Chapter 16: No.16: Marshmallow Protector
Earlier...
After leaving Summer in the park, Bruce headed for a nearby superstore.
On reaching there, he immediately headed for the jewelry section, as he intended to buy the most expensive one his hand could find.
However, he immediately regretted this soon after.
"300 million!?"
Nearly screaming upon hearing the price, Bruce secretly wondered if he’d accidentally wandered into a jewelry store or an auction house instead, at the absurd price. But he could clearly remember this being a superstore, so he simply concluded that some things cost way more here than in his former world, like the milkshake he had with Summer earlier.
Realizing he’d gotten ahead of himself on merely attaining his first million, he quickly explained his budget to the shop attendant, while secretly noting that he still had a long way to go before he could be truly classified as wealthy.
Looking at his obsidian wristband, Bruce checked his account balance.
{Kepto Balance - 1,182,028 KPT}
Though he’d intended on buying an expensive piece of jewelry, as he knew it was one of the few things he didn’t have to buy in bulk for it to be costly, Bruce had budgeted for the price to be around one million to begin with.
Not only because that was currently the amount he could afford, but also due to the obsidian wristband.
Despite the fact that it was a multifunctional device called the OmniBand, it also served as a means to keep people’s money safe without the need for a bank, as the world didn’t possess physical cash, relying on digital currency instead, since it was less prone to being stolen or lost. Especially due to the device’s security system, which was registered to the user’s DNA signature, enabling only them to have access to their money.
Though it also had its disadvantages and loopholes, it was a relatively safer option for handling money.
However, the main concern was the fact that it could also serve as a means for the government to easily track others’ money, especially since one could only have one account. Meaning they couldn’t store illegal funds in ghost accounts, enabling the authorities to easily zero in on criminals or suspicious individuals that suddenly began spending a large sum beyond what their means of livelihood dictated.
’A bane for Rebate protagonists!’
Cursing at the thought, Bruce concluded that this method wasn’t perfect either.
On the bright side, due to being registered to the user’s DNA signature, it also meant the government couldn’t directly monitor a person’s bank account.
Instead, they tracked the amount spent by an individual over a certain period of time, which would alert them the moment the amount bordered on the tens of millions, especially when the one involved was a no-name individual.
Keeping this in mind, he quickly browsed through the ones within his budget, but found them too eye-catching, as they were likely to warrant Summer’s suspicion as to how he had suddenly attained the funds to purchase them, ruining his entire reason for not bringing her along in the first place.
Upon conveying his intent to the shop attendant, she immediately directed him to something she believed met his requirements.
"It’s perfect!"
Purchasing it immediately, he quickly returned to the park to surprise Summer.
However, on drawing closer to the park, Bruce suddenly heard Summer’s voice some distance from him.
"Who’s there? There’s no point pretending. I know someone’s hiding there."
Hearing this, Bruce quickly hid himself within the hedges decorating the park, as he watched from a distance.
Though he was barely able to hear what they were saying clearly from his position, he got the gist of the situation at a glance.
As though confirming his suspicion, a notification appeared before him soon after.
[Emergency Task has been initiated!]
[Task Title: Marshmallow Protector]
{Description: Host’s Bonded Target is being preyed on by another. Prove your dominance by defending your partner}
{Task Requirement: Hit the scum that dared lay sights on another’s target}
{Reward: Bonus Rebate Coins}
Smiling at the sight, Bruce briefly contemplated a way to approach this without getting his ass whooped.
Though he was confident in facing an average person, as his body was currently twice as strong as the average adult male, Bruce doubted he’d be able to stand much of a chance against an Ability user.
After all, that was one of the reasons why the former Bruce had died in the first place.
As such, he pondered on a way to use this to his advantage.
Glancing at a sort of futuristic phone booth, a bold idea emerged in his mind, causing a smile to appear on Bruce’s face.
"That just might be crazy enough to work."
Muttering to himself, Bruce quickly ran, as fast as his pudding body could go at least, towards the phone booth. Scanning his OmniBand on a device, he dialed the emergency hotline before selecting the audio call option.
"He-hello? Please, I think someone’s about to use his Ability to hurt my friend. Kindly send help!"
Making his voice shaky and out of breath, which wasn’t that hard since it had taken nearly all his strength to run that short distance towards the phone booth, Bruce said as he called the authorities.
To which someone on the other end tried calming him down as she told him to explain the situation to them.
However, Bruce quickly added instead of replying.
"Oh no! I think he’s going to kill him. Please hurry!"
With that, he didn’t bother waiting for a reply before hanging up.
’Hope I didn’t overdo it! Eitherway, I think that should be enough to at least draw their attention.’
Satisfied with his performance, Bruce eventually made his way back to the park for his dramatic entrance.
Meanwhile, on suddenly hearing the dramatic voice of the caller, they briefly suspected it might have been a prank call, but as standard procedure dictated they at least confirm before making a decision, they alerted a nearby police officer in the vicinity of the phone booth, sending him the voice recording as they instructed him to check it out.
Complying with the instructions, the police officer soon arrived at the park.
However, on seeing it was merely a dispute between a few people, he reported back that it was a false alarm.
As he proceeded to leave...
Before he could though, he suddenly heard a crisp sound, followed by a low thud that drew his attention.
Turning back towards the park, he was surprised to find the fit, handsome young man to be the one lying on the ground. The surprise soon turned to worry as he immediately activated his orange holographic visor by tapping the earbud device on his right ear, causing the screen to appear before his right eye.
"This is Officer Hans, reporting back. It seems the information might not have been a prank call after all. Sending live feed now."
Hastily rushing towards the group on noticing the slight change in the fit young man’s demeanor, as the air around him shifted subtly, he sped up before closing in on the scene.
"Freeze!"
.....
Back to the present...
The officer now escorted the rich prat into his vehicle as he handcuffed him with a device that restricted him from using his Ability.
Glaring hatefully at Bruce, the rich prat secretly swore to return the favour tenfold when he got out.
Smiling his usual provocative smirk, Bruce looked back at him as though daring him to do his worst.
Though it was against the law to use one’s Ability within the city walls unless one’s life was in danger or one possessed a permit to do so, the offender would simply be charged with spending a few weeks in prison, while having to pay a huge sum of Kepto as bail before being released.
As such, Bruce would simply have to grow stronger, and fast, before that time came.
Upon seeing the rich prat get dragged into the vehicle, Bruce finally collapsed ass-first onto the ground, unable to take it any longer.
Clenching his abdomen, Bruce felt both his face and stomach hurting seriously from the attacks he had withstood earlier. Having merely gritted his teeth to endure the pain, though his body could tolerate it, it still hurt a lot more than he had expected.
But having suffered his whole life in the past, this much pain was nothing compared to that.
Rushing close to Bruce on noticing his sudden collapse onto the ground, Summer quickly asked, a worried expression appearing on her face as she did.
"Are you alright? What part hurts the most? Should I call an ambulance or should I get help?..."
Hearing her barrage of questions as he looked at her worried expression, Bruce simply smiled. His smile spreading soon after as a familiar holographic screen appeared before him.
[Emergency Task Completed!]
[Processing Bonus Rewards Based on Performance...]
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