THE URBAN PHOENIX: Arthur Salvatore's rise from the ashes.

CHAPTER 7

ARTHUR TOOK AN uncertain step backward as he watched the gang approach. "What do you want?" He called out.

The men sniggered as they walked forward. "Toss your wallet!" One of them said.

Arthur raised his hand innocently and said, "I don't have a wallet, please."

"That's too bad," One of the men said.

Arthur looked left and right, and then he took off in unsteady steps.

But he barely got 10 yards before he was pulled back and down. He covered his head with his hands as the heavy kicks hit his body from every angle.

After what seemed like forever, the kicks stopped and the men walked away.

Arthur felt like he was about to die. His breath was coming in wheezing sounds. He rolled over on the hard ground and stared at the dark skies. He could feel blood streaming from his mouth as he blacked out.

"Oi, get up!" The toe of a boot poked Arthur's side.

He coughed, gasped awake, and opened his eyes to see a cop standing over him.

"You alright, there?" The cop asked.

Arthur nodded, sat up, and with the cop assisting him, he stood up.

[Task complete]

[Compatibility level >> 53.2%]

He had been thinking that it was all a dream, but the computerized voice echoed in his head.

"You survived the night," The voice said.

Arthur noticed that the stuttering was reduced. "So I survived…" He muttered.

"What did you say?" The cop asked.

Arthur shook his head. "Nothing, nothing."

The cop cocked his head, "Are you sure you won't come and get checked over in a hospital? You look pretty banged up."

Arthur shook his head again and started to walk away. The cop's eyes followed him with concern.

[New gifts unlocked.

Credit alert into bank >> $10,000]

Arthur groaned. "I don't remember having any bank account." He staggered. It was already sunrise, the sky was bright.

"You have an account with Nirvana Bank," the system said.

Arthur rubbed his sore head as he turned around, trying to get his bearing. He limped to the alley where he had last seen Williams. The alley was flooded with cops. He walked up to one of them.

"You can not be here. This is a crime scene, sir," The cop said.

"That was my roommate," Arthur choked back a sob.

The cop stared wide-eyed and then suddenly yelled, "We've got a suspect!"

"Wait, what?" Arthur started to argue but handcuffs were slammed on his wrist and he was bundled into a police cruiser and driven to the police station for questioning.

After waiting for 3 hours, two police officers walked into the interrogation room. They placed a tape recorder on the steel table and pressed a button.

"What is your name?" The first cop asked.

"Arthur," He replied.

"Arthur what?" The second cop asked. "What is your last name?"

Arthur shrugged. "I don't know. I lost my memory in an accident a few months ago." He didn't feel like he should tell them his full name just yet.

The police officers looked skeptical.

"I was admitted into New City Hospital. Go and confirm if I was lying," Arthur snapped.

They exchanged glances and one of the cops walked out to check the information. The other cop sat down opposite Arthur and pinned him with a hard stare. "Tell me what happened last night,"

Arthur closed his eyes and tried to remember. "I didn't go to help out at the grocery store. I waited for him to get back, but he didn't. So I went to look for him…"

"What time was this?"

"10-ish," Arthur replied. "Or 11."

"That late, huh?"

Arthur nodded. "Williams never stayed out that late. We had a game to play that evening."

"Hmm," The cop rubbed his chin. "So you saw his body."

Arthur nodded. "And then some guys attacked me."

The police officer propped forward. He was interested in this. "Did you say some guys attacked you?"

Arthur nodded, but before he spoke, the door opened and the first cop came back in.

"He is telling the truth," He said. "I just called the hospital and they confirmed it."

The second cop nodded. "Now, about your attackers…"

"They wanted my wallet."

"Did you give them?"

"I ran."

"But they caught up with you."

"Obviously," Arthur snapped.

"And yet they didn't kill you." The second cop noted.

Arthur scoffed. He was getting angry.

"What can you tell us about those guys?" The first cop asked. "Describe them."

Arthur shook his head. "Nothing. It was dark, and it all happened so fast before I blacked out. And one of your colleagues woke me up this morning."

The second cop nodded, "I heard Dave say something about waking up a vagrant down the street. So it was you."

Arthur nodded. "So what are you going to do about William's murder?"

There was silence in the room, and then the first cop sighed heavily and said, "We will try our best." He reached for the tape recorder and pressed a button to stop it.

"Can I go now?" Arthur asked. He was still getting angrier.

They nodded dully and removed the handcuff.

Arthur walked out into the sun.

[Levelling up…]

"Ego increased by 10%"

Arthur arched his eyebrow. "What does that mean?" He muttered.

"It means you are getting bolder and more likely to stand your ground in a situation with people trying to intimidate you. Just like the policemen."

"Hmm," Arthur said and started walking back to the apartment. He was going to wash up and leave the house. It was William's apartment, not his.

He used his key to walk in. It was like nothing had happened. He sighed numerous times as he quickly washed up and left the apartment with only the clothes on his back. He made his way to Nirvana Bank to check his account for the money.

At the back of his mind, there was still some doubt about how real this system was. But there was no harm in trying.

He got to the bank and walked in with his cheap clothes that smelled of average and low quality.

"How the hell did I open an account here amidst all these rich people?" He looked at the important-looking men with their rich suits. "Or was I once rich?" He asked the system.

There was no answer.

He stood uncertainly in the center of the large room but then noticed that he was starting to get some strange stares, so he sucked in a deep breath and headed for the closest cashier's desk.

"Hello, sir," The male cashier said. "How may I help you?"

"Um, I want to withdraw some money from my account," Arthur replied.

"What's the account name?" The cashier asked.

"Arthur. Arthur Salvatore."

The cashier raised his eyebrows and typed into his computer. "Okay, you have an account here."

"How much do I have in the account?" Arthur asked.

The cashier looked up, "You don't know how much you have in the account?"

Arthur smiled sheepishly. "These things escape the mind. You know how it is."

The cashier gave a small smile and then typed into his computer again before saying, "You have exactly 10 thousand dollars here, sir."

Arthur released a breath that he did not know he was holding. So the system thing was real. The money was real, or maybe it was a computer glitch. He had bigger withdraw everything before the glitch corrected itself.

"How much would you like you withdraw?" The cashier asked drawing him out of his reverie.

"Everything," Arthur said urgently. "I want to wipe the account empty."

"That would mean you want to close the account, sir?" The cashier asked.

Arthur nodded, "Yes please."

"Hmm, okay," The cashier said. He typed into his computer. "I would need a mode of identification or your pin."

"Um…"

"Or your date of birth."

Arthur's head was blank.

The cashiers and some customers around had stopped what they were doing and were not focused on Arthur, whom they were already thinking was a fraudster. A security man started approaching deftly.

But suddenly, some figures ran across Arthur's mind eye and he reeled the numbers out.

The cashier typed them into the computer and after a short wait, he nodded. Then he reached underneath his desk and counted out the amount. He placed them in a bag and handed them across the counter to Arthur who collected them.

He was sweating as he made his way out of the bank. He stood aside to let a woman pass through.

"Arthur?" The woman stopped and stared at him.

He stared at her blankly.

"I know you can't recognize me because of how well-kept I am," the woman said and gave a laughter that was very familiar to Arthur's mind. "It's me. Sophia."

The name was blank. Arthur shrugged, still blank. "I can't remember you. Sorry." He made to walk past her. But she was not having it.

"Oh because you held some cash now, you are behaving like a king," Sophia snapped.

Arthur stopped.

"I can raise a false alarm now, everyone will believe me and my new boyfriend will put your ass in jail!" She said.

[New Task >>]

"Put your ex-girlfriend in her place."