[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-protagonist-system":3,"chapter-the-protagonist-system-the-protagonist-system-chapter-531":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Protagonist System",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1824139,2426,"524 Mother Knows Best","the-protagonist-system-chapter-531",531,"\u003Cp>Almost as soon as we stepped out of the classroom, Carrie was calling her mother at home and her friends helped the both of us walk towards the cafeteria. Why at home, you wonder? Today was her day off. She had worked the weekend before and earned enough to have an extra day off this week, giving herself a three day weekend to relax.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time we reached the cafeteria entrance and saw a slightly guilty Gloria sitting there on the bench, her mother was in a limo and on her way here to the academy. We wouldn't have much time to eat a normal meal, so we skipped waiting in line for the vending machines and went right over to the far table in the corner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria handed me the backpack and couldn't look me in the eyes. It didn't take a genius to figure out she had rummaged through the backpack and saw what was inside. When I checked, the seal was broken on the container and one of the mangos was missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is everything all right here?” The teacher asked as she approached our table and gave the guilty Gloria a bit of a glare. Even if she hadn't been wearing the EMT yellow jacket, she would have clearly stood out as not one of the students.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just peachy, miss.” I joked and the girls let out subdued laughs. “Miss Martinez is my personal nurse and is here to help me with my basic needs, like eating and using the bathroom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I've made not of it in your records.” The teacher said and walked around her and stood next to me. “I received a notice that Miss Vogel's mother has petitioned to enter the academy grounds to speak to you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She reserved a room already?” Carrie asked, surprised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It's just down the hall, room 1138.” The teacher said and then leaned down to whisper to me as she also pilfered my pocket. “Patricia is ruthless when she has to fight for her position as the head of her division.” She tucked the plump orange into her own outfit and out of sight. “Please be careful and don't be stupid. Only an idiot would accept the first offer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, miss.” I said, gratefully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teacher nodded and walked away from the table as quickly as her little feet could carry her. Gloria stared at her, as if she couldn't believe someone could move that fast while not moving their legs much at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I think she has a secret hover attachment to her hip joints.” Kei said with a giggle, which set the other girls off on wild speculation about the mods the teacher had.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the distraction I needed and I put a piece of surgical tape on the container where the sea was. I lifted the container out and 'broke' the seal before I opened the container. This brought everyone's attention back to me and I placed the container on the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ooo.” Carrie and Evelyn whispered at the sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside were two each of plums, pears, lemons, and tomatoes, with the sole mango standing out in the center. There were also cherries, blackberries, apricots, and avocados. I was the only one to notice a couple of the cherries and blackberries were also missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Evelyn was put in charge again and she handled the division of the spoils and I took the opportunity to whisper to Gloria to stand there and look intimidating to keep other people away from our table. She opened her mouth to refuse and I intentionally looked at the food and then back at her. Her face went red and she turned away and crossed her arms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the thick jacket, she looked about twice her actual size and was quite the intimidating sight, so it worked just as well as if she was doing it intentionally. No one tried to approach or bothered reporting it like they had yesterday. They knew with one of the academy teachers on my side, they weren't going to benefit from it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only one of the girls liked the tomatoes. Kei had a good palate and said the other girls were just too overloaded from the sweetness to understand what the tomato represented. She was a history buff and knew all about the different things that could be done with a tomato in comparison to other fruits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A suited man entered the cafeteria wearing sunglasses and everyone instantly knew he was a bodyguard. He scanned the room and saw Gloria, then saw Carrie waving to him. He relaxed slightly and walked over to the table.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your mother is waiting for you, Miss Vogel.” The man said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thanks, Chris.” Carrie said and gathered up the last few pieces of her share of the delicious fruit and then realized she was making a mess. I slid over the empty container and she gave me a beaming smile and put them inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I waved for Gloria to come as well and the four of us left the cafeteria and headed down the hall to the meeting room. Another guard was there with a woman that looked like a stern older version of Carrie. She sat at the meeting table at the head, since she was the most important person in the room. Her short wavy blonde hair really stood out, thanks to the RealSkinn additions at her temples and on her forehead that highlighted it with soft blue lighting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Funnily enough, she was not listed as one of the main directors or vice directors at Arasaka. Her division wasn't considered big enough or important enough to count as a main part of the company, apparently. A touch of telepathy told me that her thoughts were full of resentment over that fact and she wanted, make that needed, something that would bring her to the attention of the company. Being made fun of behind her back irritated her immensely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instead of greeting her or even saying anything at all, Carrie walked forward and placed the open container on the table in front of her. She gave her daughter an odd look and then picked up a cherry. She examined it closely for almost ten seconds before she bit a very small piece of it off and chewed it thoroughly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When she finished chewing and swallowed, she somehow remained calm and carefully set the partially eaten cherry back into the container and looked right at me. “You're hired. Evenings and weekends, up to 30 hours a week maximum, part time of course. You are still technically a student.