" Hello, This is Southern River Pizzaria. May I take your order?"
A young man picked up his phone and answered like a seasoned receptionist.
" A neapolitan margherita pizza." The other person spoke sternly.
" Any toppings, Sir?"
" Extra pineapples and chocolate drizzle." The person replied with zero hesitation.
" … Fuck. Don't you think we should change our passcodes?"
The young man couldn't help but curse under his breath. " This is just too gross."
" Josh, just give me the damn intel. You can blabber useless things later."
" I am already leading the group to the Jade Moon Corp's warehouse. I will message you when we arrive there, so you can catch all gang members in one fell swoop." Josh spoke in a low voice.
" But Chief, Remember this." Josh's voice became stern. " This is the last time I am doing this undercover shit. After I get my money, you and I will have no contact."
" Don't worry. As I promised, you won't go to jail and all your records will be cleaned."
Josh snorted lightly as he ended the call.
' Fuck, trusting the pigs is really risky.'' The young man muttered as he cursed the police. 'But, even if this gamble is risky, the reward is too good to ignore.'
' I have already gathered half a million dollars. With this final job, I will be able to get even more.'
' Then I will pack up everything and leave. Not even god will be able to find me.'
Patting his thighs, Josh got up with a shout.
" Alright, fellas, We have a job to do."
.
.
.
.
San Antis City, Midnight.
The security guards of the Jade Moon Corp did their duty as usual.
" Fuck man, Seriously fuck the Real Andrid Team. Damn it, they won again!"
The other security guard laughed while sipping his coffee, " Haha, John, how much did you bet, huh?"
" 500! 500 Dollars, all gone to the gutter!" The security guard named John slapped his thigh in frustration.
" Heh, guess I'm going fishing next week. Because I won 1000 dollars."
" Fuck you, Bill! You owe me a beer!"
" Nope, Ain't gonna give you a cent of my winning!"
" What a rascal you are!"
As they were chatting, they suddenly noticed a black van approaching them.
" Damn it, who came here at this time?"
" Halt, Who are you?"
Grabbing their sticks, Bill and John shone their flashlights on the van. Unfortunately, the windows of the van were tinted with black film, making it impossible to look inside.
The door opened as a young man wearing a baseball cap walked out. Despite the flashlight, he managed to keep his face hidden within the shadows.
" Hey, I just came here to deliver the order number 345. Here, I can show you the papers."
" Huh? Is there a delivery supposed to come tonight?" Bill frowned as he stepped forward.
" Who knows? Just check his paper." John shrugged as he walked to the young man.
When he took the clipboard from the young man's hand, he was surprised.
It was an image of a stickman dancing, with other stickmen looking at it in confusion.
" What the hell is this?" John raised his head and looked at the young man.
A grin bloomed on his face, a blend of mischief.
" You have been distracted!"
Before John could react, the young man pulled out a can and sprayed it on John's face.
" Wh-What the fu-"
" Hey you! What the hell! Secu-"
Bill saw John's steps staggering as he fell to the ground. But before he could alert, the young man rushed to him, firmly twisting his wrist in one hand and forcing a white cloth on his face.
Struggling to get free, Bill was surprised by the strength of the young man. Alas, it didn't take long before the anesthesia took effect, making Bill unconscious.
" Hey, what's happening there?"
" Bill? John?"
The other two security guards came looking, but they paused their steps when they saw a group of men with monkey masks hiding their faces, standing with guns.
" Whoa…Ok?"
" Put down your gun and slowly back away. Don't be a hero." The young man pointed at the guards to drop to their knees.
Josh adjusted his cap as he beckoned his men.
" Bring the ropes and bind them up inside the security room. You two, stay here and guard them."
" Finch, go and take care of the CCTV room."
" Yes, Boss!" Finch nodded as he left for the monitoring room.
Josh turned around and shouted. " Bring in the forklift! We got five minutes to unload all shits!"
" Hurry up, you monkeys! If we finish early, we can all go home and watch the game!
The door of the warehouse opened as Josh walked inside. Turning on the light, he could see all the crates neatly stacked in.
" C6 to C9, F22 to F30! Collect all the boxes."
" Forklifts! Lift the G grade boxes first and unload them into our vans!"
*BANG!*
Josh saw everyone working tightly, so he decided to relax a bit. Taking out his phone, he clicked on a game.
