2.04

It was another Sunday and everyone was out there in the field, making everyone else bleed with their knife slices here and there. No one gets to stab too deeply, or there would be consequences.

The members of the main house never wanted to join, and today was no different. Aleister was busy, Anton was busy, Camilius was, again, grounded because he kept missing school, and Jinx was grounded with him. But unlike the python, Jinx could explore the main house and was granted permission to go to Anton's laboratory.

Camilius had been reluctant to let him go, knowing Jinx could possibly leave him again, so he made the bunnyboy swear as many promises as he could make with his pinky finger, up to the point that Camilius had sworn he would kill himself the day Jinx leaves.

Furan Shi, terrified of the possibility, immediately nodded and added more promised words to keep.

Leaving Camilius alone to solve his science homeworks, Jinx went on his merry way to Anton's laboratory outside of the main house. He made sure to use a backdoor, else he could get caught in a crossfire by the square at the front.

Right. Before we get to the laboratory, Jinx had first visited his father. It was only proper of him to do so, else Aleister would get sulky with him.

He went in with empty hands, but got out with money and a sweet little purple teddy bear. It was half his size, perfect for cuddling at night instead of having to hug the damn corn snake, as per his father's words. He also received a head pat and a nice hug, and a small handgun he pocketed in the adorable pink hip holster given to him.

He was advised to go straight to Anton and not meet with the grounded corn snake, but when had Furan Shi been a good kid?

He opened the door to Camilius' room after knocking softly. He found the young python by his desk, neck craned as he struggled with a question.

"Need help?"

Camilius' demeanor instantly changed the moment he heard the bunnyboy beside him. He hugged his waist and showed him a pleading puppy look. "Please, master?"

His snake tail was wiggling behind, the thick base hitting against the backrest as it swayed left and right. Jinx couldn't help but caress it, earning a soft moan from the python.

He turned the textbook his way to read the problem, and after a while, grabbed Camilius' pen and wrote down the formula. He also explained how he arrived at the formula, how and why it was the one to use, and let Camilius arrive at an answer and explain it himself.

He ended up tutoring the young python for at least an hour… maybe and a half, before bidding him good bye with a smooch.

Again, Camilius was reluctant to let him go, and this was when those promises happened.

Anyways, back to the present. Jinx went on his merry way to the runt wolf's laboratory.

Afraid of disturbing Anton, he silently opened the door, get cleaned in the foyer by the air sprays, whatever they may be, and then opened another door. It was a tinted glass door that won't let anyone outside see what's happening inside.

And here, Furan Shi had wished he'd never seen what's inside.

Anton Selvan was known as the runt wolf, this much we've already established. A small wolf, feminine man, yada yada, can't hurt a fly, a good pharmacist/scientist whatever, working illegally in the villa compound and supplying drugs outside of it…

Yet none of them had accurately captured the essence of the enigmatic genius that was Anton Selvan.

Furan Shi froze by the doorway, his hand holding the door ajar midway, and his eyes were fixedly glued on to the horrific sight.

Nevermind Anton wearing a skimpy underwear, there were one, two… eight tentacles thicker than him sprouting from his back, each one moving on their own. Four of them were keeping Anton grounded, while the other four were busy… feeding live rabbits into the big mouth opened at the roots of the tentacles.

Live rabbit demihumans. The poor creatures only squealed as they were swallowed whole, and then there was complete silence in the lab. There were sounds of something snapping before the tentacles completely receded back behind Anton, folded as they digest the two bunny rabbit demihumans.

Furan Shi paled, the hand holding the door handle shaking, but his legs made no efforts to move him out of the lab and go back to tell his adoptive father about his discovery.

No, maybe Aleister already knew about it. Maybe all Furan Shi would be able to tell was his discovery, that when a human was truly scared, they become speechless, like a deer in headlights.

Anton sighed, his eyes languidly blinking, that if not for the monster attached to his back, he would've been beautiful at that moment. When he finally spotted his nephew, it was his turn to pale. "J-Jiji..!"

"Uncle…" Jinx dumbly greeted back. He felt light and heavy at teh same time. He didn't know which one, so he settled for both. Either way, it only meant he couldn't muster up the courage to run away.

He was too stunned to do anything else.

"Hey…" Anton awkwardly greeted again. He decided against approaching the terrified bunnyboy and instead remained still on his desk.

The tentacles finally receded into his back, and he was back to looking like a normal demihuman again, with a wagging tail. "W-won't you come closer and greet your uncle properly..?"

