A night without stars.
Beneath the oppressive blanket of dark clouds, the crimes of Hell's Kitchen continued their relentless unfold.
Deep within a narrow alley, a terrified woman found herself cornered against cold brick.
Three knife-wielding robbers aimed flashlights directly at her face, the harsh beams forcing her eyes shut as she fumbled desperately with her purse.
She withdrew her wallet, hands trembling as she pleaded, "Everything I have is here... Please, just let me go..."
"Oh, we'll let you go," one of the assailants chuckled darkly, "After we've had our fun."
All three advanced steadily toward their target.
Suddenly, a commanding voice cut through the darkness: "STOP! Release her. Now."
A figure in a crimson tactical suit and distinctive horned mask descended from above.
The sight of him sent immediate panic through the would-be attackers. "Daredevil! Run!"
"THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!"
With three precise, economical strikes, all three criminals dropped unconscious to the pavement.
Daredevil turned to the trembling woman, his voice low and reassuring. "Call the police."
With a fluid motion, he extended his billy club, fired the hidden grappling mechanism, and vanished skyward into the night.
...
From a strategic distance, Jason observed the entire encounter.
Based on his Combat Master skill assessment, Daredevil's fighting technique appeared roughly equivalent to his own.
Even if the vigilante possessed superior skill, the difference wouldn't be insurmountable.
However, Daredevil's physical attributes clearly exceeded Jason's current capabilities. Judging by the system's metrics, his strength and agility likely rated above 10 on the attribute scale.
Of course, his true advantage lay in his supernatural radar sense.
Much like Spider-Man's spider-sense, Daredevil's radar perception was essentially a biological cheat code—dramatically enhancing his reconnaissance abilities, environmental awareness, combat effectiveness, and a host of other capabilities.
After resolving the situation, Daredevil departed swiftly. David's voice immediately buzzed through Jason's earpiece.
"Well, Sir Knight, your red-suited concern has left the area. You're clear to proceed with the mission."
Jason rolled his eyes and headed toward the Flame Auto Repair Shop. "Who said I was concerned about him? God simply hasn't designated him as a target, so I'm avoiding unnecessary conflict for now."
He paused meaningfully. "But if he crosses the line someday, I'll certainly help... correct his path."
The street lighting was minimal, with several lamps broken or flickering.
For normal eyes, navigation would be challenging. But with Jason's night vision ability, the darkness posed no obstacle—the shadowy environment appeared nearly as clear as daylight.
He quickly reached the perimeter of the Flame Auto Repair Shop. Inside, his targets were presumably asleep, as no lights were visible.
David's voice provided tactical information through the earpiece: "First floor, east side—bedroom with two occupants. Second floor contains three bedrooms: the northernmost belongs to their leader, Jero. The eastern and western rooms house three additional members."
He paused before adding, "According to my surveillance, they're armed with at least two MP9 submachine guns and an M4 carbine. Are you absolutely certain you can handle this?"
"Child's play," Jason replied confidently.
The repair shop featured a small yard surrounded by a waist-high wall. With minimal effort, Jason sprinted and vaulted cleanly over it.
Rather than immediately entering the building, he located the electrical panel mounted under the eaves and disabled the power.
Moving with practiced efficiency, he approached the first-floor bedroom. These gangsters had implemented virtually no security measures.
Inside the cluttered, malodorous room, two inebriated men lay sprawled across separate mattresses.
Jason neutralized them with practiced skill—rendering them unconscious, gagging them thoroughly, and securing them with restraints.
He methodically repeated this procedure in the eastern and western bedrooms on the second floor.
Jero's bedroom, however, presented a minor challenge—the gang leader had suspended a crude alarm system consisting of a bell attached to a tripwire across his doorway.
Unfortunately for him, Jason's Trap Mastery skill made such primitive countermeasures trivial to bypass.
Despite the locked door, he gained entry using improvised lockpicks fashioned from wire.
Jero was a muscular figure covered in elaborate tattoos. Jason felt immediate disappointment upon seeing him.
According to the system's assessment, he was merely an Iron-tier Target—not the Bronze-level target Jason had been hoping for.
What a waste!
When criminals aspired to villainy, yet lacked the competence to achieve even moderate success, it struck Jason as particularly pathetic.
With all six gang members securely bound, Jason methodically arranged six nooses from the second-floor railing—one for each captive.
The ropes encircled their necks as they trembled before their masked visitor, their eyes wide with primal fear.
David's voice came urgently through the earpiece, having observed the scene via his drone's camera feed.
"Jesus Christ, what are you doing? Kill them and get the hell out of there! Every minute you linger increases the risk of discovery!"
