Chapter 1

In a run down apartment, a bald fat man wearing only a t-shirt and his boxers could be seen tightly binded into a chair.

His eyes were covered and his mouth was gagged. The sound of the television playing a random channel filled the room. The fat man was shivering in fear as the sound of the television only added more to his stress.

Suddenly, he heard faint footsteps walking closer and closer to him and finally stopped as he felt someone near him. He wanted to speak but his mouth was gagged and could only let out muffled noises.

He started to sweat profusely as his mind was filled with fear and anxiety. There was no movement for a long time and he could only feel that there was a person right next to him.

Without a warning, the cover on his eyes were loosened and removed and he could finally perceive his surroundings. He was in a very run down apartment and the walls had several cracks and stains. In front of him was an old tv with a random channel playing in it. He couldn't fully look around, however, he noticed that although the place was somewhat spacious, very minimal furnitures could be seen.

One was the television in front of him while there was a small table with a radio on it to his right and, on his left was an old wooden cabinet. There was only one light source in the room which was placed on top of him. He also noticed that there was a large white sheet placed underneath him.

" Are you done looking? "

He suddenly heard a rough but quiet voice from behind him. The person moved in front of him and he finally saw his abductor. It was an average looking adult man who had a rough hair and pale complexion.

His eyes were droopy and he seemed to be drowsy, and judging by his expression, one thing could be said for sure. That this person was exhausted. There was a hint of tiredness from his eyes and his facial expression seemed to have stopped working.

The fat man gestured his head and exaggerated his eye movement as if to ask the abductor who he was and who sent him. The latter only took a deep sigh as he proceeded to speak.

" Clearly asking you nicely won't do but I'll do it anyway. Where is the original copy of the data and who ordered you to hide it? "

The fat man's eyes trembled as a new fear formed in his mind. He was wondering who this person was and how does he know about the existence of the data which was supposedly a secret only he knows.

" ....So are you gonna speak? "

The fat man tilted his head as his eyes squinted as if to ridicule the latter. As if to say, ' I don't know how you got that information but I'll never say it even of you kill me! '

" Haa.... thought so, it's gonna be another long night. "

The abductor walked behind the man and then came back with an apron and a mask along with a tool in his hand. It was a specially designed pliers that was made for gripping thin and small objects.

He moved quickly as he plunged the pliers into the fat man's nail on his right toe. The fat man winced as he bled from having a foreign object stuck beneath his nail. The pliers gripped the toenail and began to slowly pull upwards. The man shrieked as he felt excruciating pain from having his right toe's nail slowly removed.

After a minute or so, finally-

Snap!

The nail was finally removed. Tears continuously flowed down the fat man's cheeks while his t-shirt and boxers were drenched in sweat.

He constantly glared at his abductor. After having his toenail removed, his fear had been overwritten by rage as he struggled to break free from his restraints.

" Well look at you, that's some spirit. "

The abductor complimented in a monotonous voice.

He scratched his head as he continued, " Looks like this will take a while, huh? "

A shiver suddenly went down the fat man's spine as he saw the sudden change in his abductor's eyes.

" Seems like we'll get to know each other well. "

-

Julius Clark was the identity that the man usually used. An average full time employee in an advertising company. His real identity however, was being a disciple of a legendary assassin. Especially in the assassin industry, his master's name was a great taboo that no one would dare to speak.

His master's prestige in the underworld was peerless, like a living legend, or a demonic god. He was both feared and revered by many. Although his master was such a person, Julius himself was not sure on whether his meeting with his master was his fortune or misfortune. He was only a child of the slums and it was on his master's whim that he was forcibly adopted and groomed by the legendary assassin himself.

Unfortunately, although he grasps the meaning and theories behind his master's methods and training, his physique was not able to keep up with his training. No matter how hard he tried, he was born with an inferior body physique that's why he wasn't able to fulfill his ambition of becoming a 1st-rate assassin like his master.

And so, he only became a 3rd-rate assassin in his prime. Julius decided to pursue his specialty in information gathering and torturing methods which made his master feel accomplished despite the fact that he wasn't able to groom another 1st-rate assassin like his brother and sister disciples.

Even though Julius only became a 3rd-rate assassin, he still managed to make a name for himself in the underworld. By doing intel gathering, spying, disguising and the likes. He was especially famous for being able to get any information the customer wants. No matter how personal or grave the information was, he was able to retrieve it.

-

Men wearing formal suits in black entered the room and what greeted them was a scene depicted in hell. Thick smell of blood invaded their nostrils while the sheet on the ground was completely dyed in red. There was a tattered large corpse found in the middle of the room and evidence of extreme torture could be seen.

