"Gwen?"
"Locke, aren't you at home?"
"No, what's up?"
"My mom asked me to bring you some things, said it was to thank you. When will you be back? Or, give me an address and I'll head over."
"...Let's not."
"No way. If you don't tell me, I'll have my dad track your phone."
"...I'll be there in half an hour."
"Good!"
At the entrance of the Star Tower, Gwen, carrying two thermal containers, tucked her phone away. A pleasant, comfortable smile graced her face.
In the neighboring countryside of New Jersey.
Locke put his phone away with a somewhat speechless expression and shook his head.
Beside him was a shivering taxi driver.
Locke turned to look over and let out a sigh.
He had originally wanted to cross-check some information.
Forget it.
"Bang!"
"Thud!"
In a small alley, a man named Locke wearing sunglasses stepped out of a taxi and walked into a building. After a while, Locke, having removed his sunglasses, returned to his car pushing several crates of purchased supplies.
Before long.
The Audi R8 was back on the road. As he left the supermarket, police cars whizzed past his Audi R8 with sirens wailing, heading straight toward the unmonitored alley where that taxi was parked.
Twenty minutes later.
Locke rolled down the car window and looked at Gwen, who was wearing a very cute wool hat at the entrance of the Star Tower. "Gwen."
Gwen snapped out of her thoughts and looked over.
A few minutes later.
Locke returned to the twenty-eighth floor of the Star Tower, carrying the snacks that, according to Gwen, Helen had personally made as a gesture of thanks.
*Pop!*
Locke pulled out a glass, took two ice cubes from the refrigerator, poured a glass of bourbon, and took a sip. His eyes flickered slightly.
"System!"
『Ding!』
『Name: Locke Broughton (Unique Player)』
『Achievement Points: 300 (Can be used to purchase items in the Achievement Mall)』
『Potential Points: 4300 (Can be used to upgrade owned skills)』
『Talent: Resilience (Level 3): Your physical fitness and recovery capabilities will be greatly enhanced.』
『Common Skills: Driving (Junior), English (Grade 9), History (Grade 9), Mathematics (Grade 9), Chemistry (Grade 9), Shooting (Intermediate), Sniping (Senior)...』
『Extraordinary Skill: Curve Bullet (Blue Quality) Intermediate: Ordinary marksmanship is linear and uninspired, but your marksmanship is flashy and extremely lethal!』
『Current Quest: My Life is Mine, Not Destiny's (In Progress)』
The Achievement Points were originally 2800. Chemistry class gave 500, then the prerequisite quest for My Life is Mine, Not Heaven's gave 1000, along with a Treasure Refresh Coupon.
As a result...
Upon refreshing, the 50,000-point Senior Copy Card appeared at a 90% discount for 5000.
Tsk tsk.
I was too extravagant.
How much better would it have been to save it for when I meet the Ancient One? At the very least, I could have copied a Mirror Dimension spell.
Save my foot.
Locke's mouth twitched. Seeing his Achievement Points shrink from four digits back to three digits, his heart ached.
But...
Forget it.
This was a necessary investment.
It can't be rushed.
In a development game, trying to reach the end in one step definitely won't work, unless you pay-to-win.
But...
This game doesn't have any top-up channels. It's self-produced and self-consumed. Clearly, it wasn't made by Penguin or Pig Farm.
(T/N:- those who didn't get it, he means Ten cent and Net Ease 😂)
Fortunately, Potential Points were nearly at four thousand.
"System, how many Potential Points are needed to upgrade 『Curve Bullet』?"
『Upgrading Curve Bullet to Senior requires 10,000 Potential Points. Confirm upgrade?』
"Con...firm my ass!"
"I really am a pauper."
Locke thought about his current official savings and then looked at these Potential Points, which weren't even a quarter of the way there. He seriously doubted whether he would ever save enough Achievement Points to buy Apollo by the time he was eighty.
Everything costs money.
Damn it.
Where can I score a big one?
...Wait.
Would directly taking down the textile mill count as big?
Locke raised an eyebrow.
He had originally intended to have that taxi driver lead him all the way to the textile mill.
Locke's revenge never waits overnight.
He had originally thought about taking it slow in New York, at least establishing a foothold and catching his breath.
But...
Great ideas, harsh reality.
Out of nowhere, his name actually appeared on the Loom of Fate.
Damn it.
If you're going to hang a sheep's head and sell dog meat, just sell it to the end. Don't be like a whore, acting one way while claiming to be another.
Heh.
Locke shook his head speechlessly. Thinking of that old man from Fraternity, he clicked his tongue twice.
At the same time, Locke learned what happened to his car from that hitman intern's mouth.
That Mr. Y had been tracking Cross ever since Mr. X's death.
Mr. Y is dead.
Clearly, Cross did it.
As for why he fell from the sky, without a doubt, Cross must have thrown Mr. Y out of a plane, and then, by pure coincidence, he slammed directly into Locke's Audi R8.
Son of a bitch.
Locke downed the bourbon in his glass. "System, if I take down the textile mill with all those assassins, aren't there any quests?"
As the words fell.
『Ding!』
『Generating Quest.』
『Quest: Destiny Is with Me!』
『Basic Quest Reward: 200 Achievement Points, 200 Potential Points, Treasure Refresh Coupon x1.』
『Quest Description: "You are a player. Destiny is already with you, but they don't know it. Go tell them!"』
『Quest Note: "During the quest, eliminating any hostile faction members will grant basic rewards!"』
『Quest Note 2: "It's here. The big score you wanted is here. Seize the opportunity and tell them: players only care about rewards, nothing else. If the rewards are high enough, they'll even slaughter a God for you to see!"』
『Quest Note 3: Story-line quest. The bigger the scene, the bigger the bonus!』
『Quest (My Life is Mine, Destiny's) rewards will still be settled!』
"..."
Locke: "System, I love you."
System: "..."
Locke was a bit excited.
Good grief.
Ask and you shall receive.
But...
Why was it that when he left Texas and tried to goad the system into giving him a quest to slaughter a gang, there was no reaction at all?
Forget it.
Locke shook his head. That wasn't important anymore.
What mattered was this wave.
It's in the bag!
How many assassins are in the Fraternity?
Let's say a hundred. One person is 200 Achievement Points; a hundred is twenty thousand.
And...
That textile mill probably has more than just a hundred people.
At least one hundred and fifty.
Locke had seen the Fraternity's public registration records; it listed 167 employees.
Sure enough.
I knew New York was a big city. The risks are high, but the opportunities are plenty.
Locke opened the snacks made by Gwen's mom, Helen, took a bite, and stared blankly at the sky outside the balcony.
A night for high winds and setting fires!
A dark moon and a night for killing.
This wave...
Must be taken!