Near the abandoned dock there was a hidden bar called "Sunset Fence," the hideout of Scorpion Baring.
Hydra was well funded and owned many properties in office buildings on major commercial streets, but regional boss Baring did not seem impressed by the luxury.
From Texas, he was more accustomed to a cowboy's life. Taming wild horses on vast ranches by day, wrestling with wind and sand, gathering in dim bars at night to measure the boundary between freedom and loneliness with whiskey and stories.
At this moment he was boasting to his men about his wit.
"I always disliked that kid. Dangerous jobs like this are best left to those grunts."
"Hahaha!"
The scorpion tattoo on the two-meter man's face twisted cruelly as he laughed.
Baring's words set a dozen agents laughing loudly. The smoke-filled bar was one big revel.
BANG!
The wooden door came off its frame and fell not far in front of Baring, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The bar fell silent. Everyone stared at the doorway, growing serious, fingers slowly inching toward guns on the table.
Corin's somewhat languid voice carried in, "Respected Mr. Baring. May I ask, when did I, doing my best to complete the mission, become a traitor to the organization?"
———
[A Few Minutes Earlier]
Corin had roughly browsed the system shop in the taxi.
He was still annoyed that the blonde woman had kicked his arm off. Self-healing was strong, but his body was still too weak.
'If only there was something to raise body attributes.'
'Oh! This seems useful.'
[Physical Enhancement → Permanently increase Physical Fitness by 2 points, 20,000 dollars]
Though the blonde's gear had exchanged for a lot, over ten thousand dollars, he still did not have enough now to redeem Physical Enhancement.
At that moment the taxi slowly stopped in a remote spot.
The driver twisted his fat body and pointed a black gun at Corin.
"Don't move. This is a robbery."
'A taxi driver? A robbery?'
Corin looked at the driver and the revolver in his hand with a puzzled expression.
A prompt floated in his eyes:
[Used Ruger GP100 Revolver (with 6 rounds) → Estimated value 180 dollars]
"Sir, what did you say?"
As if he hadn't heard clearly.
"I said, give me the money and valuables you have on you."
The driver waved the gun to threaten.
"Oh~"
Seeing the thick dust on the meter, Corin suddenly understood, 'What use is a meter against a barrel?'
He smiled at the driver.
"Sir, there's a saying, those who roam will eventually pay the price."
While the driver was stunned, Corin kicked and shattered his nose, sending some teeth flying.
He then dragged the driver out of the car and gave him a memorable lesson in social education.
When the driver passed out and agreed to pay tuition, Corin decided class was over.
Looking at the nearly new taxi, data flashed before his eyes.
[Used Ford Explorer Hybrid → Estimated value 31,000 dollars]
["Exchangeable item detected."]
The mechanical prompt rang in his head.
["Exchange now?"]
"Wait!"
He said, then picked up the revolver beside the unconscious driver, tossed it into the car, clapped his hands.
'Exchange all!'
The taxi vaporized before his eyes and his account balance surged by over thirty thousand dollars.
[Account balance 41,380 dollars. Exchange Physical Enhancement?]
"Exchange!"
His somewhat oversized suit and the pants that were a bit too long became the right fit within seconds.
Even the smallest motion that flexed his muscles now made them hard as rock.
A cause for celebration. His body had been comprehensively strengthened.
He opened the attribute panel. A holographic interface appeared before his eyes.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Name: Corin]
[Age: 28]
[Physical Fitness: 9]
[Current Account: 1,380 dollars]
[Existing Talents: Sub-Wolverine-level Recovery, Dynamic Vision Lv.1, Jeet Kune Do Mastery, Physical Enhancement Lv1 (2/5 stacks)]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
"Huh?"
Physical Fitness had risen by 4 points.
This surprised Corin. He expected spending twenty thousand to raise base Physical Fitness by 2 points and that would be it, 'But it can stack?'
'2/5 stacks? So it can stack up to five times?'
"Currently level 1. What about level 2, level 3?"
He looked closely.
[Physical Enhancement Lv1 → Physical Enhancement Lv2, permanently increase Physical Fitness by 20 points. 2,000,000 dollars]
[Physical Enhancement Lv2 → Physical Enhancement Lv3, permanently increase Physical Fitness by 200 points. 20,000,000 dollars]
[Physical Enhancement Lv3 → Physical Enhancement Lv4, permanently increase Physical Fitness by 2,000 points. 200,000,000 dollars]
Corin showed no expression. He had thought the Physical Fitness cap was 10, and was a little pleased to reach 9, but apparently there was no upper limit.
Given the world he was in, he relaxed quickly.
Seeing the taxi driver waking up slowly, he casually kicked him.
"You annoying fellow."
Whoosh!
Thud!
The fat driver's body spun on the ground and flew several meters, slamming into a tree on the other side of the road, his pants torn exposing pale hairy thighs.
"What?"
Corin looked at his leg in disbelief, 'I haven't even used much force, so why is the impact so huge?'
'Is Physical Enhancement this broken?'
Excitement flashed in his eyes. He recalled the direction of the old dock and sprinted off.
The wind whooshed louder in his ears. For the first time Corin felt unbound by physical limits.
One word, tireless.
The swift figure soon disappeared at the end of the road. Under the night sky his excited shout woke sleeping birds.
"Yahoo~"
———
[Sunset Fence Bar]
Hydra agents had stood up when the front door fell, racked their slides, eyes fixed on the entrance.
If anyone dared make trouble here, they would not hesitate to squeeze off rounds and turn them into a sieve, they swore it.
Scorpion Baring recognized Corin's voice. His caution turned to disdain.
He gave a look to a nearby man ready to fire, and loudly said.
"Hail Hydra! Corin, my brother, mission completed? Come on over, let's drink."
But inwardly he puzzled. He had arranged people to take care of him; this kid was supposed to be dead.
Information about the vibranium deal had come through other channels. Corin was already a spent piece.
All that effort wasted.
'What about the bounty hunter? Those who claim to be the most trustworthy idiots took the money and did nothing. Damn them!'
Corin heard Baring's warm greeting but remained noncommittal. He walked slowly into the bar, raising the item Baring had handed him personally, an envelope.
"Respected Mr. Baring, I'm curious. What could be in here that made both the organization and bounty hunters chase a low-level agent like me?"
As the envelope was slowly torn open, Corin remembered Baring clapping his shoulder two days ago and warning: do not open the envelope.
Baring's face darkened. Corin's action was tantamount to slapping him in public.
But the contents could not be revealed yet. Too many people were watching, which would help them.
"Corin, my brother, listen, your mission forbids you from opening it. Otherwise, it's betrayal."
Watching Corin about to pull out the letter, Baring tried to dissuade him.
At the same time, a pistol slid slowly into a firing position beneath the table.
Smiling, Corin looked at the agents in the room, they were second-tier agents, just under Baring in rank.
He waved the letter.
"Gentlemen, curious what's written inside?"
Though they gave no reply, the glint in their eyes betrayed their thoughts.
"Alright then. Let me—"
BANG!
Corin's words cut off as a gunshot suddenly rang out.