My Rare System: The Urban Legend

Chapter 6

The living room was opulent and there was no doubt it belonged to an upper class family.

Nestled amidst the extravagant surroundings, an aged man in his early 70s sat in a comfortable wheelchair, his wisps of silver hair contrasting against a backdrop of plush velvet cushions. Despite his age, he emanated an aura of dignity and wisdom, his weathered face marked with the lines of a life well-lived.

In his lap, the man gently cradled a watering can, its gleaming silver surface glinting in the soft illumination. He leaned forward to delicately sprinkle water upon the lush, verdant houseplants that thrived in their opulent pots.

As the man continued to water the houseplants, a serene ambiance filled the room. This serene ambiance was interrupted when a tall man walked into the living room.

The elderly man didn't pay attention to this figure for more than twenty minutes until he was done watering his houseplants.

"Senior Mr. Grendel, I found him!" This person was no other than Brayden Darren.

The pot which the elderly man tried to keep beside him, fell freely to the ground as the man went into shock.

"Y-you've really found him?" He stuttered, his lips quavering.

It wasn't a sight Brayden was accustomed to, so he turned his eyes away and let the old man have his moment.

"How is he? Does he look like his father?" The old man asked and Brayden nodded. He quickly took out his tablet and showed the man a picture he had taken of Dillon.

The old man held it tightly, tears of joy spiraling down his cheeks as he smiled while caressing Dillon's photo. "He looks just like his father. But he had his mother's beautiful eyes."

"He also took after his parents' kindness." Brayden added, his cheeks drawn back into a wide smile.

The old man held the tablet firmly for a couple of minutes, before handing it over to Brayden whilst wiping off his tears. "Go ahead and delete it."

Brayden solemnly did as told, then awaited more instructions.

"Transfer his parents' company to him. If he doesn't do as well as we hoped he would in six months, bring him to me and I will protect him from those who killed his parents." The elderly man instructed, looking into space.

Brayden balled his hands into a tight fist as he bowed, "I will do just that."

At the moment, Dillon and Merlin walked into 'All Electronic Accessories' in search of a good phone. The duo spent a lot of time going from one section to another in search of something.

The salesperson who volunteered to help them find whatever they came for but was declined, stood somewhere quietly, watching them.

"They do look responsible, but that doesn't mean they might not be here to steal something."

"It's not about looking responsible, professional thieves always look responsible which is why they always get away with it. If I were you, I would go up to them now and keenly watch their every move."

Those were the words other sales persons said to her. After a while, she walked up to them.

"If you refuse to let me help you, I'll just assume you came to steal from us!" She spat out.

Dillon and Merlin both stopped what they were doing and glanced at her. That's true, our behavior does look suspicious, after all, we've been here for half an hour without getting anything.

"I'm looking for a cheap phone. One less than a hundred dollars." Dillon spoke, then glanced at the other phones, "They are all three hundred and above."

The sales person's Impression of them drastically changed. Here she was thinking she'd get a huge commission from whatever they bought.

"I'm afraid you're in the wrong section. There's one at the further corner, they sell from fifty dollars upwards." She hissed.

Dillon, who didn't care what she thought, paid no attention to her sassy tone. On his way to the store he had thought it through. Of what use was a phone of a thousand dollars when it performed the same task as that of a hundred dollars? It's better to donate that amount of money to the orphanage.

"If he said he wants the cheapest phone, then show him where to find them. Or risk seeing him steal those phones when you aren't looking!" A high-pitched voice spat out venomously.

Dillon and Merlin both turned to see who it was. Merlin didn't recognize her as the only person he knew was Dillon's ex-girlfriend, Rachel.

The sales person's expression changed as well as she quickly snatched the phone in Dillon's hand away.

Tina Turner, the girl who had embarrassed Dillon at the party the other day where he was beaten by James and his friends after being accused of stealing his jewelry. It was also at that party he found his ex-girlfriend cheating on him with James.

Tine was accompanied by someone Dillon didn't recognize, but he clearly knew Tracy's boyfriend and this person wasn't him.

She held this person's hand and advanced towards them with a look of disdain, she paid no attention to Merlin as she didn't recognize him. Besides, only a wastrel would befriend a fellow wastrel. Surely, this person wasn't of any importance!

"I'm telling you, we school together and he can't even afford a $5 snack. That phone is a few hundred dollars and if care is not taken, he will saunter off with it!" She spoke like she had seen him do something like that before.

And while everyone believed her, she was just saying it out of hatred. Everyone in Yale University hated the fact Dillon was exempted to school there on a scholarship. The school belonged to the rich and powerful, so a good-for-nothing like him had no business there.

He was even soiling the name of the school by working part-time jobs!

Unaware of what was going through Tina's mind, everyone in the shop became cautious and vigilant.

"I'm sorry, sirs, but I don't think we have what you're after. You should check the next store." Evelyn's tone became cold.

Now that she took a proper look at the duo, they did look dubious. She had even begun questioning the luxurious brands they had on.

"Are you chasing us out of your store simply because someone insinuated we came to steal?" Merlin asked, annoyed, trying his best to bottle up the anger he felt.

In all his life, he had never been insulted in such a way. What was a few hundred dollars that he couldn't spare?!

The more he thought of it, the angrier he became. Before he could lash out, Dillon, who decided to play according to Tracy's rule, turned to Evelyn and requested, "Bring me your most expensive phone."

