"Is he trying to ambush me?"
Zack's heart skipped a beat, and he shifted into a defensive stance.
In the next instant— Eh..?
Kevin suddenly stopped short, then bolted straight toward the open side window!
He leapt out in one motion and sprinted away like he was running a hundred-meter dash.
As he ran, he couldn't help but shout, "Monster! Monster!!"
Yeah, right…
He was just terrified and used the chance to escape.
"Uh..." Zack stood in silence for a moment, the corner of his mouth twitching. "I think I might have overestimated Kevin's courage."
Kevin could push Ben around because Ben was easy to talk to.
But the moment he came face-to-face with Zack, he crumbled instantly.
"It's over—Kevin's gone…"
"We finally had a chance to deal with him!!"
"That kid's definitely going to come after us now!"
The gang members all went pale, clenching their fists in frustration and anger.
"Hey, you gang members go around bullying people, and you still have the nerve to say that?" Ben waved his hands, looking confused.
"You don't understand how terrifying Kevin is!!"
"Maybe all the gangs on Fifth Street are doomed…"
The gang members spoke in frightened tones.
Zack frowned in thought. "Is Kevin really that strong?"
He only remembered that Kevin had the ability to absorb alien DNA.
He also recalled that, for some reason, the grown-up Kevin turned good—and even took Gwen away. (PS: Zack would never allow such a thing to happen.)
Other details… he couldn't remember in detail.
Woo-woo-woo…
As sirens sounded in the distance, Zack and the others quickly slipped out through the back door of the arcade.
"Let's go check out some other arcades!"
Ben clearly didn't take the Kevin matter seriously, figuring the gang members were just talking nonsense.
Zack also nodded."Hmm…"
Hopefully, Kevin's storyline would end here.
After a while, Zack returned to his original form.The three searched around, but all the nearby arcades had closed in fear. With no other options, they headed back to the hotel.
"I didn't even get to play any games… so annoying…"
Ben looked frustrated, then glanced at the trial event inside the hotel and the fierce-looking bodyguard."Big bro bodyguard… why won't you let us in to play? Please?"
His tone even carried a hint of pleading.
The bodyguard was taken aback for a moment, then his tone softened slightly. "Normally, you could go in and play without an invitation. But right now, it's strict because someone stole a batch of new cartridges from the trial event and tried to resell them!"
"This… is that for real?"
Ben's eyes widened.
"That person was also a kid your age!" the bodyguard said helplessly."So I hope you can understand why I'm being so strict!"
"A kid our age…"
Zack's expression grew more serious, his brows furrowing.
Someone their age with the skill to steal cartridges and resell them—
Only Kevin!!
And what would he do if he got money?
Perhaps he would retaliate against those gang members and become New York's number one criminal!
"Gwen, let's go back to the suite first!" Zack took a deep breath and quickly said,"I think we just let a super-criminal escape!!"
"What?"
"Super-criminal! Cool!"
Gwen's expression tensed, while Ben looked inexplicably excited.
As the three hurried back to the suite, Zack explained his suspicions in detail—though the others naturally found it hard to believe.
They didn't know Kevin had superpowers, so they simply couldn't accept the idea that he could pull something like this off.
Zack didn't push the explanation further. Instead, he said calmly, "Gwen, check the exact location of Fifth Street on the computer."
"Okay!"
Gwen also became serious. She pulled her laptop from her bag, plugged it in, and turned it on.
As she typed on the keyboard, she spoke with focus."The exact location of Fifth Street is… a slum area. It's very chaotic, and there are even news reports about constant gang clashes there."
"Good!"
Zack nodded firmly, looking directly at Grandpa Max. "Grandpa, are we going?"
"Zack, your reasoning is just a hypothesis. There's no concrete evidence," Grandpa Max replied cautiously.
"Grandpa," Zack said, playing the moral card—a decisive blow to Grandpa Max. "With great power comes great responsibility. We have to eliminate the risks!"
"Ehm.. You're right!"
Grandpa Max, surprisingly, was persuaded and said thoughtfully,"Even if we're just going to stop gang fights, it's still a heroic act! Let's go!!"
Unbelievably, Grandpa Max had been convinced by Zack just like that! Thumbs up to Uncle Ben!
The three immediately set out, leaving the hotel and climbing into the old beat-up Rustbucket.
The Rustbucket headed toward the so-called Fifth Street, but the traffic was heavy—typical for a big city…
...
Fifth Street
As New York's most notorious crime district, it was overflowing with gangs and brimming with violent conflict.
Bang!
A gang boss was furiously berating his subordinates. "You actually let Kevin get away? If he escapes, he can use that money to buy weapons and come after us! You idiots!"
"We almost succeeded—"
"It was… it was a super fierce… monster that stopped us," one gang member stammered.
As they explained, they kept nervously glancing around.
In their eyes, Zack's existence was like that of the God of Death—they barely even dared to mention him.
They feared Zack might suddenly appear out of nowhere.
"Now, follow me home, get your weapons, and prepare to fight Kevin!!" the gang boss barked furiously.
They moved quickly, heading back.
But when the gang members arrived at their doorstep, they froze, their faces trembling.
"Hey~"
Kevin was leaning casually against the ruins, firearms strapped to his back, his hands slowly lifting.
Crackling!!
Thick streams of electricity, like torrents of water, erupted from his hands!
"Kevin… I've long stopped caring about this home. Go ahead, smash it some more," the gang boss said with a forced smile.
"I'm tired of smashing your home… it's your turn!!"
Kevin bared his chest, releasing a surge of high-voltage electricity.
The current struck the gang members, leaving them convulsing—until their bodies were charred.
"Hehe…"
Kevin lowered his hands and started walking toward a car parked by the roadside.
The car's trunk was packed with various charging devices—enough to recharge Kevin several times over.
As he absorbed the energy, Kevin said coldly,"I'm going to wipe out the biggest gang, take all their money, and disappear!!"
Whoosh~
By the time the Rustbucket arrived at Fifth Street — Gang members were lying in pools of blood, one after another.
Buildings were engulfed in flames.
In short, a bloody storm had swept through the area.
Ding!
Without Ben's restraint, the escaped Kevin sold stolen goods, armed himself, retaliated against all gangs, became New York's most feared criminal, greatly altered the plot, and gained progress +1!
Template progress: 17/100. A Lake Monster unlocked — Name Pending!!
Zack listened to the voice in his head as he stepped out of the vehicle.
He looked at the scene before him with a serious expression.
The plot he had changed—he now had to set right with his own hands.
[A/N: In the original SEASON 1, Kevin was already vicious. He knew the location of the money train, stole the Riot Sumo cartridge, and the first thing he did after becoming stronger was seek revenge—decisive and ruthless! Even without Ben giving him DNA, he still would have become a terrifying villain.]