Richard was awakened from his deep sleep in the warm, soft bed of the Four Seasons Hotel in Paris by the system notification of a completed quest.
Ding... Side quest "Hurricane Rescue" completed with a plot twist exceeding 100%! (The original protagonist, Brian Mills, couldn't make it to France due to a car accident; the Mark gang was wiped out by the host himself; the mastermind behind the scenes was also eliminated due to the host's involvement.)
Congratulations, host, for thoroughly altering and twisting the plot. Due to your high level of involvement, you are awarded the 'Animal Communication' skill.
PS: This skill allows the host to communicate simply with any animal, with no limits on usage or time!
Sitting up in bed, Richard looked at the notification on the virtual screen and couldn't help but rejoice.
"Wow, this skill is pretty cool. Doesn't this basically give me a toned-down version of a Druid's ability? Haha, this is great. Being able to communicate with animals is awesome! When I get back to New York, I should get a small, easily concealable pet to carry around, essentially a biological surveillance device. Who would suspect a small pet, right? Hahaha..."
After checking out his new reward, Richard flopped back into bed, muttering to himself.
"Now that the 'Hurricane Rescue' plot is over, and I'm not interested in living Sean's kind of life, there's nothing left for me to do alone in Paris. Why not head back to New York today?
Besides, John is waiting for me in New York. With such a badass experience under my belt, how can I not go back and boast about it to John? I also need to talk to Gianna about her brother..."
Once he made up his mind, Richard sprang out of bed, got ready, checked out, and had the hotel's front desk book him a first-class ticket back to New York. He then took the hotel's car service straight to Charles de Gaulle Airport.
On his way to the airport, Richard received a call from Brian, telling him that Kem and Amanda had been safely returned to New York by embassy staff.
Brian mentioned that the two girls were relatively calm despite a bit of a scare, as they had been sedated by the kidnappers and thus hadn't witnessed the bloody massacre carried out by Richard and his mercenary team. After being comforted by their parents, they didn't show any overly emotional reactions to the incident.
Brian repeatedly thanked Richard for rescuing his daughter and expressed a desire to meet and personally thank him when he got back.
Richard had mixed feelings about Brian, who had so casually dropped a bombshell about his father right in front of him. He told Brian he was still in Paris and that the mastermind behind the trafficking ring had been taken down by the officer Brian had appointed, and that they would discuss the rest when he returned to New York.
While on the phone with Brian, Richard considered whether to tell him that his high-ranking official was actually his father, Sean. But recalling Sean's implicit messages, Richard decided to keep this secret.
After all, it was clear that Sean had been hiding his identity for decades for some significant reason; why else would he abandon his family for so long?
Having made his decision, Richard finished his call with Brian, went through customs at the airport, and then realized he hadn't gotten a gift for John.
He quickly browsed the airport shops but couldn't decide on a suitable gift. In frustration, he called the owner of a Chinese supermarket in Chinatown, New York, and ordered a batch of deer antler and toad oil. With his shopping done, Richard pocketed his hands and whistled as he boarded the flight, then peacefully flew back to New York.
Upon arriving at JFK International Airport and seeing it was already late, Richard decided to head home. Alexis was on a vacation in the Maldives with her mother, Martha, at his suggestion. He wondered whether his mom was home and whether he should tell her about meeting Sean.
Once home and finding Martha not there, Richard relaxed on the sofa, pondering his next steps.
"Hmm… It seems the system will continue to trigger side quests from time to time due to certain people or events. But my priority is to be with Beckett, solving cases and building rapport. Only by gaining Beckett's trust can I get involved in her mother's murder case.
Also, about John and Gianna, from Sean's tone last night, it seems he isn't too concerned about the leadership transition in the D'Antonio family. He even mentioned that my relationships with Gianna and John wouldn't affect that situation. So, I should pretend that this trip to France has given me reliable information about Santino's ambitions to make John and Gianna take his threat seriously.
Looks like I'll have to meet with John and the others tomorrow.
As for Beckett and
the police department, I'll report there the day after tomorrow!
Flying across the Atlantic is exhausting. Time for a bath and some sleep!"
"Thanks, boss, you really have everything here. I didn't expect you'd actually have top-grade Northeast deer antler and hash oil. I mean, these items aren't even that easy to find in China, right? You must have some connections. How about getting me some tiger bone next time?"
Chatting away in perfect Mandarin, Richard was checking the gifts he had ordered the day before in a familiar shop in Chinatown while talking to the owner.
The owner from the Chaoshan area twitched at the corners of his eyes, unable to contain his curiosity any longer: "I say, Richard, your Mandarin is even more standard than mine, but how come you seem to know more about Chinese stuff than I do?
Last time you asked me to send goji berries to your friend, and then there's the proverb you used, plus today's purchases. Were your ancestors Chinese, or did you spend a long time in China?"
"Haha, yes, I was Chinese in my past life, living all along in Sichuan…"
Richard's honest response earned him a look from the owner that screamed, 'You must be joking?'
After loading the carefully packed gifts into the car, Richard called John: "Buddy, I'm back, and I've brought gifts for everyone. Are you at the estate? I'm heading over now!"
John, who had already finished his morning workout, was pleased: "Brother, you're back? Come on over, Gianna and I are here. We're waiting for you!"
"I hope you can still smile when you see these gifts!"
Glancing back at the backseat full of kidney tonics, Richard smirked, started the car, and headed straight for Long Island.
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