New York, The Continental.
Accompanied by the sounds of warfare outside, Dexter and Dumb Nine enjoyed a lunch with an incredibly immersive atmosphere.
After eating, man and dog returned to the lobby on the first floor.
Dumb Nine immediately found a spot and lay down.
By this point, gold coins were meaningless to Dexter, and with bullets flying everywhere outside, Dumb Nine wasn't much use for the moment, so he decided to nap.
Dexter didn't join the fight either. He lit a cigarette, summoned a Death Soldier, and continued filming videos.
The High Table ruled assassins across the entire world. Their influence was vast.
To overthrow them alone... honestly, the chances were slim. It wasn't realistic.
He needed to incite assassins and gangs around the world, to make them move, to let the spark start a prairie fire.
"Brothers, the fucking High Table sits high above us, oppressing us for so long. Are we really just going to take it forever?"
"Resist!"
"Maybe you can't seize a Continental Hotel, but you can raid their affiliated businesses!"
"Rob them!"
"Before long, you'll realize this bullshit High Table isn't worth fearing!!"
"Finally, I'm starting a livestream on YouTube immediately. Everyone is welcome to watch! The channel name is..."
"..."
Filming complete. Upload.
Soon, the livestream started. In less than a minute, countless people from all over the globe flooded into the channel.
Cigarette dangling from his mouth, Dexter broadcast the war raging outside the New York Continental in real-time.
A storm of bullets. Corpses littering the streets!
The scene was absolutely shocking.
Countless viewers watched, dumbfounded.
The Elders of the High Table saw it too. They couldn't stay calm any longer. They were furious. "Launch the missile! Blow up the New York Continental!"
In the end, the Elders made the decision.
The order was transmitted instantly to a nuclear submarine in the ocean.
Moments later.
Whoosh!
A Tomahawk cruise missile launched, carving a beautiful arc through the high atmosphere as it sped toward the New York Continental.
Countless people in New York saw the missile incoming and were completely stunned. They couldn't believe their eyes: "!!!!"
Inside the hotel.
"Boss, a Tomahawk missile is inbound!" A Death Soldier Captain reported calmly and immediately.
Hearing this, Dexter laughed decisively at the livestream. "Badass High Table! You actually dare to fire a missile into downtown New York!"
With that, Dexter turned to the Captain beside him. "Intercept."
The Defensive System he had drawn earlier included anti-missile protocols.
The Captain nodded. "Yes, Boss."
Missiles aren't invincible.
Anti-aircraft guns are very effective.
In moments.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out high above New York.
Almost everyone in the city saw the massive fireball in the sky and panicked completely.
"High Table, what else you got? Come on, keep it coming," knowing the interception was successful, Dexter immediately taunted the livestream with a smile.
Viewers: "!!!!"
"Badass!!"
"Well done!"
"This fucking High Table is despicable!"
"They must die!!"
"..."
Instantly, predictably, the chat was flooded with countless comments.
Dexter watched quietly.
Once this spark started the fire, it would be very hard to put out.
---
John Wick glanced at the explosion in the sky just once before looking away. He got out of his car and walked into Viggo's headquarters, intending to "politely" ask Viggo's men a question.
"Excuse me, where is Iosef Tarasov?"
It was a good question.
After returning the previous night and learning that his father, Viggo, had been robbed and then had a bounty put on his head, Iosef had contacted Viggo. Viggo had stashed him on the top floor of the building.
At this moment.
Iosef was huddled in the panic room on the top floor, trembling as he dialed Viggo's number.
Unfortunately.
The call went unanswered.
Iosef was terrified. He couldn't imagine the possibility that Viggo was already dead inside the Continental. He had no idea what to do next, so he instinctively dialed again.
The ringback tone droned on and on...
Viggo Tarasov, lying stiff in a pile of corpses outside the Continental, eyes wide open in death, naturally couldn't press the answer button.
Bang~ Bang~ Bang~~
Polite questions were met with rude gunfire. John Wick, having confirmed that the car thief was indeed Iosef, began his slaughter.
In no time.
