some reason Leo and Sal kept going on about the drugs resolving whatever work that needed to be done, earning a bunch of work points, and ‘where there is demand, a supply is necessary’; a bunch of weird reasoning, that, in Su Sheng's mind, the two used to justify flooding his country with marijuana. In any case, whatever this operation was essentially locked him in. He couldn't do much, and also… His mind was preoccupied with other things… He had witnessed magic in action, and if he was being honest, it was messing with him. It made him question a bunch of things like, ‘if magic exists, what the fuck am I doing as an ambassador?’, and ‘is this something I should get in on?’.

Eventually, the matter of the drug smuggling faded from his mind, and Su Sheng went on to badger Leo and Sal about details concerning magic, and finding reasons to visit Penelope. Leo asked Penelope to not share the matters about the book, but Penelope was still able to tell Su Sheng a few things; matters about magic were scattered throughout the human world, and there were kernels of truth in much of human history. If Penelope compared what was in her witch books to common superstitions, what was described in myth, and even the stories that people read or the movies they watched… She was amazed that it was everywhere. Magic literally pervaded through all aspects of human life, and even when it was denied, it presented itself in weird, ironic ways; essentially it was irrepressible.

With a smile, Penelope told him, “Don’t worry too much about it. If it opens itself to you, it would lead you forwards naturally. But remember, not all magic is good magic…”

…

…

Three weeks later…

“15,000 work points for babysitting duty?” Leo says with a raised eyebrow.

Harry smirks. “What can I say? The payout for this one was… sizeable.” He says, satisfied.

“Whatever, I’ll take it.” Leo says with mixed feelings. He wasn’t quite sure that having so many work points was such a good thing. It felt… volatile… Like, with so much energy sitting in one place… Like it had to go somewhere… Leo lets out a sigh. Fuck. I need to spend it quick. I feel uncomfortable having so much of it. He thinks, deciding to assign the points to something useful. Or maybe I should buy something where the points can just rot… Or maybe give it away… He thinks, considering the matter.

“Anyways, good work. Someone from his government even came by to check in, and the pup kept mum. Whatever you told him, good job.” Harry says with a pat to Leo’s shoulder. “Enjoy the money.” He says with a smile before leaving.

Leo looks to Sal. The man looked quite delighted at the sum he earned. “Hey, Sal. Just a question. Earlier you mentioned something about robots? Something to maintain an identity?” He says. Leo was already receiving some questioning emails with angry undertones. Apparently there were people who had to work overtime because he was away for so long.

“Yeah, man. They’re like AI’s, built by the Black Star corporation. They perform all the normal functions of your job, and when a decision has to be made it texts you. They’re like robot clones.” Sal explains. He had heard Grunt mention it previously. Apparently most of the Voodoo Squad guys had one or two. “But they’re pricey. Around 50,000 points for a robot.” Sal says, grimacing at the price.

“Damn. I’ll have to get one of those.” Leo says. Maybe I should buy a bunch just to keep a stock. He thinks with a rub to his chin.

…

…

Leo went back to Nouveau-Ville with Penelope. He was lectured a bit for his behavior at work, but it seemed to work out.

With his robot doing the dirty work, he settled down at home and began to consider his options. He had a lot of work points, and he very much wanted to spend it. The smart thing would be to buy some new abilities or something that would generate more work points, but Leo was leaning towards external items. He would like to spend his points on something that would take up space, but he was unsure if this opportunity should really be wasted in that fashion. With a sigh, Leo could only consult the documents made by the guy who gave him these points. Even as a dead man, the devil’s hard at work… He thinks with a groan.