8 Strange Mission
[Ding! You have completed one daily task.]
[+ 50 points]
[Congratulations! You have reached the Cultivate realm of the Qigong arts!]
[+100 points]
[Your current balance: 600 points]
[New Item Obtained. Please check your inventory]
[Stealth Technique Manual (Beginner): Teaches user how to avoid detection]
Jerry scratched his head in confusion. He knew the items would help him somewhat in the future but what would he need a stealth technique for? Was he going to have to join the marines?
It didn't matter now, the more you know the better. He selected the manual and used it. Countless images flew into his mind, embedding themselves in his subconscious and muscle memory. His presence had nearly disappeared from the tennis courts.
Alicia, who had been watching the girls, felt that Jerry had disappeared out of the corner of her eye for a brief moment. She looked over to the grass to find Jerry still there. For some strange reason, while scanning for him, her peripheral vision failed to notice him. She wiped her eyes and looked at him again. He was still sitting under the tree.
I must have been seeing things, she thought to herself. The heat is really affecting me today.
In reality, Jerry had hid his presence for a moment, and then went back to normal. It had became an almost instinctive feel to him.
Pretty neat! He thought.
He sighed as he stretched his limbs and stood up before walking to Alicia.
"I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." Alicia gave a surprised cry as Jerry pulled her into his arms. She froze for a second before hugging him back. They stood there on the tennis courts, in each other's arms.
Mia gave a snort at Jerry but she couldn't do anything about it. She had lost to him.
Jerry caught Mia's snort and shot her a knowing glance. He walked over to her and put his hand out.
"I'm sure you have your opinions about me but I think it's because we haven't gotten to know each other yet. Let's get along shall we?"
Mia looked at the hand that was extended to her. She hesitated.
She looked up at him. The boy looked back at her and smiled, his hand refusing to go back down. She didn't think he was a bad person anymore, she believed that she misjudged him.
Since there was no reason to not be friends with him. She returned his smile with a polite smile of her own, before shaking his hand.
A mischievous light shone in Jerry's eyes the second Mia shook his hand. He pulled her soft, slender hand and she fell right into his embrace.
Mia was about to protest when she heard a voice speaking softly into her ear. " Don't forget about our wager. I'll be back to claim you."
Before she could do anything else, Jerry had already left. Mia felt her heart beating faster than before after Jerry pulled her in. She realized that she had been unconsciously biting her lip. Like Alicia, she also had minimal contact with boys. Jerry's actions continued to replay in her head even when she tried not to think about it. She recalled his soft, brown eyes which seemed to glow a light tinge of gold as they stared into her own.
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Jerry went home and immediately drew his 100 1-minute figure poses. They were hard at first, but he eventually got used to it. He could grasp the basic outlines of a form much easier now.
[Ding! You have completed one daily task.]
[+100 points]
"Another day of honest work completed!" the teen leaned back in his chair a let out a huge groan, his arms stretching back from over his head.
"Now for that one strange mission… Reginald!"
"Yeah?"
"When do we have to show up for that mysterious mission? Just wondering, that's all."
"... the mission happens at 8 if you choose to show up. But you DEFINITELY don't have to if you don't want to." Reginald's voice shook. Hearing his obviously fake AI speak, Jerry only became more intrigued in accepting the mission.
Why is my AI such a chicken though…
"Okay, thanks!"
Jerry looked at the clock. It was 6:32. He had some time left. He searched up some reference pictures for elves and practiced drawing them for his other mission.
Jerry had a small niche for drawing. He felt that if he practiced more, he would be able to improve quickly. This wasn't just out of pure cockiness, since he knew himself, that he rarely did draw. Yet he had gotten many awards and recognition in art class based on just the assignments that he did. Only... there was never any motivation to practice.
He felt that the system had given him a way to best express his potential. As the two days went by, he was able to live fully and honestly for the first time without being influenced by society.
Maybe he had always lived without that type of influence, just in isolation.
But he now was finally able to leave his comfort zone and go outside.
It might have not been completely thanks to the system, but he had to admit that the system played a key role in helping him get to this point.
Some time later, Jerry had drawn a few elves. His drawings were professional manga-style. They had some had voluptuous chests, some had graceful curves, but they all had one thing in common, they were all incredibly beautiful and detailed.
Jerry wiped his sweating forehead, setting his tablet pen down onto his black workbench, style desk. He looked over his work and shrugged. His high expectations had always left him unsatisfied with his work. He knew that anybody else would have cried tears of happiness after finishing a drawing like that. He seeked a higher level or art.
His hands gripped the armrests of the chair as he stood up. Seven-thirty… it was time to leave. Footsteps echoed through the empty house as Jerry went into the garage and started the car.
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The area was pretty barren, with the occasional orchard once every other acre. A shiny new parking complex stood silently next to an eerie forest. There was only one road that went past the parking lot. The occasional car will appear on the road nearby but never near the parking lot.
I guess I'll just park inside the forest so nobody knows I'm here. Jerry covered his car in some branches to camouflage it. Then hopped over the fence that surrounded the parking lot.
It's 7:58, two more minutes. An arrow indicator appeared, pointing to the 4th floor of the parking complex.
Jerry walked up the gray concrete stairs and hid behind a pillar on the fourth floor. His stealth ability activated and his aura completely disappeared.
At that point it was getting darker and darker. The sun had already disappeared into the horizon, cloaking the parking lot in darkness.
It's 8:00.
Jerry checked the indicator again to find that the indicator had disappeared. A bright stream of lights appeared, which momentarily blinded Jerry's vision. He heard the sound of a car engine rumbling as 4 black cars drove onto the fourth floor. Their windows were all tinted to a clearly illegal extent.
An asian man in a black business suit came out of the leading car. His hair was slicked back and his sides, were trimmed neatly. He wore sunglasses, and wore the most expensive Rolex watch Jerry had ever seen.
The other car doors opened and men wearing the same business suit stepped out. There was a total of 14 men including the initial Asian man. Four from each car, with the exception of the last car, which only had two men come out.
The one who Jerry had dubbed the Rolex man took out a cigar and snapped. A man standing next to him bowed, reached into his pocket for a lighter, and lit up the cigar for him. It was the strangest thing Jerry had ever seen.
When did such a figure live in California? Why is he so extra? Jerry was bewildered by the man's extravagant actions.
The man said some words and the henchmen took out tarps and other miscellaneous items from the side of the parking lot and made a makeshift room in the opposite corner.
"Bring out the hostage." The Rolex man spoke in a refined Australian accent. His orders seemed absolute. The other henchmen always bowed whenever he spoke.
Hostage? Oh no. This is what the mission was about? Jerry's head felt faint. There must be some kind of mistake. He was just a student that dabbled in Tennis and Art. What kind of corporate giant is the system making him face?
As if the system heard him, a notification rang out in his head. As he read it, his pupils dilated and a shiver ran down his spine as he looked at the hostage they brought out.
[Ding! You have accepted the Quest.]
[Warning! Quest is at difficulty level A which means your life could be in danger!]
[Quest Objective: Rescue Jenny Li]
