"Zapis is the most advanced medicine we have created for generalized body pain. Pain cannot last indefinitely. Zapis provides quick relief by making the pain receptors desensitized..."
I was passing by an electronics shop. They had televisions inside but the news commercial that I was currently viewing was being projected by a small circular device.
I had gotten a good lump sum of money from Hiratsu and his customer. This allowed me to do certain things.
I first got a few spare change of clothes and took off my current attire.
Then I bought a face mask and wore a hoodie.
I also bought a pair of shades.
After that, I had lunch to refill my energy.
Next, I entered a salon.
"What will it be today sir?", the lady greeted me as I sat down.
"I'd like to dye my hair black."
"Eh? Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, please."
She looked disappointed but didn't say anything more.
I was attracting extra attention on the streets, so I figured that I needed to blend in more.
After it was done, I looked into the mirror.
The hair looked lustrous and smooth.
"I used the best colour of our shop. How do you like it?"
"It looks good."
It certainly did.
I left the salon, striking off another checklist.
"That cost more than I expected, but it's fine."
A kid was walking with his dad nearby.
"Daddy, what should we do now?"
"It's late, let's go home sweetie."
"Eeh, I don't want to go home!"
I looked at them. Their interaction made me feel hollow.
A strange sadness took over me. The feeling of being alone in a new place.
"It's already dark, what should I do now?"
I still had to secure a place to spend the night and also...
Just then, I found a familiar face.
It was the guy who had bumped into me earlier today.
He was hanging out with his group of friends.
Not having anything better to do, I started following them.
"This city is shit "
"Yeah man, tell me about it. No one fucking cares what happens to people like us. Neither the government nor the influential people. They all only care about their own pockets.
Don't they know that we are the reason that they are what they are?"
"No, you dumbass, I mean there's no good places to rob these days."
"Leave him, he's just salty because he was fired from work."
"I understand his pain. When I was young, those advanced robots came and took over our jobs. My dad became unemployed and started drinking. That led to my mom leaving him."
"Your mom was just a slut."
"What did you say?!"
It was a typical crowd of hooligans.
When I was about to stop following them and turn around, something happened.
"Hey, that old lady, isn't she carrying an Arpeicio bag?"
"Yeah, plus she's wearing a vintage watch. Looks costly."
The group looked at each other and smiled wickedly.
I immediately knew their next plan.
So carefully, I observed what they did next.
The group split into two. Three went on ahead and the other two slowed down.
The fact that they were attempting to commit this openly meant that they were either experts in this and they knew how to evade the police or they had inside intel about the security cameras being down.
I scanned the place around. There were no police and the street was relatively vacant.
I understood what their plan was. While the three distracted that woman, the other two would wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.
In my head, I calculated all possible running routes. The road we were walking on forked ahead. Which meant that they could go in 2 possible directions from there or run back the opposite way. Since they were already walking towards the fork, their destination probably was in that direction and the chances that they would run backwards were low. My best place to strike would be at that junction.
I increased my walking speed and crossed the two who stayed behind.
Not wanting to raise any suspicion, I carefully walked without any sudden movements.
Like a thief, I looked at what the other three guys were doing.
One of them approached her, keeping a respectable distance, bowed politely and started chatting her up.
'I guess they're more respectable than average thugs.'
The other two joined in and started talking to the first guy.
I came closer to them and heard their conversation.
"Taka, aren't you working for that vintage watch company now?"
"Yeah, you should give us a discount next time."
"Sure sure, speaking of which, meet this lovely young lady."
"Oh my, please don't call me young. Hoho", the woman was visibly flattered.
I observed all the pockets of the guy who had bumped into me. His right back pocket in his pants was swollen. It probably had his wallet.
Since I was wearing my shades and mask, he shouldn't be able to recognize me.
I bumped into him.
"I am so sorry. Please forgive me.", I politely spoke.
"Oh no, it's my fault too. Please, do take care.", he replied.
He had a very different attitude from earlier. Either he was in the middle of an act or dyeing my hair had worked.
I apologized again and walked ahead. After a certain distance, I looked back through the corner of my eyes.
They had successfully managed to make the woman take off her watch. She was boasting about it proudly to them.
I reached the intersection on the road and hid behind a turn. Putting on my hoodie cap, I looked around and found a chunky rock.
'This should make my punch stronger.'
Having prepared everything, I waited.
As expected, soon two guys came running towards my direction.
One had a bag in his hand and the other had that watch.
As soon as they came to the intersection, I punched the guy holding the watch.
I felt his jaw break as he fell on his back.
With dexterous hands, I swiftly snatched the watch away.
The other thief got confused and started to run the other way.
I threw the rock in my hand and hit his head.
The rock hit him hard and he dropped the bag as he fell face flat.
Swiftly, I ran upto him and picked up the bag.
The other three guys were bewildered.
They started approaching me with veins popped on their foreheads, ready to smash my face in.
Not giving them the delight to do so, I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"Thieves!!! Call the police!!! There's a robbery!!! Thieves!!!"