The ringing in Hanif's ears was deafening. The smell of burnt rubber and pulverized wood hung thick in the damp air. He lay on the cold asphalt, his fingers scraping against the grit, gasping for air that felt like needles in his lungs.
Beside him, the old man was trembling, his face as white as a sheet, eyes wide with the shock of a man who had just looked into the abyss and survived.
The black SUV didn't look back. It sped away, its taillights disappearing into the curtain of rain like the glowing eyes of a retreating predator.
[Mission Accomplished!]
[Target Saved: Ibrahim Malik]
[Calculating Rewards...]
The blue screen flashed violently before Hanif's eyes, ignoring the chaos of the physical world.
[Rewards Distributed:]
100 Experience Points (EXP)
10 Stat Points
New Skill Unlocked: Beginner's Perception
[Congratulations! You have reached Level 2.]
Level 2? Hanif thought, his head spinning. This isn't a dream. It's a lifeline.
"Are you... are you alright?" Hanif managed to choke out, turning toward the old man.
Ibrahim Malik looked at Hanif, his hands clutching a small locket.
"You... you saved me. Why? How did you know?"
Hanif couldn't answer. How could he explain the red timer that had just vanished from the man's head? Instead, he stood up, his legs feeling like jelly. But as he stood, a new interface appeared.
[Host is in a weakened state. Distribute Stat Points to stabilize?]
Without hesitation, Hanif whispered, "Yes. Do it."
He saw four categories: Strength, Agility, Intelligence, and Stamina. If that car comes back, I need to move, he thought. I need to be faster. He commanded the system to put 5 points into Agility and 5 points into Strength.
The effect was instantaneous. A surge of heat, like liquid fire, raced through his veins. The exhaustion that had weighed down his limbs vanished, replaced by a strange, buzzing energy. His vision sharpened; he could see the individual raindrops falling through the streetlamps.
His muscles felt tighter, denser.
"I just had a feeling, sir," Hanif finally replied, his voice steadier now. "You should get out of here. That car... it wasn't an accident."
Ibrahim's eyes darkened. "I know. I am a retired judge. I have made many enemies, but I thought they had forgotten me." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wet business card. "Take this. I owe you more than a 'thank you', young man."
Hanif took the card, but his attention was pulled away by a sharp ping from the system.
[Warning! Residual Killing Intent Detected.]
[Distance: 400 meters... 350 meters...]
The SUV was circling back. The hitman wasn't done.
"Go! Now!" Hanif pushed Ibrahim toward the entrance of a nearby subway station. "Don't look back!"
As the old man disappeared into the crowd of the station, Hanif turned toward the dark street. His new skill, Beginner's Perception, kicked in. The world turned into a mesh of grey, but one thing stood out—a bright red trail moving rapidly toward him.
The black SUV roared back into view, its engine screaming like a wounded beast. But this time, Hanif didn't feel the paralyzing fear. He felt a cold, calculated focus.
The car accelerated, aiming directly for him. In the past, Hanif would have been too slow to react. But with his Agility boosted, the world seemed to move in slow motion. He waited until the last possible second.
Now!
Hanif lunged to the side, his body moving with a grace he never possessed. He didn't just dodge; he used the momentum to grab a heavy iron trash can from the sidewalk. With his increased Strength, he swung it with a guttural roar.
CRASH!
The iron bin smashed into the SUV's windshield, spiderwebbing the glass. The driver swerved, losing control for a split second before slamming on the brakes. The car skidded, coming to a halt just ten meters away.
The driver's door opened. A man stepped out, dressed in a black tactical suit and a surgical mask. In his hand was a suppressed pistol.
[Target Identified: The Ghost Driver (Rank: Professional Hitman)]
[Danger Level: High]
"You," the driver rasped, his voice muffled by the mask. "You're the variable I didn't account for."
Hanif's heart hammered against his ribs. He was facing a professional killer, and all he had was a system he barely understood.
[New Mission: Survival of the Fittest]
[Objective: Neutralize or escape the Ghost Driver.]
[Time Limit: 05:00]
[Failure: Permanent Death.]
"I'm not just a variable," Hanif said, his eyes glowing with a faint blue light from the system's reflection. "I'm the one who's going to put you behind bars."
The hitman didn't waste words. He raised the pistol.
Puff. Puff.
The suppressed shots were quiet, but Hanif saw the muzzle flashes. His brain processed the trajectory before the bullets even reached him. He rolled behind a concrete pillar, the bullets chipping the stone just inches from his head.
"The system said I can see the cause of death," Hanif whispered to himself, his breath hitching. "System! Show me his timer!"
A screen flickered.
[Target: Ghost Driver]
[Death Timer: 00:02:10]
[Cause of Death: Internal Organ Rupture / Blunt Force Trauma]
Hanif smirked. Two minutes. He didn't need to kill the man; he just needed to survive and ensure the 'cause of death' happened. He looked around and saw a heavy construction crane parked nearby, its load of steel pipes hanging precariously over the wet street.
The hitman was moving closer, flanking him.
"You can't hide forever, kid!" the killer shouted.
Hanif waited, counting the seconds. He needed to lure the hitman into the 'Kill Zone'.
[00:00:30]
"I'm not hiding!" Hanif yelled back, stepping out from behind the pillar.
The hitman aimed. But before he could pull the trigger, Hanif picked up a loose brick and hurled it with all his Strength at the crane's release lever.
The brick hit the mark. The mechanism groaned, the rusted metal giving way.
"What—?" the hitman gasped, looking up.
The steel pipes slid out, a ton of heavy metal crashing down like the wrath of God. The hitman tried to dive, but he was too slow.
CRUNCH.
The street shook. Dust and debris filled the air. When it cleared, the SUV was crushed, and the hitman lay pinned under the weight of the steel, his timer hitting [00:00:00].
Hanif stood there, his hands trembling. He had just witnessed a death, one that he had engineered.
[Mission Accomplished!]
[150 EXP Gained.]
[Level Up! Level 3 Reached.]
[New Feature Unlocked: Murderer's Database.]
As the sirens of the police approached in the distance, Hanif looked at the blue screen. He wasn't just a victim anymore. He was the hunter.
"The game has just changed," he muttered, disappearing into the shadows of District 7 before the first blue and red lights could reach the scene.