[3rd POV]
Gotham City has been a little on edge lately.
The Gothamites know that The Roman, Carmine Falcone, has been under a lot of stress.
Firstly, Catwoman and Batman barged into his home during his nephew's wedding and stole some things. Secondly, the Falcone Import Company he founded was suddenly rejected by every bank in Gotham.
Thirdly, on Halloween night, The Roman's younger nephew was assassinated and burned his twenty million dollars.
They even left behind a super ugly jack-o-lantern to mock him.
The Roman was different. He cared deeply about his own reputation and his family's safe.
Therefore, he offered a huge bounty to whoever was behind it all.
Unfortunately, after all the investigations, the only clue was about a mysterious person wearing an ugly jack-o-lantern mask who showed up once in the Diamond District.
There was no way to follow up on that lead. The "Pumpkin Man" had only shown up for ten minutes before vanishing completely.
The only reason anyone remembered him at all was because the pumpkin on his head was so unusual.
Carmine Falcone wasn't happy about this.
He placed a big price on the Pumpkin Man, but there was still no progress after an entire week.
Moreover, The Roman's reputation was taking a hit, and his sister, Carla, who was also a leader in the Falcone family, screamed at him in anger every day.
"My Johnny, my son, is dead! Carmine, if you can't figure out a way to catch that damned Pumpkin Man, I'll handle it myself—my own way!"
"Carla, we are the Falcone family, not some street thugs. We don't slaughter the innocent, and we can't take revenge indiscriminately just to vent our anger."
"Innocent? Don't you think that District Attorney Harvey Dent deserved to die anyway? Do you know how much trouble he's caused our family?"
"You're not doing this for the family, Carla. We all know you got suspicious because he showed up at Johnny's party parking lot. But someone like Harvey wouldn't just grab a gun, wear a jack-o'-lantern mask, and break into someone's house to commit murder."
"Oh, really? And you think that's just a coincidence? That Harvey Dent just happened to be working with Gordon on Halloween night? That just by chance there was a cop there who could vouch for his alibi? That somehow the missing ledger ends up in his hands? Why don't you go ask any of the family members who were outside the warehouse that night? They all saw him looking through your ledger with his own hands in the warehouse himself."
"Enough!"
Carmine cut off Carla's hysterics and relentless accusations.
The power he carried as The Roman was undeniable at that moment, and his overwhelming presence forced Carla into silence.
"We can't be sure whether Harvey Dent killed Johnny or not, but what is certain is that he has our ledger. If it wasn't a high-level traitor from inside the family, then the only person who could've tracked down where that twenty million went... is him."
"And that Gordon! And that Batman too!"
"Carla, I said that's enough. I don't want to say it a third time."
The woman, dressed in black and heavy with gold jewelry, fumed with anger but still obeyed The Roman's word.
She sat off to the side, sulking in silence.
"Whether or not Johnny's death was his doing, they took something from us, and there will be a price for that. I'll take care of it."
...
A week had passed, and Tony finally felt a little more at ease.
There's no one looking for him, and that means no one actually suspected him because of an ugly pumpkin.
After all, it didn't make much sense to think that a new man who had just started working at a restaurant run by the gang could be a sneaky, cold-hearted killer.
He had neither the motive nor the means to pull something like that off, and no one could even be sure whether the killer wasn't someone hired by The Roman himself.
Initially, Johnny Viti had once thought about telling the jury everything he knew about the Roman before the wedding, like blackmail, bribery, and even murder... before the wedding.
Back then, everyone believed The Roman really wanted to make sure Johnny would keep quiet forever.
But later on, The Roman actually paid for Johnny Viti's wedding himself, and on that day, Johnny never showed up in court to testify as planned.
The two of them looked like they got along perfectly, like one big happy family.
Anyway, Tony advised Drake to take her wife and move out of Gotham City as soon as possible. He even lent him thirty thousand dollars to help out.
He was honestly scared that one of Drake's enemies would come looking for trouble.
It wouldn't be so bad if they just showed up with a gun to settle a score, but he lived there too and didn't want to get caught up in the crossfire.
Moreover, Tony didn't really need the money right now. He didn't have a car loan, mortgage, student loan, or credit card debt to pay.
Drake had spent all his money trying to get his wife better, and now he was totally broke.
Now, Tony gave him a thirty thousand dollar loan with really high interest.
If he managed to earn more money and make it out of Gotham alive, Drake would have to pay him back later.
"Shit, what was the interest rate again?"
He stared blankly, trying to recall the moment. It seemed like... they never actually agreed on an interest rate.
"Dang it! I lost money!"
"Ding"
[The user has a new gig available. Please check your task list.]
'Oh, come on! The two out of three gigs almost got me killed last time, and the third one nearly killed me on the spot. If I ever take one of your random jobs again, I'm a dog!'
[Reward: Advanced Cooking Proficiency.]
'Hmm, you really won't let go of the cooking skills, huh?'
He muttered that, but his body betrayed him as he honestly clicked into the store to check the price of Advanced Cooking Proficiency.
[Advanced Cooking Proficiency]
[Price: $20,000]
[Description: The user possesses an exceptional level of culinary skill, allowing them to prepare any dish with perfect taste, texture, and presentation. Their food can energize, heal, or even influence emotions, depending on their intent and ingredients.]
Tony laughed and said, 'Thank you, Sugar Daddy! You're the best! You come here, and lemme give you a big kiss—mua!'
...
150 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
250 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
450 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter
1000 Power Stones = 2 Extra Chapters
2000 Power Stones = 3 Extra Chapters