All Chapters of Systems Made me Lord of the City : Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
61 chapters
Wolves in Designer Clothing
Chapter 21It was finally the day of the most talked about reunion. The Sapphire Lounge smelled of expensive perfume and costly wine, the kind of champagne that cost more than wix year’s rent in the lowest parts of the city. Crystal chandeliers hung overhead and shed light onto the velvet booths that lined the place, and the bass of the music thumped like some sort of heartbeat.Adrian Black stood at the entrance, adjusting the cuffs of the suit Wilson had forced him to wear. It was a dull, gray polyester thing that frayed at the wrists, tight in the shoulders, and smelling faintly of dust and old fabric. It was like the uniform of a loser.But Adrian could do any and everything for his sister. So he calmly stepped inside.The reaction was instantaneous, just like he'd expected. At once, he could hear people whispering about him from all corners of the room. So much for blending in and being ignored. He was hard to ignore, even when dressed in rags. Or perhaps it was the rags tha
Five Hundred Credits Champagne
Chapter 22The lounge went quiet instantly at the sound of Brad's voice and even the music seemed to fade as everyone tuned in for the show."Hello, Brad," Adrian said, not rising from his stool. He swirled his water glass. "Nice suit. Does it come with a personality, or is that sold separately?"Loud gasps came from the nearby tables and Joe kicked Adrian’s shin under the table, his eyes screaming “Shut up!”Brad’s smile twitched just a little. He clearly wasn't expecting Adrian to speak. "Cute. I heard you were running the city now, Black. I gotta say, I was expecting the 'Lord of the City' to be more polish. What I'm seeing looks a little derelict. Did you buy your kingdom with food stamps?"The sycophants laughed on cue and everyone looked at Adrian, agreeing with Brad. "He looks hungry and his clothes stink!” Adrian stood up slowly. "I heard you were running a business, Brad. Import-export?""Logistics," Brad corrected, puffing his chest. "I move things that matter.""Right," A
The Judas Protocol
Chapter 23 Adrian left all the noise and shock behind and went ahead to business. Brad Connor was quickly getting out of sight as he weaved through the nightclub, one door leading to the other. “Bastard definitely has something to hide!" Adrian spat as he jogged after him. “He is roaming through this place like he wants me to lose trail." Eventually, he slowed down when the room was becoming even darker. The bass of the nightclub thumped against the walls of the VIP corridor, vibrating through the floorboards almost like a heartbeat. Adrian pressed his back against the velvet wallpaper, trying his best to merge with the shadows.Without the System’s stealth augments, he felt naked. It seemed like every creak of his shoe and every breath he took was deafeningly loud. He was no longer a demigod with gravity manipulation and all the powers that came with it, he was just a man in a cheap suit with a target stressing him out. But he was a man who knew how to hunt rats. He'd once be
No Place Like a Den Filled with Thieves
Chapter 24When Adrian stepped back into the main lounge, the atmosphere had totally changed from what it was before he went after Brad. Just a few hours before, he had been a ghost and nothing more than a stain on the carpet. Now, as he walked across the room, the crowd parted for him like the freaking sea.The waiters were pouring the Dom Perignon he had ordered. The pop of corks sounded like gunfire and everyone was looking at him as he passed. But the looks had changed. The sneers were gone and in their place was a hungry, desperate curiosity.“That’s him,” a voice whispered. “The one who bought the whole house a round.”“A hundred thousand credits,” another murmured. “With a Black Card. Did you see the card? I heard there were no numbers. Just a crown on it.”Adrian walked toward the bar, his expression blank. That's when he suddenly felt a soft hand on his arm.It was Jessica.The girl who had mocked him ten minutes ago was now standing close enough that he could smell her str
The Price of Weakness
Chapter 25The ride back to the Vane Estate, well, technically it could now be called The Black Estate, Adrian corrected himself, was not very silent. Joe’s occasional gasps and screams about the structure of the houses in the estate was a little annoying as time went by. Joe sat in the back of the armored SUV, pressing his face against the tinted glass as they rolled through the iron gates. He looked at the sprawling lawns, the marble fountains lit by underwater LEDs, and the massive white mansion.His mouth hung open for a full minute and Adrian thought maybe he wouldn't be able to speak again. “Do you need help packing up your jaw from the floor?" Adrian smirked. But finally, he turned around with wide eyes. "Dude," Joe whispered, pulling at his collar as if he suddenly couldn't breathe. "You said you bought a house. That's a lie." Adrian blinked at him. "Are you saying this house doesn't belong to me?” "Bro! This isn't a house, you bought a freaking kingdom. Do I need a pa
