Brownsville, in the Brooklyn District, was one of Brooklyn’s communities known for its poor public safety, long-term poverty, and severe gang problems.
"Is this the building you’re planning to buy?"
Li Wei looked at the old red brick building before him, its exterior walls mottled and a pipe leaking in the corner, then turned his head to Don Quixote in the driver’s seat.
"Yes, that’s right," Don Quixote said, looking at the dilapidated building with great satisfaction. "This will be the starting point of our future success."
It was Monday afternoon.
After a relaxing and pleasant weekend, Don Quixote and Susan had returned from Delaware.
As soon as he got back, Don Quixote had excitedly dragged Li Wei here. He looked left and right, imnsely pleased.
"But looking at Jose, it’s not like success is guaranteed, is it?" Li Wei said casually. "He’s not Jas Bond or the Green Arrow. There’s no way he can promise to get that ledger."
"Patience," Don Quixote said, starting the car. "Let’s take our ti and plan this out. Jose needs to make so preparations on his end as well."
As they were leaving, Li Wei suddenly spotted a familiar figure.
’Michael? He lives here too?’
...
Don Quixote’s return, coupled with the fact that Li Wei’s Constitution was only 0.1 attribute points away from 3.0, had him on pins and needles all afternoon.
He didn’t even hear what Emma was saying.
"...The llon Art Exhibition Hall is opening next month," she said. "If Lady Delores can get in the llon Family’s good graces, we might be able to open another shop. Then maybe I’ll finally make a na for myself and beco a branch manager—Li Wei! Are you listening?"
"Of course!" Li Wei replied instinctively. "You’ll do great, no problem."
"I think so too," Emma sighed. "Ah, it’s a sha I didn’t run into so rich, dumb old man at the banquet the other day. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t want to keep struggling anymore."
"Rich people aren’t idiots," Li Wei said, playing along with her topic. "How could the rich from old-money empires not sign prenups? For all you know, their na is on nothing but debt."
"That’s so true," Emma said, perking up. "Let tell you, I have a friend who did just that. She had a baby with a rich old guy to try and lock him down, but it turned out he was sharp as a tack. He’d already transferred his assets and had a prenup. She looks like she’s living the high life, but not only is her sex life dead, she didn’t get a di. Sigh..."
Li Wei continued to humor Emma absentmindedly, all the while eagerly awaiting his first 3.0 attribute.
He waited until he got off work and went ho, long into the night.
Hearing a noise from downstairs, Li Wei, still fully clothed, did a kip-up off the bed and ran downstairs.
By the ti he got downstairs, Don Quixote was only halfway into his armor.
Li Wei didn’t dare to make a rash move. Instead, he waited until Don Quixote was fully dressed before speaking cautiously.
"Knight Don Quixote," he said, skipping the pleasantries this ti. "What are we doing tonight?"
"Have you forgotten?" Don Quixote said. "Tonight, we go to vanquish the King of Dark Elves."
’It seems not much ti has passed in Don Quixote’s dream world this ti,’ Li Wei thought. He rembered that the mission before last was to capture a Dark Elf.
"Of course I haven’t forgotten," he said in a lighthearted tone. "Let’s set out."
"Do not let your guard down, my friend!" Don Quixote said sternly. "The King of Dark Elves is far more cunning and dangerous than the common Dark Elf!"
With that, he walked out the door, iron rod in hand, letting out a low, majestic roar.
Li Wei followed silently behind him. He could feel a restless power churning within his body. His heart pounded powerfully, and his blood felt like it was surging through his veins.
The sea breeze blowing in from New York Harbor grew colder by the day, and the late night in Bell Ridge should have been silent.
As Don Quixote and Li Wei continued their slow walk down the block, a piercing screech of brakes suddenly echoed nearby.
Blinding high beams instantly locked onto Li Wei and Don Quixote. An old black Chevrolet screeched to a halt, blocking the road. The doors were thrown open before the car had even fully stopped, and two figures in black ski masks leaped from the back seat, rushing toward them.
"He’s the one who ambushed Xiaocha," one of them said, pointing at Don Quixote’s armor. "It’s his fault he got caught by the cops! Let’s teach him a lesson!"
[You have received a quest: The Lair of the King of Dark Elves]
Li Wei didn’t have ti to finish reading the quest description. He instantly activated [Stealth] and [Berserk].
The gunman’s vision blurred. Li Wei’s figure seed to flicker in the interplay of light and shadow before vanishing from sight.
The next second, however, his vision spun wildly. An indescribable, searing pain shot up from the base of his thigh, and he blacked out from the shock before he could even cry out.
The man with the knife standing next to him only just then realized that Li Wei had sohow gotten past him, appearing between him and his partner!
’Damn it, when did he get past ?!’
He roared instinctively and swung his machete at Li Wei.
"Die!"
Li Wei spun around and instinctively raised his arm to block—
However, the spray of blood and gore the man with the knife had expected did not happen.
He felt as if his blade had struck a solid tire or so other tough, polyr rubber. The force of the rebound almost made him lose his grip on the machete.
But before Li Wei could counterattack, the man’s eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed limply to the ground.
