John Wick - Chapter 108: Operations Base Relocation and Settlement (Patreon)

“Who the hell was that?”

Nate stared at his phone as several names ran through his mind.

“Uncle Caine?”

He typed out a reply, but the message wouldn’t go through. Whoever had sent the warning had blocked him immediately afterward.

“It can’t be Henry or Winston. They both have my contact information, so there’d be no reason to do this.”

The way it was handled did resemble the Jackal, but that didn’t make sense either. They were on the same side now, so there was no reason for him to act like this.

“That leaves two possibilities. Caine or Vincent.”

Of all the important people Nate knew, those were the only two who might pull something like this.

If it was Caine, that was one thing.

But if it was Vincent, what exactly was he trying to do?

Then Nate suddenly had an idea.

Right. John and Caine were close.

Why not just ask?

He sent John a message. A little while later, John replied.

“I called him. It wasn’t Caine.”

Sitting on the bed, Nate rubbed his chin and muttered to himself.

“Did that old man who calls himself my father send it? If so, I don’t even know whether the information is reliable. He’s one of the High Table candidates too.”

“What if it’s a trick? Feed us false information, wear us down tomorrow, then catch us off guard the day after?”

“Whatever. We’ll deal with whatever comes. An expert? How good could they really be? John and I both know about it now, so we just need to stay alert.”

Nate stopped dwelling on it and opened the system panel to check his messages.

[Relocating the Operations Base requires 200 Resource Points.]

Nate glanced at his nearly thirty thousand Resource Points and waved dismissively.

“Cheap. Do it.”

[Resource Points deducted.]

[Room 502 of the Rome Continental Hotel has been designated as the new Operations Base.]

Perfect.

Now he could finally get a good night’s sleep.

The room didn’t even cost him any gold coins, which was nice.

Although, now that he thought about it, he had stayed in New York for an entire week without spending a single gold coin either.

Winston had probably waived the charges for him.

[Detected that the host currently possesses a substantial amount of equipment. Beginning settlement.]

“Now that’s considerate.”

[Current Resource Points: 26,457/32,000]

[Settled: Pistols ×2 (78) + Submachine Gun ×1 (65) + ASH-12 (214) + AA12 (348) + Grenades ×10 (560) + Miscellaneous Knives ×68 (756) + Special Ammunition ×1,468 (1,244) + Various Magazines and Ammunition (672) = 4,005 Resource Points]

[Legendary Weapon: John Wick’s TTI Glock 34 = 1,043]Effect: Reload speed increased by 20%, accuracy increased by 30%

[Legendary Weapon: John Wick’s TTI AR-15 = 3,273]Effect: Damage increased by 40%

[Legendary Weapon: Cassian’s AF-1 Strike One = 872]Effect: Burst-fire accuracy increased by 20%, gunshot volume reduced by 30%

[Resource Point limit reached. Breakthrough complete. Trait Slot gained: 1]

[Remaining Resource Points: 32,388/64,000]

Nate was scrolling through the system panel when something suddenly felt wrong.

A moment later, it clicked.

“Wait. Why weren’t the AWM, Barrett, Desert Eagle, and the rest settled?”

[Equipment obtained using previously settled gold coins cannot be settled again.]

The system’s reply was as cold as ever.

Nate thought for a moment.

“So these items can be settled because I didn’t pay for them with my own gold coins?”

[Yes.]

“Got it!”

Nate immediately understood the loophole.

He jumped out of bed and went to knock on Elena’s door.

She hadn’t bought her equipment yet, which gave him the perfect excuse to visit the Sommelier and pick out a few more things for himself.

Free guns and free Resource Points.

Opportunities like this didn’t come around often!

Nate pushed Elena’s wheelchair at breakneck speed all the way to the Sommelier.

“Good evening, Mr. Lin. How may I help you?”

The Sommelier greeted Nate with a bright smile.

“I’m here to pick out some equipment for her,” Nate said.

The Sommelier hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking, “You... wouldn’t happen to want anything else as well, would you?”

“Can I...?”

Even Nate sounded a little uncertain.

Their eyes met.

The Sommelier gave him a solemn nod.

Elena watched the two of them and rubbed her nose, completely confused about what was going on.

Nate hesitated for a moment.

Then, under the Sommelier’s expectant gaze, he swept out one hand dramatically.

“Then I’ll take every...!”

Ring, ring, ring!

Before Nate could finish, a telephone suddenly rang and cut him off.

“My apologies, Mr. Lin. I need to answer this first.”

Still smiling, the Sommelier picked up the phone.

After listening for a few moments, however, the smile gradually disappeared from his face.

Nate immediately had a bad feeling.

They’d probably been caught.

The Sommelier hung up and looked at Nate apologetically.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lin. The manager has informed me that you only have twenty gold coins of complimentary credit remaining here. The same applies to this lady.”

Sure enough.

Julius had noticed.

The Sommelier continued, “The manager also asked me to tell you that, in less than an hour, you spent more than three years of his savings. He got scared, so he decided to place a limit on your spending.”

“How much did John and I spend here earlier?” Nate asked.

“193 gold coins, sir.”

“Special ammunition is that expensive?”

“Yes, sir. For The Continental, the supply channels and approval process for specialized ammunition are both quite complicated. As a result, it tends to be considerably more expensive.”

“Oh~ Got it.”

Nate finally understood.

If the suits from Cassian’s place had cost somewhere around six hundred coins as well, then they really had taken Julius for quite a lot.

And the man had still left Nate another twenty coins.

Julius really was a decent guy.

Eight hundred gold coins was no small amount.

Nate had only found a little over a thousand coins after wiping out two gangs, and that had represented years of accumulated wealth for them.

Come to think of it, the manager must make pretty good money.

Elena started picking out her weapons.

She chose a TTI-modified P90. Compact, convenient, high-capacity, and with respectable penetration.

She also picked a custom-modified SIG P365, one of the best compact pistols available.

Both guns, together with their ammunition, cost only four gold coins.

Nate looked over the selection but didn’t see much else he wanted.

Most of it was TTI gear.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Do you have a 2011?”

He had always been pretty interested in the Combat Master from the movies.

In the end, Nate picked up a Combat Master.

The gun plus ten magazines cost only three gold coins.

Just how expensive was that specialized ammunition?

After leaving the Sommelier, Nate pushed Elena over to get a suit fitted.

She had the same complimentary allowance there, which meant she could afford to have an extra suit made.

As the tailor, Angelo, took Elena’s measurements, he said, “Mr. Lin, two of your white suits have already been completed. Would you like to try one on?”

“Sure.”

An attendant led Nate away to change.

Once he put on the white suit and looked in the mirror, he seemed like an entirely different person.

Unlike the mysterious, serious impression created by the black suit, the white one made him look cleaner, brighter, and younger.

“Do you have a white hat?” Nate asked as he adjusted his tie.

“Yes, sir.”

The attendant handed him one.

Nate put it on.

Perfect.

Budget James Bond outfit, acquired!