----> Easy target

The sun was up, but the roads were still empty. The sound of a single bike roared through the streets.

"Are we close to James' house?" Adam asked, starting to get impatient.

"Not yet," Alex replied, focused on the road.

"Bro, you've been saying the same thing for two hours. I'm getting sleepy, so I wanna finish this quickly and go sleep on the bed," Adam complained.

But Alex didn't reply. He was focused on the road. Seeing Alex ignore him annoyed Adam even more.

Adam kept whining for a while, but when Alex didn't respond, he slapped the back of Alex's head.

Suddenly, the bike lost balance, and it almost slipped, but Alex was able to stop it just in time.

"Are you stupid? Can't you see I'm driving? And it was your plan in the first place, so don't complain now," Alex said. Adam was quite angry, but he didn't say anything because he knew he was at fault.

Finally, Alex restarted the bike, and they hit the road once again. Adam was really quiet this time, as he was mad.

After a while, Alex noticed that Adam was awfully quiet. "You still upset? I'm sorry, I shouldn't have treated you like that," Alex said, sighing.

As Alex apologized, Adam laughed proudly. "Glad you realized your mistake."

"How the fuck was that my fault? You almost made us fall!" Alex said playfully.

They kept bickering for a while until Alex gestured for Adam to stay quiet. He also decreased the speed of the bike to avoid making any sound.

"Okay, you see that building over there? That's James' house," Alex whispered, pointing to the two-story house. It wasn't too big, but everything about it screamed expensive.

"It's shining like a diamond, and those walls are smoother than my skin. Is that quartz? Bro, how rich is this guy?" Adam said excitedly, trying not to raise his voice.

"Forget the walls, look at the roof—it's made of blue-tinted glass," Alex said, sharing Adam's enthusiasm.

"Why do the evil guys always have the nicest homes?" Adam said, getting off the bike and heading toward the place. He was carrying plastic bags in his hand.

"Wait for me! Do you think he doesn't have guards or something?" Alex said, quickly following him.

"Also, don't you think this stuff you stole from the store is a bit unnecessary? And isn't it difficult for you, considering you only have one hand?" Alex said, trying to take the bags from him.

"Nah, this is the most important part of the plan," Adam said, keeping the bags.

Alex sighed but didn't say anything. Both of them went straight for the house.

As they reached the house, they saw two people standing guard at the entrance. Both of them had red eyes, so it was easy to tell that they were players.

"I told you it was almost impossible to enter," Alex said to Adam, but Adam stopped him.

"Who said we're gonna fight them? With my lightning skill, I can probably enter before they blink. You just have to figure out how to enter," Adam said, activating Bioelectric Enhancement.

As Adam expected, his speed was enough to enter without the guards figuring out what had happened. "Where did that wind come from?" one of the guards whispered to himself as Adam passed by him.

*Fuck, that skill has made him fast. Why is his skill so good—to take others' skills—while mine is basically useless?* Alex thought, getting annoyed.

*How do I enter?* As he was thinking, he saw a rope coming from the other side. He smiled and grabbed onto it, climbing up in no time.

After he finally came inside, he smiled and praised Adam. "I never thought you were this thoughtful. I'm sorry for thinking you wanted to buy ropes to do something weird."

Adam gave Alex a weird look, then replied, "I definitely did not buy the ropes for this task."

"My bad. I shouldn't have thought so highly of you," Alex said, all the respect vanishing from his eyes.

Adam nodded as if agreeing with Alex before finally heading inside the house.

As they went inside, they looked at the interior with awe. The house was even prettier from the inside.

A comfy-looking massage chair was sitting right in the middle of the room. A man with long white hair was relaxing on it, his eyes closed.

"Who the fuck is that guy? He looks like a Disney princess fused with the body of a Greek god," Adam asked, nudging Alex.

"That's James," Alex whispered back to Adam.

"So that's our target. Let's tie him up while he's sleeping," Adam said quietly, taking out the rope and going behind the chair to tie his hands.

"Alex, come here. It's hard to tie rope with one hand," Adam whispered, gesturing for him to come.

Alex was quietly making his way over, but he froze when he suddenly heard James speak.

"Whoever you are, I just want you to know this is your last chance to leave," James spoke, his eyes still closed.

Adam and Alex both went quiet, as it was too sudden.

"Why do you think my security is so lax? It's because I don't need security, I'm the real deal," James said, opening his red eyes.

Ice began to form all around the room. Suddenly, the room was so cold it was hard for them to even breathe.

James finally got up from the chair, stretching a little before finally looking at his intruders.

Adam was trying to speak, but his lips were sealed tight from the ice. James looked for a while, trying to recognize him. "I don't think I know you. Hmm."

Adam just glared at him angrily. James then looked around and saw Alex, and started to laugh. "Ohhh, it's you, Alex. You should have told me you were coming. Is Ava with you?" he said, mocking him.

"How many years has it been, man? You still haven't gotten much better, I see," he said, making his way toward him.

Adam tried his best to break free, but when nothing worked, he activated Bioelectric Enhancement, finally breaking free and launching a punch at him.

"Wow, you're fast, but I was faster than this in 4th grade," James said, catching the punch and countering it with a punch straight to Adam's gut.

As the punch landed, Adam gasped for air, but James put his other hand on his mouth, freezing it shut, then finally threw him against the wall.

Adam struggled as he tried to remove the ice and catch his breath.

"Ohh, look at you. You look like a fish out of water," James said, finally turning his eyes to Alex.

Alex was trying his best to punch him, but his whole body was frozen.

"You know, I believe in gender equality. Maybe I can make you an even prettier toy than Ava," James said, holding Alex's face with his hand.

As Alex stood there, useless and unable to do anything, he cursed himself for his weakness. *Why is this happening again? I'm still not strong enough.*

Adam was finally starting to pass out from the lack of air. He struggled, trying to remove the ice. His nails were even bleeding from constant scratching.

James started punching Alex. "I'll make you really beautiful, don't worry. You know, you kinda look like Ava," James said while touching Alex's body with his other hand.

Realizing he was going to lose, Adam rubbed his stump on the ground, making it hot. The skin on top began to tear from the constant rubbing.

But bearing the pain, Adam kept going and quickly touched it to the ice, loosening it enough to remove it with his hand.

Taking a long breath, Adam attacked James again.

"Are you stupid?" James said, moving away and kicking him in the shin, throwing him off balance.

"I'll play with you later," James said, completely freezing his body to the ground.

*Fuck, he's too strong. I should have listened to Alex and stayed away. He's way out of our league,* Adam thought, smashing his head on the ice, trying to break free.