Chapter 18: The Pudding

Blurred by the greys of smoke embracing the night sky, the stars hid. The dangling moon twice shy. The stellar night light disappearing behind the doors of the clouds above. The greys of heaven continued to conquer the vastness of the starry field. Darkness veiled the night, only a few lamp posts lighting up the City of Trent, flickering most of the time.

Zhou Qi paced around the warehouse no. 1. The captives had already been saved and taken away. He heard that the ruler of the City of Trent blew up and almost destroyed the whole warehouse.

It was fortunate that Lieutenant Chu managed to appease the old man. Of course not before calling her 'grandpa.' She managed to make the old city lord agree that she would be able to handle everything.

They were able to gather a bunch of evidence from the whole warehouse. Still, the sight within the unnumbered warehouse made everyone's blood freeze.

The mass kidnappings were related to this case.

"Fatty? The weapons ready?"

"Give me a few more minutes. Anyway, I trust your judgment. You'll need quality stuff, from the looks of it, this raid will be a tough nut. So, better safe than sorry."

Zhou Qi hummed in agreement before putting down the call. He planned to look for dinner in the fridge he found.

Zhou Qi turned his head... and froze.

"Sasa, please don't eat that! That's my dinner! I'm the one who found that!"

"Hmndfgsdad."

"Could you please swallow before talking?"

With a big gulp, Sasa picked a bottle of water lying inside the fridge. She also rummaged through everything, from food to candies.

Zhou Qi could only sigh in defeat. This glutton.

…

Zhou Qi was wondering what kind of gift the system has stored for him.

"Mission Status."

___________________

Mission Updated

When Fools Lose their Minds (2)

Mission Introduction: Why the heck are you dilly-dallying!? Get your ass moving and end it already. This system is starting to become very sick due to excessive exposure to your face.

Mission Requirements.

Dead devil smugglers 53/53 (Completed).

Saved captives 507/507 (Completed).

Search for more information (Completed).

Mission Grade: E-

Rewards:

Krav Maga Book (Master).

Pistol Mastery Book (Expert)

Random Class skill

+Stats, +Influence

Failure Penalty: Death

_________________

Ding!

[Congratulations, Host! You have completed the mission. Will you now accept the rewards? Yes? No? Later?]

_________________

"Yes, please!" Zhou Qi roared in his mind. For a moment, Zhou Qi felt his vision blurring. He immediately looked for a quiet place. He took a seat and closed his eyes. He tried to analyze the changes in his body slowly. Aside from the headache, everything was perfect.

Will the host learn the Krav Maga Book (Master) and Pistol Mastery Book (Expert)?

"Of course."

...

Host earned +2 to all stats.

Increased City reputation – Infamy to Friendly

Pzt...

Randomizing, Initializing, Determining…

New Class Skill "In the Dark" earned. Do you accept it?

"Yes!"

In the Dark: +10% Dexterity when hidden in the dark. A 1% chance to cause bleed effect.

"Heh, not bad."

"Status."

_________________

System Interface Opening…

Name: Zhou Qi

Race: Human

Level: 5

Experience: 50,000/100,000

Main Class: Scale Breaker, Gangster

Sub-class: Civilian Lv. 3 (73/150)

Attributes: Strength 5(+2), Dexterity 6(+2), Endurance 5 (+2) , Intelligence 6 (+2) , Mystery 1 (+2) , Charm 6 (+2) , Luck 6 (+2)

Unassigned Stats: 0

Grade: G (Mortal)

Health points: 25/30 (Unhealthy Lungs)

Stamina: 20/20

Influence: +200 (Friendly)

Skills:

Street Boxing (Intermediate).

Blunt Weapon Mastery (Expert).

Krav Maga Book (Master).

Pistol Mastery Book (Expert).

Gifts:

The System.

Class Talents:

Sharp Mind: +20% better understanding and processing information.

Hard worker: +10% faster improvement in learning.

Will of Mercy: +5% charm.

(New) In the Dark: +10% Dexterity when hidden in the dark. A 1% chance to cause bleed status. Only for melee weapons.

[System Notes: Stop looking at the system. You're wasting this system's precious energy! Do your next mission already, don't waste my time! Also, I'm tired. Bye!]

_________________

All of a sudden, the whole system shut down. No matter how much Zhou Qi called, it didn't respond.

"The heck! What kind of system is this?" Zhou Qi shrugged, mumbling about the system’s uselessness from time to time. "So stuck up! You'll not gettin' a host better than me."

Suddenly, a red notification flashed before his eyes. All bold font, for the font size? It covered his whole sight. There was one word -"sucker."

Zhou Qi was already well-acquainted by the chilly disposition of the system. If it doesn't want to take a bull, it means it doesn't want anything.

No negotiations.

At least he already got his rewards, right? This was the most precious reward that he ever received from the system. It seemed like the system was also very angry. The system might be looking at the world through his eyes.

What really made Zhou Qi happy was his luck rising to eight. A grin bloomed, capturing, and showing his inner thoughts. He wondered if his luck would stack with his new class skill. With his luck stats, he wondered if the chances of that 1% bleed chance would improve. Along with his pistol mastery, things were perfect.

He felt like a perfect loan shark. He can make them bleed money and bleed blood.

"Maybe, I should ask Fatty if he has any assassin games that I could learn from!"

Zhou Qi was also quite curious about Krav Maga. He read a few things about it. The style was quite brutal...good enough for his taste.

It was a brutal technique that aims to decapitate the enemy in real combat instantly. It doesn't strive to subdue. It aims to kill people as fast as possible.