Divine Battlefield, an exploration RPG game where one can be anyone. From various classes to various weapons, with interactive plots to gain achievements.
If someone asks Josh about this game, he will probably answer, " It's the proper example of soul sucking gaccha game."
But again, if Josh is given the choice to play it or not, without a hitch in breath, he will say, " Hell yeah! I will play."
' I am not a gambling addict.' Josh muttered as he looked at his collector's ID. ' It's called investment in an entertainment. So what if I spend a few bucks in the game?'
It wasn't a few bucks.
Looking at a knight with flowing lava armor and a sword that carried an aura of the abyss, Josh couldn't help but get giddy.
' Hehe, Slayer of Abyssal Flame, I will definitely get you after I get the pay today.'
[ Yo! Little Jade Beauty, you are finally online today! Are we going to the expedition or not?]
[ Just wait a bit, Mr. Big Caulk. I have some work to do right now. After that we go]
[ You better come. Nick Ker just pulled an SSR Character, Frostbloom Dragonaire. He is jumping to show off]
Josh replied back quickly.
[ I will try to get the achievement ' Void Breaker Sword King' today]
[ Hahaha! Then I will turn up the stream today. We are going to fetch a good view on MeTube]
Josh chuckled when he saw his friend's comment.
Such is irony. He couldn't reach the position he desired in the Mob Family. But somehow, he grinded his way through the Divine Battlefield to reach the rank among the top most players.
' At least here I can achieve my achievement after doing all the hard work. No shitty motherfucker here to steal the fruit of my labor.' Josh muttered under his breath.
' I should make my own channel after everything ends. Can't make guest appearance in Caulk's channel all the time, right?'
But soon enough, Josh's concentration on the game
A man suddenly dropped a box, making a loud crashing noise."
" Holy…HOLY SHIT!"
Josh's expression changed as he rushed to him. As he opened the box, he found a porcelain vase filled with cracks.
" Motherfucker! Did I not explain earlier that we are carrying expensive, fragile stuff?" Josh was speechless as he shouted in rage.
Just as Josh was about to make an attack in the game, he got disturbed. With a sigh, he turned on the auto battle mode and put away the phone.
Looking at the vase, Josh almost wanted to slap his subordinate.
" Do you know how much this porcelain vase is worth?"
The man shrank as he looked at his feet. " I…I don't know, Boss."
" Not even I know!"
Josh hurled back at him. The man was confused for a moment, with a slight hope in his eyes.
" Uhhmm…That means…"
He was going to say that the vase wasn't worth anything. But Josh cut him in.
" So think how expensive it is!"
"..."
The man shut his mouth and looked down with confused disappointment.
Taking a deep breath, Josh turned around. " I swear to god I will break your hands if any of you dare to drop another box."
" Now go and handle others. I will take care of this."
The man nodded in a thankful expression as he scurried away. Josh squatted beside the box as he looked at the broken vase with pity.
" Fuck I can't even sell it like this. If it were only small cracks, I could have gotten five grands with ease."
As he picked a piece of porcelain, he suddenly noticed a faint gleam inside the vase.
" Huh? This…This vase is double layered?" Josh was surprised as he moved the pieces carefully.
It's like a russian matryoshka doll, a smaller vase inside the bigger one. But it was created in such a way that the inner vase remained connected to the outer vase, hence making people unable to guess that a single porcelain vase has a secret vase inside!
' This…There is a small box inside?'
Josh quickly pocketed the wooden box inside his pocket and closed and wrapped the porcelain vase back in its container.
The men worked tirelessly as they took the precious items from the warehouse.
" Alright! Everyone! Pack your shit! We are about to leave!" Josh waved his hand as he shouted.
" Leave no trace behind!"
" Aye! Brother!"
Walking to a corner, Josh took out the small wooden box. It had a strange fragrance despite its rotting appearance. It was a bit…pleasant.
When Josh opened the box he saw a coin wrapped in a satin like white silk.
A bronze coin in an octagonal shape, with strange engravings carved on it.
' What is this? Some Chinese treasure?' Josh frowned. ' Well, who cares? I am sure those rich bastards are willing to pay a hefty sum for any exotic shit.'
(Humble Scholar's note: Heh, the Great Dragon Nation strikes again)