7 Chapter 7

The moment Krystian set foot in Jump City again in real time occurred less than 2 minutes after leaving his previous hiding place. But for him, the time that had passed since he set off for the city was well over a few hours. After all, a few hours earlier he was traveling along the roads at maximum speed, with time stopped. It is therefore logical that he would have to spend much more time covering the same distance on foot.

While covering the mentioned distance, Krystian had a lot of time to think and draw conclusions from previous events. First of all, he realized that he was too unpredictable in his actions. The idea of robbing H.I.V.E wasn't a bad one; it was a mistake not to include the Gizmo factor. Gizmo is a genius and it was an oversight to not consider possible security measures he could take to protect the vehicle and the stolen goods. Gizmo team members were also able to place trackers in sports bags where they had previously hidden stolen cash. Hence, he decided that before going back to the city, he carefully checked the bags he took with him. Krystian also thought that he, too, could have carefully checked the contents of the trailer earlier, after all, Jinx had literally nothing in her pocket except the communicator.

Using the H.I.V.E. truck was also a mistake, and the arguments are the same as in the case of trackers - Gizmo. Performing such actions against a technology-based adversary was a fool's errand. Krystian promised himself that since he literally had power over time, from now on he would think more carefully about his actions. Or at least analyze everything more carefully. After all, time is on his side.

However, when he was halfway to the city, his thoughts were consumed by his helplessness in the physical context. Mamooth was literally a lesson for him; the gigantic and indestructible body of the giant looked like a mountain. Krystian knew that despite his power, his body was no different from that of an ordinary person. He wanted to change this and already had some ideas, but he could only implement them after finding another hiding place.

The mammoth had superhuman strength and durability. Krystian wondered how else he could fight someone like him. He initially considered using the last Gizmo grenade he had. However, even the mentioned grenade did not guarantee that he would be able to defeat the giant, even by shoving an explosive down his throat. Krystian felt a little let down by his perceived powerlessness, which prompted a moment of insight. He considered the possibility that Gizmo would be able to track his technology, specifically the grenade. Therefore, after turning on the device, Krystian threw it into the forest. Which wasn't very smart either, because being halfway to the city, he signaled H.I.V.E with an explosion that he was coming back to the city. However, no such thought appeared in his mind.

However, Krystian still had many thoughts that constructively changed his view on his actions so far. When he found himself out of town, one of them was the decision to go to the other side of town to look for a motel or hotel. The goal was to create a space to rest and explore the nature of your power and a plan for further development.

However, halfway through the city he decided to go shopping. His goal was to purchase a different type of clothing than what he was currently wearing. If he were to openly use his powers or engage in activities related to his true nature, he would need clothes different from what he was already using.

After all, no member of H.I.V.E had ever seen him without the Plague Doctor mask. Or at least that was what he thought.

In civilian clothes, taking into account the warm climate of Jump City, Krystian decided on a T-shirt with the motif of an unknown rock band, ordinary jeans and sneakers.

And if he had to start acting with the overt use of power, all he had to do was put on a leather jacket and a face mask.

After an hour, Krystian decided to walk like a normal person and find the hotel in the same way. While his power allowed him to freeze time for approximately 5 minutes and 25 seconds, the time spent traveling and searching said part of the city in real time would last just under 30 minutes. However, after changing his clothes and conducting a wider observation in the city center, he was already tired from the whole day.

Krystian decided to approach the matter the old way. Even if H.I.V.E or another group failed to locate him, he bought a travel backpack. He kept stolen cash, a baseball bat, a leather jacket and a mask. Yes, it was a really big travel backpack. Fortunately, thanks to the presence of the airport in Jump City, such views were not a big spectacle for the residents.

Krystian, being on the outskirts of the city, saw many motels for truck drivers. And one of them was one of his main goals. Initially, he thought about buying a suite in a 5-star hotel, but after some thought and Gizmo reappeared in his mind. Krystian decided to choose a dingy motel. Which from a distance gave it the feeling of a place straight out of a mafia, gangster atmosphere. The building itself looked like a rather dingy rectangular building with numerous doors along the longer part. The walls were originally light green, but numerous graffiti on the walls and garbage cans standing nearby destroyed the original structure of the building's walls.

The reception was located in a small, separate building, only a few square meters large, enough to fit one desk, two chairs and a shelf with a TV. Not much, but the advantage of this small building compared to the residential part itself was undoubtedly the window, and what's more, the window in question was intact. And through them he saw the interior design of the building.

In front of the building there was a large parking lot, mostly trucks, and next to the building there were a number of motorcycles and several passenger cars. And the parking lot itself was illuminated at night by three lanterns, next to which stood women in clothes characteristic of women of a certain profession.

The receptionist was an older man, dressed in a worn suit with a smile tattooed on his cheek. It doesn't take a genius to guess what gang he belonged to. However, renting a room was even simpler and really short. When Krystian asked about a free room, the receptionist only said 300 and after receiving three banknotes gave him the key with the number 13. And before Krystian left the reception, he heard a guy's voice behind him saying that if he lived to see the next month, he would have to pay again.

While walking along the rooms looking for the one marked with the number 13, Krystian heard many sounds coming from the surrounding rooms. Sounds such as snoring, drunken conversations, breeding sounds, and even the sound of bones breaking and screaming. Krystian wondered why the name of this motel was "Lotos" and not, for example, "Little Gotham". This name would be more fitting, but he wasn't interested in it since it was a temporary hiding place.

Room no. 13 was at the very end, right next to the room in which someone had earlier "tortured" another person. However, ignoring it, Krystian entered the room, which was ridiculously small. A bedroom with beds that could fit two people, a chest of drawers with a small old TV and that's basically all the furniture, surprisingly, the room had a bathroom attached to it, so the minimum requirements for survival were met by this apartment. However, ignoring it, Krystian put his backpack on the bed and, having a few hours left before dark, decided to calmly test its power in slightly quieter places. conditions.