A loud voice came from outside the room. "HEY! I'm the VIP, let me enter inside! Or It'll be a big trouble for you all!"

Ryan's head snapped towards the door instantly, eyes widening slightly. The two guards who were guarding the entrance exchanged glances.

The man in the suit frowned a bit, visibly irritated. The noise of the man started to grow louder—people yelling, a bit of scuffling and someone was even cursing aloud.

Ryan's pulse started to beat quickly, eyebrows furrowed as his voice came out low. "What the hell is going on?" He muttered under his breath that only he could hear.

The man—whatever it was—turned his head slightly and gestured one of the guards to go outside and check. "Go and check what's happening outside. Tell them that the VIP is already here."

The guard gave a quick nod as he made his way towards the door and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

The shouting slowed down for a while, but then rose once again—louder than before. "NO! I said I'm the one who was called as the guest! I dropped the damn card somewhere—I was here to meet with Mr Vans! Let me in, you fucking idiots!"

The moment Ryan heard those words, his heart sank, pulse started beating at the speed of light. The man in the suit froze for half a second, his head turned slightly towards Ryan.

The room went silent—even the music in the background turned off.

Ryan could feel the tension grow louder in the room; his chest rose up and then fell down, breathing became ragged, and sweat trickled down his temple. His fingers twitched slightly against his thigh.

A small smile curled up on the man's lips, but it wasn't the polite smile that he had earlier. This one was smaller, slower, and older than before.

His tone was calm, almost too calm, like still water. "You know..." he tilted his head slightly as he looked at Ryan. "That's a bit strange." His hand rose to his chin as he scanned Ryan from top to bottom.

Ryan didn't move, not even an inch.

The man took a step closer, his eyes didn't even leave Ryan for a second—they were sharp now, almost predatory. "Because I could've sworn that there's only one VIP card for today."

Ryan's throat went completely dry; his voice came out calm, yet a bit shaky. "Maybe your people gave out more than one? I don't know about that." Ryan tried to calm the situation down a bit.

The man let out a small chuckle. "No," he said simply, maintaining the decorum. "We don't make mistakes like that." He said as he watched over Ryan, his smile faded away, his expression unreadable.

Outside, the shouting continued—muffled but desperate. The other guard's voice could be faintly heard saying, "Sir, please calm down, the VIP is already—" before getting cut off again by the same shouting.

Ryan tried to keep his breathing even, his mind filled with thoughts. 'Shit... he's going to find out. I need to get the fuck out of here soon.'

The man turned his gaze slowly towards the guard beside him and gave him a small gesture—subtle, but full of authority, commanding him.

Then he looked back at Ryan, who was sitting on the couch. His voice was polite again, but his lips didn't form a smile this time.

"What's your name, dear sir?" he asked.

Ryan blinked once, his voice came—questioning. "My name... why do you need my name?"

The man gave a small nod, a small smile curled up on his lips, still studying every gesture of Ryan. "Yes, your name. You know—just for record purposes."

The way he said it sent a chill down Ryan's spine. The sweetness in his tone didn't match the kind of sharpness that was buried deep in his stare. It was like a cat asking a mouse for its name before pouncing on its target.

Ryan's jaw suddenly tightened up he knew lying wouldn't save him from this situation, but escalating it even more, telling the truth might even make it worse than this.

The System's panel flickered into life in front of him.

[Host, danger level increasing. Prepare to engage or retreat. Decision required.]

Ryan didn't look at the notification; his eyes stayed locked onto the man who was in front of him, not dropping his guard for even a second.

The tension in the air was thick enough for him to feel it. The guards on the other side shifted slightly—hands brushed against the edges of their jackets where weapons might be.

Ryan swallowed once, forcing a calm expression on his face, trying not to look nervous.

The man's smile widened even more. "Well?" he asked nicely, politeness buried in his voice. "What's your name, dear sire?"

Ryan could feel every second stretch longer than it should; time was passing way slower than usual. His heart started pounding hard in his chest, but his vision was clear.

Voice came out low, steady and calm. "Well, it depends," he said quietly. "Who's asking for my name, you or?"

The man's smile didn't fade, but it shrank a bit, close enough for Ryan to see a wrinkle around the edge of his jaw. His voice came low, polite. "Well, I am asking for it, dear sire," he said simply.

The silence in the room increased, and the pressure in the air felt heavier than any punch Ryan had ever taken.

And then Ryan realised—the real game had just started, he had to fight all of them together if something went wrong.

'FUCK! I didn't even recover from my last fight yet, and here I think that I might actually have to take all of them on at the same time... in this small room.'

The man's hand slowly rose to his tie as he straightened it a bit, glancing at the guard who was at the door once as the footsteps echoed from behind it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.