Dropping the thin brown belt on the counter, beside the hundred-dollar bills, Lenny noticed the corner of Johan's curled lips twitch.
His spider-tattooed companion brazenly protested, as though voicing his master's thoughts.
"That's just a belt, you bastard!"
Undeterred, Lenny looked squarely at Johan and calmly asked:
"Didn't you say for every piece of clothing?"
Johan, unwilling to back down in front of his companions, forced a smile.
"Yes. Yes, I did. You can carry on."
A hiss of annoyance and disapproval escaped the spider-tattooed brat's mouth as he folded his arms.
He muttered, "Disgraceful fuck."
Shaken by that comment, Lenny acted as though he didn't hear, his actions remained deliberate and methodical.
He quietly took off his black surgical face mask and placed it beside the money, fully revealing his rectangular face and the cut on his lip. His left eye was bloodshot with a slight pinkish-red swell around it.
Seeing Lenny take off a simple mask to represent a 'piece of clothing', the spider-tattooed brat wanted to retort again, but Johan gestured for him not to interfere.
'…Yeah, listen to your master,' Lenny mocked inwardly.
Then, Johan, his smirk widening, slapped two more hundred-dollar bills on the counter for the face mask.
Quietly, Lenny took off his right sandal and placed it alongside the belt, face mask, and money, then paused. He was implying with his actions that the single right-foot sandal should be regarded as a piece of clothing, prompting Johan to do the needful, which he did.
Lenny constantly glanced at his phone, which lay flat in the cupboard at the side. The allure of the optional objective, which promised an extra 5 v-points, tugged at him. He contemplated the potential risks and rewards.
'…It says I just need to 'participate.' I've participated, so I should get the reward of 3 v-points. But, is that even enough? I'll need to test the app thoroughly, won't I?'
He thought as he gently placed the left-foot of the brown sandals on the counter, much to Johan's chagrin.
However, the handsome brat maintained his cool and added another $200 to the amount that was already there. Effectively making it a total sum of $800.
As of the moment, Lenny still doubted the app's legitimacy, but he knew this was a one-time opportunity to earn an extra 5 v-points. Considering this, if he happened to be wrong and the app turned out to be capable and legit, he would be reaping a very big boon!
Additionally, hadn't the app already displayed how enigmatic and mysterious it was? It knew Lenny's current situation and used it to issue a task!
Of course, it could be hypothesized that he was being stalked by a secret camera or so, but he had also received complete information about the task without needing to look at his phone—Telepathy of some sort!
This was a feat Lenny's science and technology knowledge couldn't explain. If anything, it was truly paranormal.
Understanding this and thinking it through, he proceeded to take off his work uniform—a simple red sleeveless jacket—and placed it on the counter, making it a total sum of $1,000.
Then, fueled by the desire to earn those extra v-points, he gradually took off his long-sleeve t-shirt.
'…I need those extra v-points!'
He pushed aside any lingering feelings of humiliation and embarrassment. His life was about to change and the price was letting some dumb rich kids walk over him for a few minutes. Cheap!
Pa! Lenny slapped the shirt on the counter and urged Johan to drop the dollar bills with a hand gesture.
Johan let out a long sigh.
"It's almost as if you're enjoying this…"
Sinisterly, the corner of his lips curled, and he added, "Let's see how long that'll last. Go on."
Disregarding the handsome brat's words, Lenny, in the groove of things, grabbed the waist of his slightly oversized blue jeans.
But just then, he froze. The reality of the situation had finally dawned on him.
He was stripping for money, in front of kids!
'Am I … really that … desperate?' He thought to himself, unable to bring himself to pull his pants down.
Johan, relishing the situation, taunted Lenny with a smirk.
"What? Why aren't you taking it off? Don't tell me you still have some misplaced sense of dignity…"
Lenny raised his head and stared into Johan's predatory eyes. A cold chill ran down his spine and he took a big gulp along with it.
Those eyes were just like Boss Falcone's. They were eyes that sought to devour him as though he was a domesticated sheep and they were hungry, bloodthirsty wolves.
He gritted his teeth and released the grip on the blue jean trousers, letting it fall to the ground with a thud.
'…Yes. I am that desperate. Yes. I am that miserable. Yes! I am that hopeless! I've been living a dead life for Christ's sake and they still wish to devour me whole! When?! When am I allowed to be angry?! When am I allowed to be desperate?! When I'm dead?!'
He screamed inwardly as his anger, buried deep within, surged. For so long, he had been taking everything sitting down, never truly standing up for the change he needed to make.
No one was going to give him a brand new life on a platter of gold. He had to be ferocious, furious, and desperate enough. And not just any type of ferocity or fury or desperation. He had to be ten times more ferocious! Ten times more furious! And ten times more desperate than those who tried to keep him down!
Left with only a singlet outlining his bony figure and blue briefs on, he couldn't even be bothered to use his hands to cover the small bulge protruding from his lower body.
Johan, delighted by Lenny's display of tomfoolery as though he was watching a dancing monkey, slapped another $200 on the counter, now making it $1,400.
With a sinister grin, he urged, "What's taking you so long? Come on, we don't have all day."