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I remembered the teacher's advice about not being an idiot and managed to not laugh in the woman's face at her first offer, which she saw and looked slightly pleased at. “I want a maximum of 12 hours a day on the weekends and 4 hours each day for the rest of the week. Full time pay, with full access to the R&D database and any side projects your division runs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Vogel looked surprised, as did Gloria and Carrie. The two guards looked amused, as if they fully expected it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You're insane to expect that much.” Mrs. Vogel said, and yet again, she looked pleased. “You'll get internship pay, and I'll come up to 3 hours a day during the week, which should allow you personal time to do your schoolwork and other personal things, and a maximum of 10 hours on the weekends... if you manage to be assigned to one of the projects.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And the database?” I asked, just for clarification. I already had it; but, it didn't hurt to have official access to the thing, just in case. Plus, I can pull a lot of it out to work on and use without drawing any suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you prove your worth during the first trial week, you'll be granted limited access while on Arasaka property.” Mrs. Vogel offered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I thought about it and tried to rub my chin as I did so, only to loudly thunk my cast against it and Carrie had to turn away from her mother to muffle her laugh. Gloria didn't bother trying to hide it and barked a laugh. Both guards smiled and Mrs. Vogel let a small smile appear before blanking her face again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I'll agree to those terms, as long as you add in that if whatever project I get assigned to, needs me for extra hours, I can stay for as long as the others are working on it.” I clarified.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Without overtime pay.” Mrs. Vogel countered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With normal hours pay.” I counter-countered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She gave me a squinted look for a moment and then stood up with her hand out and walked around the table. “Welcome to the corporate word, Mr. Veder. I hope you won't chafe too much under the strict conditions in place while working under an ambitious woman.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could only hold her hand with my fingertips, so instead of shaking it, I lifted her hand to my lips and lightly kissed the back of it. “I believe I can thrive under such conditions, Madam Division Head.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mrs. Vogel blushed slightly at both the gallant move and being called that. It made her sound much more important than other corpos believed her to be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Drek, Veder. She's my mom.” Carrie whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let the woman's hand go and turned to put an arm around Carrie's back to push her forward. “Let me introduce the Reclamation Division's unofficial talent scout that brought me to your attention, Madam Division Head.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both Carrie's and her mother's eyes widened at her being introduced like that. Carrie because I was pretty much telling her mother that she would work well as a talent scout and also telling her mother that it was because of her that I even considered talking to her. The pair walked back around the table and sat down to have a whispered conversation with each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I took that as a dismissal and walked over to the door with Gloria following, and she opened the door for me. We left the mother and daughter and the two guards alone and went back to the cafeteria. There was plenty of time to get something to eat, now that the meeting was over, and I paid for Gloria to have something to eat, too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girls welcomed me back to the table like a conquering hero, then started badgering me for details and about where Carrie was. Gloria pretty much ignored them as she kept an eye on me and also ate. She was a little protective in her posture, as if someone was going to snatch me away from her or something. Her thoughts were also along the same theme of protecting me from the corpo sluts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I successfully hid my amusement at hearing what she actually thought about the girls around me. I did not compare her actions and Syn's behavior to them, either. It wasn't fair to the girls and this was a completely different situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria had needed it like a balm against the rest of her life and she had thoroughly enjoyed herself, then tried to go right back to the way things had been before. Syn on the other hand, had wanted to taste what it was like to indulge in a bit of fantasy, only to realize the reality afterwards was too hard for her to handle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girls were actually trying to firmly establish contacts that they knew were going to be spread out across the company, since none of them would be competing for the same positions or would be rivals when they started hunting for jobs, or hunting for people to have removed to take their jobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was one of the main reasons I wanted to get into the corporate world through the Research and Development Department, because it was a lot easier to go higher on the corporate ladder and quicker than any other branch. Talent alone would see me rise on my own. Proving my worth to the division head would accelerate that to the point that no one else could stop me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the second period of lunch began, Carrie entered the cafeteria and could barely hide how happy she was. It was almost like she teleported as she quickly rushed over and told us all about how she had earned a position as her mother's personal assistant and employee coordinator. It wouldn't be official until she graduated, so she was only considered training for it for now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Well, that set the other girls off again and they shifted from badgering me about my own new job to Carrie and the huge responsibility she had and how happy they all were for her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While they were occupied, I leaned close to Gloria and whispered. “With Syn quitting early, and me having to finish recovering and working at my new job, I have to change your day shifts to night shifts. I hope that's okay?