No, that sounded too ominous. Jinx almost refused, but somehow, his feet were already taking him closer to the terrifying, yet magnificent creature that was Anton.

"Uncle…" he uttered again, unsure of what else to say after seeing such a view.

Maybe Furan Shi should be more bothered by the fact that his brain had already forgotten that was all real after the evidences, or the tentacles, were gone. It was as if Furan Shi had never witnessed something so brutal at all.

「 Passive skill leveled up! [Arrogance lvl 5] leveled up to [Arrogance lvl 6]! 」

「 "It's only the first world and you already got [Arrogance] to level 6..! And it's a trial world, no less!" 」

「 "..." 」

"My little pie…" Anton tried a smile, but to Furan Shi, that smile looked sly, like it had a new meaning now. "You've come at a wrong time..~"

"No shit," Jinx promptly replied, chuckling awkwardly. "I hope you won't… er… eat me, too."

"Oh, but I never will..!" Anton defended just as quickly. Seeing the bunnyboy look not traumatized made him slowly regain his courage to be more… open. More strict and proper again, like a real cool uncle.

"I presume you're here because Aleister told you?"

"Yes," Jinx stiffly answered. "Papa is busy with paperwork, so he wanted you to train me.."

Anton nodded as though he understood what kind of training Jinx had to do. Jinx had no clue whatsoever. "Hm…" he mumbled to himself. "Is it that time for you already..?"

He went to fetch his coat and wear it.

Like he didn't have tentacle parasites that ate two whole bunny rabbit demihumans, Anton led his nephew down to the basement floor of his laboratory, where everything was. Somehow, Furan Shi was more concerned at that moment with what kind of training he'd do, instead of worrying about his safety now that he's in an enclosed space with his potential predator.

He was led into a spacious storage room. Inside, some men wearing suits were already waiting, lined up by the wall opposing the doorway. There was only one person in the middle, kneeling with a burlap sack covering his head. He seemed too weak to move, or too dazed to recognize there were newcomers in the room, that even his short, bushy tail was still.

Furan Shi was only confused as he stared right at the man.

Anton went to one of the men at the side, who handed him black gloves to wear. "I assume Aleister had already told you about what we really do, but if not, then I'm afraid this could be quite the introduction to you-"

"I… already know…" Jinx butted in, first hesitant, but grew more confident in the latter part. "I saw Papa's papers."

Anton, fitting his gloves, gave a small smile. "Good. Get your gun out."

Oh, this was surely quite the introduction alright.

Furan Shi breathed out before reaching for the gun from his cute uwu holster. It didn't ruin hid immersion, thank you very much. Or perhaps he was stalling like we are, prolonging the poor man's life. Furan Shi already knew where this was going.

"Shoot the sack."

Not the man, but the sack, as if Anton had already objectified the drugged man to make things easier.

85% potential, here we go.

"What did he do…?" Jinx had to ask to stall for more time.

"Aha." Anton had easily caught up with what he was doing, but decided to entertain him nonetheless. It was the bunny rabbit's first time, of course, so Anton had to give him a leeway, even for a brief moment.

"Tried to take my prey away."

"And by prey, you mean..?"

"One of the bunny rabbits you've seen earlier. Chai, was it..? I can't remember. Not that it's important."

Furan Shi felt the world stopped at that moment. His heart stilled in his chest, and everything slowed down. He raised his gun and pointed it right at Anton without thinking. The runt wolf — was it even proper to call him that? — looked on in amusement and even smirked.

"You know him?"

Furan Shi pulled the trigger. With his bad aim and the recoil, he'd only hit Anton's shoulder. The runt wolf hissed in pain and immediately clutched his shoulder. His men were ready to lunge at the bunny rabbit, but he raised a bloody hand to stop them.

"Let him take his revenge," he ordered.

The first shot was almost deafening, but Furan Shi shot him again, and again, and again… the bunny's vision getting blurrier with his tears.

Why didn't he see that one of them was Chai all along? Was he that stupefied and scared that he couldn't recognize the bunnyboy earlier? Nevermind that. It's all done. Chai was eaten, and Jinx merely stood at the side when he had the handgun to stop Anton.

Hearing the man cackle, he fired another shot that ended up grazing the man's cheek. He wanted to fire another, but only heard clicking noises. He's out of bullets. Dammit, he forgot to ask for more from his father..!

"Done with your tantrum, little pie?" he heard Anton ask.

