7. Second Mission Completed

[NEW MISSION SYSTEM ALERT!]

[MISSION: MEET SMALL RESTAURANT OWNER & PAY OFF DEBT]

[DESCRIPTION: Visit a small restaurant called 'EL RICCO RAFAELLO RESTAURANT' and pay off the debt of Geraldian, the owner of the small restaurant, with money that will go into your account]

[TIME LIMIT: 1 Hour 30 Minutes]

[MISSION REWARD: $10,000,000 & 3,000+ Level Points]

Edward read the mission that appeared in front of his face with a furrowed brow. He couldn't believe the amount of money displayed as the mission reward. After staggering from the sidewalk where he was attacked by Jerry, Edward was now near the nightclub area.

"What does that mean? How am I supposed to find that restaurant?" muttered Edward grumblingly, casting his eyes around.

Around Edward there were quite a few restaurant shophouses, barber shops, or simple nightclubs. But all of them really looked shabby. Barely maintained. Edward did not see any El Ricco Rafaello Restaurant in this area.

Edward let out an uneasy sigh. His steps continued forward as he watched the people lined up in front of the nightclub. Some of them were screaming and cursing because they were not allowed to enter. Or the men beating up the beggars near the trash can. Everything seemed chaotic.

'What a horrible, abandoned city,' thought Edward who hadn't experienced life in the city of Carveral in years.

Edward's eyes watched the signs on each building. After passing two nightclubs, three barber shops, and a small restaurant, Edward accidentally saw a man being pulled by three tall burly men.

Edward's steps stopped instantly. The man being pulled looked limp, unable to fight back, and his face was battered. Edward felt an uneasy feeling when he realized that the three burly men had the stature of loan sharks.

"I'M SORRY, I'LL PAY OFF ALL THE DEBTS! GIVE ME TIME..."

BUGH!

"Nonsense! You've been saying that since last week! We already gave you an extra week!"

Edward grimaced at the man in the center who was in pain from a punch to the stomach. The man looked as if he was about to vomit, his gaze was shriveled and pleading.

None of the people around cared about the man. Edward almost thought that everyone here had a hearing problem. But some just looked, then acted indifferent and left.

Edward decided to follow the three tall, burly men dragging the man's body in pain. They turned into an alley not far away, forcing the man's body to walk.

"Help! Help me!" The small man in pain raised his voice.

Every time he raised his voice, the three loan sharks would hit him hard on the head. They alternately kicked and punched him in the face.

Until finally their steps arrived in front of a building. A shophouse that was just as shabby as the other buildings. Edward deliberately pretended to be an unconcerned resident, but silently watched as the three loan sharks walked straight into the restaurant.

As Edward approached, he read the sign that read the name of the restaurant: EL RICCO RAFAELLO RESTAURANT. The sign was tilted, had many cracks, and the light covering it did not burn brightly.

Edward walked closer to the entrance of the restaurant. He was surprised that the restaurant was so small, it couldn't even be considered a proper restaurant in The Bazzlington City. But Edward tried to contain his surprise so as not to attract attention.

"I told you to pay the debt immediately! Hey, are you belittling me for constantly giving you extensions?!"

One of the loan sharks yelled at the man who had been pushed to the ground. Edward guessed that the man was Geraldian, the owner of this small restaurant.

"N-no, Mr. Richardo. I've really looked everywhere for money... but... I can't find—"

"Aish, this guy! Could you be more useful? You know your restaurant sucks! Why borrow money in the first place when it's about to go bankrupt?!"

Geraldian could not do anything. Even his body was very weak when he tried to stand up.

Edward clenched both hands into fists. His annoyance arose watching the actions in front of his eyes now. He instantly remembered himself who had felt the same way as Geraldian.

Edward tried to restrain himself for a moment.

"But you're such an asshole! You need to pay off your debt now, Bajimgan!" The loan shark continued to kick Geraldian's ass and back.

Geraldian had no time to fight back. He just curled up on his right side. Trying to endure the pain with groaning sounds.

"I have no money..."

"So what should we do with you now? Are you willing to trade your debt for your life?"

Edward was immediately shocked. On the other hand, Edward felt a warning alarm of danger when the loan shark mentioned life. This had crossed the line.

"Hey, stupid loan shark!"

The movement of the loan shark kicking Geraldian's body stopped. They turned to Edward who stepped in like a hero.

How ridiculous. Edward felt he was really acting heroic and ridiculous.

"Who are you?" asked one of the bigger loan sharks.

Edward looked at the loan shark and kept approaching. Despite the awkwardness, Edward didn't want to stop.

'Ten million dollars is a lot of money, I should be able to get that,' Edward said in his heart.

"Me?" Edward was at a loss for an answer, then glanced at Geraldian who looked at him in surprise. "Ah... I'm... his friend."

"He doesn't claim to have friends," the loan shark retorted as he stepped closer to Edward.

As the loan shark approached with a sharp, suspicious gaze, Edward instantly froze, silently glancing at Geraldian who looked at him disapprovingly.

"Yes, I'm... his friend who just returned from abroad," Edward explained later, forced to lie.

"Oh? You didn't tell me you had a rich friend," the loan shark said as he glanced at Geraldian. His satisfied smile curved.

Geraldian shook his head with a panicked expression on his face.

"No, that man is lying. I'm not-"

"Shit, how many things are you hiding from us?" The loan shark who had been silent kicked Geraldian again.

"By any chance, are you hiding your money like you're hiding a rich friend?"

Geraldian panicked even more after coughing. He was about to answer, but Edward gave him the code to shut up.

"Wait, wait, sir. Don't attack him right away. He's innocent because I asked for secrecy," Edward evaded once again. His smile even looked awkward to them.

The loan shark men looked at him confused.

"Don't worry about it! I heard you have a debt, Geraldian? I'll help pay off the debt."

Geraldian was surprised to hear Edward's statement. Meanwhile, the loan shark men looked at each other with mocking laughter.

"You? Want to pay off your huge debt?" quipped one of the loan sharks.

Edward paused, suddenly feeling awkward. Honestly, he wasn't too sure if this system would give him real money or not. Stupidly, Edward had not checked his account a while ago.

"Huh?" The loan shark with the name tag 'Richardo' was now two steps ahead of Edward. Challenging. "The debt is 500 thousand dollars. How are you going to repay the debt?"

What if Edward checked his account and found that there was no money coming in?

"You must be a fraud, if you are found to be deceiving me, I will not hesitate to chop your body—"

"I'll send it to you!" Edward snapped quickly, cutting Richardo off.

Suddenly Edward picked up his cell phone with a slight tremble. Really, he was really worried if there was no money in his account. Even this strange and unfamiliar system that appeared was not necessarily a reality.

But it turned out that when Edward opened his account, Edward glared in surprise at the numbers there.

[YOUR ACCOUNT HAS RECEIVED $5,000,000]

Wait. How could this money actually enter his account?!