Everything happened in the blink of an eye. The Cat-man yanked open his car door with practiced efficiency, jumped inside, and sped off into the neon-streaked darkness before Boshita could even process what was happening. Within a single heartbeat, all that remained were a pair of rapidly fading taillights disappearing around a distant corner, leaving him standing alone on the sidewalk in stunned disbelief.
"Damn it! Stop right there, you thief!"
Boshita shouted desperately into the empty street, his voice echoing off the surrounding buildings, but it was already far too late.
"My car! Damn It!! I only got to drive it for five minutes!"
From childhood to adulthood, he had never suffered such complete and utter humiliation, and on his very first day in Liberty City, no less, he'd been taught a harsh lesson about street life that no amount of privilege could protect against. Usually polite and refined in his demeanor, his smooth Marine Elf face flushed bright red, burning with mounting frustration.
"You bastard! Don't let me catch you again!" he yelled futilely at the empty street, though the thief was long gone.
The problem was that Boshita hadn't yet fully adapted to his dangerous gangster identity in the game; he was still mentally operating as a law-abiding citizen who'd never broken a single rule in his entire sheltered life. Now, with his only car stolen and no other possessions to his name, he stood there alone in the warm evening wind, utterly disoriented and lost, experiencing a feeling of helplessness he'd never encountered before in his entire privileged existence.
He had no choice but to walk down the crowded street on foot. Taking out his sleek mobile phone, he opened the map and found a bright pink marker appearing prominently on the glowing screen. Thinking that it must be the main mission objective location, he decided to follow it first and get his stuff back, so he was starting to walk steadily toward the destination marker while trying to shake off his embarrassment.
The streets were absolutely crowded with vastly different people. He even spotted a friendly Fox-man pushing a colorful cart, selling delicious-looking ice cream to passersby, and though he'd never seen that particular kind of frozen food before, it looked really refreshing. Unfortunately, he had no money whatsoever and could only stare longingly. Interestingly enough, among the various beastfolk species walking around casually, the males usually retained their full animal facial features prominently while most females had evolved more human-like faces, only keeping subtle beast traits like distinctive ears, noses, or tails, though there were notable exceptions to this pattern, like the famous Rabbit Officer Judy of Liberty City, whose face remained fully rabbit-like yet still expressive somehow.
After walking for a while through the bustling crowds, a Goat-headed man dressed in casual street clothes approached from the opposite direction, and as they passed each other on the narrow sidewalk, the stranger bumped into him deliberately, their shoulders colliding. A system notification flashed urgently:
[Mobile Phone Stolen]
"Damn it!" Boshita cursed, spinning around quickly to see the Goat-man, who'd looked like a decent, normal guy on the outside but turned out to be nothing but a common street thief, realized he'd been caught red-handed, and started running away desperately. An intense chase unfolded dramatically on the crowded street, with the thief running while Boshita was on his tail, and pedestrians scattered in every direction.
"Stop right there! If you've got any guts, stop running!" Boshita shouted breathlessly, but thankfully, his in-game character possessed excellent physical stats and stamina, allowing him to close the distance relatively quickly. With one hard flying kick, the Goat-man fell flat on his face, skidding across the pavement as the stolen phone tumbled out, clattering across the concrete. Boshita rushed forward immediately and snatched it up. Luckily, it wasn't broken or damaged, but the Goat-man, now absolutely enraged with his pride wounded, jumped up aggressively and swung a wild fist directly at Boshita's face.
"You steal from me and still have the nerve to act tough? Today I'll show you exactly who you're messing with!" Boshita snarled, finally finding a perfect outlet for the seething anger he'd been holding in ever since his car got stolen. The fight was brutal and one-sided: left hook, right hook, devastating uppercut. Seeing he was clearly losing, the Goat-man suddenly bent forward low and charged headfirst like a living battering ram, attempting a full-on goat tackle using his natural horns, but Boshita dodged smoothly to the side, causing the Goat-man to slam straight into a metal streetlamp with a resounding clang before collapsing heavily to the ground, thoroughly dazed.