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It's more than okay, V.” Gloria whispered back. “I thought... after what happened...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I'm not going to punish you for choosing your family over me, Gloria.” I said and she looked surprised. “If you're curious, I managed to ping his carrier signal and linked a GPS program to his implant. He's been keeping out of trouble so far, so you don't have to feel worried about him all the time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria looked angry. “Why would you violate his privacy like that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head at her. “You really don't understand what this world is really like, do you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?” Gloria asked, her anger fading to confusion at the change of subject.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whenever anyone with a cybernetic implant is near an ad space, whether it's on a bus, a taxi, when walking by a business, or watching vids on the television, it pings the implant and it's all tracked by software. Ads are played to targeted audiences, not because of where they are, it's because of who they are, their age, sexual preferences, food choices, and everything else. It's all collated together to ensure the maximum amount of profits. If you look at the placement of the billboards and vidscreens spread around the city, you'll see they're aimed specifically down the streets with the most traffic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria stared at me like I was insane. “There's like 6 million people in the city! Do you know how much processing power stuff like that needs?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you?” I asked back and then smirked at her. “There's actually about 7 million people in Night City, according to the last ad census and the city is only about 30 square miles in size. That's why there are so many megabuildings and high-rises spread around. There's no other way to have so many people packed into such a small space.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria's mouth dropped open and she looked speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just FYI, every corporation in the city, both the megas and the minors, have rooms full of servers for every day operations, not to mention what's needed to keep the local net operational and safe from abuse and intrusions.” I said and pushed my empty food tray aside. “Not to mention what the corpo netrunners and Netwatch have spread around to keep everything intact.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria sat back and stared at me like she had never seen me before. “You really are a corpo.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I barked a laugh and patted the backpack on the floor. “Grab that and head home. I should be okay for the rest of the day, unless you want to stick around and help me down the stairs to the taxi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gloria stood and picked up the backpack. “Are you sure you won't need me again until tonight?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded. “I'll be heading out with Carrie after school to have a briefing about where we'll be working starting tomorrow. Her mother should have the contracts ready by then.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She will.” Carrie said, a smile on her face. “She was impressed by you, too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I looked down at her empty hands and back to her face. “I'm not seeing a container anywhere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carrie's smile changed to a grin. “She had a guard break it apart to gather the juices on the bottom.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That made me laugh and Carrie motioned for the girls to walk with us. Gloria followed us out to the hallway and back to the classroom. I waved to her just before the classroom door closed and the girls fell back into the discussion about the Corpo Tracker idea that Cassie had, which we started on as soon as we loaded back into the Green Room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone suggested about how it could be adapted for each department head to use, too. That was getting too specialized and not the point of the exercise, which was to track the careers of the upper echelon of the company and not to track everyone, so I brought them back on track and saw the teacher's approving look.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn't take long after that to set the thing up and to get a preliminary version running. There were hiccups, of course. Nothing ever fully works the very first time you implemented it. It took work, dedication, and perseverance to make something work to the best of its ability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girls were happy to play around with things, mostly because it let them hang out with each other for much longer than they would normally get away with it. It also made it more fun, since they all managed to contribute to it and we made it to the end of class with an actual working prototype that connected temporarily to the Arasaka's servers to ensure it had an updated list of employees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The teacher looked shocked when we presented the program to her just as the class bell rang to end the school day. We all logged out of the Green Room before she could comment or ask us about it. The girls were excited about completing the project so quickly and now they didn't have any schoolwork to do all weekend, which in their eyes, was a huge reason to celebrate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They arranged another study party, hinted heavily that it would be just as fun as the last time, because I was also invited. I accepted magnanimously, which made them all laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>",3056,"2026-06-09T05:52:49.484Z",1,"novelbin.me","50522fb3729813e4641b2ac56bcacc490532ba3bdd4c896221c82a68a71fff09","the-protagonist-system-chapter-532","the-protagonist-system-chapter-530",542,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-protagonist-system-cover.jpg"]