Much to Brandon’s disappointment, the gang members didn't know anything more than what he knew. A couple of days ago, the Watcher stepped in, took over the gang, and transferred all the gang’s balance away. He didn't really do anything else, as far as Brandon’s two captives could tell.

Saying Brandon was disappointed was an understatement. It seemed like all the Watcher wanted from the gang was their money. Perhaps he has moved on already. The boy was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something.

“Alpha, give me the criminal background on these two people.”

“Ken. 24. Responsible for two cases pf murder and three cases of sexual assaults”

“Norman. 29. Responsible for three cases of murder and nine cases of robbery.”

Brandon immediately changed his mind.

It was one thing to be unable to deal with everyone. It was another to let a group of criminals roam free when he had the chance to make them pay for their sins right in front of him.

“Alpha, call the CPD and inform them of what’s happening here.”

Brandon quickly knocked the two injured gang members out before walking deeper into the warehouse. He wouldn’t kill anyone unless he absolutely had to. That was where the police would come in.

He wasn’t armored at first. He didn't want to scare the gang members off.

A few other men saw Brandon approaching. It was obvious an Asian teenage student wasn’t a member of the Hellfire gang. Normal pedestrians wouldn’t have made their way so deep into the warehouse either. They quickly drew their weapons.

“Stop!”

Brandon opened fire with his energy blasters without another word. He has already known enough about these people to know they didn't deserve any sympathy.

A man collapsed. An automatic handgun hit the ground.

“Barren. 19. Responsible for five cases of robbery and one case of attempted murder.”

A bold, tall man jumped onto Brandon from behind. He was holding onto a Swiss army knife, ready to open up this maniac. Instead, Brandon elbowed him in the face. The man positioned his army knife, trying to stab it into Brandon’s arm, but instead of the sound of metal cutting through human flesh, he heard the sound of his knife shattering.

A flash of white appeared at Brandon’s elbow before disappearing.

“What…”

The man never got the answer to his question. Instead, he was hit right in the face. Blood oozed out of his nose while quite a few of his teeth came flying out.

“Jacques. 32. Former military. Responsible for five murders. One of the victims is an undercover police officer.”

Brandon quietly added two more shots to the bold man’s shoulders. Even if he survived this, he would be no more than a cripple.

“Liam…”

“Olsen…”

Man after man fell. Every single shot from Brandon found its target. When the thugs tried to return fire, all of their firing seemed to have been deflected by Brandon’s unprotected body. In reality, Alpha was constantly warping the white armor on and off of Brandon. Only an AI had such calculation power and rapid reflexes.

Finally, the gang members started considering option B.

A couple of them started eyeing the exits, but they barely made it past the first steps before coming into contact with a few white energy blasts.

In the end, dozens of gang members laid on the floor, screaming in pain. Even if this was the entire Hellfire gang, it was the better half of it.

Brandon stretched briefly and returned his blasters to his watch. He turned around, ready to leave the battlefield.

That was when a condensed white energy blast hit him in the chest.

Brandon was sent flying through the air before smashing into a set of abandoned machines. At the last fraction of a second, Alpha warped the armor onto Brandon. It saved his life.

“Uh!”

Brandon got up with a mouthful of blood. The armor neglected the majority of the attack, but a fraction of the power still went through to Brandon’s body. The watch granted Brandon access to countless high tech gadgets, but none of these gadgets enforced Brandon’s body. Well, none except the armor itself.

Even as Brandon stood up, his armor was breaking down the energy in its red energy core and feeding it to Brandon in tiny chunks. It mended his wounds and gave him the strength to face the unknown attacker in a decent mood.

That was until a second shot hit him.

Brandon fell back again, but he reacted very quickly. Before a third shot could land, he was already behind layers of cover.

In the time of distress, Brandon closed his eyes and ran the situation through his mind. The energy rifles that come with the watches could switch form at command, adjusting the firing speed, energy exhaustion, and punching power of the weapons.

What he was just hit with was a shot of maximum punching power. It was extremely energy exhausting and took a long time to get ready, but it certainly had the power. Even Brandon’s armor couldn’t shrug it off.

As for the moment, Brandon and the attacker were in a stalemate. Brandon wouldn’t dare walk out of cover, and the attacker has lost the element of surprise.

