Leaderboard

Lenny jolted up from where he lay. He scrutinized the entire page properly.

[Leaderboard]

D-Chart Monthly Rankings:

1st. Pointer4879 — 15 VP. [Prizes: Gold Trophy; $50,000; Tier-2 Talent].

2nd. -- [Prizes: Silver Trophy; $25,000; Tier-1 Talent].

3rd. -- [Prizes: Bronze Trophy; $10,000; Tier-2 App Utility].

4th. -- [Prize: Tier-2 Consumable].

5th. -- [Prize: Tier-1 App Utility].

~

V-Points earned this month: 15.

Your current rank: #1 (of 100).

"I'm currently ranked first place?" Despite being alone, he still voiced out due to his surprise.

The D-Chart Monthly Rankings displayed the total amount of v-points earned within the month by pointers and simply ranked them.

'...What the…? The time I skimmed through the tabs yesterday, there were names in every position…' He had a thought, and then quickly checked the date. 

He was currently in the wee hours of the first day of February, year 2023. Since the month had just started there were no other pointers who had completed a task yet.

A smile slowly crept up on his slightly freckled face, and he voiced, "I didn't even consider this. If I can earn that first prize, I can pay a nice chunk of the loan and even get a tier-2 talent. I just have to make sure I don't fail or miss any task…"

Lenny thought deeply, '...But should I be worried about unfairness? Someone could be given a task with more optional tasks and could maybe complete them…?'

He suddenly smiled and assured himself, "Nah, this is Top Idol, made by the Creator. With how fair and cruel He made the world, I doubt there would be any unfairness here too, at least, if it's the same creator…

"Regardless, this is another way I can earn quick bank. In fact, it's the surest way!"

Lenny paused for a moment and recognized how much of an enthusiastic fanatic he had now become for Top Idol. It was in direct contrast to how he first started, where he insulted its developers and disabled the app.

"Come to think of it, why didn't I notice something odd when I couldn't delete the app and only disable it? I could've earned a lot more v-points by now…" Lenny said with a severe feeling of regret.

'...So I can't delete the app, only disable it. And when disabled, a pointer can't receive tasks… I can't really figure out why that is…' he thought, nodding slightly in understanding. At least, he learned something others might have wanted to know.

"Dammit, what kind of pointer would even want to not receive tasks?" he asked himself with annoyance. "Idiot. I was just an idiot, dammit."

Lenny made sure to drill the need to perform every single task into his head before he drifted to sleep.

…

At about 5:00 AM, Neapolis General Hospital, Greensly.

"Lizard" Liu, dressed in a fitted black suit with a red dress shirt, was sitting on the hospital chair at the side, sternly staring at the floor. 

Andre "Jug" sat leisurely beside him, gingerly holding an ice pack on his crotch, while Tommy lay on the hospital bed in only boxers with white bandages wrapped around his thigh.

At that moment, Boss Falcone, his face marked with deep lines, entered the ward. Lizard Liu and Jug promptly stood up in attention, casting brief glances at him before averting their eyes in shame.

The stylish man in his 40s briefly scanned the room then turned his attention to a short nurse wearing blue scrubs and politely requested with a smile, "Beautiful miss, can you excuse us?"

Unwilling to linger in such a tense atmosphere, the nurse duly complied. As soon as she closed the door behind her, the smile on Boss Falcone's face faded instantly.

Andre Jug, the dark-skinned driver from before, voiced, "Boss, I-I can explain! There was another person. The bastard had a helper…"

Hearing Jug speak, Boss Falcone placed his left hand on his waist and gently stroked his goatee with the other, nodding as he took careful strides toward his two subordinates.

With a growing apprehensiveness at the Boss's approach, Lizard Liu uttered, "B-Boss, he caught us off guard. The bastard led us there to ambush us…"

Coming to a stop just inches in front of the goons, Boss Falcone placed his palms on the side of their heads and banged them together!

"Who allowed you idiots to speak?" Boss Falcone disdainfully remarked before banging their heads together once again.

With gritted teeth, the two goons stoically endured the brutalization.

He thundered, "Bastard? How dare you disrespect the kiddo in front of me, even? Have you forgotten he's one of our esteemed customers?"

Bam!

He banged their heads again.

Amidst the twirling sensation in their vision and rising headaches, the two goons strained to listen to the Boss's words.

"Tell me exactly what happened," the stylish but ruthless man demanded.

Lizard Liu narrated how they had tailed Lenny till they arrived at Queensgate and explained that they intended to capture him discreetly, as per the Boss's orders. Then, he further explained that they had waited for a few minutes to avoid an ambush in case Lenny had sought help and had companions in the building. However, they were prompted to spring into action by the Boss's call.

Andre Jug recounted how upon finding Lenny, he was standing at the edge of the cliff, possibly about to descend into the depths. Just as Jug startled him with his gun, the kid frantically sought refuge in the abandoned hospital building.

After that, they individually explained their experiences because they were ordered by Tommy to split up. 

Only briefly mentioning his encounter with Lenny's supposed companion who ran away, Jug proceeded to explain his encounter with Lenny.

"Then Boss, he just came out of nowhere, kicked me in the balls, and pushed me down the stairs!" Andre Jug cried out.

Lizard Liu added, "He hid and struck the back of my head with a plank. I stumbled, but when I came to, he already had my hands and legs tied up…"

Boss Falcone shook his head in disbelief and yelled, "What can that skinny, dumb kid do? Did I hire you lot for no reason? Are your heads for decoration?! How could you lose to a kid? Did his so-called 'helper' give him the gun he used on Tommy?"

"He, uh, took… my gun," Andre Jug ashamedly admitted.

Boss Falcone palmed his face and paced about the ward, rubbing his temples. 

He muttered, "I hired a bunch of idiots. I hired a bunch of fuckin' idiots…"

With a pained expression at the constant abuse from his employer, Lizard Liu interjected in their defense, "Boss, the place was dark. We couldn't s—"

Boss Falcone angrily pointed at him and erupted, "Shut your stinking trap, you idiot! Better shut the fuck up! You look like a fuckin' disgrace!"

Massaging his temples and walking back and forth in the ward, Boss Falcone managed to calm himself. With a long sigh, he inquired, "My goodness. Did you at least get a good look at the person helping him?"

Jug shook his head and hesitantly spoke with his eyes anxiously darting around, "I-It was dark, Boss. I can't remember."

"Argh, dammit. You lot are fuckin' useless." Boss Falcone cursed, tired and fed-up.

Bzzz~

Hearing the ringing, he quickly reached into his pocket, took out his phone, and placed the mobile device on his ear.

"Sir… of course. I'm on my way."

Ending the call and heading for the door in a hurry, he stated, "Better make yourselves useful and keep your eye on Lenny. We'll retrieve the gun later today. Fuckin' idiots."