[Ding~ ding~ ding~ Special Mission Alert: A strange person is mugging your neighbor. Save her, uncover the identity of the invisible person, and make this person your friend.
Rewards:
- $19,477 (For Saving The Neighbor)
- Memory Lane sub-ability (For Uncovering The Identity)
Absolute Loyalty (For Making A Friend)]
With such a specific amount of money, it's like the system is determined to keep me broke. Fortunately, business with Heather is slightly booming, and thanks to that, I have money outside the system.
Which, of course, has to be used to stock material, rent a better place for Heather to work, and now that we're hiring, we need to pay the help. Then there's—
"Umm, Eva, aren't we going to help out?"
"Oh, right, but do we have to though?"
'What the fuck was I doing thinking about money in this situation?' I reprimanded myself.
Sarah gave me an odd look, so I added, "Hasn't Mrs. Greene made our lives a living hell? Always in our business for just being kids and having fun?"
"This is no time for joking, she might actually die!"
I snorted. "I highly doubt that. More like the mugger will be the one dying, trying to reason with that foul woman. I mean, look at them! I bet the invisible dude is already regretting trying to mug her."
Sarah chuckled despite herself. I took a deep breath and ran at full speed toward the mugger.
"Eva, what the fuck are you doing?"
Sarah called after me, already on my heels, but I ignored her. I focused on the mugger, who saw me charging and instinctively pushed Mrs. Greene toward me before bolting away.
I went past Mrs. Greene and chased after him. He was fast, really fast. I knew I wouldn't be able to catch up, so I activated my 24-hour mind-reading reward from the system.
I slowed down when a wave of vertigo hit me, and all sorts of people's thoughts flooded my mind. I tried my best to focus on the one person I wanted, but it was hard.
But I wasn't giving up. I willed myself to find someone with a desperate thought of escape, and just as it felt hopeless, I caught a thread.
Normally, getting a hold of someone's thoughts wouldn't be that useful, but with the reward I received from Kat's hidden mission—Mind Imprint—it was a game changer.
I could now imprint the mind of anyone I read, and once imprinted, they couldn't hide from me. I could sense them from a wide distance. That's what made this sub-ability so useful, especially since it was permanent.
I followed that thread to imprint the mugger's mind, making a connection. It took a minute, but once I did, I knew exactly where he was.
I opened my eyes and muttered, "I got you."
"Got who?"
I let out a startled scream, noticing it was only Sarah. "Why the hell did you sneak up on me like that? Trying to give me a heart attack?"
"Sorry for that, but seriously, why did you run off and leave me with Mrs. 'I didn't need your help, I had everything under control'? What a bitch."
I raised an eyebrow. "Woah, she must've really pissed you off. It's not like you to call an old lady a bitch."
Sarah, clearly still annoyed, snapped back, "Yeah, whatever. Where did the invisible person go? Is he gone?"
"Not quite," I said.
"What do you mean?"
"Let's go. I think he disappeared at Jennifer's."
I started running before Sarah could ask how I knew that. Her stray thoughts already told me she was about to.
We reached Jennifer's and snuck in from the back, being as quiet as possible. Sarah was surprisingly compliant when I told her this was a stealth mission.
For some reason, the lights were out at Jennifer's house—probably why the mugger chose this place. As we crept closer, we spotted him, still invisible, but not his clothes.
He was resting against the house, probably exhausted. I turned to Sarah and signaled for her to move around the other side, so he'd have no escape. Sarah hesitated, and her thoughts revealed she was nervous about the knife he carried.
I gave her a reassuring smile and moved forward. My heart thundered in my chest, and my breathing became harder.
I didn't show it in front of Sarah, but I was scared, questioning why I was even doing this. For the rewards? What else? I didn't want to die over something like this.
When I was about ten feet away, his head snapped toward me. Even though I couldn't see his expression, I knew he was on high alert.
On instinct, I moved my hand behind me as if I was pulling out a weapon. "You're probably wondering what I'm reaching for," I said calmly. "And how I found you. Well, let's just say I'm somewhat like you."
He stood up slowly, knife pointed at me. I glanced at the blade briefly but focused back on what I assumed was his face. Neither of us moved.
"Look, I can help you," I said, steadying my breathing. "You're not the first person I've met who wasn't exactly normal. There are a lot of us," I lied, but I figured there was some truth to it.
He didn't respond, so I took a step forward.
"Stop right there!" His voice was a hushed tone but firm enough to show he meant business. I stopped, not because he said so, but because I realized the voice was that of a girl.
She was definitely young, and she sounded scared, but there was something about her tone that told me this wasn't her first time in a situation like this.
I took a step back as a sign of goodwill, and that's when I noticed Sarah slowly approaching. I didn't dare look at her, keeping my focus solely on the girl.
"My name is Eva. What's yours?" I offered my name to establish a connection, something I'd learned from a friend. It seemed to be working since she hadn't run away yet.
Of course, she might also have stayed because she thought I had a gun.
"My na—"
That's all she managed to say before Sarah sprinted toward her like a madwoman and delivered a brutal flying kick. The girl tripped over her own feet and hit her head on something hard.
Both Sarah and I froze as we saw blood. Not a lot, but enough to make us worry. Sarah's face twisted in fear, guilt, and regret as she moved forward, trembling.
I, on the other hand, stayed rooted in place, my eyes glued to the sight of blood. I started hyperventilating, my vision blurring, and my head spinning. I heard Sarah calling my name, but I was already on the ground, everything going dark.