"Wow! Surprised you've been keeping this from us, Aaron, considering how openly you flaunt your artifact," Luo remarked sarcastically.
Silence hung in the air as Aaron acknowledged that he could have informed them about the serum earlier, but laziness had prevailed.
Aaron shared everything he knew about Laura's disappearance, explaining why he believed she had been targeted due to her regular visits to the orphanage.
Luo agreed, understanding Aaron's reasoning.
"Not bad. I will start removing everything can lead her from being suspected again. So I can't.."
Aaron interrupted, expressing his gratitude. "Thanks. I will do the searching myself. I think I can find her quickly." With a serious expression, he disappeared instantly, determined to locate Laura as soon as possible.
Aaron materialized in the secluded back alley adjacent to Laura's abandoned vehicle.
Equipped with the [Missing Watch] he had acquired from the system, Aaron possessed a newfound assurance in his ability to track down Laura.
Initially, he encountered difficulties in utilizing the watch, lacking any instructions akin to other magical items. However, after a brief minute of experimentation, the watch's needles abruptly sprang into motion, ultimately aligning themselves in unison, pointing toward the same direction.
Aaron continued sprinting in the indicated direction for several minutes before briefly halting whenever the watch's needles shifted their orientation.
It wasn't long before he realized that he had ventured beyond the confines of Coolay Town, now entering the outskirts where the industrial areas sprawled. The pandemic had forced numerous factories to shut down, leaving behind a trail of abandoned facilities.
"Looks like the watch is working. Please hold on, Laura," Aaron silently contemplated, his determination unwavering as he arrived at the area where most of the deserted factories were situated.
Shortly after, the needles on the watch aligned with one of the abandoned factories. The building was securely locked from the inside while the windows were boarded up with sturdy wooden planks. Without hesitation, Aaron teleported to the rooftop of the designated building, hoping to catch a glimpse of Laura.
"Indeed, she is here," muttered Aaron, his voice barely audible amidst the machinery's hum.
From his elevated vantage point, he surveyed the scene below, confirming Laura's presence.
"I see... They've just arrived as well," he added, his eyes locked on the unfolding events.
Through his sharp vision, he discerned one of the kidnappers stationed inside the van, while the other laboriously barricaded the factory, relentlessly pounding nails into wooden planks to seal the windows.
Aaron teleported beside the unconscious Laura, her body restrained by tight ropes. Without hesitation, he swiftly retrieved a Swiss knife from his pocket and cut through the bindings, setting her free. With a firm grip, he lifted her into his arms and vanished from the spot, leaving no trace behind.
Aaron teleported directly into the medical room inside the training facility, finding Laura lying on the bed, being attended to by a medical robot to aid in her swift recovery. Without wasting a moment, he teleported in front of Luo's personal room to inform him about the situation.
As Aaron quickly explained the circumstances to Luo, the latter's anger flared up.
"Are you serious? You could have taken her to the hospital! This is not.."
Before Luo could finish his sentence, Aaron vanished right before his eyes.
Aaron's mood turned sour the moment he laid eyes on the bruises that marred Laura's face and neck. He had initially believed that the kidnappers would have taken her without causing harm, but now it seemed they had intentionally inflicted pain. This realization fueled his anger to a great extent.
He reappeared inside the factory, determined to settle the unfinished business with the kidnappers. As he materialized, he observed the kidnappers frantically searching for Laura, bewildered by her sudden disappearance without a trace.
"Cough cough... She's gone. Stop looking for her," Aaron said in a serious tone, his face contorted with intense anger as he walked calmly towards them.
"One of them then shouted, 'Who are you??? Do you know who you're messing with?'"
They were dressed in attire resembling that of Inspector Gadget, but everything was black. One of them appeared more muscular, while the other, who had shouted earlier, was shorter than the average man.
Aaron continued to approach them silently, until all three of them stood in the center of the factory. The space around them was wide and empty, with most of the machines having been removed.
