CHAPTER 2 NEW COMER GIFT

[Congratulations, host, on binding the system. You have received a Newcomer's Gift x1. Would you like to open the Newcomer's Gift now?]

Without giving him much time to process what was happening, another message arrived in his mind. 

At the same time, there was a warm feeling coursing through his entire body, making his hairs stand on end. It was like… a supernatural force was connecting with every molecule of his body and mind. 

Although he had his doubts about what was going on, Dave had a feeling, almost like an instinct… that this would definitely not be harmful to him.

After all, he might not know all the benefits yet, but he couldn't see any dangers in this. 

This is when he remembered the question about the gift, and he shrugged, thinking in his mind, "Sure, let's open the gift. Why not?"

To his surprise, the system responded to his thoughts as well, and the female voice echoed;

[Congratulations! You have unlocked one item: Hidden Criminal Search!]

By now, Dave was getting more and more curious about what was going on, and he thought in his mind again, 

"What is the Hidden Criminal Search?"

Without any delay, the next message arrived with the answer to his question.

[The Hidden Criminal Search refers to a criminal investigation focused on a specific individual. Once you select the target, the system conducts a deep search to find out if they have committed any crimes.]

[However, the Hidden Criminal Search is limited to one use.]

Dave was shocked to hear this. Was this actually possible? 

The next moment, he felt as though a detailed layout of the neighborhood had appeared in front of his eyes. Each location was marked by a cluster of red pins, with the names of the individuals flickering over the pins… 

There was also an option to zoom out of the locality, which showed a map of the city, and even the entire country.

This is when a few names in the Main Market Square caught his attention: one of them was his ex-girlfriend, Julia Kennedy… and the man she had left him for. 

This left a sour taste in his mouth, and without a second thought, he directly said,

"Use the Hidden Criminal Search to investigate the target, Noah Stone!"

[Ding! You have the Hidden Criminal Search.]

[Searching for target: Noah Stone. In Progress: 10%... ]

Only after asking the question, did Dave realize that he had just asked about the man who was going to marry Julia tonight.

He had just blurted out the name because of a bitter feeling of hatred in his heart, and he was not really expecting to get any particular response.

But before he could think about it, another pop-up sound attracted his attention.

[Progress: 100%. Search Completed.]

[Confirmed! Noah Stone is a high-level criminal, and the list of his committed crimes is as follows...]

A whizzing sound followed the announcement, as a list of tabs appeared in Dave's mind, which were all apparently Noah's crimes.

On hearing the message from the system, Dave's eyes widened with surprise. He hadn't expected that the man who was the top choice of all female socialites would indeed have a criminal record!

He wasn't even a typical criminal; rather, he seemed to be a high-level offender whose public image was clearly being managed with great effort by a PR agency! 

A satisfied smile immediately appeared on Dave's face as he realized that the wedding invitations had already been sent to his entire precinct. 

This would surely be a nice surprise to Julia, who had just sent them to make fun of Dave. But she would never have imagined that they would actually show up at the Plaza! 

Until this moment, Dave had already convinced himself that it was completely fruitless to go to the wedding. There was no chance that the wedding would stop; because if she had any feelings for him, she would never have gone to this limit. 

But this… this was completely different! If he went to the wedding now, it would not be as Julia's ex boyfriend, but as a police officer! 

And as a police officer, it was his duty to confront the criminal as soon as he had found out about his true identity. In fact, he would be breaking the law if he willingly ignored his responsibility of putting the criminal behind bars! 

With a sense of reluctance, he went inside to get the keys to the police jeep and inform his supervisor that he needed some back-up to apprehend a criminal. 

As the news spread around the precinct, the police officers were completely puzzled, and they decided to confront Dave.

"Hey, Walters! What is all this about?"

"Yeah, where did this criminal suddenly come from? I didn't know you were working on any such case!"

"Are you sure you aren't trying to arrest any random stranger just to increase your record?"

Dave sighed, then calmly replied, 

"You and I both know that even if I arrest some random stranger, my arrest record won't increase until I prove the crime. Now, I have to leave, are you coming or not?"

On seeing his attitude, the officers definitely became more curious. One of them, Mark, asked;

"Okay, we'll come with you; but at least tell us, where are we going?"

"The Plaza Hotel."

It didn't take longer than two minutes to realize that this was the hotel where Julia was getting married, and Josh stepped forward and stopped Dave by placing his hand on his shoulder. 

"Hold on, don't tell me that you are seriously planning to cause a scene at your ex-girlfriend's wedding!"

"Or are you rushing there because you don't wanna miss the bouquet toss?"

Another officer, Timothy, entered the conversation. 

"Shut up, Lee! Look, Walters, if it is about what we said earlier… it was just a joke, man. You don't have to prove anything by disrupting the scene-"

"I am going to investigate a criminal, and I want a team of five people to accompany me. So if you have any more questions, I suggest you save them for later."

Saying this, he turned around and marched straight outside the precinct, and his fellow officers followed him, getting into the police jeep.

The engine started up with a roar, heading straight to the Plaza Hotel where Dave's ex girlfriend was getting married. 

______

Even while they were on the way to the hotel, Dave could feel the burning gaze of his colleagues. He also knew the kind of things they were thinking, and the questions that they wanted to ask.

But honestly, he didn't care enough to explain. Once he got that man under custody, they all would realize that he was telling the truth after all.

As the jeep came to a stop the Plaza Hotel, Dave got down, but just then, he heard a familiar voice.

"Dave! Stop!"

It was Peter!

He turned around with a frown,

"What are you doing here? Didn't you go home to your family?"

Peter had come there in his own car, and he rushed towards Dave, sprinting across the parking lot. 

While panting, he answered,

"Yeah, but I heard that you were planning to come to the hotel… Dave, you know right, that this won't do any good. It's better to let go of the past-"

Seeing that his friend had rushed in at urgent notice, Dave reassured him, 

"Don't worry, Peter. I promise you, I don't feel anything for Julia anymore. I am just going in as a police officer, and nothing more than that. Just trust me, okay?"

Seeing the determination in his gaze, Peter stepped back, and Dave led his colleagues to the reception desk. 

They were all wearing in police uniforms, so the hotel staff didn't dare to stop them. 

But the receptionist bowed and asked with a friendly smile; 

"How can I help you, officers?" 

Dave replied with a serious expression;

"We expect cooperation from your staff, as we are here on some official business. We got a report that a high profile suspect is present inside your hotel, and we want to take him into police custody as soon as possible!"