<Janus is not messing with the host,> Janus said without being considerate towards Ryder's feelings.
"Ah man, whatever. I'm too tired to even argue with you. Do whatever you want to do with that useless box,"
Ryder gave up on arguing as he realized that it wasn't good for him to argue over something that he didn't even know about.
As he walked on 67th street, he kept scrutinizing his surroundings to look out for police or the goons.
He was trying to get out of here as fast as he could, but before he could walk far, a voice came from behind that made him stop.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
Ryder tried to act ignorant as he turned back. His heartbeat was getting slightly faster as he wondered who called him.
' I can't let anyone suspect me.' He thought as he turned back with an innocent smile on his face.
"I was right. It's you! Ryder... Ryder Flynn, right?" That person said.
Ryder was stunned to see the person.
It was a man who looked like he was in his early twenties. His flaming red hair looked kind of unique but did not look bad. He was wearing black sunglasses on his face and wore luxurious clothes.
His hands were resting on the shoulders of the girls that stood on his right and left.
The girls were wearing short dresses that barely covered their fair knees.
"Bastion? Is that you?" Ryder let out with a stunned look on his face.
He recognized that boy. That boy was one of his best friends at the college. Unfortunately, they had lost contact after college ended.
'I never thought I would meet this guy again. What's he doing in a place like this?' Ryder wondered.
The boy's name was Bastian Barrel. He and Ryder studied the same course in college. He was also known as the playboy of that place.
Bastian could be seen with a different girl every month, but it wasn't strange. He had money, after all. The money, along with the good looks that he had, made him the ideal boyfriend for most of the girls.
Even though Bastian was his best friend, Ryder never knew what his parents did. All he knew was that his parents had a lot of money.
After they graduated, he never heard from Bastian again. He was told that Bastian had left the country.
"It's me! I finally get to see you after so long," Bastian said as a bright smile appeared on his face.
"You too, dude. You left without even telling me. Anyway, when did you return?" Ryder smiled. He walked closer to Bastian.
"Yeah, there was some stuff, and I had to leave the country, but I'm back now. I just landed today," Bastian replied.
Bastian removed his hands from the girl's shoulders and walked towards Ryder, and hugged him.
"That's awesome. Anyway, what are you doing here? This place is not safe, you know," Ryder said.
He tried to warn him as he separated from Bastian. The 67th street was known for its dangers after all, and he didn't wish for Bastian to be hurt.
"I'm going to a club nearby. There's a birthday celebration for me," Bastian said as he began laughing.
"Birthday? Oh, right! It's 29th March, isn't it?" Ryder was surprised as he remembered.
"Nice, so you remember the date. Anyway, I tried calling you, but your old number wasn't working. I thought that I'd never get to see you again," Bastian said.
"Yeah. I lost my phone and lost all my contacts. I couldn't even get the same number from the phone company. Things were quite hectic," Ryder answered with a wry smile on his face.
"Whatever, It's good that I found you. Come with me. Let's celebrate my birthday, bro!" Bastian said with a grin on his face.
He grabbed Ryder's hand and pulled him.
"Alright,"
Ryder couldn't deny him, and he wanted to take care of him as well. He felt like Bastian didn't understand how dangerous this place could be.
The girls who were with Bastian looked somewhat unhappy, but they didn't complain and simply followed them.
They walked towards the club. Just like before, two bulky guys were standing at the doors.
The surprising thing was that the guards didn't stop them. In fact, they looked quite respectful.
They gained entry into the club.
It was the first time Ryder had been to a club like this. He was somewhat surprised as he entered and saw the club from inside. The building looked even bigger from the inside.
The left half of the building was like a bar. There was a bar counter and around 20 tables placed there. The other half of the building was much more interesting. While the left half was a bar, the right half was a strip club for entertainment.
There were four doors in the building. One was on the left half of the building that looked like it was the door to the kitchen. There was no security in front of that door.
The second door was the one that was used for entry and exit into the building. There were two guards standing outside the door.
The third and fourth doors were on the right side of the building. Both these doors were heavily guarded.
"Little boss! You're here!"
A man came towards them. Three guys followed him.
"Mark, Where's Aunt Esmi?" Bastian asked the man in a casual tone.
"Little boss! You're here!" A man came towards them. Three guys followed behind him.
"Mark, Where's Aunt Esmi?" Bastian asked in a casual tone.
"Madam is waiting for the young Master in her office. I'll go inform her right now." The man replied.
"It's fine, Mark, I'll go to her myself," Bastian said as he started walking towards the second door. He pulled Ryder along with him.
