[You opened a Diamond Chest. Congratulations, you received: One Airborne Squad. (Includes 11 Death Soldiers, 1 Death Soldier Captain, and 3 Military Attack Helicopters fully equipped with infinite ammo machine guns, RPGs, and rockets). Do you wish to retrieve them immediately?]
Holy shit!
Diamond Chests were no joke. This was serious firepower. He actually got an Air Force!
Dexter was genuinely shook. A grin spread across his face, wide and uncontrollable.
After laughing to himself for a while, Dexter finally calmed down.
Of course.
He couldn't—and didn't need to—retrieve these assets right now.
Unless something unexpected happened, this personal Air Force would be saved for the assault on the New York Continental. They would play a massive role then.
With a plan in mind.
Dexter steeled himself. In for a penny, in for a pound. He continued opening chests.
[You opened a Gold Chest. Congratulations, you received...]
[...]
He opened four Gold Chests in a row. Not a bad haul—a total of seven Death Soldiers.
With that, his Karma Points were almost depleted, leaving only 5,600.
But that wasn't a problem.
After all, the Taxi Kingpin was about to send a fresh delivery of "Karma" his way.
Dexter thought with a smile and looked out the window.
Heh.
Speak of the devil.
A swarm of motorcycles was speeding toward them from the distance. Judging by their formation, they were clearly coming for him.
"Captain, kill them!" Dexter didn't waste time. He smiled at the Death Soldier Captain. "By the way, be careful. This batch of hitmen is likely equipped with armor-piercing rounds. Your armor might not hold."
"Yes, Boss!" the Captain replied, his voice devoid of emotion.
A second later.
Since the enemy was on bikes, the Death Soldiers didn't need to dismount. The convoy kept moving forward.
At this hour, the wide road was predictably empty. Civilian vehicles had long since fled the area.
Bang!
Dexter wasn't idle either. He rolled down the window, leveled the Dragon's Breath shotgun, and pulled the trigger.
A shower of sparks erupted from the muzzle. In the dark of night, it was a breathtaking sight.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the blink of an eye, bullets flew, and the sound of gunfire became a continuous roar.
Dozens of motorcycles swarmed the convoy.
The vehicles screeched to a halt.
The Death Soldiers stepped out. Fearless. Emotionless. With no concept of life or death, they began a frenzied slaughter.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
This battle lasted quite a while before finally coming to an end.
About half of the Death Soldiers were sacrificed.
Of the seventy-plus hitmen sent by the Taxi Kingpin, basically all of them were dead. Only a few smart ones managed to flee in time.
The gunfire ceased.
This stretch of New York road was literally littered with corpses. Blood flowed like a river.
There were so many bodies that it took the surviving Death Soldiers a full ten minutes just to collect the gold coins and weapons.
Cleanup complete.
Leaning against the car, Dexter lit a cigarette and gazed at the carnage, exhaling a long plume of smoke.
He realized he had indeed changed a lot.
He realized even more clearly that he enjoyed the killing.
He remembered when he first arrived in the Shameless world... only a few months had passed. Now, facing this scene...
It feels good. Dexter smiled inwardly, then checked his current stats.
[Karma Points: 153,500.]
[Collected Coins: 415.]
Without delay, Dexter opened ten Gold Chests in one go.
100,000 Karma Points exchanged for 17 Death Soldiers and 20 suits of ballistic armor.
Not bad.
"Let's move," Dexter ordered after retrieving the new units and equipment.
Before long.
The convoy, now bolstered by many captured motorcycles, began to move again.
---
New York City was shaking.
Taxi Kingpin Peter Tarasov's face was ashen. He was stunned.
Two waves. Over a hundred men. Just gone?
That was over a hundred loyal soldiers!
The loss was indescribable!!!
Viggo Tarasov was absolutely not worth this kind of damage.
simply put, Peter Tarasov didn't dare to play anymore. He was genuinely worried that if this continued, his entire organization would be wiped out by Dexter.
He turned to his deputy. "Send five hundred gold coins to Dexter. Also, recall all our men from the streets. We need to lay low."
