Lego lay on his hospital bed, his eyes fixed on the nurse's firm, rounded behind as she pushed the medicine cart out of the room. When she sensed something was off and turned around, his gaze had already "retreated," staring blankly at the ceiling as if contemplating the deep mysteries of life.
He began to reflect on the events from three days ago. The aftermath of that classic brawl was a week-long suspension for everyone involved. Even Kai hadn't escaped the consequences of bringing a gun to school. As for the hospital bills, since Leo had been the one to instigate the fight, both parties were left to cover their own expenses.
Lego clicked his tongue in regret. "If only I'd baited him into getting even angrier so he'd hit me first. I could have squeezed a hefty settlement out of his family by now."
While he was lost in thought, the ring of his phone jolted him back to reality. Seeing the name "Kai" on the screen, Lego didn't rush to answer. He glanced at the new phone his family had bought him; it was far sleeker and more modern than any technology from his old world.
He swiped the green button. "Hello? What's up, Fatty? Haven't seen your face in days."
"I'm putting a job together, and I'm thinking of inviting you in," Kai's voice dropped to a secretive whisper. "What the hell are you talking about?" "Just hear me out. The crew is short a man. After seeing your 'extraordinary talents' three days ago, you were the first person I thought of. You're the perfect fit for this right now."
Lego suddenly remembered Kai's mafia background, and his face twisted. "Aren't you guys afraid of prison?" "Don't worry about it, Lego. My family has plenty of influence. If we happen to get caught, they'll pull the strings to fix it. Small robberies like this are basically just field practice for the younger generation of the family."
Lego was surprised by the nonchalance, but he cut straight to the chase. "What's the split?" "There are four of us including you. We'll just split it equally." "OK. Send me the address." Lego's eyes lit up at the mention of money.
On the other end, Kai was caught off guard by his friend's boldness. He thought to himself, "This kid really isn't the timid Lego he used to be."
Since arriving in this world, this was the most thrilling thing Lego had been involved in—something he had previously only seen in movies. A message buzzed: "Antique Shop, coordinates..."
Lego licked his lips as a daring idea flashed through his mind. He quickly typed a reply. When Kai read it, his face changed color. "Robbing Leo's family's antique shop? Are you insane? That's a massive store with high-end security." "Which just proves they have the good stuff. I'm not even scared, and you're already getting cold feet?" Lego chuckled. "Damn it, this guy is actually crazy!" Kai replied almost instantly. "Fine. I'm going all in with you on this. Tonight at 12:00, coordinates X34. A large truck will be waiting for you there."
Lego deleted the messages immediately after reading them. He turned on some music, rested his head on the pillow, and drifted off to sleep.
Night soon blanketed the hospital. He woke up abruptly when a nurse pushed her cart in. "Time for your injection."
After the shot, he finished off the lunchbox his family had prepared. Around 11:30 PM, once everyone in the ward was deep in sleep, Lego slipped out of bed. He placed a long body pillow in his spot and covered it with blankets as a decoy. After changing into dark clothes, he slipped out. Despite the late hour, people were still moving in and out of the hospital, but no one noticed a swift shadow disappearing through the gates.
Lego caught a taxi straight to the rendezvous point. Stepping out, he saw Kai waving from inside a large truck parked in a dark corner. Lego hopped in immediately.
Inside the cabin, besides Kai, there were four others. One wore glasses and looked quite intellectual, while the rest looked like hardened thugs. Including Lego and Kai, the crew for this hit totaled six people.
"Let's move," Kai ordered.
The truck roared to life and surged into the night, heading straight toward the target.
The truck suddenly accelerated with such violence that Lego nearly toppled over, only staying upright thanks to the fat man, Kai, grabbing him just in time.
"The vehicles in this world are insanely fast; it must be that high-tech influence," Lego thought to himself.
They screeched to a halt in front of a grand antique shop. The street was deserted, flanked by rows of houses shrouded in an eerie silence.
"I'm betting there's no way we can haul everything out of here," Kai said, rubbing his head. "The key is speed," Lego added. "From the moment we hit this place until the cops show up, the commotion we cause won't be small." "Security inside has light weapons: stun guns, electric batons..." "Doesn't matter. We're using heavy hardware equipped with the latest silencers," Kai said with a sinister, lip-licking grin. "Going that big, huh? I'm willing to bet they have more than just light weapons in there," Lego replied, shaking his head cautiously. "What the hell are you afraid of? We're already here!"
Kai pulled out an arsenal of firearms and distributed them to the group. He dashed to the main entrance and slapped a chip onto the lock. Inside the truck, the bespectacled hacker began typing furiously.
"That hacker has it easy, just sitting in the AC while we do the dirty work," Lego muttered under his breath.
"Beep!"
The doors swung open. Five figures stormed inside, grabbing anything off the shelves and stuffing it into large sacks.
"Damn, this place is massive! The good stuff must be deep inside!" "Just grab the stuff out here, that's enough! Move fast, the cameras are already disabled!"
"CRASH!" — The sound of shattering glass echoed through the hall.
"Son of a bitch! Which idiot did that?"
Red emergency lights immediately swept across the room as the alarm blared piercingly.
"Why didn't you hack the alarm system too?!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" — A volley of gunfire erupted. The sound of shattering glass and splintering wood was relentless.
"Fall back! Now!"
The crew bolted outside. The truck immediately swerved to block the entrance, acting as a shield. Both sides began a fierce firefight. Bullets flew like rain, clattering against the truck's frame with a deafening metallic clang-clang.
"Switch to armor-piercing mode!" a voice roared over the chaos.
Lego fumbled with his weapon for a moment before finding the toggle switch. But just as he was about to squeeze the trigger, the two men beside him slumped over, blood soaking the ground. Their eyes remained wide open, not even having the time to blink before death took them.
The scene was horrific.
Kai was now in a frenzy, mindlessly spraying bullets at the security team. "Taste my explosive rounds, you bastards!" Kai screamed, his finger glued to the trigger.
"BOOM! BOOM!" — Explosions rocked the area, turning the antique shop into a smoldering ruin. Those who couldn't flee in time were shredded before Kai's muzzle.
Lego grabbed the fat man by the shoulder, urging him: "Let's go! That's enough! We need to move!"
In the midst of the carnage, small wisps of red light drifted out from the corpses and surged into Lego's body. He had no idea what they were, but with the situation so dire, he could only focus on running.
The truck took off like a bullet, police sirens wailing directly behind them. Kai pressed his phone to his ear and yelled: "Backup! I need backup now! Move it, I'm not gonna make it!"
The fat man seemed completely blood-drunk. He drove like a maniac, weaving and fishtailing, causing cars on the road to pile up in a chaotic mess. Kai leaned out the window, firing round after round at the police cruisers, indifferent to the stray bullets hitting civilian vehicles.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Smoke and fire choked the air as cars exploded behind them. Kai began pulling grenade pins with his teeth, tossing them onto the road to block their pursuers.