7 Impressing the Boss

The burly man looked at David incredulously. He couldn't believe that a person who was so young and small compared to him could actually pack such strength in his attack.

He looked at his forearms, which were now a little swollen and had turned red, then looked back at David and said, "Not bad. What's your name, kid?"

David got into an orthodox boxing stance, his hands balled up into fists and positioned in front of his face. He succinctly replied, "David."

The burly man nodded and grinned. "My name is—"

However, before he could even finish his words, he saw David rush at him and swing his fist at him! The man frowned and perfectly blocked the punch, then counterattacked with a roundhouse kick.

David nimbly avoided the attack and drew back a few steps. The man looked at him and coldly muttered, "You're quite insolent, aren't ya?"

"Heh, who the hell wants to know your name? Are we here to fight or socialize?" David replied with a sneer. The next moment he rushed toward the man and swung his fist again.

The burly man once again blocked the attack. However, before he could counterattack, he saw David punch again, and again. He was once again taken aback, but this time by David's attack speed.

David had thrown seven punches in only one second! And all of them had landed—four on his forearms and three on his torso. The man drew back, a hint of fear finally beginning to creep inside his heart.

His forearms were hurting so much that he felt like his bones might have cracked. David's accuracy had left him utterly shocked. One had to know that even professional boxers could only land three punches in a second at most. But David had more than doubled that!

David looked at the man who was slowly beginning to retreat ever so slightly. To be honest, he was quite shocked himself and couldn't help but think, 'Looks like his strength and constitution stats should be around the same as mine.'

All of a sudden, his eyes narrowed as he saw the burly man bring out a dagger from behind his back. He couldn't help but sigh, "That's cheating…. We were having so much fun."

The man solemnly replied, "You're quite the fighter, David. But I'd say we're even now that I'm wielding a weapon." He slowly inched toward the teenager.

David, on the other hand, couldn't help but smirk. "Even? Heh." Even though their strength and constitution stats were around the same level, there was one thing that David excelled at: speed!

He crouched a little, then immediately burst forth with his fastest speed! All this while, he had been holding back, but now he could finally go all out.

In the man's vision, David was running so fast that he appeared to be a blur. He instinctively stabbed his dagger forward.

David just slightly leaned his body to the side, the dagger passing by his cheek by only a hair's breadth. Then he pivoted sideways and slapped the man's elbow in a downward motion.

The slap caused the older man's elbow to bend, then David grabbed the man's hand that was gripping the dagger and thrust it toward his own shoulder! The man looked at the dagger that was lodged inside his shoulder—by his own hand, no less—with wide eyes.

The next moment he screamed in agony, "Arrrggggggghhhhh!!" He couldn't believe it! David had used his own hand to stab him! However, he didn't have much time to think as David climbed atop his shoulders from behind him, raised his elbow, and viciously slammed it down on top of his head!

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

After four consecutive elbows to the head, the burly man finally dropped to his knees and fell face-first to the floor, the dagger stuck in his shoulder getting further embedded inside his joint from the impact.

David looked at the unconscious giant and nodded. Finally, he had met a strong opponent. If it weren't for his superiority in speed, he didn't know what the outcome of this fight would have been.

Now, he was even more excited for when his stats completely maxed out. His gaze fell on the wrench that one of the previous guys he had knocked out was wielding. He suddenly had an idea and his lips curled up into a devious smile.

Over the next few minutes, he picked up the remaining unconscious people lying in different areas of the garage and dumped them all in one place. Then he picked up the wrench and walked toward them with a ruthless glint in his eyes.

He raised the wrench and viciously slammed it down on one of the knocked-out people's knees. The pain was so unbearable that the guy jolted awake and screamed at the top of his lungs. However, before long, his screams were cut short as David smashed his other knee with the wrench as well, instantly crippling him.

One by one, he went around and broke the knees of every Buccanti member present, except the burly guy.