"Y-yes…" Jinx threw his gun away, his chest heaving as he tried to focus back on what's happening. His vision was blurring and refocusing, but still he struggled to see the bloody Anton and his men surrounding the two of them.

"That was very good, but bad aiming." Anton groaned, holding back a wince as he squeezed at his shoulder. "One, you should never shoot with your heart."

He struggled to step forward, like he stepped on a bee, but once his foot reached Jinx's handgun, he kicked it towards the bunnyboy. "Two, you don't throw away your only weapon. A gun is still a weapon, with a bullet or no bullet."

Jinx picked up his gun with shaking hands. The recoil was hard to control, even though it was a small handgun, not to mention the adrenaline finally subsiding.

"Three, welcome to the Serpenti group."

He hadn't noticed Anton digging into his shoulder to fish the bullet out. "So…" the runt wolf spoke again with difficulty. "You know that Chai guy..?"

"No," Jinx lied through gritted teeth, which the runt wolf easily picked up. "I don't know him."

He was trying to convince himself more than Anton. However, once everything else had subsided, Jinx only felt a little numb. Maybe still a bit angry, whatever dregs were left from his earlier outburst, but he mostly just felt tired.

「 "Are you alright now, host?" 」

「 "Raum, was Anton always like this? I mean with the tentacles and all?" 」

「 "Finally woke up to ask me about it, hm?" 」

「 "Please just answer.." 」

「 "Well, yes. You should've listened to your father and never visited Camilius. Maybe you would be able to save Chai." 」

Raum wasn't making it any better for him.

He heard the sound of the shell of the bullet being dropped to the concrete floor. One of his ears twitched in annoyance as he shoved his gun back into its holster.

Anton chuckled at such an adorable sight. He went to the kneeling man in the middle of the room and pulled the sack off his head. Jinx, who had barely recovered from his blind rage, stopped once more.

It was the familiar caramel bunny rabbit, Chai, unmoving yet close to tears. Eh, no. He was shivering from all those gunshots he thought were for him.

"Chai..?"

"Oh, Chai's alive? How odd…" Anton sighed, pulling the caramel bunny up off the floor. The rabbit, still in his frightened stupor, could only hold on to Anton's arms to support himself. "So this one's Chai, hm? I'm guessing you're from the same orphanage?"

Ah, so Furan Shi didn't need to lie. Seeing Chai still not speaking, he took the opportunity and nodded for the two of them. "Yes, we're from the same orphanage…"

"Why is Chai even here..?" He shakily came up to the petrified bunny rabbit to get him out of the nutjob wolf's arms. Anton easily gave him the bunny, almost shoving Chai into the other's arms.

"He snuck in when I only ordered two bunny rabbits."

"But Uncle… does Papa know?" Jinx asked, effectively changing the topic back to Anton.

"About what, little pie?"

Hooking one of the caramel's arms around his shoulders, Jinx continued, "your monster thing."

"No."

Anton regretted answering no when he saw what happened. The bunny had effectively tricked him, and said bunny was giving him an uncharacteristic smirk, like he'd already won. The runt wolf tried to salvage the situation. "I'll… I-I'll eat you alive, bunny, if you say another word-"

"And betray Papa's trust?" His smirk grew a little wider. Poor Chai couldn't even listen properly to the two as he was too scared to move. He was clinging to Jinx's arm tightly, and it seemed he wouldn't be letting go anytime soon.

Anton seethed at the challenge and was about to refute when he just decided to give up. Aleister would definitely kill him and accuse him for neglecting the bunny rabbit when he'd learn Jinx was gone. "Fine, bunny. You win. Hurrah. What do you want?"

「 "Raum, what do you think?" 」

「 "Tread carefully, host-" 」

"Be my pet."

Raum muted itself and went back to just observing the scene, but wished it didn't have to observe at all. Even the system agent hadn't calculated the possibility of this shit happening.

Anton, on the other hand, gawked on, offended. His brows were raised before they furrowed, lips parting in disbelief, and then closing again. Open. Close. There was nothing much to say than, "wha- eh? Huh?"

Checkmate.

"You… you can't just take someone as your pet-"

"But do you want Papa to know about your-?"

"Alright, alright..!" the wolf groaned, his tail flicking in annoyance. "I yield."

Furan Shi didn't really plan on taking on another pet than the already annoying (and loveable) corn snake, but seeing the runt wolf's crestfallen face felt good. It may be revenge for inadvertently making him panic for a hot moment.