Don Quixote had caught up, iron rod in hand, and had struck the man with the machete from behind, knocking him to the ground.
Without a mont’s hesitation, Li Wei took off in a sprint toward the still-running Chevrolet—
"SMASH!!"
With a single heavy punch, Li Wei shattered the reinforced glass.
His arm shot through the window like an iron pincer. He grabbed the leader of the theft ring by the collar and, as if dragging a battered suitcase, yanked the nearly 180-pound man clean through the narrow opening.
Before the man could even speak, Li Wei hit him with a hook, knocking him into a deep state of unconsciousness.
Only then did Don Quixote rush over, iron rod in hand, yelling wildly.
"Well done!" Arriving in front of Li Wei, he paused, ’staring’ at the unconscious man on the ground. "This is the King of Dark Elves. Now that we have captured him, no one will harass my subjects again."
"The problem facing us now," Li Wei said, "is what to do with them."
"We take them into custody, of course!" Don Quixote declared loudly. "We’ll lock them in the dungeons! Or burn them at the stake!"
’Calm down!’ The corner of Li Wei’s mouth twitched. ’This isn’t the era of the slave trade anymore.’
At that mont, lights in the surrounding residential buildings began to switch on one after another, like a relay race, and the once-dead street instantly ca to life.
"Hey! What’s going on?!"
"I’ve already called the police! I saw soone with a knife!"
Attic windows were pushed open, and the beams of several flashlights danced around before finally converging in the middle of the road.
"Do not be alard, my subjects!" Don Quixote shouted to the onlookers, his voice full of vigor. "The lair of the Dark Elves has been purged! Justice may be delayed, but a Knight is never absent!"
Li Wei was so embarrassed his toes were curling. He wished he could just grab Don Quixote and leave imdiately.
Just then, a middle-aged man in a bathrobe and slippers walked over quickly. It was the head of the hoowners’ association, Maurice Stanford, whom he hadn’t seen for a few days.
"Li Wei! Mr. Don Quixote Cervantes," he said, sowhat surprised. "What is this... a mugging?"
"I don’t think so, Mr. Stanford," Li Wei said. "I heard them say they were here for revenge because soone nad Xiaocha got arrested. I’m guessing they’re part of that gang of thieves from before."
After speaking, he lightly kicked the unconscious ringleader.
"I see. Soone from the 68th Precinct in New York told a Chevrolet has been lurking around our community lately," Mr. Stanford said, carefully observing the scene. "This gang of roaming criminals has been turning the neighborhood upside down. We have you and your uncle to thank for this."
As the police belatedly arrived, a nearby public hospital also dispatched an ambulance to carry the three thieves away.
At the Bell Ridge police station, testimony from a locally respected man like Mr. Stanford carried a lot of weight. The evidence was also solid: all three n were itinerant thieves with prior criminal records. They had initiated an ard, nightti group attack, seeking revenge on Li Wei, who was a minor. With multiple witnesses, a clear chain of events, and the suspects already subdued, the responding officers processed the case on the spot.
The police took their statents (Don Quixote’s nonsensical ramblings were attributed to shock, so Li Wei gave the primary statent), took photographs, confiscated the weapons, and assigned a case number. Afterward, they told Don Quixote and Li Wei to go ho, saying they would be in touch if anything else was needed.
As for the three Black n, one suffered a concussion from an iron rod to the back of the head, one went into shock from a broken femur, and one sustained a severe concussion from a heavy blow to the face.
For them, however, being unconscious was probably a good thing, because the truly crippling part was yet to co.
According to the rule in the United States of Arica to treat first and bill later—with the bill going directly to the patient—the three n would be responsible for a series of costs: the ambulance, ergency room, imaging scans, painkillers, stitches, anesthesia (though perhaps they wouldn’t need it since they were already unconscious, which was quite lucky for them), surgery, and hospital observation.
According to the nurse who picked them up, the bill for each of them would easily exceed 60,000 USD.
Even if they could pay, they would still face criminal detention after being discharged from the hospital. And with those dical bills hanging over them, they most likely wouldn’t be able to afford bail. Once in prison, they would be continually bled dry by the prison system.
So, barring any surprises, Li Wei and Don Quixote probably wouldn’t have to worry about running into these guys again for the next 20 years.
After the two returned ho safely from their perilous encounter, Don Quixote took off his armor and went to his room to sleep soundly.
anwhile, Li Wei was in his room on the second floor, looking at his attribute panel.
[Single attribute has reached 3.0. Heroic Knight’s Path: Step into the Extraordinary (Phase 1) quest complete.]
[Reward: 0.2 Free Attribute Points]
[Constitution has reached 3.0. Cannot be increased further before evolving.]
Li Wei’s current attributes were as follows:
[Strength: 1.9]
[Spirit: 1.5]
[Agility: 1.8]
[Constitution: 3.0 (Evolvable)]
[Free Attribute Points: 0.2]
[Skills]: [Eloquent], [Berserk (Used)], [Stealth (Used)], [Knight Fighting Art (Passive Skill)]
[Knight: Bronze Body (Extraordinary)]
’Evolvable?’ Li Wei was taken aback for a mont. ’What’s this now?’
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