[9]

Devin cackled to himself, as he glanced towards the backpack every once in a while that contained all the blackmail material he needed to finally obtain the extremely sought-after luxury car owned by Chad Mulligan.

"That insufferable prick is gonna learn a very valuable lesson, that is for certain..." The man breathed, crossing his arms. "I always get what I want, bitch!"

Molly sat across from him, silent.

After all this time that she's spent with him, the brunette had gradually acclimated to his rather eccentric behavior, which was usually only displayed either whenever he was very excited about something or, well, the exact opposite. If there was one thing that she had truly learned from him, it would most likely be that he was quite a polarizing figure, and she meant that both personality-wise and just within society in general.

Eventually, once there was a brief pause in between his occasional outbursts, she decided to speak up with curiosity. "...So, do you mind explaining to me your plans when it comes to the most recent addition to your roster? The kid seems to be quite promising, especially when this line of work seems to require more of a subtle approach." Molly said.

Devin glanced up at her for a moment, a smirk etched into his face. "I've gotten all the usefulness out of him that was necessary. Now that I no longer require his aid, I plan on eliminating him." The man told her, causing the brunette's body to stiffen up, aghast as to why that would even be needed. "It would be too much of a risk for someone that young and dumb, not to mention reckless, to continue living with the knowledge of what I am involved in behind closed doors."

Molly wordlessly sat for a moment, her mind racing. While she knew her boss had always been a bit loony, the woman had never expected it to be to this high of a degree.

He was just a kid, after all, who wasn't even old enough to drink yet. It was clear that, due to his poor living conditions, he had taken on this opportunity for some type of reason related to that, and with people that were stuck in poverty-stricken regions of the world, they were always easier individuals to exploit than most.

For once in her life, Molly wasn't sure if she would be okay with just allowing something like this to happen. It had occurred on a few occasions, but never with somebody this young, and when it did, the people chosen to do the crime were usually always unlikable. Shady people that were practically willing to do anything just to get some quick cash, you know.

…But Dante wasn't like them, and she felt he didn't deserve this.

Staying quiet for the rest of the drive, Molly had a lot to think about.

----------

Dante stood in the parking lot, heart racing.

They were going to kill him.

With a grimace crawling onto his face, the boy began to slowly make his way back home, anger gradually building up within his core. It seemed he would need to be spending quite a bit of time simply grinding levels for a while, because if what he heard was actually true, then there was no way in hell that, in his current state, he was ready for the forces that would eventually come his way.

For starters, his class level would have to go up by quite a few levels, especially since the two innate skills that came with it were pretty much entirely dependent on that for them to be as effective as possible. Not only that, but the boy was also hoping to get a better weapon.

A perk that increases his chances at obtaining improved loot from grinding in the dungeon would solve that problem, though, wouldn't it?

----------

Running through Grove Street with his Special Carbine, Dante glanced back to see a more intelligent and coordinated version of the humans mobs chasing after him, hot on his trail.

The boy hopped over a chain-link fence before ducking behind a small brick wall, a barrage of lead flying over his head as a rush of adrenaline coursed throughout his body. Raising the gun in his hands up into the air and over the wall, when he briefly took a peek to spot where his enemies were located, the world around him quickly began to slow down to a crawl.

Within approximately ten seconds, six guys that were poorly hidden got filled with bullet holes and dropped onto the pavement like wooden logs, before fading into a white mist-like essence.

Gunslinger Leveled Up!

[Gunslinger] - Lvl. 18

Taking advantage of their decrease in numbers, which notably lessened their ability to cover ground and stay on target when so many shots were being fired their way at a constant rate, Dante used an occasional burst of lead to make them keep their heads low as much as possible while he created a bit more distance between him and them. While this ended up working for the majority, there were still a few mobs that didn't seem to retain as high a level of intelligence when they decided to pop a head up and he blew through it like some gory version of a whac-a-mole arcade game.

----------

Quest Completed!

[Sixth Wave]

Objective: Eliminate the sixth wave of humans.

Reward(s):

[Sticky Bomb (x5)] - [Brass Knuckles] - [Compact Grenade Launcher]

Letting out a tired sigh, Dante crouched down next to the chest that had initially appeared nearby once the wave had been finished, and heaved it open with a grunt. Peering inside, his eyes landed on a crowbar, some conveniently-placed ammunition, a green bandana, and a heart-shaped object that was small enough to fit within the palm of his hand.

Grabbing and putting everything into his inventory aside from the last item, the boy picked it up and examined it with a scrutinizing gaze, before a popup eventually connected the dots for him.

Apparently, it was some kind of rare drop that allowed him to pick an individual through the system that he had previously met before, and then increase their affection meter by a ridiculous fifty points, which honestly left him speechless.

…Pun intended.

That's when an idea suddenly came to mind, however, as he was brought back to the conversation that led him to putting more of his dedication into grinding levels within the dungeon.

What if, by using the heart-shaped affection increaser on Molly, he was able to force an involuntary desire out of her that made the woman feel the need to go against Devin for his sake? Hell, was that even possible, through the subtle manipulation of her characteristic outlook towards him and her emotions?

Briefly frowning in thought, Dante stood in place with a strong uncertainty, as he displayed a noticeable reluctance on the matter. His curiosity eventually won through, however, and the boy watched as the brunette's affection meter instantly shot up to a whopping sixty points.

Only time would tell, he supposed.

----------

Taking a stroll through the streets at night, mostly around a really sketchy area known as Mission Row, Dante simply took in the the sights. You know, like the run-down buildings, the cardboard houses sitting under bridges, and all the rest of what this beautiful region of Los Santos had to offer. Personally, he thought it would've been a great tourist attraction.

Walking across a street, he stepped over a random crackhead that just seemed to be passed out in the middle of the sidewalk, and didn't even bother slowing down in the slightest.

…What was there not to love about this place?

As he continued on his nighttime stroll, the boy eventually came to a stop as his eyes landed on a low-quality poster depicting what appeared to be a three-man band, which had been stapled to an electric pole. What originally caught his attention was that, shockingly enough, it looked like the main dude of the group, or singer he haphazardly guessed, was Kevin.

Yes, the Kevin he knew from Davis High School.

The same one he used to occasionally sell weed to in between classes.

He couldn't help but just stare at the poster for a while, eventually deciding to take it from off the electric pole in order to stow it away within his inventory, before he returned to his walk as his mind lingered on old memories. It was in the middle of that, that he briefly wondered how Tracey had been getting along ever since his absence.

With that came a certain type of sadness, or depressive state for that matter, that quickly made him uncomfortable. As a result, instead of heading back home right after his trek, the boy decided he would spend a few more hours grinding levels in order to serve as a much-needed distraction.