Lonely Throne
Chapter 26The second she said those words, Adrian knew she meant them. Somehow, Sarah was feeling bad for having him kidnapped and dragged out of their own home knowing fully well he could have defended himself and somehow, she was the reason he couldn't. But what she didn't know was that family was his priority. Always. "You are not a liability," Adrian said firmly. "You are my family and we are staying together. I will hire more guards. I will buy better tech. No one will touch you again."Sarah looked at him and the anger in her eyes faded, replaced by a deep, heartbreaking sadness. She scoffed and then gestured around the house. “All of this is your new life now." "No, Sarah. It's not my new life, it's our new life.” "How are you sure I'm a part of that life?” "Because you're family.” She laughed mockingly. "That's just it? Can't you hear how hollow that sounds?” "Sarah, this belongs to both of us. You're a part of my life and everything in it. Don't let Wilson rile you
Trusted Sidekick
Chapter 27Apparently, the system couldn't help him. Sarah had used a signal jammer to mask the tracker in her necklace which he embedded without her knowledge. And Adrian had a lot of questions. “How did she know about the tracker?" “Who taught her how to jam it?" “How did she get access to such high grade technology?" All these questions left him wondering what was going on exactly?A few hours after a futile search around the estate and the streets, Adrian sat in the grand dining room at a table long enough to seat twenty people. He was the only one there and there was a silver tray of breakfast with eggs benedict and freshly squeezed orange juice that sat untouched before him. Lena hovered in the doorway, looking worried, but she knew better than to approach him or disturb his peace. Sarah was gone and the silly little note from her pillow was now crumpled in his pocket, like a burning reminder of his failure.He couldn't just stay in the large empty estate. He needed a d
The Shadowy General
Chapter 28 The Aethelgard Central Precinct was a fortress of grey concrete and bulletproof glass. Adrian walked in, wearing one of the bespoke black suits from the Vane closet. It fit him like armor and Joe trailed behind him, trying to look tough but mostly looking confused.The front desk was manned by a sergeant with a mustache so thick it looked like a push broom glued to his lip. He didn't look up from his paperwork when they arrived. “Name and business,” the sergeant grunted.“Adrian Black,” Adrian said clearly. “I am here to register as a sanctioned City Vigilante.”The sergeant’s pen stopped moving and he slowly looked up. He looked at Adrian’s expensive suit, then at Joe, then back at Adrian.“A what?”“A sanctioned Vigilante,” Adrian repeated. “Under City Ordinance 404, a private citizen with sufficient resources can apply for Special Law Enforcement status to assist in high-level threats.”The sergeant stared for a moment. Then, he threw his head back and roared with la
Vigilante Trial
Chapter 29 The training facility was a cavernous concrete room. On one side was a complex obstacle course with walls, ropes, and narrow beams. On the other was a firing range with robotic targets that moved erratically on tracks.The entire precinct had gathered to watch and even right there, they were taking bets on how fast Adrian would fail and get his ass to jail. “Here,” Miller said, shoving a heavy-duty service pistol into Adrian’s hand. “Standard issue. Ten rounds. Three moving targets. If you miss more than once, you fail.”Adrian held the gun. Goodness, it felt so heavy and awkward.Why did he think shooting a gun wouldn't need strength? His arms felt like paper and the gun weighed a ton, almost dragging him down with it. “Where are you, smart mouth?" Adrian whispered to the system. “You got me into this mess, you better not go mute." Immediately, the sound of the system dinged in his head. [ SYSTEM DETECTED: FIREARM. ][ SKILL: MARKSMANSHIP. ][ CURRENT LEVEL: 0. ][ D
A Knack for These Things
Chapter 30The Aethelgard Civil Bank was less a building and more a tower. A tower of black shiny glass that stood out even in the bustling financial district. It was the beating heart of the city’s commerce and, if Joe was right, the lungs of the Syndicate’s corruption.After being done at the station, Adrian sat in the passenger seat of Joe’s rusted hatchback, staring up at the logo of the bank, a golden scale that looked suspiciously unbalanced."Okay," Joe said, tapping the steering wheel nervously. "So, the plan. You march in there, buy the bank, fire Chloe, and we go get tacos?""Too loud," Adrian murmured. He was adjusting his tie in the rearview mirror. But it wasn't the silk Italian tie he had worn to the precinct. He had stopped at a thrift store on the way to make sure he looked the part for his next mission. Now, he wore a faded, slightly oversized polyester suit that smelled of mothballs and desperation. He had ruffled his hair, hunched his shoulders, and rubbed a litt