It seems that I haven't been killed by that woman.
"Mission code U-Z-0359, Investigator BG2245, you have been at the crime scene for over 2 hours. Please upload the investigation data for the non-natural death target as soon as possible."
The wrist communicator rang at an inappropriate time, which made the woman behind the bonfire laugh even more recklessly.
"I'll give you time, but first satisfy that stupid communicator! If it keeps ringing like that, I'm afraid... your mission this time will be in vain. Hahahahaha!"
"What do you want to do?! Since you're not killing me, let me go!"
She extended a crimson tongue from under her wide hat, licked it with the edge of her hand, and her cold gaze swept over my neck through the shadow of the brim.
"Oh, you do have some courage and temper! I li-ke it."
Her provocation angered me, and I no longer wasted time talking with her. I raised my leg and kicked and pounded the thick glass wall, but it didn't work.
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Although the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs was not a military combat unit, it was a highly classified intelligence operation sequence. Apart from not having standard weapons, the uniforms, equipment, and devices issued were almost indistinguishable from those of combat units.
There might be two things I could use right now.
The boots on my feet, with pointed toes and tungsten steel armor covering the top, had anti-gravity propulsion devices on the soles originally designed to deal with complex terrains and gravitational environments on different planets. But if used cleverly, it could also generate powerful thrust in a short period of time and be used as an attacking weapon.
The wrist communicator, that always beeping little thing, not only had real-time connectivity to the Bureau's system, receiving and transmitting mission information, but it was also a complex intelligent supercomputing device. It could form a brainwave connection with authorized investigators, thereby controlling their standard equipment and exoskeleton attachments.
Of course, these special equipment, exoskeleton devices, interfaces, upgrade kits, and even mountable individual weapons were not standard issues. You had to earn money to buy them separately!
I remembered the "Pork Leg" spaceship I rented in the morning. With so many interfaces and reserved functions provided by the personal equipment, but not issued, it was clearly a blatant attempt to make money from their own people!
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Complaints aside, at least I had these boots to rely on!
Without further ado, I activated the communicator, adjusted the angle of the propulsion device, and stared at the woman through the glass wall, gathering my strength.
"Alright! Watch as I kick you to pieces!" The low-frequency vibrations beneath my feet told me that the energy had been fully charged.
I mentally recited the actions, feeling the coordination of the communicator system, and forcefully activated the gravity engine of the boot soles. Using my left leg as the axis, I swung my right leg in a rotating motion, successfully delivering a spinning flying kick!
Boom! Crash!
This thing sure packed a punch!
With one kick, like a siege hammer, the thick glass wall shattered into pieces, exploding with shards that scattered in the air, shimmering with a golden glint in the glow of the fire.
"Oh! That kick was quite impressive! Have you trained before?" The woman stood in place, calmly clapping her hands as if she had been waiting there to watch my performance.
"Hmph! The next kick will be aimed at your face!"
I was proud of my kicking technique, whether it was Muay Thai, Taekwondo, or mixed martial arts. Kicks were my favorite part, the one I had diligently trained for a long time, but never had the opportunity to use in a real fight.
Having become familiar with the coordination of my boots, my confidence soared. With this force, I could kick even the wild rhinoceros of the Alken Star to death.
Today, I would make a name for myself with a single battle!
The woman remained motionless, contemptuously twirling a piece of glass with her fingertips, shaping her nails with the long, sharpened tip.
"You..."
I was only three or five steps away from her, bending my body and launching a quick attack, taking two steps and leaping into the air, rotating my body to gather momentum for a wheel kick! Watch as I bury you into the ground!
Calculating my attack plan in my mind, the screen of my wrist communicator began to emit a pulsating yellow light, ready to synchronize my attack with the gravity boots on my feet.
"Take this!"
Just as the attack was about to begin, I suddenly felt a heavy sensation under my feet. "Oh no! Something's not right!"
I exclaimed in pain as I knelt down, narrowly avoiding having my thigh tendon torn apart. The boots under my feet seemed to have taken root, firmly stuck to the ground, preventing me from lifting my leg.
"Hahaha! You're really... hahaha... pathetic!"
With that, the woman burst into laughter, shaking with amusement, while I blushed with embarrassment.
"What... What did you do to me?"
Regardless of her movements, the woman deliberately kept her face hidden in the shadows. Her outward appearance resembled that of a human, but perhaps she belonged to a race from an unfamiliar planet.
I had heard stories when I joined the agency, tales of remote planet monsters capable of controlling objects with their telekinetic powers, fierce and dangerous creatures.
Could I be so unfortunate as to encounter such a monstrous being on my first mission?
"Hey, what's with that look? I didn't do anything, you know?"
"Stop talking nonsense! If you have the guts, hold me down completely! I still have hands to grab and teeth to bite! Will you dare to come closer?!"
"Tsk, you chicken. I told you I didn't do anything. Your jokes are really lame."
Crack! The woman lightly swung her hand, slicing off a few pieces of wood from the wall.
She bent down and threw the wooden boards into the bonfire, using the tip of her knife to stir them. Then she said, "Sigh, don't you know? These lousy boots issued by the agency can only be activated once every ten minutes! Once used, there's no anti-gravity function during those ten minutes. The tungsten steel armor plates on the boot soles are not something an ordinary person can lift!"
Only then did I notice that the flickering yellow light on my wrist communicator was not a signal indicating that the charging was complete and ready to match my attack, but rather a large warning sign—rebooting!
"What did you say just now? Kicking my face? Well, how about taking off your shoes and coming at me barefoot? Hehehe..."
I could clearly feel my face burning, as if I had read this in the equipment manual, but how many people actually paid attention to such things?
Damn it, always buzzing with notifications, and yet no voice announcement before the energy ran out and rebooted! What a useless piece of junk!
"Using the standard configuration even now, you must be really poor."
"Who are you? How do you know so much about our equipment?!"
The woman emerged from the shadows, walking slowly, and circled around behind me. Her left hand lightly rested on my shoulder, while the four blades of her knife pressed against my neck and moved around to my chest.
I could feel the chilling coldness emanating from the long blades, and I could hear the faint sound of them rubbing against each other as they passed by my ears. The piercing sound, although extremely faint, made me shudder all over, unable to move, unable to dodge, and even afraid to breathe.
"As for me... just like you... we're both..."
The four blades replaced her fingers, teasing my chest and abdomen with a flicking motion. She made the long claws move in an intersecting pattern, as if searching for the perfect cutting position on my body, yet also like playing with her prey before the final strike.
"We're both..."
"Coroner!"