The deputy wasn't stupid. He realized how severe the situation was and answered crisply, "Yes, sir."
---
Viggo Tarasov received the news. He heard about Dexter's massacre in New York and went insane.
"FUCK! FUCK! Who the fuck is this Dexter???" Viggo couldn't believe it. He cursed non-stop, feeling a wave of despair. It felt like his time was really up.
Viggo didn't want to die. After cursing for a while, he gritted his teeth and looked at his assistant. "We have to move to the Continental! It's not safe here!"
The assistant, who had wanted to bail on Viggo ages ago, was thrilled. "Yes! We can't take the ground route. We need a helicopter!!"
"Arrange it immediately!!" Viggo urged.
---
The New York Continental.
Winston looked at the text message on his phone with a smile. He was a little surprised by Dexter's capabilities, and also quite pleased.
Well done, Winston thought silently. He sincerely hoped Dexter could hold out a little longer, kill a few more people, and not die so quickly.
Why?
Simple.
New York was huge. It was filled with gangs big and small, a chaotic mix of players. Winston had ambition. He wanted to own New York, not just the Continental Hotel.
Sure.
With the Continental, Winston was already a powerful figure who commanded respect. But ultimately, he didn't truly control the city.
So.
Dexter appears out of nowhere, starts a massacre, and creates chaos!
How wonderful.
As Winston thought about it, the smile on his face grew. A plan for how to rebuild New York after the dust settled was already forming in his mind.
---
After rolling heads across the city...
Things finally quieted down.
Dexter, cigarette in mouth, looked through the car window at the streets, which were far emptier than usual. He felt a twinge of regret that the easy Karma farming seemed to be over for now.
Sigh.
Ten minutes passed.
Suddenly, a Mercedes-Benz caught up to Dexter's convoy.
The driver was clearly panicked, terrified of being killed by Dexter's men. As soon as he pulled up alongside, he shouted desperately, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! I'm here to deliver the coins!"
Dexter laughed and ordered his driver to stop.
Moments later.
A case containing five hundred gold coins was placed in front of Dexter.
Dexter opened the case.
Five hundred coins, neatly stacked, glittering gold... The sight was undeniably beautiful.
"Thank your boss for me," Dexter said to the delivery guy.
"Will do," the delivery guy replied. He didn't dare stay a second longer. After a brief response, he slammed on the gas, practically trying to push the pedal through the floorboard as he sped away.
Dexter chuckled at the sight but didn't pay it much mind. He turned his attention back to the coins.
Truly beautiful.
[Congratulations, you have completed the mission: Collect 500 Gold Coins. Reward of 100,000 Karma Points has been issued.]
[Karma Points: 253,500.]
Just like that.
Dexter smiled at the notification.
The 200,000 point reward for killing one person in the Continental was basically money in the bank.
That meant even if he didn't kill anyone else...
He would soon have 453,500 Karma Points.
450,000 points could open 45 Gold Chests. That would yield roughly 60 to 70 Death Soldiers. Plus the 30 or so he had now...
Question: Is 100 Death Soldiers enough to take down the New York Continental?
Dexter pondered silently.
Should be doable.
After all, don't forget, there are plenty of guests in the hotel! At least a hundred!
If he killed all those guests, he'd get another 200,000+ Karma Points, which meant dozens more Death Soldiers... This would give the assault an unexpected rolling advantage...
Doable!
Worst case scenario, both missions would be complete, and he could just leave this world instantly!
Do it!
Real men don't fear shit!
And so, Dexter made his decision.
But, one thing at a time.
Now, first things first: Save John Wick's dog.
Yes.
The only reason he was heading to John Wick's house was to save that puppy. As for meeting John Wick, that was just a bonus.
Don't ask why.
If you have to ask: The puppy is cute. How could you not save it?
---
Time flew.
With no assassins chasing them, Dexter's convoy moved peacefully.
Before he knew it, they arrived at the entrance of John Wick's street. Dexter halted the convoy, ordered the soldiers to hide and stay quiet, and then drove the Mustang alone, with Dumb Nine, slowly toward John Wick's house.
