Meanwhile, you're in a janitor's uniform, pushing a vacuum through the Dimension Corp mech exhibit at the Dome Entertainment Complex.
After your shift, you don't even bother sleeping. You log straight into the game forums, desperate to dig up info on those monsters. The moment you see the prices, you curse out loud. D-rank toxin data, 50,000 gold. B-rank, one million. Highway robbery. You think I'm some sucker?
You smirk and slam the database shut. Whatever. You only deal with small creatures anyway. Who cares about boss tier monsters?
But the moment you click the hot topics board, your smile freezes solid.
Right at the top, in blinding letters: five million gold bounty. Global manhunt for the psycho, Bird Slayer.
You click in. It's all about you. Condemning you for hurting small creatures, calling you a real world psychopath who should be captured and dissected for study. An animal rights group has even put up a sky-high price just to uncover your real identity.
You suck in a sharp breath, cold sweat breaking out across your back. Screw this. What did I ever do to deserve this?
You curse savagely, but you're fully awake now. This alias must stay buried. Anyone who tries to expose your cards gets dealt with first.
Over the next few days, Dimension Corp's release of the spatial button, capable of pocketing entire mechs, sends the world into a frenzy. Stock prices skyrocket. Crowds pack the exhibit hall every single day, wall to wall.
But none of that concerns you. You don't gawk and you don't go play cannon fodder. You lock yourself in your cramped rented room, drilling like a madman to hone the terrifying power you've just gained.
Standing at the floor-to-ceiling window, you snap your fingers. A sharp, crisp sound. A hundred meters away, a leaf drifting in the garden breeze is instantly shattered into fine dust by an invisible sonic wave. Three seconds. Pinpoint precision. Striking unseen.
You turn and walk toward the full-length mirror in the bathroom. You take a deep breath and activate camouflage mastery. In one second, your muscles and bones grind with a teeth-aching screech, and you're transformed into a cold, hulking stranger.
Still not enough. Your eyes harden as you drive the energy inside you further. You activate the ability that has entire space fleets obsessed. Stealth.
The figure in the mirror vanishes into thin air. No optical distortion, no shadow, as if you've been erased from existence itself.
Staring at the empty mirror, you let out a low, arrogant laugh. With this card in hand, even if Federation agents come knocking, you take them down right under their noses.
A few days later, bored, you wander into the free exhibit zone at the Dome Entertainment Complex, just to kill time. But suddenly, your sharp instincts scream a warning.
Looking down from above, you spot a middle-aged blond man standing in the crowd below. His smile is bright, perfectly composed, but through your enhanced dynamic vision and camouflage mastery senses, he stands out like a searchlight in the dark.
Your heart jolts. That face is a flawless biological disguise.
Minutes later, in another corner, you spot a second disguised blond man. You don't risk a second glance. You slip into the crowd and quietly leave the complex.
But trouble finds you anyway.
Just as you near the gate of your upscale residential community, a red-haired young man brushes past you. In that instant, his aggressive gaze sweeps over you like a snake. Your mind explodes.
You'd stake your life on it. His disguise signature matches those two blond men exactly, and buried in his eyes is dangerous, ravenous greed.
The red-haired man, his back to you, curls his lips into a cruel smile. So, this nobody's name is Jin Han. No idea why the client's paying top dollar for this nobody's life. Doesn't matter. Tonight, I'll grind down his defenses inch by inch and see exactly what secrets he's hiding.
Count Crimson walks straight toward the Dome Entertainment Complex while you stand frozen, your expression turning grim.
Where do you even hide? He already knows where you live. He's clearly after your real identity.
A flash of pure killing intent crosses your eyes. If you can't hide, then let's see who takes down who.
As your mind races through counterattack plans, your wrist suddenly buzzes. Your boss, Director Yu, calls out of nowhere. "Jin Han, get to the office right now. Big news."
The moment you receive the ticket, your stomach drops. Your maxed-out sonic manipulation passively warns you. This usually smiling man in front of you is wrapped in a terrifying, distorted energy field. He's a high tier gene warrior in hiding.
"Thanks, boss." You nod expressionlessly and take the absurdly expensive concert ticket.
This world is insane. Even a cleaning company's boss is hiding monstrous depths. But you don't have time to worry about him right now. All you can think about is the red-haired man you ran into earlier. If he showed up in your community, that means he lives nearby.
That night, you don't sleep. Instead, you slip silently up to the rooftop garden of your building.
Sure enough, on the rooftop across from you, Count Crimson stands with a blond man. You crouch in the shadows, straining to listen.
"We move the night after tomorrow. While we're pulling out, grab that janitor in the building across from us, too. He's worth thirty million credits." The red-haired man's tone is breezy, like he's discussing picking up trash off the street.
"Thirty million for an ordinary citizen." The blond man sounds mildly surprised.
"Whatever secret he's hiding, just grab him first and study him properly. The feast is about to begin. After centuries of silence, this world is about to remember the name Count Crimson."
Hearing this, crouched in the shadows, fury and bloodlust surge straight to your head. In your mind, you tear into both of them savagely. Thirty million, just casually grab and dissect. They really think I'm some easy target to slaughter.