Chapter 40: Money wheel.

The thick glass windows of the Barton City penthouse filtered out the chaotic noise of the streets below.

Dori Calestina sat completely sprawled across the center cushion of the expensive leather sofa, making a mockery of the high-end furniture. Her long pink hair fell loosely over her shoulders, contrasting sharply with the oversized, dark hoodie she had claimed as her own from Karl’s closet.

She held a cold glass of fruit juice in one hand, her legs spread wide in a posture that screamed absolute, untouchable comfort.

She looked every bit like a queen holding court, which was exactly how she felt at this particular moment in time.

Standing awkwardly on the polished hardwood floor in front of her were the two university recruits Karl had brought in. The heavier guy with the shaved head shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot, holding a silver tray with a plate of sliced fruit. His taller friend, still sporting the fading yellow remnants of a bruise on his cheekbone, stood rigidly at attention holding a stack of napkins.

"Peel the grapes," Dori commanded, her voice dropping into a flat, unimpressed drawl.

The shaved-headed recruit blinked, staring down at the expensive plate. "You want me to peel the grapes? Like, actually take the skin off?"

Dori slowly lowered her glass to her lap, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. The completely bored expression on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by the cold, dead look of an assassin who had survived the absolute worst of the Black Snakes.

"Did I stutter?" she asked, her tone entirely devoid of mercy. "You work for Karl, which means you answer directly to me. If I tell you to peel the grapes, you do not ask questions. You just start peeling until your fingers cramp and bleed."

The taller recruit immediately nudged his friend in the ribs, pure panic flashing across his face. "Just do it, man. Do not make her mad again."

Dori watched them fumble with the fruit, a humorless smirk touching the corner of her mouth. It was incredibly entertaining to watch these soft campus idiots tremble under her gaze.

But as the minutes ticked by in silence, the amusement began to fade, replaced by a gnawing, uncomfortable tension building tight in her chest.

She glanced up at the digital clock mounted on the wall. It was getting late. Much later than Karl usually stayed out after his afternoon classes.

’Where is he?’ she thought, her fingers tapping a chaotic, restless rhythm against the side of her glass. ’He should have been back by now. Did Yajn figure out where we live? No, that is impossible. We covered our tracks.’

She set her drink down on the glass coffee table, the sharp clink of crystal making both recruits jump slightly in their shoes.

"Put the tray down," Dori snapped, her patience completely evaporating into the cool air.

"Both of you, get out of here right now. Run down to the lobby and scan the perimeter. Check every street corner and every alleyway within a three-block radius. I want you to know every angle of these streets. If you see anyone suspicious hanging around the building, you report back to me instantly. Go."

The two men did not need to be told twice. They dropped the fruit tray onto the table and practically sprinted down the hallway, desperate to escape her suffocating presence.

Once the heavy front door clicked shut behind them, Dori pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on her arms. The penthouse suddenly felt entirely too large and empty. The absolute safety of the apartment felt incredibly fragile without Karl standing in the center of it.

A few agonizing minutes later, the familiar sound of a key turning in the lock echoed through the corridor.

Dori was off the leather sofa in a flash. Her bare feet slapped softly against the hardwood floor as she hurried toward the entryway, the heavy dread in her chest melting away instantly.

The heavy wooden door swung open, and Karl stepped inside. He looked exhausted, his shoulders carrying that familiar, heavy weight, but he was completely unharmed.

"You are back," Dori said, her voice entirely stripped of its usual cold edge. A massive, blinding smile spread across her face, completely unbefitting of her violent gang background.

She closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his waist in a tight, desperate hug before he could even take his jacket off. Karl froze for a fraction of a second, his hands hovering awkwardly in the air, before gently patting her back.

"I am back," Karl replied, his voice level and grounding.

Dori breathed in deeply, burying her face in his shoulder, just wanting to feel the comforting warmth that meant she was safe. But as she inhaled, her entire body went perfectly rigid.