"David," Jason replied calmly, "I don't kill indiscriminately—I pass judgment."
"Don't use my real name, are you insane?!"
"Relax. There are only two of us here, plus six soon-to-be-dead men. Your identity remains secure."
"That's not the point! You never use real names during operations! Basic operational security—use my code name!"
"Fine, what's your preferred code name? How about 'Knight's Right Hand'?"
"That's terrible. Just call me... Tiger."
"That's even worse! Look, I'm busy executing people. We'll discuss this later."
Before him, the six captives twisted desperately against their restraints, their gagged pleas producing muffled, inarticulate sounds.
Jason's extended dialogue served a strategic purpose—not to waste words, but to allow his victims' emotional responses to intensify.
He addressed the condemned men with ceremonial gravity: "Gentlemen, your time has expired! I stand before you as God's appointed judge. Your sins have accumulated, and payment is now due."
His voice rose to a crescendo. "I sentence you—to death!"
With dramatic finality, he kicked away the benches supporting each man, one by one.
For several moments, the stifled sounds of strangulation filled the repair shop.
Minutes later, the system notification appeared:
[Task updated and available for review]!
Jason didn't immediately check the system. Instead, he meticulously repositioned the six bodies back into their respective rooms.
He appropriated two submachine guns, then reactivated the electrical system, deliberately creating a short circuit to simulate an electrical fire.
The repair shop contained abundant flammable materials and automotive fuel. Within minutes, roaring flames engulfed the entire structure.
By the time fire engines arrived with sirens blaring, Jason had already returned to the church.
After a thorough shower, he sat on the balcony, enjoying the evening breeze while observing the distant inferno. Only then did he access the system interface.
[Mission accomplished.]
Character level: Iron-tier.
Upgrade: Not upgraded.
Cause of death: Hanging.
Freshness: Five stars.
End-of-life emotions: Fear and confusion.
Sentiment rating: Five stars.
Comprehensive task evaluation: Five stars!
Special rewards for five-star reviews, gift packages being upgraded... Reward: Iron Five-Star Gift Pack, Double Luck.]
[Congratulations on triggering the first five-kill streak reward, free attribute points: 5]
Wait, there's a kill streak reward system?
Jason paused, realizing the system contained numerous functions he had yet to fully explore.
Five additional attribute points represented an unexpected bonus.
But more pressing was the potential reward from the five-star gift package.
He mentally opened the gift package.
[Congratulations on receiving the reward: Compound Eyes.]
Another vision-based ability?
Immediately, his visual field expanded dramatically, with vastly improved peripheral awareness in both vertical and horizontal planes.
Simultaneously, everything in motion appeared to decelerate, as if caught in temporal resistance. He realized he was experiencing enhanced dynamic vision.
The phenomenon wasn't that the world had slowed—rather, his neural processing and reaction speeds had dramatically increased.
His sensory system had become hypersensitive, his reactions preternaturally swift—effectively a limited version of Spider-Man's celebrated spider-sense.
Of course, spider-sense encompassed numerous additional capabilities, some bordering on the metaphysical.
Compound Eyes couldn't truly compare to such an ability.
Nevertheless, his expanded visual field combined with enhanced dynamic perception would substantially augment his combat effectiveness.
Moreover, by channeling mental energy toward his visual cortex, he could temporarily intensify these effects further!
After just a few seconds of testing this focused enhancement, however, he experienced noticeable mental fatigue.
His current mental attribute value of 8 significantly exceeded normal human capacity, yet clearly left room for improvement regarding the Compound Eyes ability.
This realization immediately clarified how to allocate his newly acquired attribute points.
He accessed the system interface:
[Name: Jason
Age: 22 years old
Bloodline: Human
Status: Normal
Strength: 7
Speed: 10
Defense: 7
Constitution: 5
Will: 10
Skills: Combat Master, Pistol Proficiency, Trap Proficiency
Abilities: Night Vision, Compound Eyes
Items: None
Instance: Locked
Alternate Universe: Locked
Main task: Those who are guilty must be punished
Iron-tier target: 2/7
Newest quest:
Bronze-tier target: 0/1
Creed: Kill to gain redemption.]
Two points allocated to Will, three points to Speed. Combined with his Pistol Mastery skill and new Compound Eyes ability, he could now eliminate targets with unprecedented efficiency and precision.
Jason reached a decisive strategic conclusion: his next phase would prioritize quantity over quality—focusing on accumulated kills rather than elaborate executions!
Hell's Kitchen was about to experience a blood-soaked reckoning like never before.