"Why? So you can abscond with it?" Tracy hissed mockingly. Then she turned to Evelyn, "If you want to lose your hard earned job, go ahead and bring the phone."

The scene had attracted almost everyone in the shop. And soon, the store's supervisor heard of it and involved himself.

"What's going on here?" He asked with a tight frown, glancing at the parties involved.

Tina quickly disentangled her arm from that of her partner and pointed at Merlin and Dillon, "These two came to your store to steal! I'm sure of it because I go to the same college with them and know how wretched they are!"

"The labels on their clothes belong to really high brands, are you sure of what you're saying?" The supervisor asked.

The supervisor looked like a man in his mid-thirties and as a man who had worked in the store for more than ten years, he knew how to read people and ascertain their wealth.

He was about to believe Tina who seemed to know this duo like the back of her hands, when his eyes caught sight of the label on their clothes.

"I know what I'm saying! If their clothes are really from luxurious clothing lines, then they must've fabricated it or both some knock-offs!" She scoffed adamantly.

The man she came with quietly stood behind, watching the scene unfold. Truth be told, he had never met Tina before and today was their first time being together. However, with her disgraceful words and actions right now, he was sure he wouldn't call her again.

He thought of leaving, but on a second thought, decided to stay and watch how everything would unfold.

Merlin's eyes glowered in exasperation while Dillon still had a calm countenance as he repeated his words to the sale's person, "I said, get me the most expensive phone in your store."

The supervisor narrowed his eyes slightly. Everyone was watching and it'd reflect badly on the store if he really drove them away without any concrete reason, so he merely waved his hand at her when she glanced at him for approval.

In the three minutes she disappeared and reappeared, other customers in the shop had a lot to say, but Dillon and Merlin paid them no heed.

She returned with two more sales persons. The phone was protected by a square-like tempered glass.

The supervisor who had taken his time to scrutinize Merlin and Dillon, went ahead to say, "This is our most expensive cell phone and it's worth two thousand dollars!"

"Bloody hell! Two thousand dollars for a cellphone! What does it do? Call the person on my mind?!"

"I'm more concerned as to how someone who can't afford a $5 meal can afford to pay for it."

"Forget it. He was bluffing just now. I attend the same class with that boy who made the request and he doesn't even have any decent clothes. Those clothes on him clearly belong to his friend."

"The guy beside him is Merlin Wright, the first grandson of the Wright family and his pocket money every month doesn't go below $100,000. So if they indeed purchase the phone, it's clearly Merlin's money that was used!"

With the words from the other customers flying around, the supervisor was quick to identify Merlin. The Wright family is a first tier family! The manager would never have forgiven me if he found out I drove the heir of the Wright family away!

Thinking of how he would've driven them away and incurred the wrath of the Wright family on that store, the supervisor shivered and walked towards Merlin with a sudden wide smile.

"Mr. Wright, forgive my ignorance, I was unable to recognize you from such a far distance. I also had no idea you'd be visiting the store today. Forgive me." The manager apologized with a small bow.

Merlin paid him no heed as he had his eyes pinned on Tina. This insolent girl who doesn't know when to shut up. How dare she accuse him of being a thief!

"I don't care about your damn apology, all I want to know who the fuck she is!" Merlin said mirthlessly.

Merlin had gone from the proud and arrogant brat he used to be to a humble and polite kid. He had become so silent that people even dared to talk down on him.

The more Merlin thought about Tina's words, the angrier he became.

Tina on the other hand, was practically shivering in fright when she heard them talk about Merlin.

Merlin wasn't on the same level as James, but he wasn't far off from him. Merlin was said to be calm, collected and academically intelligent and unlike most heirs, he was very polite and the typical son-in-law every family wanted.

"I-i had.." Tina tried to come up with an apology, but ended up fumbling under Merlin's icy gaze.

In the end, Merlin ended up buying two of the phones to the surprise of everyone before leaving. As soon as he left, Tina, whose legs had been shaking the whole time, collapsed to the floor.

In her state of shock, she failed to notice her companion had ditched her.

She took out her phone and dialed a number. "Rachel, Dillon Grendel is friends with Merlin Wright. Get closer to him again so you can have the opportunity to communicate with Merlin in the future.."

Meanwhile, Merlin and Dillon had failed to flag down a taxi, so they walked.

"It's a good thing you saved me money." Dillon merely said, turning the two phones over and scrutinizing them.

Merlin couldn't help turning to him in surprise. "You don't seem upset."

"Why should I? I have better things to do than waste my time and energy getting upset at Tracy." Dillon scoffed.

"Humph! How do you even know her?"

"Rachel's best friend."

"Of course, bitches always find a way to get together with fellow bitches!"

"You bastards, let go of me!" Dillon and Merlin stopped, hearing the voice of a child.

They looked ahead of them to see a crowd had gathered.

"Damn it! You scoundrels are in for it!" The voice screamed out again. This time, the duo confirmed the voice was indeed coming from within the crowd. But why did no one make any move to help?

The duo squeezed themselves in to see two burly men holding down a lanky kid. This kid had a ferocious look on his face and there was blood pouring down from his head. In fact, his white shirt was soaked with his blood!

And standing in front of him, wielding a golf club was an elegantly dressed young man.