[3rd POV]
After a rushed and somewhat weird five-minute interview, Tony officially became a member of the "Red Dragon Restaurant."
"You need to come to the restaurant every day at ten in the morning, change into your uniform, and start work on time. If you want, you can come earlier. You can eat breakfast and lunch in the restaurant's staff dining room. You can also take a two-hour break at two in the afternoon. Your job is to welcome guests, take orders, serve dishes, and wipe tables. Your work ends at ten at night. You get paid twenty-five dollars per hour and work five days a week. The restaurant runs into unexpected situations. You don't need to do much, just keep calm and try to soothe the customers. Don't let things get out of hand. Someone will come quickly to handle the problem."
A supervisor leisurely walked Tony around the restaurant, familiarizing him with every room inside and out.
"Be smart. There are a lot of things you need to learn here. If customers ask you about the menu, you have to know the answers. If they want something not on the menu, you should try your best to accommodate them."
"That includes request?"
"That depends on who the customer is. If someone important like 'The Roman' or a big shot comes in, even if they ask you to do something really silly, like lick their shoes, it's best to do it. But if it's some ignorant person causing trouble here, you can deal with them, but make sure you don't make a big mess."
'I am not going to do that.'
"That sounds a little scary."
The supervisor glanced at the new employee with an awkward smile.
"The boss asked me to tell you a bit more. You have to practice your shooting skills well. In Gotham, people without a bit of toughness don't last long here."
Then he took out a card and gave it to him.
"You can call this number, and the restaurant workers get a half a discount for shooting practice here. Of course, if you've got the guts or the connections, you can find cheaper ways to practice shooting yourself in the East End."
He took the card.
"There's one more thing. After you get your first paycheck, get yourself a means of transportation as soon as possible."
He continued, "The boss told me that if you hadn't joined the restaurant, just riding that big bus every day wouldn't be too dangerous, but now that you're an employee, you should switch to find a safer way to travel."
"Can I get an advance on a month's salary?"
The supervisor frowned.
"You haven't lived here before, have you? We get paid every two weeks here. The boss allows you to advance the base salary for the first two pay periods and that's four weeks before tax, five thousand dollars. You have your own bank account, right?"
"Yes."
"After you finish signing in, we'll send the money to your account, but it will be after taxes, or if you want, you can get cash instead. It's up to you."
Tony was worried because it seemed like he didn't have a place to stay after Drake left. Then, he asked the supervisor if he could stay at the restaurant at night.
The supervisor's expression was quite intriguing. He gave him a half-smile and said, "The restaurant does have a night shift, but you don't have permission to work the night shift yet."
It was clear the kind of people who came to the restaurant at night were not the kind he wanted to meet, annd he didn't ask more.
Since his job officially started the next day, Drake simply took Tony away from the Red Dragon Restaurant.
The most important thing now was to get a way to get around or find a place to live close by because he couldn't keep riding the big bus from the East End to the Red Dragon Restaurant.
Drake actually knew quite a bit about rental houses near Otisburg, since this area was originally the collaboration site between Mr. Freeze and a pharmaceutical company.
He had also stayed here when he first arrived in Gotham until his savings couldn't support the rent anymore.
Drake thought that Tonny could easily find a small place to rent near the Red Dragon Restaurant, which would be safe and easy to get to, but Tony didn't like that idea very much.
He and Drake calculated their living costs but Tony can't afford it for now and would eat up most of his money.
He had already looked in the system's shop and saw that he could buy things like better shooting proficiency and a one-time save option.
These might not work well against lunatics in tight suits, but they should be okay against regular people in the East End.
"After thinking a lot, I decided I'd rather live with the addicts, thugs, prostitutes, gangs, and thieves in the East End."
Tony said to Drake, waving his hand firmly. "I would rather die than live in Otisburg. Let's go."
...
It was one in the afternoon when Tony finally rode his bike back to the dirty and messy residential area in the East End.
It wasn't that picking out the vehicle took too long for the two of them.
In fact, the entire process of buying the car took only about ten minutes.
The reason they arrived at this time was because the bike he chose was a little slow.
"Ha, ha, ha..."
Tony was panting really hard, looking like he'd been soaked with water. He pushed his folding bike by the side of the road like a dog.
A taxi followed slowly behind and finally stopped by the roadside as well. The door opened, and Drake, looking relaxed, stepped out of the car.
"You okay? It's just a ride back from Otisburg to the East End, why do you look like you're about to pass out?"
"I... I have to get up early at eight. If you think you're so tough, why don't you try riding the whole way yourself to see how it feels?"
Tony's stamina wasn't actually that bad, but he wasn't weak either. He was able to finish the ride mainly because he kept stopping to rest a lot.
"I've told you already, why didn't you just buy a cheap motorcycle or a used car? But no, you had to buy a folding bike."
Drake shook his head and sighed, "Driving a car out in Gotham not only keeps you safe from gangs but also lets you use the car as temporary cover during gunfights to block others' shooting angles. It's basically a three-in-one bargain."
Tony finally caught his breath. After holding it in for a long time, he blurted out, "I don't know how to drive."
He really didn't know how to drive. The driver's license was given to him by the system and it wasn't something he earned himself.
Drake was stunned and asked, "Why do you have a driver's license?"
"The license is real, but I really can't drive—so if I bought a car, we'd probably end up in another gunfight tomorrow just because I'd crash into some unlucky guy on the street!"
Originally, Tony was thinking of checking the system to see how much it would cost to buy driving proficiency and find a cheap car while he was at it.
However, the moment he opened the system store, Tony saw the balance in his assets, and his eyes widened.
Right now, the system still shows his assets as the same three dollars as yesterday.
'Wait, what?! Where did my four thousand dollars go? I had just earned it and was still carrying the cash in my bag. Why didn't my asset point go up even a little?'
'Did someone steal it?'
[You reap what you sow. The user can only earn what they work for. No work, no reward.]
[The user's asset points will only increase after they have completed work that matches the time the user was paid for.]
[Therefore, the payment for this portion of your asset points will be after completing four weeks of work and that is next month.]
'You've got to be kidding me.'
Tony's nearly exploded.
'…What about my tips?'
[The user's tips will be settled after each order is completed and will increase the user asset points in the system accordingly.]
'…O-kay… that's… fine'
He spoke slowly, gritting his teeth as he tried to calm himself down.
The system wasn't completely unfair and at least he could still earn some emergency asset points during the days he worked.
Since his asset points hadn't increased, Tony's plan to buy a cheap vehicle or driving proficiency from the store would have to be put on hold for now.
The two of them wobbled all the way toward the East End.
"If I went to work at this speed, Donald would have fired me within three days."
Just as Tony was feeling down, the system's voice suddenly rang in his ear.
"Ding!"
[The store proudly offers items]
[Extreme Bike]
[Price: $50]
[Description: This bike is capable of reaching speeds up to forty miles and exhibiting precise control over, braking, and maneuvering at rough terrain with confidence]
...
[Electric Wheelchair]
Price: 100$
[Description: This electric wheelchair can travel up to eighty kilometers on one charge and folds into a compact unicycle for easy carrying.]
...
[Modified Car]
Price: 1000$
[Description: This modified car features a high-performance engine and aerodynamic enhancements, allowing it to reach speeds of up to a hundred twenty per mile.]
"That's seriously ridiculous."
What really made him stop and stare was... "Electric Wheelchair"?
What kind of weird option was that?
He looked closely at the wheelchair's description with eighty miles per hour.
[The user needs the 'Beginner Wheelchair Driving Proficiency' to use this.]
Right now… Tony had to admit that he was kind of tempted.