As A Mafia Boss, I Refuse To Be An Extra - Chapter 229: This Is My City
Chapter 229: This Is My City
[Inside the Bus – Confusion and Discussion]
The interior was spacious – designed for long-distance travel with actual comfort – seats arranged in small clusters allowing conversation.
Seraphina settled near the front, her mind already processing the situation.
Elizabeth sat with Adrian, both wearing grim expressions.
The Mafia members – Edrin, Ariana, Ronan, Lysa, Zavier – were clustered together, their body language showing they were ready for anything.
Victoria and Fiona sat slightly apart, clearly uncomfortable with the tension.
“He seems angry,” Victoria whispered to Fiona.
Edrin overheard and shook his head.
“This isn’t even his angry side. You should see him when he’s actually furious. This is just… disappointment.”
The other Mafia members nodded agreement.
Lysa added quietly, “If we were not in a hurry, I think he would have beaten them to death for playing with us like this. Especially that Gareth fellow.”
Elizabeth sighed heavily, her voice carrying to the group.
“…I never expected all of them to resign. The timing is too perfect to be coincidence. This was clearly coordinated by their families.”
She looked at her assembled team – two first-years she knew (Adrian and Damian), two first-years she barely knew (Fiona, Victoria), and five more first-years who were complete unknowns.
’Sigh..’
“Our chances of winning just became very low..”
Seraphina’s voice cut through the pessimism, casual and almost amused.
“It’s just a tournament. I don’t understand why you’re all so serious about it.”
Everyone looked at her with disbelief.
She continued, completely unbothered.
“Back when I was leading battlefield operations, that was what mattered. I had lives of thousands of soldiers depending on my orders. One wrong command and thousands died.”
Her violet eyes swept the group.
“This? This is children playing competitive games. Yes, there are resource implications and reputation concerns. But nobody dies. Worst case, you lose and have to work harder next year. Some perspective would help here.”
The tension eased slightly, her matter-of-fact tone putting things in context.
Ronan’s voice rang out, his natural boisterousness showing despite the situation.
“Also, don’t underestimate us! We’re all D+ rank now and have been training in the forest for weeks and fighting actual beasts. We’re not exactly helpless!”
He gestured at the assembled Mafia members.
“Besides, we have President Elizabeth – who’s A- rank – and Boss Damian. With those two leading, we’ll win for sure!”
His confidence was infectious, several people finding themselves smiling despite the circumstances.
VROOOOM.
The bus engine roared to life with far more aggression than necessary.
Damian’s voice came from the driver’s seat, cold and focused.
“Hold tight.”
Then he hit the accelerator.
’Fuck!’
’My stomach!’
The bus shot forward like it had been launched from a catapult, the acceleration throwing everyone back in their seats, the vehicle handling showing this was NOT normal civilian transportation.
Damian drove like he was fleeing assassins – taking turns at speeds that made the armored bus lean dangerously, accelerating on straightaways until the speedometer hit numbers that should be illegal, his enhanced reflexes and Physical Control letting him navigate traffic that would kill normal drivers.
’Fuck! He’s clearly taking out his frustration!’
****
[Stormhold Academy – Students React]
Back at the Academy, students were beginning to wake, preparing for morning classes.
Then… they saw Gareth, Arielle, Liam, Naomi, and Elena still on campus.
Confusion spread quickly.
’Aren’t they supposed to be at the tournament? Why are they here?’
The news broke through official channels within minutes:
[COUNCIL MEMBERS RESIGN HOURS BEFORE TOURNAMENT DEPARTURE]
[STORMHOLD TEAM WEAKENED SIGNIFICANTLY]
[CHANCES OF VICTORY NOW UNCERTAIN]
The reaction was immediate and explosive.
Commoner students were furious, shouting accusations of betrayal.
“They sabotaged our Academy for political reasons!”
“Cowards! They couldn’t handle serving under a commoner Vice President!”
But surprisingly, many Noble students were equally angry.
“If our Academy ranks lower, we lose massive funding!”
