John Wick - Chapter 117: Background (Part 1) (Patreon)

The gunshot echoed through the room.

The Adjudicator took a bullet to the forehead, and their head slumped forward. The terror on their face had yet to fade.

[Host eliminated a High-Threat Unit and earned 458 Resource Points.]

Nate deliberately checked the system.

Only after the kill confirmation appeared did he lower his gun.

Julius waved a hand.

Two attendants understood immediately, stepped forward, untied the corpse from the cross, and carried it away to the cremation room.

Elena walked over.

“Nate, what did that last thing you said mean? It sounded really cool, but I didn’t understand it...”

“Uh...”

Nate froze awkwardly.

He had wanted to deliver that famous line properly, but none of the versions in his head sounded right, so in the end he had blurted it out in another language.

The Adjudicator probably hadn’t understood it either.

That was fine.

They could figure it out in the next life.

“Just understand it as, ‘I wouldn’t be able to sleep if they stayed alive.’”

Elena nodded with a confused expression.

Nate quickly changed the subject and turned to Julius.

“Manager, how many Adjudicators does the High Table have?”

“Thirty-six positions in total. Each High Table seat has three nomination slots. Anyone selected can become an Adjudicator after passing the trial.”

“So it really is all about connections?”

Nate rubbed his chin.

“Right. Please continue.”

Julius paused before going on.

“Adjudicators are symbols of the High Table’s authority. Their jurisdiction exceeds mine. I can only control this hotel, while they can mobilize the High Table’s resources to a certain extent.”

“Be more specific.”

Julius thought for a moment.

“An Adjudicator can use this black coin to issue unconditional assignments to members. They can also seal or shut down a hotel, and they can use the coin to mobilize local armed forces.”

“Do they need approval to mobilize armed forces?”

“Of course.”

Julius nodded.

“So they really are just glorified messengers.”

“Pretty much,” Elena said.

Nate glanced at the black coin.

“All that authority, and none of it actually belongs to them.”

“By the way, Manager, does the Adjudicator’s authority belong to the person, or to this coin?”

Julius hesitated.

“The coin...”

Nate immediately laughed.

With a metallic ring, he flicked the black coin into the air.

It spun twice before dropping neatly back into his palm.

“So if I’m holding this black coin now, that means I’m the Adjudicator?”

Julius slowly nodded, his voice strained.

“Yes, sir.”

“Okay.”

Nate shook his head helplessly.

The High Table had an absurd number of loopholes.

You didn’t even have to look for them carefully. They were everywhere.

How had such a sloppy organization survived for this many years?

“No, seriously. In all these years, no one ever thought of doing this?”

Nate couldn’t resist asking.

“Even if you don’t kill an Adjudicator and take the coin from them, forging one of these doesn’t exactly look impossible.”

“...”

Julius remained silent for a long time, apparently organizing his thoughts.

While they waited, Elena took the Adjudicator’s coin from Nate and played with it.

“The reputation the High Table has built over the years has become authority itself in our eyes,” Julius finally said.

“We live beneath the High Table according to its rules, and we’ve genuinely grown accustomed to that life. After enough time passes, it simply becomes normal. You stop thinking about...”

“All right.”

Nate waved a hand and cut him off.

“No need to explain. I get it.”

Julius fell silent.

Nate understood what he meant.

Basically, they had become numb from working under the system for too long.

The Continental paid extremely well and offered excellent conditions. If something bothered you, you put up with it and moved on.

After enough time, people naturally stopped questioning anything.

“Let’s go upstairs.”

...

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

During that time, no suicidal assassin dared enter the hotel and attempt another assassination.

The place had practically become a fortress.

Who would willingly accept a job that looked like certain death?

Especially with the legendary John Wick still inside.

There were very few assassins willing to carry out a hit on Continental grounds in the first place.

Nate finally had some rare downtime.

That evening, after dinner, everyone sat around the table playing cards and chatting.

“John, heard anything from Caine lately?”

As Nate spoke, he threw down three Kings.

He had two cards left.

John had three.

“No. We haven’t spoken since that last time.”

John passed.

Elena played three Twos, then followed with four consecutive pairs and emptied her hand first.

Gianna also played four consecutive pairs, followed by two Twos, finishing her hand as well.

Only John and Nate were left.

“All right. Send me his number later. I’ll talk to him.”

Nate looked at John.

“Your turn.”

John hesitated.

His fingers moved back and forth between two cards and a single card for a long time.

Nate just smiled and watched without saying anything.

Eventually, John played a Queen.

“Heh. Big Joker.”

Nate slapped down his card.

“Then a Seven. John, you lost again!”

Nate immediately started mocking him.

John covered his face and gave a helpless, bitter laugh.

He really was terrible at cards.

Gianna said nothing.

She simply watched them with a smile while helping Elena shuffle the deck.

“One more round. One more!”

...

That night, Nate lay in bed scrolling through the messages Winston had sent him.

Lily had been getting more and more comfortable working with the Sommelier.

Unfortunately, Winston had cleared a large number of guests out of the hotel, so she hadn’t had many opportunities to sell anything.

Henry was currently undergoing surgery on his lower back.

Winston had pulled some strings and brought in the best doctor he could find.

As for Jackal, the lunatic had gone out on missions before his injuries had even fully healed.

There was no questioning Jackal’s ability as an assassin.

Despite still being injured, he had completed four assignments in a single day.

Winston was extremely pleased with him.

Marcus had been worried about Jackal, so he had secretly followed him to keep watch.

Jackal eventually noticed.

The two nearly ended up pointing guns at each other, but fortunately nothing happened.

Instead, after the confrontation, they somehow became friends.

Ares had gone out on one mission and hadn’t left the hotel again afterward.

Lately, she had been getting along well with the little Border Collie.

She genuinely loved dogs.

And this particular dog belonged to her idol, which only made her like it more.

Fox had also sent Nate a picture.

The person in it was Wesley, the protagonist of Wanted.

She had already brought him into the Fraternity, and his official training would begin tomorrow.

Oh boy.

That guy was going to suffer over the next few days.

Nate put down his phone and stared at the ceiling.

After thinking for a while, he finally pulled up the phone number John had sent him.

It belonged to Caine.

His uncle.

Nate still had the faintest, blurriest impressions of Vincent Lin somewhere in his memories.

But Caine?

Nothing.

Not a single memory.

It was as though this uncle had simply appeared out of nowhere.

Nate’s finger hovered over the call button for a long time.

Eventually, he pressed it.

Ring...

Ring...

The call connected.

“Hello... who is this?”

“Uncle Caine, it’s Nate Lin.”