"Here's the list of candidates for the show's upcoming second season." A tall, gangly old man holds up a portfolio and places it on a large conference desk.
With a gentle push, he slides the documents towards the far end. The folder reaches the end of the table and stops after bumping into the back of a turned chair.
"Very good! You've done a fine job, Epsilon," a cheery voice chirps out as the revolving chair swivels around to reveal a masked man.
It was the masked host from the first season of 'Can Anyone Beat Level 10?'. He reaches over and flips open the folder. The first thing he sees is a picture of a young lady of Chinese descent. The lady has long black hair with brown highlights and crescent-shaped eyes. Her rosy lips pull back a laugh, showing pearl-white teeth.
Epsilon clears his throat and begins introducing the woman in the photo. "Her name is Lindsey Chu, born to Kevin Chu and May Li. She is the youngest child in her family with an older brother, by three years, named Jason Chu. Like her family, she was born in the US. She is twenty-three years old this year and works as a part-time translator for a small gaming company called Genesis."
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
"Hoh...a translator, eh? Doesn't seem much of a worthy candidate for our game show. What does she have that others don't?"
"Unbeknownst to her family and friends, she had attended many social and political events during her college years. At that time, she had learned and mastered the use of firearms."
"She's not a government spy, is she?"
"No. We've already checked her background. She's clean. You don't have to worry about that, Theta."
"Hmmm, alright. Let's consider her. What about the others?" Theta nods as he hands the information on Lindsey Chu to the wizened man.
As he continues to describe the other candidates, Epsilon grabs the papers and holds onto it. Several minutes later, he finishes speaking and waits quietly for Theta's decisions.
"Okay. I've decided. Let's go with Kohl, Sheinfeld, Littlerock, Opeyemi, Fontaine, Patel, Fitzpatrick, Lee, and...Rollins. You can get them by next year right?"
"Yes. We have surveillance on them 24/7. Any change in their daily routine will be notified to me as soon as possible."
"Will there be any problems?"
"No. Just leave it to Tau like always. He will handle this smoothly."
"Fantastic! Make sure to observe them discreetly. I trust Tau to do things flawlessly; however, if any problems do arise, let me know immediately."
"No worries, they won't suspect a thing."
"Alright. I'll see you again once the contestants have been brought back. You may leave now."
"Okay."
Epsilon shuffles the papers of the selected candidates and quickly leaves the room. Theta surveys the documents of the remaining candidates once more, before dumping them into a shredding machine.
As the shredding machine shreds the papers into thin strips, Theta stares absentmindedly at the ceiling and mutters, "Soon...Fate will change."