John Wick - Chapter 57: What a Rip-Off. Seriously, What a Rip-Off (Patreon)

Nate walked along the corridor on the third basement level.

Lily working at the Continental was actually pretty nice. After all, not everyone was lucky enough to find a respectable job they genuinely enjoyed.

The Continental paid its staff well too, so she was pretty fortunate.

But did that mean they were still going to keep the restaurant open?

Putting everything else aside, Nate genuinely enjoyed cooking.

There was something incredibly satisfying about watching customers finish the food you made and then praise your cooking.

Being a hitman was work.

Being a chef was life.

Wait.

The restaurant... food...

Nate suddenly remembered something and turned around.

He knocked once before walking straight through the door.

“Lily, have you had breakfast yet?”

Hearing his voice, Lily hurriedly straightened herself and resumed her composed, professional demeanor.

“Uh... not yet.”

Still, she couldn’t quite hide the amusement in her expression.

“Okay. I’ll order something and bring it down for you in a bit.”

Nate grinned and turned to leave.

He took the elevator back to the lobby and checked the time.

It wasn’t even seven yet.

Winston and Marcus were already gone.

Charon was still at the front desk.

“Good morning, Mr. Lin.”

There it was again, that rich, cello-like voice.

Seriously, how did someone even learn to speak English with a voice like that?

It was ridiculously elegant.

Nate kind of wanted to learn.

“Had breakfast yet?” Nate asked.

“Thank you for asking. I’ve already eaten.”

“Does the hotel restaurant serve breakfast?”

“Of course,” Charon replied.

“Do they have anything besides the usual breakfast fare?”

Charon considered the question for a moment.

“A few options, although the selection is limited. If there’s something specific you’d like, the chef can prepare it for you.”

“Okay!”

Nate headed to the restaurant on the second floor.

At a glance, its decor matched the rest of the hotel, with a vintage style dominated by warm brown tones.

The place was fairly large too. Nate figured it could seat well over a hundred people and still feel spacious.

Breakfast was served buffet-style. Guests could simply take whatever they wanted, although anything to go had to be packed by the staff.

Nate looked around.

There wasn’t much beyond the usual breakfast fare.

The only thing that came close was a savory flatbread. Everything else was standard American breakfast fare, though there was plenty of variety.

After noticing Nate lingering nearby, a male chef in a chef’s hat walked over.

“Good morning, sir. What can I get for you?”

“Can you make some fried dough sticks? If not, steamed buns are fine too.”

“We can make both, but it’ll take a little time.”

“How long?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

“That works. I’ll need enough soy milk, fried dough sticks, and steamed buns for three people... actually, make it five.”

Better to order extra, just in case.

“Would pork and green pepper filling be all right?”

“Sure.”

“Very well, sir.”

“Pack everything up when it’s ready. I’ll come back for it.”

Nate also had the chef pack up a sandwich and some milk first so he could take them to Lily.

She probably couldn’t eat anything with a strong smell at her workstation, so those would be perfect.

He still had some time, so Nate returned to his room and started clearing out the things he no longer needed from his System Backpack.

He took out the guns and ammunition and piled them in one corner of the room.

There were still some weapons in the trunk of the Cadillac too. He would have to find time to bring those up later.

He wondered whether the hotel bought used guns.

Leaving all this junk sitting in his Backpack was just wasting space. He could ask Lily about it later.

After seeing the Legendary HK P30L, Nate was already starting to look down on these ordinary guns.

After several battles, the Backpack’s 200-kilogram weight limit was starting to feel painfully restrictive.

“System, can I increase the Backpack’s weight limit?”

Nate opened the system panel and scrolled through it.

[Yes. A Backpack Expansion Card is required.]

[Backpack Expansion Card: 1,000 Resource Points.]

Nate glanced at his nearly 8,000 remaining Resource Points and waved his hand like a wealthy tycoon.

“Cheap. Buy it!”

[Backpack weight limit increased. Backpack: 45.2/250 kg.]

Nate stared at the message for a moment, then frowned.

“That’s it? That barely increased at all.”

[The system does not understand what you mean...]

Nate clicked his tongue.

“No way. That’s barely an upgrade. Give me another one!”

[Backpack Expansion Card: 2,000 Resource Points.]

“Fuck! You doubled the price?!”

Nate shot to his feet in frustration, but there was nothing he could do about it.

He rubbed his forehead.

“Fine, fine. Buy it!”

[Backpack weight limit increased. Backpack: 45.2/300 kg.]

[Remaining Resource Points: 4,942/16,000.]

What a rip-off.

This system was an absolute rip-off.

“So the next one costs 4,000?”

[Yes!]

Fine.

Just fine.

Nate took a deep breath, got his emotions under control, and headed out to bring Lily her breakfast.

...

The New York Continental, third basement level.

Nate watched Lily slowly and gracefully unwrap the sandwich before taking small, delicate bites.

He had to admit, even eating looked elegant when she was dressed like that.

“By the way, Lily,” Nate asked, “do you guys buy guns here?”

Lily took a sip of milk and swallowed before answering.

“No idea. Miss Jennifer never mentioned anything about that.”

“Hm? Fair enough. You’ve only been here for a day. I’ll come back this afternoon.”

Nate waved and headed upstairs to the third floor.

“Sir, your food has been packed. Would you like anything else?”

When Nate returned, the chef greeted him with a smile.

Come to think of it, Nate still had no idea what John liked to eat.

The movies had never exactly spent much time showing him eating.

“Give me one serving of each of your best-selling items.”

“Of course.”

The chef smiled and instructed the kitchen staff to pack them up.

“I’ll pay now.”

“That will be one gold coin.”

There was no marble counter here, so Nate had no choice but to hand the coin directly to the chef.

The chef accepted it with a smile.

With several bags hanging from both hands, Nate stepped into the elevator.

When the doors opened, Panam at the front desk noticed how much he was carrying and came over to help him bring everything into the gym.

Eating fried dough sticks in a gym while everyone was supposed to be training.

Maximum guilt.

Maximum satisfaction.

“Panam, want to sit down and have something to eat?” Nate asked from the table.

“I’ve already eaten, sir.”

She gave him a slightly apologetic smile, but Nate could still hear a certain distance in her tone.

Before leaving, Panam even closed the gym door behind her.

Nate had the feeling she might be a little socially anxious.

He couldn’t explain exactly why. Something about her body language just gave him that impression.

“Whoa! Look at all this food!”

Elena shot over from the bench, her eyes practically glowing.

“Mm.”

Nate took a bite of a steamed bun.

Then something suddenly felt wrong.

“Huh? If you’re over here... then who’s fighting John?”

A fine metal mesh surrounded the sparring area, partially obscuring the view inside.

When Nate had first entered, he had only glanced over from the corner of his eye. He had assumed John and Elena were still fooling around inside, so he hadn’t bothered looking closely.

Now he heard the repeated thuds of flesh striking flesh, mixed with muffled grunts from someone taking hit after hit.

Nate turned toward the sparring area.

John was wearing headgear and boxing gloves.

He had been driven into a corner, both hands covering his head while a massive, tower-like man pounded on him without mercy.

Nate watched for nearly twenty seconds.

John couldn’t fight back at all.

The huge man wore a gray tank top. Nate couldn’t see his face from this angle, but the shoulders and shoulder blades left exposed by the shirt were covered in scars.

Who the hell was this monster?!