Jayden sighed. Binding the n up was a lot of unnecessary work. Alerting the authorities was easier. But... he didn’t even have his mobile device with him. He’d left it at ho when leaving for the forest in the morning. At the ti, he felt he didn’t need any distractions during his hunt.
Grumbling, he walked over to one of the unconscious n, reached out into his pocket and pulled out his holo-tab. Then he took the man’s thumb and pressed it against the device so as to unlock it... and it worked. He was in.
He navigated to a popular anonymous social platform frequented by EVA tipsters—ShadowNet. A site where whispers of illicit activities often reached the right ears without tracing back to the source.
He quickly composed a ssage, providing a brief summary of the situation. He included the district but omitted the exact address, so that by the ti the military police pinpointed the correct bay among the several in the area, he would be as far away as possible.
However, he had also calculated that the police would reach the bay long before the goons awakened.
He hit send, watching the anonymous post vanish into the ether. Then almost imdiately—
DING!
[Quest Complete: Stop the smugglers from smuggling the illegal combat equipnts]
[Congratulations, you have received an Instant Rank-up for any integrated beast gene. You can use it whenever you want]
Jayden decided to use the rank-up later, probably after thinking well on which gene to use it on.
He dropped the holo-tab and turned to leave, but as he took a step, his eyes drifted to the containers they’d been loading.
Curiosity got the better of him.
He approached the nearest crate and pried it open. Inside, an assortnt of weapons, gears, and items glead under the dim warehouse lights: energy pistols, grenades, blades and all other sorts of beast weapons. He activated Dragon Eye to scan their stats—most were F to D rank, nothing particularly impressive.
Jayden moved to the next container. But they were more of the sa; E-rank and D-rank equipnt that would be useful for street-level criminals but useless to him. He couldn’t even sell them... they’d only earn him a few credits at most.
"Pfft! Can’t believe it’s all just a bunch of junk," Jayden murmured in disappointnt.
He was about to leave when sothing in the corner caught his eye.
A glass case.
And inside... was a complete combat suit set.
Jayden’s breath caught.
It was sleek, modern, and clearly built for serious combat. The base was matte black with gray accent lines running along the joints and chest piece. The design was tactical—reinforced plating at vital areas, flexible material at the joints for mobility.
Jayden accessed the stats imdiately.
–––––––
*Item: Advanced Tactical Combat Suit
*Rank: C
*Stat Boost:
[ 50 Defense, 20 Agility, 20 Stamina, 15% Perception]
*Integrated Properties:
[Fire resistance. Self-repairing nanites (minor damage), Temperature Regulation, Auto-fit Technology]
*Special Skill:
- Kinetic Vortex Absorption
Description:
The suit absorbs kinetic energy from incoming physical impacts, channeling it into an internal capacitor. The capacitor charges per the number and magnitude of hits. When fully charged, it unleashes a devastating Kinetic Burst (up to 300% of initial hits) to opponents.
*Cooldown: 30 seconds before another charge sequence can be initiated.
–––––––
Jayden’s eyes widened. This suit had even better stats than the Nean Armor he saw in the system’s shop. And it was C-rank, aning it was extrely valuable and could last long.
"Hmm," he chuckled. "Guess not all of its junk afterall."
Without a second thought, he broke the glass with ease, took the suit, and stored it in his inventory, the suit vanishing in a shimr of digital space.
Jayden let out a satisfied hum, already turning to leave.
That’s when he heard movent behind him.
One of the smugglers—the leader , was stirring, groaning as his consciousness returned.
Jayden’s lips curled into a cold smile. He turned and began walking slowly toward the man.
The smuggler’s eyes fluttered open. When he saw Jayden approaching, panic flooded his features. He scrambled backward, hands raised defensively.
"W-wait! Please! Don’t—I won’t say anything, I swear! Just—"
Jayden said nothing. He just kept walking, his footsteps echoing in the empty warehouse.
The man’s back hit a wall. Trapped. Trembling.
Jayden stopped in front of him, tilting his head slightly as he studied the terrified smuggler.
He raised his fist, preparing to knock the man unconscious again, when sothing caught his eye.
The man’s right forearm. A tattoo, partially visible beneath his rolled-up sleeve.
A cobra. Coiled and ready to strike.
Jayden’s eyes narrowed. He’d seen that tattoo before. On the hand of the man he’d beaten up a few days ago—the one who’d been assaulting that woman in the alley.
"Interesting," Jayden murmured.
He moved to the nearest unconscious smuggler and roughly rolled up the man’s sleeve.
Sa tattoo. Sa cobra.
Then to another. And another.
All six of them had it.
Jayden turned back to the conscious smuggler, who was now shaking so badly his teeth were chattering.
"Are you part of so kind of gang?" Jayden asked, his voice casual. Curious.
The man nodded frantically. "Y-yes! But I’m not—I’m just a lackey! Not even a core mber, I swear! I just move cargo, I don’t—"
"Relax," Jayden said, waving a hand dismissively. "I don’t care about you or your gang."
The man’s shoulders sagged with relief.
Jayden turned and started walking toward the exit. Behind him, he heard the smuggler exhale shakily, probably thanking whatever god he believed in that the terrifying teenager was leaving.
Jayden reached the edge of the loading bay, then paused.
"Oh," he said casually. "I almost forgot sothing."
The smuggler looked up. "Wha—"
Jayden moved.
One mont he was ters away. The next, he was standing directly in front of the man, his fist already in motion.
The punch connected with the smuggler’s face before the man’s brain could even process that Jayden had moved.
The smuggler’s head snapped back, and he collapsed, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Just then the system screen appeared with a notification he hadn’t seen in a while.
[Smuggler Hp: 1/300]
[ 20 Exp Gained]
[Exp: 3040/6700]
Jayden chuckled softly, shaking out his hand. "Thanks for the extra reward."
He allowed himself a small smile as he left the warehouse and headed ho.
Maybe today hadn’t been a complete waste after all.
.....
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