"No need to know about me. I'm pretty sure you guys were looking for the serum, right? Well, I've already got it, so just forget about it. Anyway, regarding the woman you just kidnapped, you have no reason to harm her. Explain yourselves now or die," Aaron said with a serious tone.
"HAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA ARE YOU F*C*ING SERIOUS?? WHO THE F*CK ARE YOU TO TELL US WHAT TO DO!", the smaller kidnapper laughed loudly instantly when Aaron finished talking.
"So you guys are from Diabolic Dominion huh... Not sure what that is, but one thing's for sure. None of you leaving here alive," said Aaron, his rage on the verge of bursting out.
Ever since he began conversing with them, he had been using his Mind Reader Pen to extract information. There was no way they would willingly reveal the truth just by talking. Eventually his emotions became overwhelming as he delved into the thoughts of the noisy kidnapper.
It became apparent that the serum held little importance to them. They had targeted Laura simply for the sadistic pleasure of witnessing her constant suffering under their stalking. Furthermore, he discovered that their actions extended far beyond this, with acts even more heinous in their repertoire.
"Huh? So what if you know that? It gives us so much pleasure watching her suffer, especially when we took her just now. She was desperate and hopeless. HAHHAHAHAHAHA"
Aaron drew his magical warhammer from his spatial ring and leaped towards them with explosive force, deliberately aiming for their legs.
It caught them by surprise, witnessing Aaron's inhuman speed.
"Swiiiiiffff!"
The area of their legs struck by the hammer simply vanished, causing the noisy kidnapper to collapse onto the ground. The attack happened so swiftly that he couldn't even react, his expression turning sour and lifeless as he stared at the mad man standing before him.
Aaron left the noisy kidnapper alone and turned his attention to the calm kidnapper, who had remained silent all this time. He attempted to read his thoughts but found nothing.
"Hoho, an artifact, huh? How about you leave that hammer behind and we'll let you leave this place alive?" the timid kidnapper suddenly spoke, surprising Aaron. He couldn't believe these people were so self-conceited and arrogant.
"Diabolic Dominion won't leave you alone once they learn of this incident. And you're not the only one with an artifact," the kidnapper smirked.
"Piuuuuuuuungg!"
A projectile was launched at Aaron from behind, but he effortlessly dodged it as if he had anticipated it. While the man in front of him spoke, Aaron read his thoughts.
Although he was prepared to dodge the artifact, it still surprised him that these criminals possessed such an artifact.
"Eh... How did you know…" the calm kidnapper started to lose his composure, while the other one on the floor muttered something gibberish in a panicked expression.
Aaron then disappeared from the spot and instantly reappeared behind the standing kidnapper, swinging his hammer towards his legs.
"Swiiiiiiffff!"
Both of them were now on the floor, their legs bleeding from being forcefully disconnected.
"STOP! YOU WILL BE HUNTED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE BY KILLING US!!!!"
Aaron disregarded everything they said, as he had already made his decision. He was never a benevolent person to begin with. If you kill someone, you should be prepared to be killed in return. Moreover, these individuals were nothing but a blight on society.
Swinging his hammer at their arms, the area struck vanished without a trace.
As the hammer made contact with the floor, it cracked as if it had been detonated.
Both kidnappers realized they would not escape alive, so they began discussing giving up their life of wrongdoing and making promises to never commit evil again.
Little did they know, Aaron could read their thoughts and he knew their final intentions were all lies.
Aaron made the decision to bring an end to everything by delivering a final swing of his hammer to their heads. They had been too noisy from the start, and he took no pleasure in such acts. He simply did what needed to be done because their paths had crossed.
Afterwards, he swung his hammer a few times to remove the blood stains from it. This was actually his first time using the hammer on a real human body.
"Getting hit with a 5000kg hammer seems pretty OP," Aaron thought to himself before disappearing from the scene.