Chapter 71: Breaking Brian's Legs
A new week arrived, and Chris returned to Adam West High School.
Walking across campus with Meg, Chris couldn't shake the feeling that his sister was in an unusually good mood—like something genuinely happy had happened to her for once.
Curious, Chris directly asked, "Hey Meg, you seem really upbeat today. Did something good happen?"
Meg looked at Chris with surprise and asked, "Wait—don't you know? This morning I received a massive deposit of $750,000 in my bank account! Isn't that the dividend payment you set up for me?"
"Oh, right! That's today!" Chris smacked his forehead. He genuinely hadn't realized that Meg was this happy specifically because of the money.
After all, ever since Chris had transmigrated into this universe, he personally hadn't worried about finances even once. Money had simply never been a concern.
So initially, he hadn't even considered that direction when wondering about Meg's mood.
But thinking about it more carefully—given the Griffin family's perpetually chaotic financial circumstances and Peter's consistently dismissive attitude toward Meg—receiving such a substantial sum of money was indeed an absolutely massive blessing for her.
"So, have you thought about how you're going to spend it?" Chris asked with genuine interest. "Savings account? Investing? Travel?"
Hearing Chris's question, Meg hesitated briefly, considered her options, then said with growing enthusiasm, "I'm actually planning to take a few of my girlfriends on a trip during summer vacation. I just haven't decided on the destination yet. Maybe Europe? Or maybe just California."
"Has your senior class vacation schedule been finalized yet? What's the exact date?" Chris asked.
Chris knew that Meg and her graduating classmates would get released for summer break much earlier than his sophomore class would, but he hadn't expected the schedule to be confirmed as early as late April.
Meg nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, the approximate timeline's been confirmed—we're done before mid-May. As for your class, based on previous years, you'll probably get out after mid-May sometime."
Chris mentally calculated the timeline and realized there was less than a month remaining in the school year. Should I also start planning what to do during summer vacation?
After all, American high school summer break lasted at least three full months. It would be a complete waste not to use that time productively—or at least enjoyably.
"So have you decided which university you're going to attend yet?" Chris asked. "Or are you considering studying abroad somewhere?"
Meg's expression became slightly awkward when she heard Chris's question, but she still answered directly and honestly, "I actually went to Uncle West for help, and he wrote me a recommendation letter for Brown University."
Chris didn't mind Meg's momentary awkwardness at all. He chuckled warmly and said, "Looks like you actually took my advice seriously for once! Good choice—Brown's an excellent school."
"Ugh, you're so annoying!" Meg complained, hearing the gentle teasing in Chris's words. She playfully quickened her pace and walked ahead, trying to hide her pleased smile.
As Meg departed for her own classes, Chris also headed to a classroom according to his schedule.
He casually glanced around the room and immediately noticed he hadn't seen most of these students before. Even Johnny Test—whom Chris had developed genuine respect for—wasn't present in this section.
However, this was completely normal. American high schools were famous for their rotating class system and flexible scheduling. It was actually quite rare to be matched with the same group of students in multiple consecutive classes.
So after confirming there were few familiar faces this time around, Chris simply left the classroom entirely. He decided to head over to the school gym instead and see what his crew was up to.
Just as Chris entered the gym, his attention was immediately drawn by a group of impressively muscular guys working out inside.
"Yo, yo! Check it out, bro! Look at these gains!" a powerfully built Black man called out, flexing his considerable biceps at Hanger. He flashed a wide, bright smile and asked enthusiastically, "You think my physique's got even a third of Boss Chris's development yet?"
Hearing his fellow crew member asking for his professional opinion, Hanger scoffed dismissively with barely concealed amusement, "Are you out of your damn mind, Bourne? Your max bench press is only 575 pounds. How the hell do you have the audacity to compare yourself to the boss, whose bench press maxes out over 1,100 pounds? I honestly don't know how you even dared to think that comparison was reasonable."
"Hehe, can't blame a brother for trying to learn from Boss Chris's example, right?" Bourne said, completely unbothered by the mockery. "I can't learn the supernatural strength, obviously, but at least I can try to develop a somewhat similar physique!"
Bourne, who'd just been thoroughly roasted by the senior crew member he'd acknowledged as his mentor, didn't get angry whatsoever. Instead, he continued enthusiastically flattering Hanger.
After all, Bourne had managed to literally double his bench press max from 285 pounds to 575 pounds in just two weeks—all thanks to the special performance-enhancement beverage provided by Boss Chris.
And as one of Boss Chris's most trusted lieutenants—plus being a Black brother himself—Hanger was naturally someone that other African American crew members felt comfortable approaching and learning from.
It was precisely because of this dynamic that Bourne not only wasn't offended by Hanger's harsh words, but was actually pleased that Hanger actively defended Boss Chris's reputation so fiercely.