Roberto, who was standing by the side, felt his hair stand on end and he began trembling in shock and fear as he saw David ruthlessly breaking everyone's knees with the wrench. Earlier, he had already been greatly surprised by how the boy had defeated the burly man so efficiently.

But now he began to admire and fear him at the same time. He had never seen someone so cold and ruthless. He believed that these people would never be able to walk again in their lives.

David walked toward the burly man and Roberto couldn't wait to see just what he was about to do.

David kicked the man in the back a few times and woke him up, then crouched down beside him and pointed the bloodied wrench at his face before muttering, "Take your boys and leave my neighborhood. If I ever see you here again, I'll fucking kill all of you, got it?"

The burly man nervously nodded as he withstood the pain of the knife still lodged in his shoulder. He looked at his underlings, who were now crippled and groaning incessantly, and couldn't help but regret coming to the Rosettis' neighborhood.

David stood back up and looked at Roberto. "Let's go, I'm sleepy." He turned around, threw the wrench to the side, and walked out of the garage. Roberto snapped back to his senses and hurriedly followed after him.

…

The next day, Nico found himself meeting one of the higher-ups of the Rossetti Family. He was currently waiting in the living room of a house on 12th Avenue directly facing the Hudson River.

David's actions of the night before had been reported to him by Roberto. Initially, he was taken aback by David's ruthlessness, but he approved of it nonetheless. His thinking was that it would send a strong message to the Buccanti Family.

However, when word of David's actions reached the ears of the higher-ups and he was called to report on it, he couldn't help but harbor a little bit of jealousy over the attention the brat was getting.

After all, the one who had called him here to report was none other than the Underboss of the Rossetti Family, Angelo Rossetti. Not only was he the second in command, but he was also the son of the Don!

A female voice drifted into his ears, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Mr. Capputi, he'll see you now." Nico looked up and saw a young woman looking at him with a faint smile.

He got to his feet and gestured to the woman. "After you, ma'am." He followed her to the second floor where the woman opened the door of a room and gestured for him to go in.

After entering the room, he saw a middle-aged man with graying hair sitting behind a desk and reading a newspaper. Nico approached him and respectfully offered his hand for a handshake. "It is an honor to see you, Boss."

Angelo put away the newspaper, then looked at him and inquired, "Nico, is it? How're things in Clinton?"

"Not too bad, Boss. We're handling things okay," Nico replied.

"Hmm," Angelo nodded. "Tell me about this kid, David. I heard he's quite the young man, eh?"

Nico's eyebrows twitched ever so slightly, but he explained everything he knew about David to the underboss.

He began with his father's debt, spoke of the way he had convinced the youth to join the family as an associate and his actions since, and finally about the details of what transpired last night. He narrated everything honestly, without adding to or taking away from David's actions.

After listening to David's background and what he had done the night before, Angelo nodded in approval. "Not bad, not bad at all! Nico, keep an eye on the kid and see if he'd be a good made man."

Nico clenched his fists, which went unnoticed by the underboss, and nodded respectfully. "I'll do as you say, boss."

"Good," Angelo said. "And always remain on guard, Nico. The war with the Buccanti Family isn't going too well for us. And I don't wanna lose our men unnecessarily."

"I understand, boss," Nico solemnly replied. "I'll do whatever—"

The door to his side suddenly opened, interrupting him, and a man who appeared slightly older than Angelo entered and spoke to him without even casting a glance at Nico. "The Don's calling a meeting. Let's go."

"What's it about?" Angelo nonchalantly asked. The man looked at Nico and gestured for him to leave. He was none other than the consigliere of the Rossetti Family, the Don's advisor, Marcel Aubert.

Nico respectfully nodded to both of his superiors, then turned around and left. Just as he was leaving the room, he overheard the consigliere say, "It's about the Cosmopolitan Club. If we want to gain an upper hand in the war, we have to find a way to get a membership."

Nico's eyes widened in disbelief as he walked away and began wondering in shock, 'The Cosmopolitan Club…. It's real!'

[Countdown: 663 days…]