He had checked the surveillance feed earlier. Wick had just turned off the lights, presumably going to sleep.
That meant, if everything went according to script, Comrade Iosef would be arriving soon to dig his own grave...
Of course.
That was if everything was normal. Now, with New York in chaos and Viggo running for his life, it was hard to say if Iosef would even show up tonight.
In fact, logically, Iosef shouldn't show up. If he did, it would be a surprise.
But whatever. Wait and see. If he doesn't show, no big deal.
Dexter harbored these thoughts, but to his surprise, after driving only a short distance, he spotted a black BMW parked on the side of the road near Wick's property, with three men sitting inside smoking.
It was a bit far to see faces, but logic dictated it had to be Iosef and his crew.
"Truly talented individuals! After all this time, they haven't heard a whisper about what's happening in New York," Dexter chuckled to himself.
Though, amusing as it was, he understood.
Iosef was a spoiled brat. Viggo definitely hadn't let his son join the High Table proper.
Iosef's two friends were likely the same—outsiders to the underworld.
None of them were High Table members, and this place was out in the suburbs.
It was plausible they hadn't heard about the bounty on Viggo.
Dexter didn't bother getting closer. He parked on the side of the road, killed the engine, and waited quietly.
Iosef's crew saw Dexter's car but ignored it, continuing their own wait.
After about an hour.
Iosef and his friends got out of the car and made their move.
Dexter waited another two minutes, then got out with Dumb Nine and walked toward the house.
As they reached the lawn...
A light suddenly flicked on in the previously dark second floor of the mansion.
"Dumb Nine, there's a little female puppy in there. Go save her. Don't let her die," Dexter ordered, time being of the essence.
Dumb Nine looked up at Dexter, eyes full of contempt.
But contempt aside, the dog sprang into action, sprinting toward the mansion.
Moments later.
Just like in the movie, Daisy's barking echoed from inside the house. "Woof, woof, woof~~"
Dexter had reached the exterior of the house. Worried whether Dumb Nine could pull it off, he drew his pistol, ready to interrupt Iosef's crew if necessary.
---
Inside John Wick's Mansion, First Floor.
John Wick had been beaten to the ground, dazed and semi-conscious.
Daisy the beagle was barking frantically at Iosef's trio.
Iosef was annoyed. "Kill that fucking dog!"
Victor, Iosef's friend and henchman, pulled out his pistol, ready to fire.
Suddenly.
Dumb Nine appeared like a phantom. He rushed to Daisy, opened his jaws, and clamped down on her entire head, forcibly silencing her. Then, without breaking stride, he turned and bolted out of the house.
Witnessing this scene.
Iosef and his two friends were dumbfounded: "?????"
John Wick, barely conscious and vision blurry, was equally confused: "????"
"What the fuck?" Iosef snapped out of it, completely baffled.
Victor stared in the direction the two dogs had vanished. He was confused too, but shrugged it off. "Who knows. Whatever. Grab the keys, let's go."
Since the barking had stopped, Iosef didn't care.
The three of them got moving.
---
Outside the Mansion.
Dexter and Dumb Nine—who was still holding Daisy's head in his mouth—stayed in the shadows on the side of the house, silent and still.
About a few minutes later.
The garage door opened. Iosef and his friends drove out in John Wick's prized 1969 Mustang, leaving in style.
Watching them drive to the road, stop by the BMW, and Victor getting into the BMW before both cars drove off...
Only then did Dexter speak to his dog. "Put Daisy down."
Dumb Nine obeyed and opened his mouth.
Daisy hit the ground and didn't hesitate. Tail tucked, she scrambled back toward the front of the house. Seeing the open garage door, she ran inside.
"Let's go. We'll go in too. Meet the Baba Yaga," Dexter said with a smile, stepping forward.
It didn't take long.
Dexter and Dumb Nine stood over John Wick, who had passed out unconscious.
Dexter watched him for a while.
He smiled, crouched down, dipped his finger in the blood pooling next to John Wick, and wrote a name on the floor:
Iosef Tarasov.
Done.
"Goodbye, John Wick."
Leaving those words behind, Dexter and Dumb Nine departed.
---