The gold-chain-wearing black man aimed his weapon at the three Latinos and cursed:
"You damn Mexican bastards, don't think you can bully my black brothers! Bitches! Get on your knees right now!"
Seeing the gold-chain man appear, Mike showed a hint of helplessness and said:
"Mr. Sol, thank you... but this is my own business."
Gold-chain Sol shook his head and said to Mike with a tone of frustration:
"Mike, I invited you long ago. You should join the Blood Gang, so you won't be bullied by these greedy bastards. His bullets were about to shatter your head, and you still refuse me?"
Tattooed Dick suddenly turned his gun toward the gold-chain black man and said coldly:
"Your brother owes Big Daddy money!"
Hearing the name "Big Daddy," a flicker of tension passed through Gold-chain Sol's eyes. His tone softened as he pointed at Tattooed Dick and said:
"Regardless, you've crossed the line, brother. Before the East Side Brothers came to America, the Blood Gang already controlled the entire West Coast."
Tattooed Dick didn't back down at all, grinning as he said:
"I think the Cripple Gang has a different opinion about your words. Besides, you're just one of the hundreds of branches of the Blood Gang—you can't represent the whole Blood Gang, but I can represent Big Daddy."
"You son of a bitch bastard, you insult our Piru set! I'll send you back to see Big Daddy right now!" Gold-chain Sol released the safety on his large-caliber revolver and cursed angrily.
The three Latino gang members now huddled together, raising their weapons and exchanging curses with the dozen or so Blood Gang members.
For a moment, tensions were high, and a shootout could erupt at any second.
"Hey, brothers, don't be impulsive, listen to me!" Wayne climbed onto a nearby trash can, kicked the lid hard, making a loud noise that drew everyone's attention.
[Bard Performance (Beginner 10%) Activated]
[Stranger in a Strange Land (Passive 40%) Activated]
Frowning, Wayne spoke with an expression of compassion and pain:
"Cough, cough, cough... all of this is because of me. To avoid unnecessary bloodshed and settle the dispute, I'm willing to go see Big Daddy... cough... just don't hurt my two brothers."
Gritting his teeth, Mike said:
"Mr. Sol, last night Wayne saved me and David from two crooked cops. He's a good kid!"
Hearing this, the gang members present looked at Wayne with much softer expressions.
[Your title "Court Rebel" has gained favor]
Tattooed Dick was the first to nod and say:
"Fine, I just want to help Big Daddy get his money back."
Gold-chain Sol also nodded and said:
"White boy, you're a good man. God will bless you... If I find out you hurt this white boy, I won't let you go."
Although backed by the Blood Gang, he also didn't want to make an enemy of the Latino gang.
Of course, he still had to talk tough.
With that, he put away his weapon and signaled for the Latinos to leave.
Wayne climbed down from the trash can and followed Tattooed Dick into the bed of a Toyota pickup truck parked on the street. His hands were tightly bound with electrical tape.
The little dog Wick closely followed at his feet, jumped into the truck bed, and nestled into Wayne's arms.
The engine roared as the pickup truck sped away.
Gold-Chain Sol grabbed Mike, who was trying to charge forward, watched the others leave, then punched Mike in the abdomen, sending him writhing on the ground in pain.
"Kid, if you want to go die on Big Daddy's turf, I won't stop you. But think about your uncle!"
[You have resolved the conflict between the Goblin Tribe and the Two-Headed Ogre Tribe. EXP +10. Some skills have improved.]
[Minstrel Performance (Beginner 10% → 20%)]
[Stranger in a Strange Land (Passive 40% → 50%)]
Lines of text flashed before Wayne's eyes, filling him with delight.
Truly, great rewards require great risks. Two extremely useful skills had improved, and he'd gained 10 experience points. He was gradually figuring out how this system worked.
With the Dungeon Adventure System, the entire United States had become an open world to him—a map with infinite possibilities through its extreme openness and extensibility. All he needed to do was keep expanding outward, exploring this world, completing more side quests, and enhancing his attributes.
Of course, the prerequisite was not to die.
Noticing Wayne's silence, the gold-toothed man beside him mistook it for fear and sighed. "Brother, you lied to me, but you dared to stand up to those corrupt cops—you're still a warrior... Big Daddy has a short temper. When you see him, don't lie again."
He reached out and patted Wayne's shoulder.
Wayne looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, brother. Ahem... I must sincerely apologize for last night's necessary deception. Don't worry... ahem... that will be the only time I ever deceive my fans."
He secretly took another fish antibiotic pill and swallowed it, then looked out at the streets.
Since transmigrating last night, this was the first chance he'd had to carefully observe Seattle's streets. But they weren't in a tourist area—they were near Chinatown in the south, where the buildings were much more dilapidated.
It looked worse than a county town in Eastern University.
Tents belonging to homeless people were everywhere.
People who had taken Enhancement Drugs struck bizarre poses by the roadside, a common sight.
Some scantily clad women wandered the streets in the winter cold, waiting for business to pick up.
Only now did Wayne feel the realism of the American game.
The scenes from GTA5 had become his reality.
After driving for a while through several streets, the infrastructure—including the roads—became increasingly decrepit.
In just a few blocks, it felt like they had completely left the bustling Seattle behind.
"Screech..." The Toyota pickup came to an abrupt halt. A trench filled with sharp stones blocked the road ahead. While the truck could cross it, the tires would surely be damaged.
The tattooed man honked the horn five times in succession. A square-faced Latino carrying an assault rifle ran over from the roadside and laid a sheet of metal over the trench.
The pickup crossed the trench and entered the dilapidated neighborhood ahead.
[You have entered the Two-Headed Ogre Tribe. Rewards will be granted for leaving safely.]
Wayne immediately noticed that everything here felt different.
While some outer neighborhoods showed signs of decay, they still maintained a visible degree of order upheld by government maintenance.
The neighborhood before us, however, could only be described as chaotic and dilapidated.
The number of homeless people had multiplied several times compared to the outer areas, and there were far more humanoid creatures shuffling around like zombies after injecting Enhancement Drugs.
Only in the yards of some rundown houses could children be seen playing and laughing, while in other spots, provocatively dressed women with curvaceous figures came and went.
Latino men carrying handguns or assault rifles were frequently spotted swaggering down the streets or sitting on chairs outside certain buildings.
This was a community completely controlled by gangs.
Just then, the pickup truck stopped before an ornately decorated house whose yard appeared significantly cleaner and more orderly than its surroundings.
In fact, if one ignored the rest of the neighborhood and looked at this house alone, it could easily be mistaken for a property in an upscale community.
From a tree trunk in the yard hung five heads bound with triple-strand ropes.
They resembled five skinned red spheres.
On these spheres, wriggling maggots dropped like disco-dancing grains of rice.
Like sugared apples dripping with frosting.
[You have discovered Dark Magic Item Material "Sugared Apple"]