MMORPG: Birth of the World's Luckiest Player

Chapter 492: Back to Mellory

Mellory Financial was the company Marcus used to work for, a Fortune 500 giant specializing in women’s skincare. According to their glossy marketing materials, their formulas were supposedly derived from secret beauty recipes passed down from royal mistresses and court favorites five hundred years ago, the kind of stuff once reserved for royal courts and inner chambers.

Naturally, that was just the story the R&D department fed to marketing. Whether any of it had real historical roots was anyone’s guess. But one thing couldn’t be denied: Mellory’s products actually worked, and they worked extremely well. In less than ten years, the company had gone from obscurity to a nationally recognized brand. Last year alone, its net profit surpassed ten billion dollars, placing it among the top fifteen skincare companies in the country.

In their city, aside from two state-run monopolies and a handful of old legacy firms, Mellory Financial was the undisputed leader. After graduating, Marcus had never wanted to leave. His mother and his little sister Amber were both here, and chasing opportunities in some distant city had never appealed to him. So instead of job-hopping like many of his classmates, he joined Mellory’s Marketing Department straight out of college.

A lot of his friends thought he had sold himself short.

Because Mellory was a women’s skincare brand, advertising and branding were everything. Marketing wasn’t just another department, it was the front line of the entire business and operated almost like an independent division. At the top were two bosses: the department head, a thoroughly unpleasant man Marcus privately referred to as "the pig," and the assistant manager, Mark.

It had been the pig who disliked Marcus from the beginning, quietly colluding with HR to get him fired. Mark, on the other hand, was in his forties and had always treated Marcus fairly. He had argued with the pig more than once over Marcus’s dismissal, but the pig had connections and friends in HR. In the end, his word carried more weight.

Dominion could now sync with real-world phone calls. When a call came in, the system alerted the player and allowed them to answer in-game, minus the video feed. Marcus logged out immediately and accepted the call.

Mark’s face appeared on the screen, smiling so widely it almost looked unnatural. "Marcus! What are you up to?"

"Mark? You sound way too happy," Marcus replied. "What’s going on?"

"Well, yeah. Something came up." Mark paused, clearly enjoying himself. "So tell me, have you found a new job yet?"

Marcus gave a dry laugh. "Not yet. I figured I’d take a little more time off."

After Marcus left Mellory, Mark had tried to help, even referring him to a few other companies. Marcus never followed up. He hadn’t planned on working under anyone else again.

Judging from Mark’s tone, Marcus assumed another job lead was coming.

"You at home?" Mark asked, glancing at the background on Marcus’s screen.

"Yeah."

"If you’re free, come by the office," Mark said. "Right now."

"The office?" Marcus frowned. "You mean Mellory?"

"Yeah. Get over here."

"What for?"

Mark refused to explain. "Just come. We’ll talk when you get here."

Mark’s urgency left Marcus with little choice. "Alright. I’m on my way."

He ended the call, unease settling in his chest. Something felt off. A troubling thought surfaced, tightening his stomach. What if Mark had spoken up for him again, and now the pig and HR were giving Mark trouble because of it?

Knowing the pig’s character, it wasn’t far-fetched.

"Damn it."

Marcus felt anger simmer beneath the surface. If that bastard was targeting Mark because of him, Marcus wouldn’t sit still. He wasn’t proud of the darker ideas that crossed his mind, but they came uninvited all the same. He forced himself to rein them in, exhaling slowly. Getting reckless wouldn’t help Mark, and it definitely wouldn’t help him.

’Focus first. Find out what’s going on.’

His phone buzzed again, this time it was Ray.

Ray was an old colleague from Mellory’s Marketing Department. They had joined around the same time, Ray armed with a master’s degree and a sharp analytical mind. The two of them had worked together effortlessly during their first year, building not just professional trust but a genuine friendship.

Marcus picked up. Ray didn’t bother with pleasantries. "Marcus, did Mark call you? Can you get here?"

"Yeah. I’m heading over."

That only deepened the confusion. "Ray, what happened? Is the pig giving Mark trouble?"

"No," Ray said quickly, shaking his head.

And judging by Ray’s relaxed, almost excited expression, this wasn’t bad news. If the pig were really making things difficult, they wouldn’t be calling Marcus in like this. Still, Ray refused to elaborate. "Just come. You’ll see when you arrive."

The screen jolted as someone grabbed Ray’s phone. A flashily dressed guy leaned into view, grinning. "Marcus, hurry your ass up. We’re waiting!"

Marcus snorted. "You little punk."

He recognized Tyler instantly.

Tyler was sharp and quick-witted, but also a chronic troublemaker. He preferred fists to textbooks, which explained his mediocre grades. His family had pulled strings to get him into a small art college, where he finally found something he enjoyed. Despite his reputation, Tyler had real talent, especially in visual concept design. He’d freelanced throughout college, and without that portfolio, he never would have made it into Mellory.

Tyler was actually three years older than Marcus, but between fights, transfers, and repeating years, they’d graduated together. Within six months of working side by side, Tyler had openly acknowledged Marcus as the leader and started calling him "boss." When Marcus had been fired, Tyler nearly went berserk and had to be physically talked down from confronting the pig.

"What’s going on, Tyler?" Marcus asked.

"You’ll find out when you get here, boss."

Ray and Tyler were clearly working together. No one was going to give him a straight answer.

Tyler grinned wider. "Hurry up, or Emily might start crying again."

Marcus instinctively leaned closer to the screen, searching for Emily’s familiar presence. He didn’t see her.

"Don’t bother looking," Tyler said, amused. "She’s not here. Mark sent her out this morning to host clients."

"Hosting clients?" Marcus’s tone sharpened. "What kind of clients?"

"Relax," Tyler replied, chest puffed out. "Mark wouldn’t throw her into anything sketchy. And I’ve got eyes on her. Nobody’s messing with our Emily."

Then he laughed. "She’s fine. Misses you like crazy, though. Now move it. All will be revealed."

"Hey, wait," Marcus started.

Too late. Tyler hung up.

Marcus shook his head, half amused, half exasperated. "This guy’s getting way too comfortable talking to his boss like that."

Still, the secrecy gnawed at him. Mark, Ray, Tyler, all acting like they were in on some private joke.

Fine. He’d just ask Emily directly. She was honest to a fault. If anyone would tell him the truth, it was her.

Just as he was about to dial, his phone buzzed again. He glanced at the screen and laughed softly. Speak of the devil, Emily was calling.