Author's note: Hey guys, we have some great news to share with you all! We started uploading this novel 4 months ago, and we're happy to announce that we've hit 1 million reads! We never expected our story to come this far, be it hitting 1 million views or even taking the story in this direction (we had originally planned for it to be much shorter). In just these few months, we've managed to hit 1 million views AND get contracted, and we wouldn't have been able to achieve any of this without your help.
In order to commemorate this milestone, we'd like to ask for your help! If there's something that you'd like us to do (Q&A, Patreon, etc.) please reply to our comment with your suggestion or like a suggestion from another reader, and we'll place it under consideration (Although, please do try and keep them fairly simple). Cheers, and thanks again!
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"Wait, what do you mean you can open it? Wait, never mind that, where did you get those tools?"
"I can't really explain, but I know I can do it. I just need two hours."
"Two hours??? Did you not hear what I said? The Brotherhood may be sloppy and incompetent, but trust me, they know their first wave has failed. We need to barricade this place and prepare for the next attack."
"Please, trust me. I know I can open it in two hours, and that's a fact."
"No Riley, you don't understand. This is a one way door. There's no fucking lock that you can pick or destroy."
"No, I can do it. Seriously. I need you to trust me, just like how I trusted you. It's our best shot."
Mr. X stared at Riley. Had this boy not heard a single thing that he said? He had been heavily involved with the creation of the secret room. In fact, the entire thing had been his idea.
These bunkers were designed to protect the senior members of the People's Brotherhood. They were made with a combination of metallic alloys so strong that nothing short of a nuclear explosion would be able to dent the walls. Within the bunker was a distress button; once pressed, a series of emergency measures would happen. First, there would be a distress signal sent to the main HQ of the People's Brotherhood, who would then send out a message to every Underboss. Then, the room would be sealed shut, and there wouldn't be any way to unlock it other than from the inside. Once locked, nothing could enter the chamber; no sound, signal, reception, or even oxygen. Of course, there was backup oxygen, and even entertainment systems, ranging from a home theater to simple alcohol.
The chambers were designed in such a way that any occupants would only leave after having spent five hours inside — even if they were already safe, there was no way for them to receive the news. This is so that no hacker could trick the people within into opening the doors. After all, who could last five hours defending against waves of enemies?
"Sigh… You leave me no choice. I have to trust you. From what I know, they'll be attacking in waves, once every 30 minutes, and all-out attack by the Sharks in three hours' time."
"The Sharks? Who're they?"
"You really don't want to know. I doubt that five of me would be able to take even one of them out. They're dangerous mercenaries. I'll leave it up to you, chap."
"Already on it."
Riley had already started the picking process the moment Mr. X sighed and reluctantly agreed. Time was of the essence, after all.
Mr. X started preparing for the waves of enemies that he had to face alone. He had removed his suit jacket and folded it nicely, before placing it on a chair. He loosened his tie and placed it on top of his jacket before adjusting his vest. Placing his fedora on top of the rest of his clothes, Mr. X pulled out a pair of wireless earbuds and placed them in his ears before browsing through his iPod song library. He stopped scrolling when he found the song that he had been looking for: "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone. He reached into his pants and pulled out a mask, one that looked similar to Riley's.
"Seeing you fight gave me an idea. Got this from a pretty cool masquerade party. Maybe one day when you're old enough, we can go partying together."
Riley did not reply. He was in lock-picking mode, where his senses were fully focused on unlocking the door, and he was completely unaware of his surroundings.
Shrugging his shoulders, Mr. X walked out of the door while muttering to himself.
"This better work, kiddo. If not, this'll be the last tango in our short-lived duet."
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Mr.x heard the sounds of cars pulling up to the front of the pizzeria, followed by people shouting. Smiling to himself, Mr. X muttered to himself before clicking the play button on his iPod.
"It's showtime."
The piano riff from the "Sinnerman" started playing. Mr. X waited until he heard footsteps entering the building before peaking out of the corner of the kitchen he was hiding behind and counting the silhouettes he could see.
"Nine. Good."
Without another moment of thought, Mr. X walked out. Picking one of the five knives that he was holding in his left hand, he started tossing it into the air, catching it by the handle each time it fell. It didn't take long for the mobsters to notice him, as he had made no effort to conceal himself, and soon the entire squad had their guns trained on Mr. X.
"Oh come on. You couldn't wait a few more seconds? She hasn't even started singing yet!"
Feeling the groove of the song, Mr. X fluidly twirled and spun on his feet, effortlessly avoiding the shots of the thugs.
~Oh, sinnerman, where you gonna run to?~
"Now."
Tossing the knife one last time, Mr. X caught it before flicking his wrist forward, throwing the knife with such speed that it embedded itself in a thug's chest. Mr. X then flicked his left hand, this time flinging all of the remaining knives forward, each of them finding their mark on a separate thug.
