Chapter 43: Meeting

It was his first time practicing with the T3 Sniper Assist Device. It seemed that, since calculating and analyzing the trajectory was common knowledge for David, it only took him five seconds to calculate and come up with a result that was almost identical to the accuracy of the medium-sized server.

The green line that darted out from the T3 Sniper Assist Device instantly covered a distance of approximately three hundred meters, hitting the white spot just below the head of the stationary Spiked Chela.

The difficulty lay in grasping the opportunity in that moment to make the calculated trajectory synchronized with the revelation of Spiked Chela's Achilles' heel.

Five seconds of calculation was too long. Even though the trajectory of the bullet that killed the spiked chewed insect was correctly calculated, the time it had taken to do so was enough for a real sniper to fire two to three shots.

However, David remained composed and even smiled with joy. It dawned on him that he can refine his innate ability to deduce calculations using the virtual world. He believed that as long as he was consistent with his practice in the virtual world, he could eventually reach the standard of a 20%-Intermediate-level Sniper Armorer in terms of deduction and analysis.

Of course, he was only training the ability to calculate and analyze the trajectory of the bullet. A wide gap between him and a real Sniper Armorer still existed. For instance, the simulation did not take into account the impact of the specific sniper rifles used by real Sniper Armorers, as well as the response against the strong reaction force that would occur after the shot.

At this moment, the identity bracelet on David's wrist beeped.

In the virtual world, his identity bracelet was in sync with his real one. He glanced at it, only to realize that it was already time for his evening practice session of the eighteen movements of Bodywork. He had unknowingly spent most of the day in the virtual world.

"No wonder they don't allow minors to enter the virtual world!" he jokingly muttered as he took his virtual helmet off. "I reckon they don't want minors to become too immersed and addicted to it too!".

Although he was playing in the virtual world, he was truly immersed in it—so much that he had forgotten to have his meals.

He adjusted his resting time on his identity bracelet accordingly, allotting time for the virtual world, as well as for other training sessions.

On the fifth of January, David finished practicing early. In the dressing room, he found himself a loose, hooded shirt that could conceal both his face and physique.

Despite knowing that the person who wanted to harm him had decided to halt all operations for a while, he still did not take chances and instructed the Shadow Servant to fly out and investigate before he left home. Upon being told that there was nothing out of the ordinary, he opened the door and walked out.

This time, he did not opt to use his personal hovercar. Instead, he hailed a public utility vehicle to the beverage store.

When he was a street away, he alighted the public transport hovercar and proceeded to walk towards the store.

There was a barbecue joint beside the beverage store. David decided to dine and took a seat adjacent to the wall separating the restaurant from the beverage store.

He took a quick glance at the menu displayed in front of him. The prices were extremely cheap, and needless to say, all the meat sold there were synthetic.

Although synthetic meat is also called meat, it only has the flavor of meat as its name implies, and is actually synthesized from various edible ingredients combined with some meat flavoring.

However, synthetic meat was almost indistinguishable from real meat after grilling. The prices were also way cheaper, making it the preferred choice of ordinary citizens.

Since David was somewhat affluent, he normally wouldn't dine in such a place. Tonight was different, as he felt apathetic about the idea. Having eaten heaps of mutton skewers sourced from God knows where, even more so cooked in gutter oil, eating synthetic meat was no problem for him at all.

He selected two portions of steak on the display screen, which cost him a mere 20 credit points.

After waiting for about five minutes, two servings of synthetic steaks cooked to a golden-brown color were served by the waiter, together with a cup of artificial beverage.

David looked at the clock. It was a few minutes away from 1:00 PM. He picked up a serving of the synthetic steak in a metal skewer and reached for a bite.

The hood and the synthetic steak hid his face completely. Besides, he looked rather inconspicuous in the barbecue restaurant as there were customers in the store with the same outfit as him.

Most of the patrons of the restaurant did not want to attract the attention of others, especially those who were trying to save faces.

