Superhunt

Chapter 6: "You have unlocked the inherent talent"

Jonathan remained calm, quickly saying, "I'm a pauper, in debt for three hundred thousand. What do you think you could get some from me?"

The two robbers were momentarily speechless.

"You should be robbing in the rich districts. How can you find a fat sheep in a rundown place like Baker Street?" Jonathan said earnestly, "Let me give you some advice, robbing in this kind of place is not lucrative. If you rob the rich, that's a different story. You could live for three years off one robbery!"

The robber on the left hesitated, "But the rich districts are full of surveillance..."

His companion interrupted, "This guy is tricking us! Don't fall for it!"

"Why would I lie to you." Jonathan dropped his umbrella and spread his hands, " "As you see I've naught, pockets bare, dwelling in a leaky abode. What gain is there in robbing me?"

"Hold on!" The robber on the right's eyes lit up, looking at Jonathan's silver bracelet, "What's that you're wearing on your wrist?"

"Oh, this? If you want it, I'll give it to you." Jonathan extended his hand towards him.

The robber on the right did not move, but the one on the left couldn't resist stepping forward.

The moment the robber approached Jonathan, his outstretched hand quickly clenched into a fist, punching the robber in the temple.

"Crack—" The robber's temple bone fractured under the impact, and his face twisted as he fell straight to the ground.

"Good God!" Jonathan exclaimed, startled by the power of his own blow. He had only meant to stun the man and flee.

Jonathan belatedly realized that his physical abilities had changed. In the past, when he fought with bullies on the way home from school, the bullies would be hurt, but his fingers would be bruised and swollen for two weeks, and he couldn't even hold a pen.

Jonathan had aimed for the man's vulnerable temple, but the effect was astonishing! The human skull was like paper under his fist, he could feel the robber's bone collide and rub against his knuckles, then shatter.

The remaining robber roared, lifting his knife and lunging at Jonathan.

Just before the sharp knife could pierce his abdomen, Jonathan reflexively dodged to the side, avoiding the blow. The robber's movements seemed to slow down infinitely in his eyes. Before his mind had time to react, his body had already responded.

Jonathan clenched his hand, instantly seizing the robber's knife. The knife danced with silver sparks at his fingertips, and he smoothly reversed his grip and stabbed it into the robber's body, the blade accurately entering the heart through a gap in the ribs.

He even let go of the knife handle in time, calmly taking a step back to avoid the sporadic spray of blood.

All his movements were as fluid as flowing water, everything happened in less than five seconds. Before Jonathan's brain could formulate a strategy, his body had taken over... and killed the man.

Jonathan's expression was blank, he stood dumbfounded at the mouth of the alley, his clothes wet from the rain, his open black umbrella shaking on the ground, but there were two bodies lying at his feet.

He crouched down to check the two men's breath, then stood up shaking.

They had stopped breathing, they were dead. The blood from their bodies pooled into the rainwater, staining the puddles red.

"What... happened?" His chest rose and fell, his heart pounding.

The game system screen appeared.

"You have unlocked the inherent talent: Combat Instinct."

"Combat Instinct: Beasts have the instinct to hunt. This instinct, after being honed, can be used more perfectly. This is muscle memory formed through countless harsh pieces of training, the nervous reflex caused by rigorous training. You can still fight based on instinct in extreme situations such as confusion and exhaustion."

Jonathan hissed out a breath.

These talents did not originate from Jonathan himself but were innate to the body he now inhabited. He was a core member of the resistance, a trusted undercover agent, he should have a smart mind, keen intuition, and excellent combat skills.

These combat skills were ingrained in this body's muscle memory, driving him to react with lethal force when faced with enemies.

At that moment, a loud crash came from the alley's end. The guy in the hoodie had returned, his face full of terror, his mouth wide open looking at the bodies on the ground, his metal bat falling from his fingers.

"Kind sir," Jonathan wiped the rain off his face and gave the guy in the hoodie a stiff smile, "Might you call the police for me? I am innocent, as you heard, they wanted to rob me."

"S-sure, no problem." The youth fumbled for his phone, dialing several wrong numbers before connecting.

"City Security hotline, how can I assist you?" the operator's sweet voice answered.

"Robbery, the address is..." The guy in the hoodie paused, looking at Jonathan for help, "Where is this again?"

"Harbor District, Baker Street, about mid," Jonathan said.

After reporting the location, the youth added "An ambulance too, they're..."

"No need, they're dead," Jonathan cut in.

The guy in the hoodie looked even more terrified, he stuttered, "You... you did this?"

"Self-defense." Jonathan didn't look at the bodies on the ground and simply said, "Can you be my witness? To prove that they indeed intended to rob with a knife, there seems to be no surveillance around here, you are the only witness."