~We got to run to the rock~
As the thugs ran out of bullets, Mr. X dance-jogged his way forward to close the distance. Seeing this, two of the thugs dropped their guns and charged towards him, each holding a switchblade. Upon reaching, they started swinging wildly with their blades. In response, Mr. X just smiled, hands in his pockets as he gyrated his hips, narrowly avoiding their attacks.
~But the rock cried out~
Suddenly, Mr. X pulled out some big rocks that he had retrieved from the rubble caused by the car from his pockets, and perfectly blocked both thug's attacks; his left hand blocking the downward swing of the thug on his right, and his right hand blowing a horizontal swing from the thug on his left.
With the thugs' attacks abruptly halted, Mr. X undid his crossed hands, and bashed both thugs' faces with his rocks. Although the attacks did not carry much force behind them, they were enough to stagger his opponents. Turning his attention to one of the reloading thugs, he took a stance similar to a baseball pitcher's and threw one of his rocks at the thug. This time, there was enough force behind it to completely knock him out.
~I said rock~
Perfectly in sync with the lyrics, one of the thugs lunged towards Mr. X with his switchblade. Anticipating the attack, Mr. X jumped to the right, avoiding it and slipping behind the thug. Grabbing the thug's wrist from behind, he redirected the knife towards the thug's neck, who managed to catch it with his other hand. Mr. X, who was now applying more and more force, sang, "Good Lord, Lord."
Bringing around his free hand, which was still holding a rock, Mr. X positioned it close to the blade's handle. He whispered into the thug's ear, "All on that day" before slamming the rock into the knife like a hammer and chisel, driving the knife into the thug's throat. As the man suffocated from the puncture wound, Mr. X released him, letting his body collapse onto the floor as the blood pooled all around.
~It was bleedin', I run to the sea~
From the trunk of the car that had been used to ram into the building, Mr. X retrieved a container of liquid that he had stashed there earlier, splashing it onto the thug that he had previously concussed. The terrible smell of the liquid forcefully awoke the thug who, up until this point, had been in a daze.
"What the fuck is this stuff?"
While this was happening, one of the remaining thugs had finished reloading and started firing again.
"Oi, stay away from the boss!"
Having finished pouring the liquid, Mr. X continued dancing around, avoiding all the bullets. The liquid-soaked man shouted, "What the fuck do you think you're doing you psycho??"
"Wait for it, wait for it…"
Mr. X reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Placing it into his mouth, he struck a match and used it to light his cigarette.
~It was boilin', I run to the sea~
Instead of snuffing out the flame, Mr. X dropped the match on the doused man. Upon coming into contact with the flame, the man was immediately lit on fire, and he started crying in agony.
~It was boilin', all on that day~
As he watched the man burn and roll around in agony, Mr. X took a long drag and, pausing for a few seconds to let his lungs absorb the nicotine, he then let out a deep sigh, exhaling the smoke.
"Wait, didn't I count nine?"
~So I run to the Lord~
Through the music playing in his ear, he could hear the sound of an engine starting. Running out of the pizzeria, he saw that the last remaining thug had decided to turn tail and flee. Pulling out a pistol that he was strapped to his leg, Mr. X took aim.
'Come on, beat drop, come on.'
Waiting a second more, Mr. X, still aiming, mouthed, "But the Lord said.."
*Bang*
~Go to the Devil, the Lord said~
Mr. X was confident that his shot had hit its mark, but it was confirmed a second later when the car careened out of control and crashed into a lamp post.
Allowing the rest of the song to play, Mr. X continued smoking his cigarette.
"Well, one wave down, three more to go? This part of town is so ghetto that no cops will be coming down here. Plus, they've probably been paid off anyway."
After doing some stretches, Mr. X took a seat and flung his legs on top of the table, with his hands behind his head.
'Wonder how the kiddo's doing.'
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Patch 29.0
- Regular biweekly update
Name: Riley Petesgeralt
Age: 16
Job: The Roleplayer
Class: Vigilante
Level: 16
HP: 250
MP: 220
EXP: 138/400
Strength: 43
Dexterity: 46
Vitality: 25
Intelligence: 32
Wisdom: 22
Charisma: 26
Luck: 31
Skills:
Roleplayer's Mind
Virtual Body
Analyze (Level 5)
Blunt Weapon Proficiency (Level 4)
Physical Endurance (Level 3)
The Cinderella Effect (Level 1)
Dodge Step (Level 2)
Counter Flip (Level 1)
Leg Sweep (Level 2)
Power Punch (Level 2)
Extreme Agility (Level 2)
Sense Danger (Level 2)
Trash Talk (Level 1)
Power Swing (Level 4)
Quick Draw (Level 1)
Minimap (Level 2)
Incognito (Level 4)
Bullet Party (Level 1)
Bullet Time (Level 1)
Bind (Level 1)
Equipment:
Vigilante's Mask (Level 3/5)
Vigilante's Cloak (Level 1/5)
Vigilante's Pants (Level 1/5)
Vigilante's Gloves (Level 1/5)
Vigilante's Shoes (Level 1/5)
Vigilante's Gun (Level 1/5)
Full set bonus unlocked: Shadow World