The synthetic steak was not half bad. Although David knew that it was synthetic meat, he still enjoyed it. He had been eating home-grown, organic food for a long time. Although the price of free-range meat was far greater than that of the synthetic meat, their tastes remained indistinguishable from one another. However, no matter how good the taste compensates, the frequent consumption of anything synthetic would surely impose health risks.

While indulging, he did not forget his agenda for the day. The Shadow Servant penetrated the glass wall above his head, to the street.

The Shadow Servant then picked up the simulator monitor that David had left on the window sill beside him. It was as small as a button-sized monitor and thus, hidden in plain sight.

The weight of the simulator monitor was only approximately forty grams. Since the Shadow Servant could pick up a maximum of 100 grams, it was not difficult to grab it.

The Shadow Servant wrapped its hand around the simulator monitor which vanished completely in the thin air, as if it was a sleight of hand.

Nobody around him noticed, as the minuscule object on the window sill escaped the crowd's vision, until it had disappeared entirely.

The Shadow Servant entered the beverage store with the simulator monitor.

One could easily tell that the beverage store was clearly a notch higher than that of the barbecue restaurant from an aesthetic standpoint. There was a single partitioned room adorned with green plants that added a sense of vitality and peace to the austere environment.

The Shadow Servant hovered above the beverage store, patiently waiting for the target to appear.

David, who was on the other side of the wall, focused most of his attention on the Shadow Waiter, who was mechanically eating the synthetic steak that he was holding.

Soon enough, at 12:59 PM, David saw a familiar face in Trainer Jeremy, whom he remembered through the Shadow Servant's vision.

Trainer Jeremy was tall in stature and had a hulking physique. Even though he was wearing baggy clothing, the seams outlined his muscles as he walked.

He was a regular customer of the beverage store, judging by the treatment that the staff gave him. He was led to a relatively quiet lounge as soon as he entered.

His seat was very secluded, with two partitions that formed a three-sided room with the wall. The other exposed side was mostly blocked off by greeneries.

The Shadow Servant noticed his choice of seat, and thus flew above, gently placing the simulator monitor just above the spot to monitor it.

Meanwhile, David redirected his attention and continued to eat synthetic steak. He freed one hand to operate his identity bracelet.

The angle and range of the simulator monitor's reception were adjusted by him to isolate the sounds of the seats below, filtering external noises.

With the help of the simulator monitor, he did not have to continuously manipulate the Shadow Servant. He could easily watch and hear the conversation next door through the identity bracelet.

As soon as he operated it, the clock struck exactly at one. An unassuming hovercar pulled up in front of the beverage store and two stern-looking bodyguards got out of the hovercar first. They scanned the surroundings before lowering their heads and speaking to the person in the car.

 Mr. Strat, who looked like he was in middle-age, stepped out of the hovercar, clad in a uniform suit that rather gave a low profile.

Although he did his best to restrain his overbearing aura, he still looked out of place on the street.

"You guys, stay outside!" he instructed in a deep voice before entering the beverage store.

David looked at the two bodyguards. He could tell from the way they walked and acted that they were undoubtedly armorers, as their built exuded strength.

David shifted his gaze away to avoid suspicion, as he knew that an experienced armorer was capable of sensing stalkers. He concluded that those two armorers were not important.

He transmitted the image of the identity bracelet to the receiver that was in the form of a contact lens that he was wearing. The sound was transmitted through the bone-sensing technology, which was generally the preferred method of watching videos and listening to music.

It allowed them to enjoy high definition images and top quality audios without disturbance.

"Have a seat, I've ordered your favorite apple juice!" Trainer Jeremy said, as he gestured while remaining seated. He simply nodded at the empty seat across him and smiled.

David's gaze moved as he watched. Clearly, Trainer Jeremy had an extraordinary status. Mr. Strat was considered a figure of high status in Pelan City. And to his surprise, a fitness trainer was actually talking to him in a steady tone, as if they were of equal status.

Besides, the two of them seemed to be well acquainted with each other, as further suggested by their familiarity with each other's preferences.