The guy in the hoodie hesitated for less than a second before nodding, "Sure if you need it."

Jonathan breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the black umbrella on the ground, shook off the rainwater, and walked toward the guy in the hoodie.

The guy in the hoodie retreated in fear.

Jonathan "..."

"You don't have an umbrella, it might take a while for the security to come, we can share one." Jonathan said, "My name is Jonathan, a student at Black Sea Academy."

"Daniel." The guy in the hoodie relaxed his guard upon hearing Jonathan's student status, "I'm also from Black Sea Academy, what's your major?"

Jonathan replied, "I major in Criminal Investigation."

"Criminal Investigation? No wonder you're so capable." Daniel muttered.

"Thank you for tonight." Jonathan walked over and tilted the umbrella towards him.

"It's nothing, just doing a good deed like Rose...y'know? My folks run the corner store up ahead. I heard a scuffle and grabbed my bat, but uh...guess you didn't need my help. I should go let them know I'm okay. Wait here and I'll be back for a moment."

Jonathan slowly nodded, watching as Daniel rushed into the rain and disappeared around the corner of the street.

He contemplated, activating his bracelets and searching the keyword "Rose" online.

Search matched results - "0".

In the second world, there were no deeds of Rose doing good, nor phrases like the spirit of Rose.

"Just as I thought, I guessed right." Jonathan thought to himself.

The guy in the hoodie, Daniel, was a player from the first world.

He probably just arrived in this world and wasn't very familiar yet, which was why he was so clumsy when dialing the police because, like Jonathan, he didn't quite understand the high-tech portable devices of the cyberpunk world. He hadn't paid close attention to his surroundings, nor gathered information, or perhaps he did remember but was too panicked to recall, hence he didn't know this place was Baker Street in the Harbor District when he called the police.

Daniel hadn't been in the second world long enough to have learned its history, that's why he said something like "Do good like Rose" which everyone in the first world would understand, but people in the second world shouldn't know who Rose is.

Meeting a fellow countryman in a different world is such a delightful scenario, but, in the six pieces of advice given to players, it was said, "Do not reveal your identity as a player to anyone."

Anyone!

After thinking it over, Jonathan decided to abide by this.

He would not reveal his identity to the people of the second world, nor to other players. He would treat this as a role-playing game, he would play his role and be a competent "player".

Jonathan waited under the umbrella for ten minutes, and then Daniel drenched in the rain, ran over.

Jonathan was surprised he returned at all. He thought Daniel was making an excuse to escape, after all, getting involved in a case with a homicide as soon as he arrived in another world was not a wise choice for him.

"Oh my god, this rain is really heavy, no idea when it's going to stop." Daniel held an extra umbrella in his hand, which he had taken from the convenience store. "I told my dad, just waiting for the cops now."

Five minutes later, a hover police car stopped above Jonathan and Daniel, broadcast booming "Lower your weapons and place hands atop your heads!"

The two complied as the car descended, officers emerging with guns trained on Jonathan, red target lasers dancing across his chest.

"I am Jonathan, an intern security officer of the 7th Squad, Field Team, Investigation department" Jonathan quickly said. "I encountered a robbery on my way home and defended myself against the criminals."

One officer, a female, focused on him. "Moss, scan."

A robotic voice responded, "Facial match. Greetings Probationary Officer Jonathan."

It continued, "Daniel, fourth-class citizen, a mechanical engineering student at Black Sea Academy, no criminal record, target determined to be non-threatening."

"Gary, fifth-class citizen, unemployed vagrant, has a history of robbery and theft, the target was dead, no resuscitation value."

"Joe, fifth-class citizen, unemployed vagrant, has a history of theft and destruction of public property, the target was dead, no resuscitation value."

The two security officers from the police car put away their weapons and nodded at Jonathan. "By procedure, we should record a statement. Please come with us for investigation."

"No problem." Jonathan glanced at Daniel, "He's a witness."

"Okay, don't worry." The female security officer patted Jonathan's shoulder. "After the statement, it will be fine, Just routine."

Jonathan sensed something was off. Although he was a Probationary Officer and the two men he killed were criminals, the attitude of his colleagues was very casual, as if he had killed two people was not a big deal. He would be released after going through the procedure, with no legal responsibility, not even a penalty... why?

Jonathan sat in the back of the police car, with Daniel beside him.

The police car rose into the air, flying them to the Investigation department Building.

Daniel looked at him with complicated eyes. "So you have connections... you should have said so earlier, I spent half the day mentally preparing."

"No special treatment, I'm just a Probationary Officer and debt of 300,000." Jonathan leaned back tiredly on the seat of the police car. "Ah, I just finished work and didn't even make it home, now I have to go back..."