The clean, sharp scent of cedar and rain that usually surrounded him was completely masked by something else. It was an intoxicating, incredibly expensive floral perfume. The scent was heavy, clinging stubbornly to the fabric of his jacket and the collar of his shirt.

Dori stepped back slowly, her hands dropping to her sides.

The warm, relieved smile vanished from her lips, replaced instantly by a dark, possessive shadow. The feverish intensity that Karl had seen back in the plastic playground castle returned in full force.

"You smell like a woman," Dori stated, her voice dropping an octave, slipping into a mesmerizing, obsessive cadence. "A very expensive woman."

Karl looked down at her, maintaining his completely blank expression. He did not flinch or try to step away from her intense glare.

"I was at an appointment," he said simply.

"An appointment," Dori echoed, her nails digging fiercely into the palms of her hands. Her eyes darted up and down his frame, searching for any other signs of contact. "Who was it, Karl? Did someone touch you? I told you I would destroy anyone who tried to take you away from me."

"It was my teacher," Karl said, keeping his tone perfectly calm and entirely devoid of emotion. "Miss Vera."

Dori completely froze. Her mouth parted slightly in utter shock, her brain struggling to process the sheer absurdity of the information.

’His teacher?’ she thought, staring at him blankly while her rage short-circuited. ’He smells like he rolled around in a perfume factory, and he says it was his school nurse?’

Before Dori could formulate a response to that completely ridiculous statement, Karl stepped around her. He unzipped his jacket, tossing it over the back of a nearby dining chair, and walked straight down the long, polished hardwood hallway toward his bedroom.

He left her standing in the entryway, entirely paralyzed by confusion and a boiling, unresolved jealousy.

Karl pushed the door to his room open and stepped inside. The space was meticulously clean and organized, the dark sheets of his bed pulled tight without a single wrinkle. He walked straight into the adjoining bathroom, turning the shower dial as high as it would go.

He stripped off his clothes and stepped under the scalding spray. The hot water cascaded over his shoulders, washing away the lingering scent of the expensive perfume and the heavy exhaustion of the day. T

he confrontation with the two varsity guys, the emotional breakdown in Miss Vera’s apartment, it all drained away down the tile floor, leaving him with nothing but cold, absolute focus.

He dried off, pulled on a clean pair of sweatpants, and walked back into his bedroom. He sat down on the very edge of the mattress, resting his elbows on his knees, and closed his eyes.

’System. Open the interface.’

The familiar, pale blue translucent screen unfolded in the direct center of his vision. He ignored the infrastructure tab and the glowing notification for his newly established hamlet. Instead, he navigated straight to the quest log.

He had completed multiple objectives over the past few days, securing subordinates for his syndicate and successfully navigating the complex emotional web of a certain school nurse.

The system had been holding his rewards in escrow, waiting for him to manually claim them.

He tapped the glowing claim button with his mind.

Instead of the usual deposit of experience points or a flat sum of cash, the entire interface shifted. The blue text dissolved, reassembling itself into a large, ornate golden wheel that hovered silently in the air right in front of his face.

System Notice: The Money Wheel acquired.

Item Description: A specialized reward generated from consecutive high-tier quest completions. The wheel grants the Administrator a chance to win massive financial windfalls, rare infrastructure blueprints, or exclusive combat skills.

Uses remaining: Three.

Karl stared at the golden wheel.

He currently had a solid amount in his account after paying off Yajn, supplemented by the ten thousand Elsa had left on his nightstand. However, maintaining the penthouse and securing his new gang required a continuous, massive flow of capital.

If this wheel offered what it claimed, he could instantly secure enough resources to permanently cement his hold on the city.

’Three pulls,’ Karl thought, his heart performing a sudden, erratic flutter against his ribs.

He reached his hand forward, his fingertips hovering just a millimeter away from the glowing digital center of the wheel. The golden light washed over his face, casting long shadows against the walls of his clean, quiet room.

He took a slow, measured breath, ready to test his luck.