Because Bourne deeply understood one fundamental truth about their organization: only absolute loyalty could earn increased attention and rewards from Boss Chris.
Otherwise, Marn—the white crew member who was Boss Chris's other primary lieutenant—would lead his white subordinates to completely dominate and marginalize the Black members of their organization.
Glancing across the gym at the group of white guys laughing and joking together, with Marn surrounded in the center like their natural leader...
Bourne, as one of the few Black crew members with genuine strategic intelligence, found himself contemplating how to improve Hanger's standing in Boss Chris's eyes—which would naturally bring more benefits and opportunities to their side of the organization.
Although Hanger noticed that his younger brother's behavior seemed somewhat unusual and calculating, he didn't think too much about it. Instead, he was consumed by his own anxious worries.
Hanger was still feeling tremendous anxiety and fear about that boxing match Chris had told him to arrange tickets for over two weeks ago—because he'd completely failed to accomplish that simple task.
The week before last, the day before the scheduled boxing match, Hanger had actively tried contacting Chris multiple times, desperately wanting to invite his boss to attend the event.
But ultimately, he'd never received any response whatsoever. Hanger had been depressed and worried about this failure for days afterward, until he'd finally learned that Chris had taken several days off from school—which had somewhat eased his mind about potential consequences.
However, two days ago, Hanger had tried contacting Chris again but still couldn't reach him. This made Hanger increasingly anxious, because he knew Chris had definitely been back at school last Friday.
Desperate for information, Hanger had even tracked down Brian—that educated white dog who seemed to know Chris personally—but that encounter had ultimately proven fruitless.
That manipulative dog had taken fifty dollars cash from him and then provided only the vaguest possible answer, saying something cryptic about "Boss Chris having just returned from being missing for several days."
Missing? What kind of bullshit explanation was that?
With Chris's absolutely superhuman physique and obvious supernatural abilities, why would anyone use such a dramatic and concerning word as "missing" to describe his absence?
This made Hanger strongly suspect that the white dog didn't actually know any specific details either, and had simply taken the opportunity to scam his money with worthless information.
Thinking about this obvious con job, Hanger gritted his teeth in barely suppressed fury. If it weren't for Boss Chris apparently having some kind of positive relationship with that manipulative white dog, Hanger would have genuinely wanted to break both the mutt's legs as payback.
However Hanger tried to rationalize and justify things in his mind, the fundamental fact remained unchanged: he hadn't completed the simple task Boss Chris had assigned him.
So over the past several days, Hanger had been desperately trying to make amends and find some way to demonstrate his continued value and loyalty.
He'd even seriously considered organizing a boxing event himself from scratch, so that when Chris eventually asked about it, Hanger could immediately escort him to a proper match without excuses.
Unfortunately, the resources Hanger could currently mobilize independently consisted only of these dozen or so Black brothers in his immediate crew, plus whatever reserve supply of dragon's blood beverage he had stashed away.
But he absolutely didn't dare misuse or redistribute the performance beverage without explicit authorization. Otherwise, not only would he face serious trouble explaining himself to Boss Chris, but Marn would probably bring his white crew members to literally tear Hanger apart for overstepping his authority.
So Hanger's options were limited to working with his Black brothers directly—maybe getting them into amateur boxing matches or something similar.
But before Hanger could figure out exactly how to pitch this plan to his crew, he suddenly heard someone exclaim loudly, "Yo! Boss Chris just walked in!"
Everyone who heard this announcement immediately turned their heads in perfect unison, and then they all spotted their superior approaching.
That tall, ridiculously handsome, and powerfully built young man—who else could it possibly be but Chris Griffin?
"Boss!" "Yo, Boss!" "What's good, Big Bro Chris!"
Various enthusiastic greetings erupted from different crew members simultaneously. Then everyone noticed that Marn had actually shouted "Big Bro Chris" instead of just "Boss," and several people briefly tensed.
But after a moment's consideration, nobody raised any objections.
After all, as one of Chris's most trusted lieutenants and his earliest follower in this organization, Marn had definitely earned the privilege of addressing their boss more intimately and familiarly than regular crew members.
Chris observed the genuinely enthusiastic reactions from his assembled subordinates, acknowledged them with an approving nod, then walked directly toward the noticeably hesitant and nervous Hanger.
Just as Hanger mentally braced himself—convinced that Boss Chris was about to interrogate him about his failure regarding the boxing match—he instead heard words that made him completely disbelieve his own ears.
"Hanger, take two brothers you trust and go break both of Brian's legs," Chris said casually, as if discussing the weather. "That goddamn dog actually had the audacity to embezzle and resell the performance beverage I specifically allocated for my family's personal use. Can't let that shit slide."
[+500 Power Stones = +2 Extra Chapter]
[+10 Reviews = +1 Extra Chapter]
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (30+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01