Iosef received the news. He was terrified out of his mind and screamed into his phone, "Kill him!!"
The henchmen in the building swarmed out.
John Wick killed his way up, floor by floor. Eventually, he "politely" extracted Iosef's location.
About twenty minutes later.
John Wick fought his way to the top floor.
Iosef heard the gunshots—the sound of death—outside. His face pale as a sheet, he shrank into the corner, praying for this nightmare to end soon.
Unfortunately.
Iosef didn't see the end of the nightmare. He saw John Wick, covered in blood, holding a pistol.
"I'm sorry, I'll give the car back..." Staring into the black muzzle pointed at him, Iosef shook like a leaf, tears streaming down his face as he knelt and begged for mercy.
The result.
He didn't get to finish his sentence.
Bang~~
John Wick pulled the trigger. A chest shot, not a headshot. Then, he emptied the clip.
John didn't even ask where the car was.
Iosef was instantly turned into a honeycomb, his life draining away rapidly.
In his final moments.
Face covered in tears and snot, Iosef truly, genuinely couldn't understand why things had turned out this way. "It was... just... a... a car."
Leaving those final words, Iosef closed his eyes and followed in his father Viggo's footsteps.
John Wick didn't linger. Without a word, he turned and left.
---
New York, The Continental.
The High Table's second wave was essentially wiped out.
Dexter earned nearly a million Karma Points in one go. Following protocol, he decisively opened chests like crazy to replenish manpower and weapons.
The effect of this spending spree was excellent.
The hotel's defensive system was successfully upgraded to the maximum level.
From now on, barring any major accidents, it would be almost impossible for the High Table to retake this hotel.
Dexter was very satisfied. He waited patiently while continuing the livestream, allowing most assassins around the world to further witness the shattering of the High Table's authority.
One day, two days...
Forty-eight hours!
The High Table sent several more waves of forces.
However, not a single assassin managed to breach the New York Continental, let alone retake it.
Day Three.
The High Table temporarily halted operations to retake the hotel.
Surrounded by countless corpses, the New York Continental welcomed a temporary peace.
A few hours later.
Winston and Charon, who genuinely hadn't expected things to turn out this way, stood not far across the street from the Continental. Their expressions and gazes were incredibly complex as they stared at the hotel.
After an indeterminate amount of time.
A black Mustang approached and stopped.
John Wick got out of the car, walked over to Winston and Charon, and greeted them calmly. "Winston. Charon."
Winston and Charon had already heard about John Wick killing Iosef Tarasov over a car, so they weren't too surprised by his appearance.
"Jonathan," Winston replied.
"Mr. Wick," Charon acknowledged.
"I didn't expect to see this day," John Wick said, looking at the Continental.
Winston nodded and gave a bitter smile. "Who could have?"
John Wick wasn't here for small talk. He cut to the chase. "I'm looking for Dexter. Can we still get into the hotel?"
Hearing this, Winston looked at John Wick in surprise. "You know Dexter?"
"No," John Wick shook his head.
"You're here to kill him?" Winston asked.
"No. To thank him. He did me a favor."
Winston didn't ask further. He thought for a moment. "I'll take you in."
"Thank you."
Moments later.
The three walked straight toward the main entrance of the Continental.
The doors were wide open.
In the lobby, Death Soldiers cleaning up spent shell casings saw Winston's group. They glanced once, then looked away, paying them no mind.
Winston's group successfully entered the hotel.
"Where is your boss?" Winston asked a nearby Death Soldier.
"In the bar," the soldier replied in a flat tone.
"Thank you," Winston responded politely.
The three moved toward the underground bar.
Arriving at the bar.
Seeing Dexter and Dumb Nine drinking, the three walked straight over.
"Mr. Ding," Winston greeted with a faint smile.
Dexter turned his head.
Hey, John Wick.
"Winston," Dexter smiled back, then immediately addressed John Wick. "Jonathan, how is your puppy?"
John Wick nodded crisply. "Very good. Thank you."
"Good to hear. Come, have a drink. My treat," Dexter smiled.
Winston: "..."