The attacker knew this as well, which was why he switched the blasters back to handgun form. With each hand holding onto one blaster, he walked into the warehouse.

Brandon walked out of cover as well with weapons in hand.

Just like he thought, the attacker was similarly equipped as he himself was. White armor. Energy blasters. A red crystal was in the armor’s slot.

He frowned when the attacker started executing the gang members on the ground. The men begged for mercy from their new leader, but it was of no use. The attacker didn't even stop.

“The Watcher, isn’t it?” He spoke up, but the Watcher didn't even look at him. His executions didn't stop either. “Listen to me! Hey!”

This time, the Watcher paused. He glanced at Brandon with slight disgust.

“Oh I am listening. It’s just I don’t give a damn what you think.”

The mechanical voice sounded oddly familiar to Brandon, but he didn't have time to think about it. Those gang members were guilty, but they should be put on trial and punished accordingly to their sins. He definitely couldn’t just allow the Watcher to massacre them all right before his eyes.

Two white energy blades formed as he charged forward.

The Watcher backed off as he opened fire on Brandon. Two energy blasters, now in alternate mode, rained down a storm of white death. The stopping power dropped significantly, but the rate of firing complimented for that. Brandon immediately came under fire. His armor protected him from the blasts, but he was still held in place.

Constantly defending was never the solution. With that in mind, Brandon suddenly tossed his left blade at the Watcher, forcing him to dodge to the side. The suppression fire halted for a second, and a second was enough for Brandon to change this battle from firefight to melee.

The Watcher realized the situation as well. He quickly replaced the blasters with energy blades and stood up to Brandon fearlessly.

Pzzz.

The weapons clashed together as the two fought for control. Neither have had much experience with fighting, but both were able to use their personal AIs to analyze the move of the opponents and develop countermeasures. As a result, the dual looked like to master swordsmen fighting.

In the middle of the battle, one of the Watcher’s blades suddenly landed on an injured gang member, As a price, he took a strike to the chest plate.

“What’s that for?” Brandon couldn’t help but ask. That strike served no purpose and put the Watcher in serious danger. From what he has seen, the Watcher was decisive and ruthless. He was by no means a fool.

The Watcher made a sound that Brandon could only describe as a snarl.

“Does that make you angry, Brandon?”

“What?”

“You claim to be almighty, but there’s nothing you can do to keep me from giving these pathetic thugs what they deserve.”

“I never claimed to be almighty.”

“Wow. Is that why you think everyone else is beneath you?”

Brandon frowned again. Are all people this talkative in combat? He didn't answer but rather intensified the attacks.

Pzzz. Pzzz.

The blades clashed more rapidly. At one point, the two were just doing what their AIs suggested. If there was any bystander around, all they could see was a sea of white.

“Annoyed? Angried?” The Watcher obviously enjoyed seeing Brandon so helpless. Even as his armor was stripped away, he still found the time to head shot another man on the ground. Perhaps to him, angering Brandon was more important than physically hurting him.

This was weird. It was reasonable if he was only trying to destroy Brandon’s patience and calmness, but what he was doing was just excessive.

It was so excessive that Brandon found an opportunity.

Suddenly, he pushed the Watcher’s weapons back before both of his blades were replaced by energy rifles set to maximum punching power. Fully charged, they sent two powerful blasts right into Brandon’s foe.

The Watcher stumbled back. His armor was scorched at the two points of connection. It was too close for the armor to fully neglect the attacks. Before the Watcher’s armor and body could be mended, Brandon was already on top of him with blades ignited. He unleashed a storm of strikes.

The Watcher did his best, but finally, one of Brandon’s strikes landed on the Watcher’s mask, cutting it apart. Before the severed mask could even hit the ground, a second strike went for the Watcher’s heart.

It was more than enough to pierce the Watcher’s fractured armor and end the man’s life.

That was when a red shield formed around the Watcher.

Brandon’s blade was deflected to the side.

That shield came from a red cube.

Brandon looked up at the Watcher’s face in shock.

He was speechless.

Half the Watcher’s mask was cut off, revealing half of his face, and that was enough for Brandon to recognize who he was.

Jaison Bai.

His own brother.

