Demon Lord Shapeshifting System

Harker walked out of the factory with his hat lowered to hide his dark expression. He may have left with a smile to reassure the princess, but he was nothing but serious about this situation. He couldn't fuck this up, everyone was relying on him.

He went to look for the nearby payphone outside the factory. As he left the building, he watched the factory workers working the night shift. They pushed around pearl boxes, some delivered new tanks, and did many other tasks. They were busy 24/7 to perform their jobs.

And so, if something slips once in a while, it would be no surprise if they don't notice it.

Harker found some spare change in the old man's pockets. He was still a bit wet, but that can be excused with mopping the floors.

He inserted the coins and dialed Roland's number. It didn't even take him one ring to get an answer.

"Harker! That wasn't a while, what happened to you!? I didn't receive a single peep from you for 3 days!" Roland said worriedly.

Harker snorted. "It's only been less than 2 days since my last call, Roly-Poly. Don't be so dramatic."

"Just tell me what is going on with Mr. Xi's company? Is it some illegal business? All we need is proof and the FBI could even bust them with just one phone call from me!"

"Er…. It is an illegal business. But it's not an illegal business that we can easily report to the authorities."

Harker took a deep breath. He made up his mind. He can't do this alone if he want to save every jiaoren with as little casualty as possible.

There were many lives at stake, and he needed help.

And so, he told his best friend the truth. All of it. Well, the summarized version since explaining how the system works would be too long, or Yan's background and all the other stuff that was not related to this specific issue.

Roland listened in deep silence that Harker had to check once in a while if he's still there. Every time he did, Roland would sound distracted and say "H-Huh? Yeah…. I'm still here. Go on."

There's a very high chance that Roland would not believe him. About 99.9%, actually. He might think Harker had finally lost it after taking care of his family, his school and his part-time work all at once. That he had gone cuckoo due to the stress.

And Harker did wish he was just crazy. But he wasn't, and he needed to put his trust that Roland would believe him and help him.

"So yeah, I know all this sounds crazy but... Can you please help me free the mermaids?" Harker asked.

Roland was taking a pause longer than usual. Harker was close to giving up and trying to think of a way to save them all by himself, but he remembered not to get it twisted. Roland may just be taking his time to understand all this. Or recovering from shock that his best friend literally killed two people who were actually demons—

"Oh, sorry. I was thinking of where I should have you stay before I go there myself to 'attend Mr. Xi's birthday party'. I have a few associates not related to my father that we could trust. Perhaps you can stay at my acquaintance's hotel and casino down on Russell Road?"

Harker blinked. "You…. You believe me—"

"Harker, if you told me that it's raining literal cats and dogs, I would believe you. You're not one to go this far on a joke. And if you did lose your mind, I trust that you would have made precautionary measures to not trouble me or anyone else." Roland said. "So let's get going. What's the actual plan? How do we free these merpeople?"

"Damn…. This is why I fucking love you, Rol! I knew I could trust you on this!" Harker felt like tearing up from joy. "But wait, you're going here?"

"Yes, and you're not stopping me. It's better if we work together in person. I don't care how dangerous it is, I'm booking the next flight to Las Vegas now."

Harker thought about it, and he was right. It would be better to talk in person, as their calls might be bugged and listened to. And he could have Roland see the situation for himself, making better judgements and adjustments to the plan.

In the end, they decided to discuss things once they meet up in this hotel. Harker ran and hailed a taxi using the janitor's money to go there. He was careful not to change back to his former self even in the hotel.

He just mentioned that Roland Faust had booked a room for him at the reception, and they immediately gave him a key to one of the finest suites. And the most private area too.

"Roland's influence really is crazy. As expected of Crimson Cross Prince." He muttered to himself on the elevator.

Yan suddenly appeared on his side. "Looks like Roland will finally know your secret. Do you really believe you can trust him?"

"Yes. Of course." Harker said.

"Then…. Why do I sense some nervousness in you, Master?" Yan asked.

Harker pursed his lip, then eventually told the truth to the flying eyeball. Yan had been reliable so far, as a system assistant and companion. He knows his boundaries and doesn't ask too much. He deserves a bit of honesty.

"This would be another major thing I owed him. And if he somehow gets in danger because of this... I don't know what I'd do with myself." Harker told him. "I already did it once, y'know. Got my best bud in danger."

Yan wanted to inquire more about this certain memory, but the elevator opened. He disappeared and Harker went to the suit.

He waited with both anticipation and apprehension for Roland to come. Eventually, there was knocking on the door.

He opened it. "Roland—"

He suddenly received a roundhouse kick to the face!

Harker fell to the ground. "Whoah! What the fuck— Ah!"

Roland did not stop on delivering blows, and Harker had to raise his hand to protect himself. His best friend eventually took a gun, and asked with a stern tone.

"Who are you, old man!? Where's Harker!?"

Harker's eyes widened. Shit, he forgot to change the old janitor's form.

"Wait! It's me, Rol!" He spoke in his own voice….

And transformed back to his former self right before Roland's eyes. "See? It's me, your buddy! Harker!"

Roland blinked in confusion for a few seconds. Then…

"Sweet mother of corn—" Thud!

He fainted.