That sounds weird coming from the guy occupying my hotel.
"Thank you," John Wick replied, neither humble nor arrogant.
The four men and one dog sat together.
Dumb Nine looked up at John Wick and barked softly. "Woof."
Since receiving Daisy, John Wick had suddenly become very fond of dogs. "Mr. Ding, may I pet him?"
"Of course," Dexter laughed.
Permission granted, John Wick didn't hesitate. He reached out and patted Dumb Nine's head.
Dumb Nine looked like he was enjoying it.
Winston and Charon watched this scene, not knowing what to say, so they tacitly kept their mouths shut.
After petting the dog for a while, John Wick withdrew his hand and turned to Dexter. "Mr. Ding, thank you for saving Daisy."
"You're welcome."
John Wick wasn't one for idle chatter. "Mr. Ding, I came here to ask you, why did you appear that night?"
Dexter smiled. "Because I wanted to meet you."
"At that time?" John Wick wasn't stupid. He had figured it out long ago. He knew Dexter definitely wasn't alone that night, which meant Dexter chose not to stop Iosef.
Of course, John Wick wasn't upset about it.
In this world, that kind of thing was normal.
John Wick just didn't understand what Dexter wanted.
"Yeah, I thought it was a very appropriate time," Dexter replied with a smile.
John Wick didn't ask anymore. "Anyway, thank you."
With that.
John Wick stood up and said goodbye to Winston and Charon. "Winston. Charon."
"Jonathan."
"Mr. Wick."
John Wick left, quickly disappearing from their view.
"The Baba Yaga is truly cool," Dexter couldn't help but comment.
Winston didn't respond to that. He got straight to the point. "Mr. Ding, if we work together to overthrow the High Table, what do I get?"
"What can you offer?" Dexter grinned brilliantly, answering a question with a question.
"I possess a lot of information. About New York, about the High Table. I also have powerful channels to acquire weapons and equipment," Winston replied simply and clearly, wasting no words.
"What do you want?" Dexter asked again.
"New York. All of New York," Winston replied.
"Done," Dexter extended his hand. "Pleasure doing business."
Winston shook Dexter's hand. "Pleasure."
Deal struck.
Winston immediately began explaining the situation with the High Table. After that, he analyzed the upcoming situation and proposed pre-planned strategies...
This conversation went on for a long time.
Dexter listened quietly until the end. "Excellent. So, Winston, I need you to do something for me."
"What is it?"
"I need weapons. Lots of weapons."
"No problem."
Winston and Charon left.
In the bar.
Dexter raised his glass and drained the wine in one gulp.
Time to go.
He would come back later to continue the campaign against the High Table.
"Dumb Nine, come here. Let's see if I can take you with me," decision made, Dexter didn't delay.
He had waited a few days. The High Table had temporarily ceased attacks. Most importantly, he had drinks with John Wick and recruited Winston...
This business trip was basically a complete success.
Dumb Nine moved fast. Whoosh. He sat beside Dexter.
Dexter reached out, wrapped his arm around Dumb Nine's head, and summoned the System.
"End business trip. Return to the Shameless world."
The command was given.
[Understood. Archiving current world...]
[Archive successful.]
[Returning!]
The next instant.
Dexter and Dumb Nine's vision went black.
When the light returned.
Man and dog appeared in the familiar hotel room Dexter knew.
"Haha, it actually worked," Dexter instantly recognized where he was. He looked at Dumb Nine beside him and laughed loudly. Then, he realized...
Holy shit!
The future is full of possibilities.
If he could bring a dog through, he should be able to bring people too.
In that case.
Heh heh.
Dexter suddenly got excited.
[ returned to the Shameless world.]
[Three months have passed in this world since you left.]
[Note: Because the world has changed, treasure chest contents have changed. Also, because the John Wick world and the Shameless world are incompatible, rewards you did not claim in the John Wick world cannot be claimed here. However, skills you obtained can be used in this world.]
"????"
One-way compatibility?
It doesn't work the other way around?
Also, three months have passed?
That means...
Lip and Ian have been released?
So, is Fiona out of prison?
---