Brandon froze, but Jaison didn't. The younger Bai leaped forward and jammed his rifle into his brother’s chest. There was a fracture at that area. Jaison didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

A condensed white shot went clean through Brandon’s armor and scorched its way through his body.

Brandon’s back hit the ground. His mouth hung open, wanting to say something, but he couldn’t. He physically couldn’t.

“I assume you are wondering why I’m doing this.” Jaison smirked, taking off the rest of his mask, revealing his entire face. He kicked Brandon’s weapons to the side and knelt down beside his dying brother.

Brandon stared into Jaison’s eyes.

“You know, ever since I could remember things, you were always this giant mountain in front of me, blocking my path.” Jaison sighed and sat down. His eyes stared into a distance. “Everytime I accomplished something, mom and dad would say ‘don’t be proud! Your brother did the same thing one year younger than you are now!’ You were just perfect.”

“Once upon a time, I admired you. I admired how you handled things. I admired how you treated problems. That’s why I came to you the moment I found the watches. I didn't even think about keeping both for myself.” He smiled softly. “How silly of me. When you took one of the watches for yourself, I didn't say a thing. When you told me not to mess with the watches, I listened. I was pissed off, but I listened. I believed you know better than I do. After all, you are the big brother.”

Brandon coughed. The energy blast sealed the arteries around his wounds and saved him from bleeding out, but a large chunk of his body was literally missing!

Jaison continued.

“What happened with Henry Dirvin made me believe I did the right thing in trusting you. Sure, I wanted to blast that son of a bitch’s head open, along with his dick of a son, but I understand why you’re doing this. Things were resolved nicely. It’s for the best.”

“Then imagine my anger when I found out that the entire time when you forbid me to use the watches, you were using them yourself. You told me all the crap about keeping this a secret and not being controlled by it, and then you yourself went on to literally interrogate and memory wipe someone. That person knows your identity and has tried to kill mom and dad, and you let him live?”

“That was a betrayal. What made it worse was that, even after the operation, you still refused to tell me about it. Am I not worthy to know? Am I too stupid or too rash?” Jaison’s voice was cold and distant. “Well, I wanted to prove myself to you. I can fight just as well as you.”

“So I hired those men to our school with the money taken from a random group of thugs I found in the streets. The plan was for me to jump out and save the day. I hoped that would be enough to show the world, and most importantly, you, what I am capable of.” He smirked again. Sadness was in his brows. “That went well, until you decided to take over the role as the hero and save the day. The man in the white armor? Such a nice title.”

“But if you think that’s it, you’re wrong. While you were the hero, I was mocked by mom and dad and all my friends and teachers for trying to be a real life superhero. They didn't know I could punch through walls! All they knew was I almost got myself killed by being stupid. Thanks to you, my big brother, I have become the laughing stock of everyone. You got the girl and the fame while I got nothing.”

“For days, I asked myself. Why should you get all the benefits when me, the person who actually found the watches, suffer in silence? I have more claim to this than you ever did, but now...how did this even happen?”

“The answer is clear: I was being too weak. If I was more decisive, more reckless, more brutal, more selfish, I would have been much more successful.”

“It’s truly a pity. If I realized it earlier, things would have been a lot easier. But no matter. It’s not too late to start now.”

“I knew I could never take you if you move cautiously, I sent that kid to bring you a message and mess with your mind...to make you rash. He was nobody. I found him playing basketball in a random driveway. When I set him up to die, I felt bad, I really did, but I also know if I want to win, I can’t afford to feel bad for others.”

“I led you here on purpose.” Jaison stood up, walked to a dying gang member, and stepped on his head and crushed it despite the man’s pleas. “I knew there was a camera there. I also knew you could never resist playing the hero and giving these criminals what they deserve. When you’re eventually done with them...that’s when you’ll be the most relaxed.”

“And so I struck.”

Jaison tapped his armor.

“I have to admit, you put up more of a fight than I expected, but in the end, you have shown how weak you are, and that’s why you’re going to die today.”

He raised his rifle and aimed at Brandon’s head.

“I will not do anything to mom and dad. As annoying as they are, they are the reason I’m alive. But unfortunately, you are an obstacle in my path, and you must be removed.”

“Goodbye, brother.”