And yes, he couldn't care less now that Anton had eaten two unfortunate bunny rabbit demihumans just minutes ago. Not when Chai wasn't one of them. Somehow, Furan Shi couldn't really care about someone at all if he didn't know their name. He wasn't a martyr, or a saint, and he wasn't planning on becoming either anytime soon.

Anyways, Anton could only clench and unclench his fists at his sides. It had been such a pity he couldn't eat this rabbit with the sickly sweet scent, but to be his pet is more preposterous..! He'd been a runt wolf all his life, and now he's going on a new low.

What a steal.

At the same time, Furan Shi felt guilty for shooting his own uncle without thinking. It was fortunate enough that he'd missed three shots, grazed Anton with one, but only pierced him with one.

"Does it still hurt..?" he weakly asked as he gazed at the bleeding shoulder of his uncle, something the latter only shook off with a good laugh, but winced when he felt the cut on his cheek.

"It's nothing, don't worry."

Furan Shi knew it wasn't nothing, or at least he thought it wasn't, but chose not to push it. What's important was he'd officially joined a mafia group. And… Chai was safe.

He wasn't particularly close with the caramel-coloured bunny rabbit, but they've known each other for some time in the second turn of the story "But Cat's Can't Eat This Much Sugar!!" And even if this version of Chai didn't even know him, Furan Shi felt complicated when he first heard it was Chai that was eaten.

He didn't know what to do, so with a gun in hand, he haf shot the predator that "ate" the caramel rabbit. Only to see it was himself who'd almost killed Chai. If he'd shot the sack, then he would've been the one to really murder the poor bunny.

The caramel rabbit in his arms felt heavy all of a sudden as he realized that.

"Give him- Chai to my men and come with me," Anton ordered, not waiting for Jinx to get a word in as he exited the storage room. Jinx wasn't one to obey a pet now, let alone an uncle that orders him around after scaring him twice in a day, so he silently held onto Chai and helped him out and up the stairs that led back up to Anton's laboratory.

Anton was already there, waiting. He heavily sighed, disappointed, when he still saw the stupid Chai with his nephew. "Didn't I tell you to leave him there?"

"You did," Jinx replied, his chin raised in defiance, "but you're my pet now, aren't you?"

The runt wolf could only roll his eyes and bite back a snarky comment. "Sure, whatever. Now come here."

It felt weird to be a sponsor and a pet at the same time to the same person, but Anton didn't want his secret to be out to his brother, so he had to comply and tread carefully.

Jinx wasn't an easy prey, a fact he'd realized a little too late.

To complete the initiation ritual, he made the bunnyboy take an oath of silence and loyalty. He also gave him a new nickname.

"Outside of this villa compound, you may address me as "Master Leviathan"," he explained with a firm tone. This time, Jinx knew to take him seriously. "No one could say an upper character's name so casually. But for you, "Uncle" would be better so everyone in the organization would know not to belittle you."

"Understood."

"And you. You will play as "Celes" from here on out."

「 "Completed mission: "Isn't it time to join the mafia?"! 」

「 Reward: Added "Anton Selvan's Unique Character Key" × 1 to the inventory 」

「 Reward: Added "Anton Selvan's Magnum Opus" × 2 to the inventory 」

「 Reward: Added 1000 C points to system wallet 」

Furan Shi immediately checked into his rewards right after the notification window popped up above his head, almost letting go of Chai in the process. The latter all but whined and held onto him tighter.

「 "Raum, what's the key for?"」

「 "Master—" 」 Furan Shi could've sworn Raum was mocking him— 「 "it's to unlock a story that's unique to a certain version of the character. In this case, the key is for this Anton you're seeing now. You can hop into his story later after this one." 」

「 "I wonder if Camilius would also have a character key?" 」

「 "That would be a complicated story to translate. But for now, please worry about the more important matters, like pacifying Chai, or training for your new group. Keep in mind that you are a Serpenti now, but for some reason you weren't adopted into the Lupari sub-group." 」

「 "I noticed that, too, but maybe it's just that the Lupari group was exclusive to genius wolves?" 」

「 "No. It's only because you're still training. There are three sub-groups under the Serpenti, something Anton would only explain later when it's your time to pick one." 」

「 "What a way to be anticlimactic." 」

「 "I'm not doing this to spoil you of the future events." 」

True to the system agent's words, another window popped up before him with the very familiar digital sound.

「 New! Mission: Train to join the Lupari group. Focus on strategies and agility, baby. This sister is rooting for you d(￣◞￣)b 」