The hallway slowly buzzed with the sound of those four — Ryan, Arthur, Maya, and Leon, who slowly stepped out of room no. 212 together.

The air felt lighter now; the tension had settled down after the meeting was done, but the weight of what they had just planned remained buried in their minds.

For a few moments, none of them spoke. The corridor lights flickered above, reflecting faintly on the tiled floor.

Maya was the first one to break the silence. "Alright, we've got this guys, our roles are set now. Now, let's go back to our classes and meet again after a week," she said, as she gave Ryan a small nod before she looked straight up ahead.

Leon stretched lazily as a small yawn left his mouth. "Seven days, huh? Don't slack off, boxing hero."

Ryan just gave him a small smile as he said. "You either, newbie."

Arthur didn't say anything as if he was trying to ignore them all, just adjusted his bag strap and started walking down towards the opposite hallway. Maya followed a different path, waving slightly before she disappeared around the corner.

Ryan watched them all leave one by one as he started following behind Arthur. He let out a small sigh, voice low yet calm. "Seven days, starting today,"

he muttered under his breath. "We have seven days to change it all, to make the West High Crew disappear with no crumbs left." Eyes were filled with motivation.

Ryan slowly entered his classroom just to see that Arthur was already at his seat, head lying on top of his hand. He slowly made his way to his seat, and he sat there in silence.

The classes slowly went by, and when the last bell of the day rang, the school started to empty. Students started running, chatting between themselves, and the air was filled with the noise.

The plan made by Maya was still in his mind, replaying the events about the ambush and the three-team plan that they had made. And their deadline — the seven days.

By the time he reached his apartment, the sun was slowly setting as it left the gold rays all over the city. Ryan walked inside his apartment door, quickly tossed his bag over to the side table and collapsed onto the bed without even taking off his school boots.

The air in the room was filled with the smell of instant cup noodles. It was quiet, but the hum of the creaking ceiling fan filled the room slowly.

Then —

[DING!]

The familiar blue panel blinked into existence above him.

[Side Quest Unlocked: Take down 3 hideouts of the West High Crew to assert dominance and shake them up.]

[Damaged building next to the school.]

[A small bar on East Street.]

[A small club near Sector Plaza.]

Ryan's emotions changed a bit as he frowned, rubbed his temple with his thumb, and let out a small sigh. "Three areas? Are you even serious right now? Two of them even seem like it is part of their business or something. Isn't it too much for me?"

[System Response: No, Host. It's not too much. It's the least you can do to win this war.]

He rolled onto the side of his bed as a small groan escaped his mouth. 'Well... what else can I say now. It's the least I can do, huh? Are you even serious, blue shitty bastard?'

[Host, please maintain sanity. Also, watch your language, I'm doing all this for your own good.]

[And for your query: Host, the bar and club are sources of their income. Taking them out will weaken the crew's funds and influence.]

Ryan pushed himself up as he sat up on the bed, legs crossed, scratching the down part of his chin. 'Income sources, huh? So, I was right in it. Those two are one of their income sources... drugs, gambling.' He sighed. 'Well, if I successfully take these three out, it'll be beneficial for us. I'll be pissing them off really good with this one.'

[Yes, host. That is the goal.]

He leaned back into the bed, staring at the ceiling, and a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Of course, it's fine with me. I'm not going to slack in these seven days, as the leader, it's my work to do the most work. So, tomorrow we'll ball."

He slowly shut his eyes, mind still racing with multiple thoughts — not because of fear, but with a strange excitement that one gets before an important event. Every one of these quests made him feel alive, more in control of his life than he'd ever had.

Sleep came slowly.

The next morning came up slowly; the sun was already up, casting long shadows all over the city as some of its rays entered Ryan's room through the windows.

He slowly made his way towards the school, today was the same as the other days — noise, classes, students chatting among themselves on some silly topic, Maya waving at him across the hallway, Arthur's usual cold behaviour, while Leon just gave him a small lazy grin.

Ryan smiled faintly but didn't question anything about that; rather felt warmth in it. His thoughts were clearly out of place, on the thing which he was about to do today.

By the time the evening came, the golden lights of sunset were all over the place. The air now felt cooler than before, the kind that makes bones chill; it carried the smell of rain and dust.

Ryan pulled his black hoodie up as he wore the mask on his face, covering all of his features to avoid any kind of suspicion. He checked if he had his mobile, which he carried for emergencies, and tucked it in his sleeve as he stepped back into the streets.

The System echoed softly into his mind, guiding him.

[Objective: Destroy Hideout #1 — Damaged building next to West High.]

He made his way towards the old structure that sat just beyond the back wall of the school. It used to be an old workshop before it was abandoned — now, it was a half-collapsed mess of bricks, broken windows, and graffiti.

From the outside, it simply looked deserted, no guards, no noise, nothing.

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