*Additional order received: Kill the Prisoner*
[Click 'Accept' and gain 1000 more coins once completed. Reject to lose additional coins]
[Accept] [Reject]
Duke's eyes flickered to the notification, and he clicked "accept" without hesitation. He turned to Murphy. "Well, Murphy, it seems like your ghost story is about to come to an end."
Murphy's eyes widened in terror. "Please no! I'll do what you want. I'll join your team. I'll be an inside man—anything."
Duke tilted his head at Ryker. "Are you taking notes, buddy?"
Ryker responded with a disapproving kiss of his teeth, but it was enough to satisfy Duke.
Duke turned back to Murphy and leaned in close. "That's it? That's all it'll take to forgive you? You really think you're above the law, don't you? No offense, but a special order is an order."
In one swift motion, Duke raised the chair leg and jammed it into Murphy's throat.
As soon as the chair leg pierced Murphy's throat, his eyes bulged, and his head slumped forward, lifeless. The force of the blow was so brutal that his head threatened to roll off his neck, leaving him in a grotesque, limp pose. Duke released his grip on the chair, and it clattered to the floor, the sound echoing through the room.
*CONGRATULATIONS, you have completed your Task* The 3d girl notified him.
The sound of the chair crashing to the floor seemed to snap Nadia out of her shock. Ryker gave Duke a disapproving glare before turning and exiting the room, his silence speaking volumes.
Duke turned to Nadia "What's the fuck is his problem?"
Nadia's lips pressed into a firm line as she contemplated what to tell Duke. He had just killed the only lead she had to find her sister, dead or alive. And she didn't seem pleased about it. Not wanting to aggravate Duke further, she muttered, "He'll come around, don't worry about him. He's just upset because of what happened to his mom."
Duke's frown deepened. "What happened to his mom?"
Nadia folded her arms under her boobs. "She got killed after the escapades at the warehouse. When you snatched his ID that day, you put his mom and everything he risked his life for in vain. That's why he-"
"Hates me," Duke completed, suddenly feeling a pang of remorse.
Nadia's voice softened, "Hate is a strong word. He's just uncomfortable with you at the moment. I think the universe played out exactly as it should. Even if you hadn't taken his position, they would have killed our families regardless."
As Nadia strolled to the kitchen, Duke followed closely behind, eager to glean more information. "Mahalia shared the details about the other demise," Nadia began, opening the fridge to retrieve a stored meal.
Duke sincerely hoped that it was Halia's cooking.
"While they were taking them out, they paid less attention to Halia because she was just a child. Not the only teenager, but she utilized that oversight to escape." Nadia paused to place the food in the microwave. "When Ryker and I arrived, the place was deserted and burnt to the ground. The only person we found was a teenager, so we took him in." Nadia completed, her eyes fixed on the microwave as she waited for the food to heat up.
"I didn't know," Duke muttered after a while, unsure of what to say.
Nadia shrugged nonchalantly. "Let's face it, Duke. It wouldn't have stopped you anyway. Just like how you took down that man without bothering to know if I still needed him for inquiries."
Duke wanted to explain his reasons, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. He didn't trust Nadia and wasn't willing to share anything about the System with anyone.
"That man wasn't going to reveal anything to you anyway. It was my help that got you the information you needed. And now you're going to make him feel bad for it?"
Nadia didn't respond, instead, she began to serve the food, bringing out plates and dishing out portions. The delicious aroma confirmed that it was indeed Halia's cooking. As she served, Nadia instructed Duke to please go get the others.
Duke's leg seemed to move of its own accord, hastening to fetch the others as if driven by the promise of the meal.
"Things he'd do for that meal," he huffed to himself.
As he walked to call the others, he noticed something strange. His leg, which had been throbbing in pain just moments before, no longer hurt. He looked down to see that the wound was still there, but it had stopped bleeding, and the pain had mysteriously vanished.
As if Nadia had noticed this too, she called him back. "Duke, you're walking fine."
Duke's eyes snapped back to Nadia, and he nodded slowly. "I know. I can feel it. Whatever that was, it seems to have had an unexpected benefit."
"Whatever what was?" she asked curiously.
Duke frowned, suddenly unsure if he wanted to reveal the truth about his healing process. Sometimes he forgets no one else can see the pop-up notifications in his vision.
"It's a feeling I get. I think it's an effect of the pill."
Nadia's eyes narrowed as she stared at him with suspicion. She sensed Duke was hiding something about the pill, but she didn't push the issue, knowing he was hesitant to share information. Instead, she asked, "Can I examine your wounds?"
Duke stiffened, feeling uneasy as her request, but he nodded curtly. He pulled up his pant leg, revealing the scar in all its detail. Nadia's eyes widened as she realized the scar was from the stitches she had given him.
Nadia squatted examining his wound before she stood up, moved to one of the drawers and grabbed a pin. She went back to slowly pull the thread out with it. Once she did, she marveled at how Duke's skin started to pull back together, healing itself completely.
Nadia's thoughts swirled with theories. Her hypothesis, that Duke heals when he takes down someone, seemed plausible, but it was based on a single incident. The last time she witnessed his rapid healing was when he first woke up in her house, but he hadn't eliminated anyone then—or since, as far as she knew.
So, what triggered his healing this time? Nadia's thoughts swirled with questions, but she had no concrete answers.
Nadia removed the stick on his arm wound too and his flesh closed up the same way his leg wound did.
"You can go get the others, I'll set the table."
Without wasting time, Duke hurled on his feet and proceeded to look for 'the others' in the house.
Upon getting to the living room, he noticed someone seated on the couch typing aggressively on something. As Duke inched closer, he spotted a young man—not just any young man, the one who had seen him jump over a car earlier. Duke's eyes darted to what he was engrossed in, and they widened in surprise at what he saw.