The martial arts of Krav Maga doesn't care about any morality. Unlike his street boxing skill, this martial art skill doesn't even care for anyone. The well-being of his opponent wasn't also a concern.

It aims to give the enemy the greatest possible pain or the fastest death. It emphasizes efficiency and speed at its finest.

It was very compatible with his new skill. Zhou Qi smiled wryly. The system wanted him to become a gangster, so he became one. Now it wants him to be an assassin?!

Zhou Qi pondered, putting his hands on his chin. Well, if it's partnered with Fatty's cool costume. Everything will be worth it!

The skill really came at the right time.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Zhou Qi's daydreaming was cut short. He pulled out the phone from his pocket and answered.

It was the Lieutenant.

"We're ready, Zhou Qi. The old man wants everything leveled." Zhou Qi could hear a roaring old man from the other side of the phone. "Ignore the sounds, please. Anyway, spare no one. The old man told us to be the judge itself. Do your best to wipe them out. I don't want this old man to go there. Please!! I don't like to be responsible for repairing the whole district."

Zhou Qi gulped after imagining the big boss of Trent waltzing around the slum districts. "Alright, we will be ready in a few more minutes. Fatty's working double time."

"The plan remains. You'll enter the truck along with my men. Everything is already on standby. I'll need your help to ensure the safety of any captives. I don't want them to be caught in the crossfire."

"Fine! By the way, Lieutenant, please send me some deposits. It'll be a very good motivation. Hehe."

Ding.

Zhou Qi looked at his phone; his ZBank account had already received the money. The number of zeros dazzled him. It was the first time he earned this level of bucks.

"Very efficient. Nice working with you."

"Hmm. I don't want a half-ass job. We already brought the other captives into the hospital. You won't need to worry about anything. You already got the money. I expect results."

"I can't promise anything. After all, I'm not sure if there's a Wielder among them."

"Kill the wielder, and I'll add more."

Zhou Qi flashed a grin. "You really understand me, Lieutenant. I'll do my best."

…

Only a few hours had passed after the Law Bar's crew raided the warehouse along with the special police. The captives' heart-wrenching cries were the only reason he needed. It decided whether he should kill or not.

With his new skill and stats, Zhou Qi felt far lighter and dexterous. His ability and speed to think were also augmented. He felt weird moving at high speed. He could feel his brain calculating what it hears, see, smell, and taste.

"Tsk, so this is the realm below our Bar's Fatty."

Zhou Qi understood how Fatty calculated everything.

Fatty was basing it on understanding a person’s personality, previous actions, temperament, and words. From that, Fatty deduced what's on his mind.

Zhou Qi understood that every point added was like opening a brand new world. No wonder some of the world's most powerful wielders strength was so insane. Their mind was their only limitation.

Still, he knew he was still far from the top wielders. He was still like an ant before them.

In the past five years, no concept or education style for wielders had been publicized. The way to improve the gifts of the wielders were hidden from the eyes of the masses. Each piece of information was tightly lidded.

All Zhou Qi knew was that each gift has its route of development. Their improvement would all be based on their understanding of their skills.

The more powerful they were, the closer they were to the truth. The deeper their understanding of their gift, the more powerful they could get.

Zhou Qi's phone vibrated, he reached out and saw Fatty's message. "I'm done, I'll send everything."

"My wardrobe? Hehe."

"Done. Get it once everything's finished. I'm sending the weapons in a few minutes."

Zhou Qi muttered in excitement. "Great."

With a grin reaching from ear to ear, Zhou Qi called everyone. "Let's start the plan."

…

About three large cargo trucks traveled in the silence of midnight. Its destination, unknown. The dark midnight roads made it less noticeable on the roads and streets.

After the void shocks, wars, and disruption that shook the world's global chain. Anything related to energy had become rare goods. Energy goods such as electricity, oil, and crude, gas, and zealot cores became worth more than gold.

The three cargo trucks separated, moving to various directions. They took different routes upon arriving at a fork intersection.

"Fatty, how are we doing?"

"The targets are already moving. There are three big cargo trucks. Oh, interesting."

"What's happening?"

"They're separating. I'll track the three through my satellite. Just hold your position. How's are police friends?"

Zhou Qi turned his head, looking at their source of funds. The special police had prepared to join Zhou Qi and their club for the infiltration mission. Of course, with the condition that they would follow Zhou Qi's command.

Lieutenant Chu personally negotiated with Zhou Qi to allow this to happen. She explained that the special police should learn from Zhou Qi's team. She decided to let his officers experience this rare mission. It would serve as excellent training. She also nagged about how expensive the Law Bar's service was.

According to Fatty's plans, the police officers must wear the uniforms of the kidnappers. A few officers were even making faces in front of a mirror. Each one was trying to act as arrogant and lustful as the kidnappers were—all following Fatty's script.

...

On the Law Bar's underground bunker.

"They'll arrive there within 30 minutes." Fatty Jhin stood up from his high-tech couch. Like a boss, he headed unimpeded towards the refrigerator while whistling. He ransacked the cold storage for some sweet midnight snack.

"Hmmn, Lieutenant Chu really has a lot of money."

Fatty picked a cup of sweet pudding for his midnight snack. With a smile on his face, he waltzed back to the couch. He focused on the four screens in front of him. His satellites following the three trucks through night vision. He was tracking the movements of the four screens through his portable satellites.

Fatty Jhin noticed the four trucks changing their routes, again. They were converging towards the warehouse.

"Hoh, just as I predicted. Now, what should I do next?" Fatty Jhin dug a spoonful of cold pudding. The sweet dessert entered the maw of the abyss, down to the river of Styx.

Then, it was never seen again.