Chunks of flesh could be seen scattered around the room and the scene was so gruesome that even one of the men couldn't help but retch in disgust. Further to the right part of the room was a man leaning towards an open window with a cigarette on his mouth.

He only glanced at the men in suits before saying in a nonchalant manner, " Clean this up. "

The men in suits bowed and immediately began to work. Julius then returned his attention to the mobile phone on his hand. After breathing in a couple of smoke, his mind felt refreshed by the scent of nicotine reaching the depths of his nose and reaching his brain.

' Sigh, another boring job. The payout is huge but it's relatively easy this time. I didn't even have to kidnap him myself. He was delivered to me like a perfectly wrapped package. '

Julius took a deep sigh as his tired eyes began to wander to the view outside the apartment. Although this was a run down apartment, it was still placed in a high ground and whilst being in the 3rd floor, he still got a considerable view of the city.

His eyes remained empty and exhausted as the feeling of boredom and emptiness once again resurfaced in his mind. Ever since he found out that he could no longer become a 1st-rate assassin, his ambition and dreams died. Right now, he was doing the bare minimum in regards of living while he was only going with the flow of the identity he created before.

He was an empty husk with an unattainable ambition. No amount of wealth, fame, nor pleasure was able to make him feel anything. He became uninterested towards everything about life.

Suddenly, the phone in his hand vibrated for a brief second indicating that there was a notification for him. His eyes returned to his phone and opened the message regarding the information he sent. He was paid extra for having an accurate information as well as some useful personal information regarding the target.

He dragged the message to the trash bin and the screen returned to his message list containing several unread messages. He mindlessly scrolled down and one particular message caught his eye. Once he tapped it open, his eyes flickered with slight interest.

[ Sender: ???

Subject: Chance.

Congratulations random receiver! You have been granted the chance to change your life, your fate! Are you tired of your current circumstances? Do not worry! for The System is here to change your life forever.

The only question is, Are you willing? Yes or No. ]

There wasn't anything else besides the short message. The Yes button was in blue text indicating that it was a link. Although the message was sketchy and even seemed like a scam, Julius found himself slightly entertained for two reasons.

Firstly, this account that he was using was the main account of Julius Clark, the assassin. Meaning the sender of this message knew fully well what his business was and despite that, he or she still dared to send a message that could fully well be regarded as a spam. Secondly, The message was specifically made to interest him. Meaning that the sender knew his true personality.

This fact is what made him entertained because aside from his master, he could not think of anyone knowing his real thoughts. After all, his master was the one who concocted his ambitions and personally tried his best to groom Julius into one. However, he wasn't fortunate enough to be born with a body to succeed.

This was his only regret in life. He admitted that he was indeed intrigued by whoever sent this message to him and decided to play along with it. He smiled as he tapped the Yes link. His phone screen suddenly became filled with black.

' Ho? A Hacking link? '

Golden yellow text suddenly appeared and it was regarding the terms and condition in signing up for the link. He mindlessly scrolled through the considerably long list of terms and condition and immediately tapped the agree button.

Immediately, the screen changed along with a new message.

[ System Generator Roulette

Tap here to get your random system! ]

' System huh? I wonder what kind of system is this website talking about. '

Regardless, he tapped the button and words suddenly appeared only to be immediately replaced by another one as if it was a rolling roulette. After quite sometime, the changing text finally stopped on one word colored in grey text.

[ Congratulations! You have received the " Phantom System "! Confirm the reward by tapping on the button below. ]

' Phantom System? Don't they have any other creative naming system? '

Rolling his eyes, he tapped the confirmation button and suddenly, his phone blacked out.

' So it was a hacking link? That's pretty good I guess. '

If it was anyone else, they would be panicking at the sudden development but Julius merely shrugged it off. It was because he was confident in being able to not only recover his phone but retaliate at the sender. No matter who he or she was, they would die. Julius already made up his mind and casually threw the phone to one of the men in suit who was cleaning the walls.

The man seemed surprise but caught the thrown object. He gave Julius a questioning look.

" Dispose of it. "

The man nodded and put the phone inside his coat before resuming to clean. Julius grumbled as he rested his head towards the frames of the window.

' Well, I guess I'll be entertained for a little while because of who that mysterious sender was. '

As he was about to absentmindedly stare outside the window again, His mind suddenly trembled in pain.

' What the-?! '

Suddenly, a robot-like voice resounded in his mind.

[ Host successfully received The System. ]

[ Installing " Phantom System Version " ]