The news anchor’s voice on the television faded into the background, becoming indistinct and drowned out by Don Quixote’s voice.
"Good thing I got out of there when I did," he said, a can of beer in hand as he watched the news. "Otherwise, I feel like I would’ve gotten caught up in that ss. What if I’d gotten sick or injured..."
He shook his head and downed the beer in his hand.
"So what’s the deal with that construction site you were at?" Li Wei asked, sitting down next to him. "How did it get tangled up with the Russian Mafia?"
"The na Leto sounds Italian. I always figured he had ties to Sicily," Don Quixote mused, setting down his beer. "He was always running a gambling ring and dealing drugs on that site. I guess that must be why."
"So the Russian Mafia and the Italian Mafia got into a conflict?" Li Wei asked. "I never would’ve guessed Leto had a background like that."
Don Quixote looked at Li Wei and snorted, a strange sort of amusent in the sound. "You’ve been watching too much of *The Godfather*. The Mafia isn’t what it used to be. Everyone has a legitimate front, at least here in New York."
Li Wei nodded. Just as he was about to head upstairs, he suddenly rembered sothing.
"You’ve got that date with Susan tomorrow, right?" Li Wei said. "Figured out what you’re going to do?"
The mont Don Quixote heard that, the ice-cold beer in his mouth seed to lose all its flavor.
"Oh, God," he groaned, rubbing his face. "I’d almost rather get beaten up right now—no, forget I said that. I think I’d just rather the world end tomorrow."
Li Wei just smiled and said nothing.
The next day, Li Wei received so good news in the dean of instruction’s office.
"Recently, the public schools in Brooklyn received a donation from a foundation. They’re offering scholarships and letters of recomndation for college to outstanding students," the dean of instruction said, lacing his fingers together as he looked at Li Wei. "Your AP Calculus teacher and Mrs. Mossley for AP Macroeconomics are both very impressed with you. And you made the starting lineup for the football team as soon as you got here, right?"
Li Wei nodded.
"I see... An ethnic minority, no tattoos or other bad habits, an outstanding student, a gifted athlete," the dean said, looking at Li Wei with growing satisfaction. "And I hear both your parents have passed away, and you live with an uncle who doesn’t have a steady job?"
Li Wei nodded again.
"Excellent—oh, I an, I’m very sorry to hear that," the dean said with a couple of coughs. "In any case, we’ve already submitted your na. If everything goes smoothly, you should receive this scholarship."
"How much is it?" Li Wei asked, ignoring the dean’s slip of the tongue. "How much would I get?"
"Around 30,000 USD after taxes, paid in installnts over several months," the dean said. "But it’s a long process. It requires approval from us teachers and coaches, then we submit the list to the foundation. The foundation then conducts a review and interviews the students. So just be patient. I just wanted to give you a heads-up, Mr. Li Wei."
Li Wei was ecstatic at the thought of getting a scholarship without having to do anything for it.
"Thank you, Dean Jamaal," Li Wei said with a bow. "Thank you for putting my na forward."
"It’s a win-win, Mr. Li Wei," Dean Jamaal said with a smiling shrug. "As long as you study hard and get into a good college, that’s a cause for celebration for Franklin K. Lane High School as well."
"However, you may need to cooperate with the foundation on so promotional work and participate in so public projects at art museums and in the community," he said. "I hope you understand. But I can assure you that it will only amount to about forty hours over the course of a year."
Li Wei nodded in understanding. ’If there were no strings attached, *that’s* when I’d need to be wary,’ he thought. Now that there were requirents, the scholarship plan actually seed legitimate.
When school let out at noon, Li Wei didn’t go to the gym with Travis. Instead, he headed to the Upper East Side for his part-ti job.
Compared to his teammates on the football team, who were all juicing and lifting iron, the rate of growth Li Wei achieved by allocating points through his system was far greater than what could be gained just by working out. The only reason he even went to the gym was to keep track of his own strength, so he wouldn’t accidentally hurt soone by underestimating his own power.
On the Upper East Side, the entrance to Lady Delores’s boutique was as deserted as ever.
Previously, Li Wei had worried about the boutique’s financial situation on Lady Delores’s behalf. ’If it keeps losing money and eventually closes, how will I be able to keep getting paid for doing nothing?’
But after seeing the news yesterday, and considering the strange statue he had moved and Lady Delores’s odd behavior, it was hard for Li Wei not to connect the dots.
Recalling Lady Delores’s earlier hints and warnings only made Li Wei more confused.
As he looked around for his work partner, he realized Emma had apparently taken the day off; he had no idea where she had gone.
Lady Delores wasn’t in the shop either. Li Wei and another sales associate watched over the pricelessly-stocked store, spacing out for the entire afternoon.
At the sa ti, Li Wei noticed sothing—the statue he’d brought in last ti was gone.
His uneventful shift ended. By the ti Li Wei got ho, Don Quixote had already gone out. Clothes were scattered across the bed and all over the floor; it looked like he had agonized for a long ti over what to wear.
Li Wei wandered around the apartnt, bored. Just as he was about to head out and roam around—to see if he could unlock a new location or trigger so new quests—his phone suddenly rang.
"Hello?" Li Wei answered the phone. "Travis?"
"Hey! Dude! Where are you!" Travis slurred. "Co... co to the... the party!"
"Where... where’s it at?" Li Wei mimicked. "Can you try to speak without slurring?"
"Am I... am I that hard to understand?" Travis asked, sounding confused. "Anyway, over in Queens. There’s a party at Brandon’s place right now. We go-got so... good stuff. It’s mostly guys from the team. You wanna co hang out?"
"Uh..." Li Wei hesitated. ’Does this count as an unexplored area?’ he wondered. ’Even though I despise gambling and drugs, maybe I could trigger so quests if I go check it out.’ "Alright, I’ll head over in a bit."
After more than half an hour on the subway and a bus, Li Wei finally arrived at Brandon’s house just as the sky was turning a dusky yellow. It was a small, detached house, and the street out front was already packed with motorcycles and secondhand cars.
A crowd of football players—most of whom he recognized—were dancing, chugging beer, and raising a ruckus in the yard. The blasting music made the windows rattle.
A few shirtless guys were wrestling by the pool, surrounded by a circle of cheering and jeering onlookers, so of whom had their arms around their girlfriends or boyfriends.
Just as Li Wei stepped onto the lawn, a translucent dialogue box suddenly popped up in his vision:
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