NOVEL WEB Chapter 10: Chapter 10
"Is everyone okay?"
Detective Leo rushed past Kai, his voice carrying that familiar tone of genuine concern.
"We got a call about armed men..."
However Kai didn't even stop; he kept walking, his grocery bags clutched tight, every muscle tense with the effort not to react to his old friend's voice.
His enhanced hearing picked up every word, every footstep behind him.
"Don't stop. Don't turn. Don't give him a reason to look closer or ask me to stop."
Kai said to himself the rage simmered beneath his skin - not at Leo, but at the situation. At having to hide from someone he's supposed to have killed by now or brought to justice.
Kai jaw tightened, getting angry the system hadn't given him any mission to end the bastard.
As Kai disappeared around the corner.
At that moment Leo's gaze was still on Kai as he watched him disappear.
"What a Scumbag!"
He said and walked into the shopping mall.
Immediately he pointed at the direction Kai took.
"Who was that guy? Did anyone get a good look at him?"
"He saved us!"
someone called out.
"Took them all down single-handed!"
"The weird guy in a hood,"
another added.
" He's built like a tank though."
"Huh,"
Leo's voice grew thoughtful.
He gazed around seeing the bodies and other officers were already taking care of the mess.
However Leo couldn't get his head off Kai.
"Something about him... reminded me of..."
There was a pause, then a bitter laugh.
"Nah, couldn't be. Kai was never that big, and besides... he's dead anyway."
Out of curiosity he faces Sarah.
"I need to see the transaction records,"
Leo said, pulling out his notepad with that familiar determined look. His new partner, a rookie with an eager face, hovered beside him. "Maybe we can trace the guy through his payment."
Sarah, still shaken but professional, shook her head.
"He... he didn't pay, sir. Mr. Thompson over there insisted on covering his groceries, but the man left before we could process anything."
Upon hearing what Sarah just said Leo ran a hand through his disheveled hair, frustration evident on his face.
"Of course he did. And I suppose the security cameras didn't get a clear shot of his face either?"
His new partner checked the footage on his tablet.
"Nothing, sir. Hood stayed down the whole time. This guy knew what he was doing."
"Damn it,"
Leo muttered, looking around the store with those sharp detective eyes.
*
Back at his hideout, Kai slammed the grocery bags onto the counter, his enhanced strength causing a few cans to dent. The rage he'd suppressed during his encounter with Leo bubbled to the surface. Seeing Leo made him angry, for someone that should have been brought to justice still moved freely.
With mechanical movements, he poured cereal into a bowl, followed by cold milk.
The simple meal felt absurd after everything that had happened, but his enhanced body demanded fuel.
The ceramic bowl clattered harshly in the sink.
"No time to waste,"
Kai muttered, his voice hard with determination.
The morning's encounter with Leo had left him with pent-up energy that demanded release.
Not long after he was done eating and decided to go train Perhaps complete all the requirements since it's just little that was remaining.
"Soon I'll show them all what real justice looks like,"
he thought, dropping into his first set of push-ups.
"Leo, the traffickers, every piece of scum in this City and country will go down."
Hour after hour, he pushed himself beyond normal human limits. Each exercise carried the weight of his fury.
"One thousand and one... one thousand and two...two thousand"
His counting became a mantra of revenge.
Sweat poured down his face as he ran his remaining fifty kilometers.
" Leo thinks I'm dead. Leo thinks he killed me. Good. Let them think that. When I'm ready, when I'm strong enough and when the system confirms it, he's going to see hell..."
Not long after the sun traced its arc across the sky, but Kai barely noticed.
His enhanced muscles screamed in protest, but he welcomed the pain.
"Pain is weakness leaving the body,"
he growled through gritted teeth, completing another set.
As night falls Kai has finally completed his requirements for the next mission.
immediately his system interface came alive with notifications:
[Training completed.]
"Finally."
He breathed, feeling the new power coursing through his veins.
[Host has completed the body requirements for the next mission.]
[Host stats has improved:
Strength increases +50
Intelligence +30
Agility +60
Stamina +20
Perception +20
Weaponry +20]
Immediately Kai flexed his hands, feeling the enhanced strength humming beneath his skin. He felt different - stronger, faster, more lethal.
"This power... This is what I need to cleanse this city."
immediately the interface pulsed with one final message:
[Received mission now or later]
His eyes gleamed in the darkness of his training room.
"Now or later?"
he whispered to himself.
"That depends on who needs justice first."
without wasting any more time, he said.
"Receive mission now,"
Kai's voice was hoarse from training, but firm. The blue interface shimmered in the darkness of his room, and suddenly
Leo's face materialized before him.
immediately Kai's breath hitched. His enhanced heart began pounding with excitement.
"You..."
Kai's whisper was filled with venom.
His fists clenched involuntarily, causing the wooden chair beside him to splinter under his enhanced strength.
"All those years... All those cases we solved together... Was all just a cover, for you to cover your crimes"
At that moment a cold, deadly smile spread across Kai's face. His system interface picked up his rising adrenaline levels, his dilating pupils, his muscles tensing for action.
"Without being told I can tell the goddess of justice herself is giving me this mission because she sees I really wanted this. This isn't just revenge - it's divine retribution."
At that moment the system's message appeared, each word making Kai's smile grow wider:
[You have less than two hours to eliminate Leo]
[Get your revenge and get justice done.]