บท 31: Faking it?
[Attempt 1: Failure]
[Completion Rate: 40%]
[Reason for Failure: Death]
[This is your 2nd attempt]
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.
.
Where did things go wrong?
Was there something wrong with his memories again?
No, otherwise how had he survived the first time.
Things did not make sense at all.
Why did the sniper not help them out again?
Based on the words of the mobsters, the enemy outside was definitely the Caputo famila…
Whatever…
Sebastian had already gotten used to it.
What's another death?
Since he already knew about Damien's involvement, he just had to call him up.
That would clear everything up.
"Hey Ronnie, try calling Damien"
"- Huh? Oh, you want me to call Damien… Did you forget?"
"What?"
"He said he won't be able to make it today, he had some family matters to attend to."
"Dang it! Of course, he was busy with 'family matters'. I should have known!"
It was impossible to contact Damien during 'family matters'.
This wasn't the first time that he had disappeared after giving such a reason.
Seb and Ronnie used to think that Damien was probably just from some rich and complicated family… but not even in their wildest dreams would they have thought that he came from a mafia family.
Seb didn't think favourably of his chances of resisting capture.
He was unarmed and untrained in combat… while his opponents were members of a bonafide mafia…
He did remember the location of the warehouse since he had walked back home from there in reality.
Unlike the first phase where he barely had 15 minutes of looping time, here he had plenty of time between getting captured and waking up in the warehouse…
If he could contact the authorities or something…
Sebastian checked his pockets to realize that… he was indeed carrying a smartphone on himself that day.
He pulled it out and immediately attempted calling.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
The call did not go through… even though the simulation was covering the entire city this time, it seemed that it was impossible to contact the police.
Was it interference by Purgatory? Or had the mafia done something to ensure to that the police would not be able to show up today?
Either way… his next best option is to try to escape by killing the ten or so men left in the warehouse at the very end...
After the sniper shoots the Bald-headed leader, he drops the fully loaded M1911 onto the ground.
Seb just needed a way to get rid of his handcuffs…
"Ronald"
"What?"
"Do you have any paperclips?"
"I might have some let me check"
Ronald checked his pockets and managed to find one which he handed over to Sebastian
"Here you go"
"Thanks"
"Why do you need it though?"
"To perform a magic trick…"
"Are you high?"
"Hehe, take a guess…"
No matter how Ronald tried to pry all he got from Seb was a cryptic smile before he proceeded to put the paperclip inside his mouth.
Now Seb could only pray that it doesn't get caught when the two of them get searched on the way.
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.
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"Welcome to our humble abode, moi druz'ya! Looks like the both of you have finally woken up!"
Sebastian couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed looking at the bald-headed mobster.
This guy was the reason that Ronnie had killed himself six days ago… yet he didn't even qualify as a decent final boss as he somehow manages to get offed halfway through the scenario each time.
"Who are you anyway?"
"You can call me the Avtoritet. I am the one responsible for inviting the two of you here."
"Is that so? But I must say… the hospitality is lacking a bit."
Seb rattled his chains to demonstrate his point.
"That's just insurance. Don't worry too much about it. More importantly, let us move on to the real reason I invited you here today."
"Go on…"
"It's to play a fun little game."
While the man was busy monologuing, Sebastian had already gotten to work.
Luckily the paperclip was still in his mouth.
He secretly transferred it to his hand and stealthily attempted to break free of his handcuffs.
Back when his sister was still alive and the two of them had been left alone at home, they had often used this trick to break into their parent's study.
Even though there was nothing fun to be found in there, the very act of breaking in gave them a sort of rebellious pleasure.
.
.
.
Seb's efforts were interrupted when he saw the man place the pistol on the table.
"Go ahead… the game has begun."
This time Sebastian didn't try to immediately reach for it.
He couldn't risk exposing the paperclip in his hand.
It had been a long time since he had last picked a lock with a paperclip… and it wasn't as easy as he thought it would be.
He decided to distract the captor by asking a few questions again.
"What is the purpose of this game?"
The captor scrunched up his eyebrows, feeling a bit puzzled.
"Did I not tell you? It's to test your friendship!"
"Cut the crap! It is obvious that you don't intend on letting either of us live. Why bother kidnapping us and making us play such a game when you could have just killed us on the spot?"