“This affects ALL of us, not just commoners!”
“Those idiots sacrificed the entire Academy’s reputation!”
Even professors were openly criticizing the move – not because they supported Damian’s reforms, but because their salaries and research budgets depended on Academy ranking.
Professor Nathan Brock was heard shouting in the faculty lounge:
“Those spoiled Imperial brats! Do they understand how funding distribution works?! If we drop to third or fourth place, my equipment budget gets cut in half!”
The campus descended into chaos with accusations flying, students demanding explanations and professors calculating financial losses.
The move by the Imperial families had been calculated to make sure Damian loses.
But it had somehow unified the Academy against the traitors in ways they hadn’t anticipated.
****
[Tranquil City – Mafia Headquarters]
Damian’s bus came screaming around the corner at speeds that made pedestrians dive for safety, skidding to a stop in front of the headquarters with smoking tires.
Dozens of men dressed in black suits were entering and leaving from the building, each wearing the signature small bloody ’M’ pin on their lapels.
Most of these men being B rank with quite a few A rank awakeners as well.
“…”
Pavel – one of Marco’s trusted lieutenants – entered Damian’s bus through the front door while Damian moved to sit in the back with the others.
The moment the bus stopped moving, everyone in the back looked at Damian with expressions mixing horror and nausea.
Ariana was green-faced, her spatial sensitivity making the chaotic driving even more disorienting.
Ronan looked like he was about to vomit.
Even Seraphina – an S+ rank military general – looked slightly pale.
“I am NEVER allowing you to drive again.”
Her voice carried absolute finality.
Damian just shrugged, completely unbothered.
“Pavel. Do you have the items?”
Pavel waved his hand, and several advanced medical boxes appeared from his spatial storage – expensive-looking containers with biometric locks.
Damian took them and distributed them to Zavier, Ariana, Edrin, Ronan, and Lysa.
They looked at him with confusion.
“Inside are high-quality Aura enhancement potions. Military grade, not the watered-down civilian versions. You’re all at D+ rank and have been training intensively. Your foundations are solid enough to handle forced breakthrough.”
He met each of their eyes.
“…Take them and you’ll break through to C- rank.”
Elizabeth and the others looked alarmed.
“Wait! Don’t do anything reckless! Forced breakthroughs can damage your foundation if not done carefully–”
But before she could finish, Edrin pulled the syringe from its case and stabbed it directly into his arm without hesitation.
The others followed immediately –Ariana, Ronan, Lysa and Zavier – all injecting the enhancement potion without even checking what it was.
Complete and absolute trust!
Seraphina, Elizabeth, Adrian, Fiona, and Victoria stared with complex expressions.
Senior Nobles who talk about honor had just betrayed them, and the Mafia students who belong to a criminal organization, demonstrated almost blind loyalty.
The contrast was there for all to see.
The Mafia members sat down in meditation postures, focusing inward as the potions began working, their Auras starting to surge as breakthroughs approached.
Damian turned to Pavel.
“Can you drive this bus?”
“Yes, sir. I’m ready to escort you to Capital City.”
Damian nodded.
The bus began moving again – this time with Pavel driving, much more sanely.
Elizabeth, Adrian, Fiona, and Victoria watched through the windows as the bus moved through Tranquil City streets, civilians stopping to stare at them.
The city didn’t look like what they remembered at all!
Fiona whispered to Victoria, barely audible.
“I knew the Mafia controlled the city… but this is…”
“Yeah,” Victoria whispered back. “This is a lot more than a ’small criminal organization.’”
Seeing everyone looking at his city, Damian shrugged, his voice matter-of-fact.
“There are still many things that need to be developed, but we are getting there.”
He looked out the window at tall Mafia buildings.
“…This is my city.”
The statement was so casual that nobody could argue.
The bus rolled toward Capital City with speed.
And inside, five Mafia members were breaking through to C- rank, their foundations solid enough to handle the forced advancement.
The tournament was about to get very interesting.