"Alright." The man, named Mark nodded his head as he followed them.
' I'm surprised that he didn't ask for my identity. It looks like Bastian's identity is not that simple since he can bring me inside without any checking or inquiry.' Ryder thought, but that was when he heard Janus' voice again.
As soon as Janus said his first words, Ryder knew that it would be another mission. He had already realized that he was in trouble.
Ryder wanted to cry as soon as he heard the mission.
<Ding... Another side mission has been issued to the host.
Mission: Tell the Owner of the Bucky's club that you have a crush on them.
Mission Reward: The host will be given the key to open the mystery box that he had received.
Punishment for Failure: The host will never get the key to open the mystery box in his storage, and thirty origin points will be deducted from the host's account.
Time limit: 6 hours>
'There's no doubt about it. Janus is trying to get me killed.' Ryder thought with a wry smile on his face as soon as he finished hearing the mission.
He wanted to cry as he thought about how brutal his death will be, but no tears came out of his eyes.
'The owner of this club must be the biggest mafia king here. Since Janus gave me this mission with a 6-hour time limit, that means he must be in this club right now. Who can the boss be? I'll try to say it like a joke; maybe he won't get offended. I really want to see what's inside the mystery box.' He thought as he walked with Bastian.
"Hey, Bastian, Who's the boss of this place?" He asked Bastian with a thoughtful look on his face. It was the best choice to get some information out of him since he seemed like a famous person here.
"Oh? The boss? You'll see the boss quite soon." There was a mysterious smile on Bastian's face as he replied to him. Ryder had no choice but to wait.
'It's a good thing that I have 6 hours,' he thought.
They finally reached the second door that was protected by the guards. As soon as the guards saw Bastian, they moved aside.
"Aunt?" Bastian said as he knocked on the door.
"Oh? Bash, you're here! You have made me wait for so long. Come on inside." A female voice came from the inside.
Ryder realized that it must be the voice of his Aunt Esmi. Since she had her own office here, she must be the manager of the club.
"Alright. " Bastian opened the door and entered inside. He was holding Ryder's hand; thus, Ryder had no choice but to enter the room with him.
There was no one inside the room other than a woman.
The woman looked like she was in her early thirties, but she seemed quite pretty. If Ryder hadn't realized that she was Bastian's Aunt, he would have considered her his sister.
The woman had beautiful blue hair that came down to her shoulders. Her fair skin and her almond-shaped blue eyes added to her charm.
She was wearing a black dress, but that dress was showing some of her cleavage. Her tight dress made her figure stick out even more.
Ryder shifted his focus from the woman, but his eyes opened wide after noticing the gun lying on the table in front of her. He was getting a feeling of danger.
"Who might this guy be?" The woman asked as she looked towards Ryder.
"He? He's my best friend from university days. We lost contact after I left the country, but luckily I was able to meet him when I was coming here. His name is Ryder Flynn," Bastian informed his Aunt with a smile.
"Oh, right, Ryder… I remember you used to tell me about him years ago. Unfortunately, I never had the time to go to your university and couldn't meet him. It's good that you found your friend again." The blue-haired woman said with a smile.
'Her smile is so beautiful. Now I understand where Bastian gets his good looks from. It must be in the genes,' Ryder thought as he saw her smile.
"Hey, Ryder. I'm Esmi Gibson. It's nice to meet you finally. I hope you can take care of this nephew of mine as you did at the university. He just came back from foreign, so he doesn't have many friends." The woman known as Esmi said as she looked towards him with a smile.
"Ah... Yes!" Ryder hurriedly nodded his head and replied to her.
"Let's go. It's time for your birthday celebration," Esmi said to Bastian as she stood up and walked towards them.
Ryder was finally able to see her ultimately. Just as he had expected, she had a devilish figure that was perfect. She had a height of around 5ft 7 inches.
Her dress was only slightly shorter than her knees and covered her thighs but still exposed a decent amount of her legs.
"I'm looking good, aren't I?" Esmi inquired with a smile as she noticed Ryder looking at her.
"Ah, yes," Ryder replied to her without thinking.
"Let's go then." She held Bastian and Ryder's hands as she left the room with them.
The music stopped as soon as she came out of her office.
"Guys! As you have all been informed that it's my nephew's birthday today! Everything is free in the club for the night! Enjoy the night to the fullest!" Esmi said loudly as she informed the people of the club.
"Yayyy!Boss is the best!" There was a loud cheer amongst the people of the club.
"Happy Birthday, young boss! "
Everyone started wishing Bastian, but Ryder, on the other hand, had begun to have a headache.