In a silent room, a small stream of blood slowly makes its way toward the feet of a girl. The girl was sitting on the ground with her face buried in her thighs.

Beep! Beep!

A voice rang in her ears. She slowly lifts her head to check its source. A notification appears on her system window. There was a message from someone. She clicks the system window to confirm its content.

Click

====

"Come! Let me see if you are a real tiger or a paper tiger. "

              -Tejasv

====

She smiles after reading the message. It was a reply she waited eagerly, but she never expected it to arrive so soon.

She is Catherine Hills, who requested Tejasv to consider her a subordinate.

A pop-up window appears on her screen.

====

Would you like to proceed to the destination now?

-Yes    /    -No

====

Two options appear on the screen with a question, she already had the answer in her mind. However, she did not press any option's at this point.

She was a veteran in the acting industry and was familiar with negotiating tricks. She knew how to manipulate the situation in her favor.

She didn't respond to that message to cover her desperation. Catherine always negotiates when she is at the top of her game. For now, she was unstable emotionally and mentally.

Catherine waits and prepares herself thoroughly. First of all, she cleans her house and buries her family. She looks around the antique shop for useful objects. Because she can convert anything into a weapon, her choice of objects will somehow determine her fate.

She packs a small bag for potential weapons and two big bags for clothes and other stuff. After five hours, she was prepared to leave. She prays before her family's grave and clicks the system screen.

A portal appears before her. She takes a deep breath and takes her first step after a lot of hesitation. It was clear that this step would decide her future in this apocalyptic world.

--

Catherine emerges into a dark room from the portal. As soon as she entered the room, the portal closed, frightening her. Suddenly, the light from the portal faded out, and she was all alone in the dark room. It took a while for her to adjust to that darkness.

She draws a knife from the weapons she brought and turns around the room to find someone. The room was empty, with not even an insect. Somehow the room was familiar to her, but she couldn't remember where she had seen this room before.

Slowly, she entered the room. There was a double bed and a couch. She noticed a big picture frame on the wall in the room. She tries to focus and observes three people in that picture. Two adults and one teenager.

The male adult was a muscular man with a big smile, and the lady's beauty could be seen in the picture as well. The teenager, to be specific, was not muscular nor particularly handsome. In comparison to others, he struck differently.

Catherine understood that this frame belongs to the family to whom this house belongs. She was amazed to see the bright smile of the family captured in the picture. In that dark room, their smile was like a small hope of light.

The boy and the man both resemble the person Catherine came to visit. The boy is an image of his past, and the man represents his future. She figured that the picture must be seven or eight years old.

From the picture, she could only guess the pain he must have felt during the death of his mother.

She brushes the picture while thinking of her family, and suddenly, she notices a small ray of light entering the room.

As she moves toward the light source, she enters a medium-sized hall with the same darkness. The hall connects to the kitchen, bathroom, and two more rooms. The light was only coming from one room.

As she slowly makes her way into the room, the bright light forces her to close her eyes. It took her some time to adjust to this room. She rolled her eyes as she surveyed the entire room. A bed, an almirah, a study table, and the next object locked her gaze.

A man was dozing while sitting on a chair. He had average features, black hair, and a common face. Catherine recognized this man from his fighting videos, and she remembers the first room as well.

Because of his tenacity, many people dubbed him "The Reaper". However, this man was in a vulnerable state in front of Catherine.

She slowly approaches the man, taking small steps and avoiding any noise. Now she was standing close to the man. His helpless state caused her to relax and loosen her grip on the knife.

She lifts her hand to touch the man next to her. The moment her fingers were a few centimeters away, the man opened his eyes. She was shocked and taken aback.

Before she could say anything, the man lifted her and slammed her body against the wall.

The impact didn't damage her organs, but she lost her balance for a while. When she opened her eyes, the man was standing very close to her, grabbing her with one arm and pointing an ax at her neck with the other arm.

She was gasping and breathing heavily due to the pressure the man was giving. He had the features of a common man, but his black, fierce eyes were piercing Catherine. His demeanor was stronger than the monsters she faced.

He speaks in a manly and intense tone.

"You're not as fierce or as feral as your message, you're still mild."

Catherine glares at the man after hearing his comment.

"Well, your eyes have a fire at least."

He smirks while speaking to Catherine, and slowly releases her from his grasp.

"But you're late. I sent your invitation few hours ago . I assume you're not punctual; hmm...  it must be a habit."

Cough cough

Catherine clears her throat because of choking, and she answers him,

"Do you even know who I am?

I was late because of preparations I had to do beforehand. "

He scoffs at her while glancing at her number of bags.

"Are you out for a vacation?

Then you should have chosen a different tourist spot. My house has nothing to show."

Catherine was irritated with the remarks and stopped entertaining the man.

The man notices that she is not getting involved in any argument and sits in his chair.

"How about we introduce ourselves?

I'm Tejasv, and you can make yourself comfortable anywhere you like. "

"I'm Catherine Hills," she replied in a proud tone in the hope of getting a fan reaction.

"Your name... Have I met you before ?

... I have heard this name somewhere. I'm not sure where," Tejasv says, rubbing his chin.

"Huh! You don't know me. Do you live in the Stone Age?

Don't tell me you're a social outcast," Catherine exclaimed.

Yet Tejasv couldn't recognize her. She was surprised by his lack of knowledge about movies. She didn't bother explaining, as it's a troublesome task to teach a dumbo.

"How about we negotiate the terms of our contract?" she asks him in a firm tone.

Tejasv starts laughing and answers,

"What terms?

This is not a company. You either become my subordinate or go back. "

After hearing Tejasv's answer, she came back to the reality of this world. She forgot for a moment that this world is chaotic, and she came to him for help to survive in the future.

She learned that negotiations are no longer relevant, but there are some terms she wants to mention beforehand.

"Even though I will be your subordinate, that does not mean I'll listen to every order without questions.

My position will be that of a free person, and our relationship will be only work-related."

Tejasv smiles at her demands and accepts them with open arms.

They come to terms with each other, and this marks their first step of coordination.

Tejasv gets his first subordinate, and for the next one, he waits for a reply.....