The mafioso grinned sadistically, his eyes brimming with insanity.
"HAHAHAA! It's quite simple actually… It's more fun this way."
Ronnie once again started to feel pressured by the hopeless situation he found himself in.
"YOU ARE CRAZY! What did we ever do to you?"
"Personally, nothing, but I have my reasons to put the two of you through hell."
Ronnie clenched his fists as he lowered his gaze.
Perhaps the captor found Ronnie's reactions more pleasing than Seb's as he decided to leave his seat and move to stand behind Ronnie.
He put a hand on Ronnie's shoulders and leaned forward speaking in a gentle voice.
"It's simple actually… You either kill your best friend… or you let him kill you."
"I-I... I won't do it. I also believe in Sebastian…"
"But does Sebastian trust you? What if he thinks that you are going to kill him and decides to kill you first…"
"He won't do that. Sebastian, you trust me right?"
"If none of you shoot soon enough, I will just kill both of you."
"B-But didn't Seb say that you would not let any of us go alive?"
"Who knows? I might just have a change of heart…"
Sebastian smirked as he looked on at the farce playing out in front of him.
The captor's actions had made him realize something extremely interesting…
"Ronnie!"
"What Seb?"
"Do what he says…"
"I can't do it, Seb… Please…"
"Pick up the gun Ronnie."
"Seb..."
"Pick. Up. The. Gun."
"No…"
"I SAID PICK IT UP!"
"Yes!"
Ronnie panicked and picked up the gun.
"Now point it at me."
Ronnie gulped as he pointed the gun in Seb's direction…
"Now shoot."
"Don't make me do this Seb… I can't kill you…"
"Ronnie… Pull the trigger"
Tears started running down Ronnie's face and his hands trembled violently.
"I don't want to become a murderer…"
Seb just coldly ignored Ronnie's protests and ordered him with a stone-cold voice.
"Do. It."
"But…"
"SHOOT ME RONNIE! DO IT!"
Ronnie nodded shakily and tried to steady his aim on Seb.
He tried to pull the trigger and shoot Seb… but he couldn't do it.
Slowly he came to the realization… that there had always been only one option.
"I am sorry Seb… but I really can't do it."
Ronnie pointed the gun toward his own head…
and pulled the trigger.
*BANG!*
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.
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The echo of the gunshot had not even completely subsided when maniacal laughter erupted within the warehouse.
"MUHAHAHAHAHA! HAHAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHAHAH! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AHHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Crazy spine-chilling laughter.
However … it wasn't the mobster who was laughing…
No.
It was Sebastian.
His best friend had just shot himself to death…
Yet Sebastian couldn't be more amused.
He laughed on and on until tears came to his eyes.
He rocked back and forth in his seat trying to control the endless laughter…
Yet he couldn't stop himself…
It was too funny!
Even after being given a golden opportunity, Ronnie had decided to give it away and choose to kill himself.
Now if Seb wanted… all he had to do was just sit still and he would get to clear the entire tutorial.
Maybe the fact that Ronnie had survived was what led to the two of them being shot at the end of the previous attempt.
Well, that was just a possibility and even that would only work if his memories could be trusted.
But still… it had never been this easy getting something accomplished…
It was way too funny!
As Sebastian finally managed to calm himself down he looked at the slightly shocked eyes of the Avtoritet.
"Why are you not laughing? Didn't you want to have fun testing our friendship? How do you like my best friend's self-sacrifice? It should have really pleased you!"
The man however did not make any attempts to answer him.
Rather than amusement… Seb could see traces of regret… and even disgust within his enemy's eyes.
The man kept stoic as he extracted the gun from Ronnie's corpse and cleaned it off.
Seeing that, Seb started to laugh once again.
It was just too pitiful.
Seeing that expression someone uninformed might even think that Seb was the bad guy here.'
"Hey, Mr. Avtoritet. Do you feel like coming clean now?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Why of course! It's about you being a fake!"
"…"
"You aren't some crazy or sadistic maniac!"
After all… who better than Sebastian to tell the difference between those that are genuinely crazy and those who are just faking it.
So, he couldn't help but feel curious.
"Why are you pretending to be one?"
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ThePotatoKing
ThePotatoKing "Have you ever tried peeling an onion layer by layer?"
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