Still not remotely satisfied, Boshita stepped forward and started kicking aggressively, "I'll teach you what it means to steal from me!", and after several more brutal kicks, the Goat-man lay completely motionless on the pavement. Then something unexpected happened: several glowing green bills suddenly materialized from the dead body, and Boshita's eyes lit up instantly when the notification appeared: [Cash +150]. He picked it up eagerly, his money increasing to 150, and a satisfied grin spread across his face at this unexpected bonus, so this was Liberty City's standard currency.
But the Goat-man wasn't moving anymore. He nudged the body cautiously with his foot, receiving no response whatsoever, and his eyes widened in sudden concern. "Wait, what? Bro? You okay?" He crouched down nervously. "He's not… actually dead, right?" That couldn't be possible, he hadn't even hit that hard! A subtle system notification quietly informed him his combat experience had increased, though he didn't notice the message, too focused on the potential consequences of his actions since, as a disciplined, law-abiding citizen, he'd never done anything truly violent or evil in his entire sheltered life.
But before he could process the disturbing situation properly, a Dog-headed police officer walked over purposefully, baton held ready in his paw, and a single glowing crime star appeared ominously above Boshita's head. His whole body stiffened instantly when he saw the clear label floating above the officer's head: [Police Officer].
He tried desperately to explain: "It was self-defense! He stole from me first! I have every right..." But the policeman didn't care about context, simply stating flatly, "Don't move. You're under arrest for assault," before securing silver handcuffs tightly around Boshita's wrists with a decisive click. His head buzzed numbly. Was there no justice in this city? No proper law?
The officer called headquarters on his radio communicator, and soon a black-and-white patrol car arrived at the scene alongside a distinctive red-and-white vehicle clearly marked [Saintheart Hospital]. Several elf girls in nurse uniforms stepped out gracefully from the ambulance and fed the unconscious Goat-man a single careful sip of Life Essence, causing him to instantly spring back to his feet energetically, brush himself off casually, and walk away like absolutely nothing had happened, which left Boshita utterly stunned.
"Officer!" he shouted. "Look! He's totally fine! Completely healthy! Can you let me go now?" But the policeman ignored him completely, simply ordering, "Move along. No tricks." That's when Boshita finally snapped: "Do you even know who I am?!"
Smack.
A baton struck his head, and before he could protest any further, he was shoved roughly into the patrol car, the door slamming shut loudly behind him.
Before long, he found himself sitting miserably in a cold jail cell while the officer informed him matter-of-factly that to be set free, he had to pay 1000. He only had 150, which had just been confiscated as evidence, so with insufficient funds, he'd have to serve additional jail time instead. Boshita nearly cried actual tears at this point, realizing that on his first day in Liberty City, he'd already experienced the crushing injustice of society. What kind of hellhole was this place? Yet somehow, what a wonderful, immersive experience!
Meanwhile, in a completely different part of the city, Rowan stood on the pristine beach staring dreamily at the bikini-clad beauties lounging in the sun, his eyes practically turning into heart shapes as he giggled like an idiot, "Hehehe… hehehe…" His Player character was a tall, handsome Sun Elf with perfect features, though he felt this level of handsomeness barely reflected even a fraction of his real-life charm.
Rowan had also started his experience by driving around the sprawling city, but unfortunately, his driving skills were absolutely terrible, and he'd crashed the expensive car within minutes. Seeing thick smoke rising ominously from the damaged engine, he'd abandoned it carelessly on the roadside and wandered around aimlessly for a long time before eventually finding himself at this beautiful beach, where, under the warm summer sun, many gorgeous beauties of various exotic races were sunbathing luxuriously.
A Cat-girl lay stretched out on a beach chair, her skin tanned to a healthy bronze, her body forming a perfect S-curve while her cute cat ears twitched slightly under the bright sunlight. Nearby, a green-haired Wood Elf had spread a colorful blanket carefully on the white sand, sitting there peacefully while sipping fruit juice and enjoying the ocean scenery, completely oblivious to Rowan's admiring stare.