Wavering

"I'm sorry, Ejin," Asic thought. Even if there was only a 4% chance, he wanted to try, but as soon as he learned that Agaret Marr had implants and realized how depleted his own combat strength was, he knew saving Ejin was impossible. He might even die trying.

Agaret fired several more bullets, and Asic channeled his lightning Asra power throughout his body, zigzagging to dodge them. Suddenly, Agaret's subordinates, hiding at various points, picked up their machine guns and unleashed a hail of bullets on Asic as he ran back to the main road.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Hundreds, if not thousands, of bullets rained on Asic in less than a minute. Cars on the road swerved to escape the gang skirmish. Asic felt guilty for the civilians caught in the chaos, but if he wanted to survive, there was only one way out.

"Shoot him! Don't let him escape!" Agaret's subordinates yelled, firing relentlessly. Their aim, however, was as terrible as the cannon fodder troops in a sci-fi movie; not a single bullet hit Asic, as if they passed right through him like a ghost.

"Tch, useless fools," Agaret Marr sneered as he picked up a sniper rifle, reloaded, and aimed at Asic. Without even turning around, Asic drew his revolver and fired. The rubber bullet collided with Agaret's sniper shot.

He had used his revolver—an unwieldy weapon—to intercept a high-speed sniper bullet without even looking!

It was a master-level skill, almost boastful in its message: if Agaret didn't catch Asic off guard, not a single bullet of his would come close to harming him.

Asic gathered the Blue Dragon Qi in his legs and jumped onto the elevated expressway above the tunnel. Agaret reloaded and fired again, aiming for Asic's head. Without hesitation, Asic used his tonfa to deflect the bullet.

The result: Asic's tonfa bent. The special bullet Agaret used was larger and more destructive than a regular sniper bullet. The impact almost jerked Asic's arm out of place, but he managed to prevent a direct hit. He stood on the expressway, watching Agaret, who was relentless in his pursuit.

"No matter where you run, we will hunt you down. You've made an enemy of the Onizuka Tiger gang!" Agaret shouted, aiming his rifle at Asic again. Asic, now losing strength, felt so dizzy he almost fell off the expressway.

"I have a question," Asic rasped, his voice weak. Deep down, he knew he shouldn't ask, but he desperately wanted to hear one word from Agaret's mouth.

"Do you know Regis?"

"??" Agaret's eyes twitched. Why was this pup—who was trying to destroy his business—mentioning that name?

"What's your connection to him? Brother, or maybe a friend?"

"It's not important."

"Heh... I'll tell you then. Regis is just like me—a worthless scumbag. But I'm not as stupid as he was. I don't care what he means to you, but you've picked a fight with the wrong person, kid. Especially if you're trying to dig into his business—it's not worth it. You're making an enemy of Joker." Agaret spoke seriously, then pulled the trigger. The special bullet fired was more powerful than before; within two seconds, it would turn Asic's skull into a donut.

"Is that so?" Asic spoke like an old man resigned to fate. A black cable shot out from his wrist, attaching itself to a passing pig truck. The force yanked Asic away, narrowly avoiding the bullet.

Agaret and Avid both widened their eyes—Asic could also shoot a cable from his wrist.

"That brat shot a cable from his wrist! Just like someone we know, eh, Avid? Ha! Ha! Ha!" Agaret laughed as he walked up to Avid, who was battered and beaten. The laugh wasn't directed at Avid but at someone else Agaret had in mind. Avid's face darkened as the reminder brought someone to mind.

Asic lay atop the pig truck, surrounded by pink pigs and the awful smell of manure. His body was so hot that the pigs stayed away, afraid they'd be roasted before even reaching the slaughterhouse.

Asic's skin was nearly red, with white steam rising off of him. His brain felt like it was burning, unable to think clearly. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst from his chest.

"OC... is the bullet deep?"

[It is three centimeters from the heart. The heart has sustained 0.5 centimeters of damage. Bleeding has been stopped... Temporarily counteracting metal poisoning. Inhibition is effective. Recommend extracting the Sui bullet within six hours. Calculating survival plan... Calculation complete. Master, please disembark from the pig truck at the off-ramp 500 meters ahead.]

Asic got up, firing the cable from his wrist again. The magnet at its end latched onto a utility pole, yanking him off the truck. He knew OC's advice to leave the truck, even in his current state, was because going into the city carried too much risk—Agaret might have people waiting there.

Asic might be captured the moment he entered the city. Crime organizations often had powerful networks of criminals that even the police couldn't touch. Agaret had chosen this area as the base for his operations for a reason.

Asic hid under a bridge filled with garbage and slow-flowing, foul-smelling water. Without needing to test it, he knew it was full of bacteria and parasites. Still, he scooped up the dirty water and drank, nearly vomiting but desperate—his body needed water. Dehydration meant certain death.

[Master, please hold on. Help is on the way.] OC tried to calm him, but Asic's consciousness was fading fast. He lay on a pile of trash under the bridge, hearing the constant roar of traffic overhead. Not even the homeless wanted to stay here, with the noise and disgusting water, but Asic fell asleep, unaware of what would happen when he lost consciousness.

Asic slowly regained consciousness, realizing he was in a car heading into the city. He lay in the back seat, and a strange woman was driving. Though still groggy, he felt a sense of safety from the scent of her perfume.

"Awake now?" asked a familiar voice. In the back seat with Asic was a young woman with white hair tinged with purple and ruby eyes filled with concern. Her beautiful face was like a spell that made Asic forget his pain. He grinned cheekily and said, "I must be dead. How else would I see such a beautiful angel?"

"Too bad. Even if you were dead, there wouldn't be an angel prettier than me."

"You're so full of yourself. You haven't even seen an angel."

"Sorry, but I'm confident that no angel from heaven could compare to me," Ivy teased him. Asic, likely still delirious from the medication, smiled at her. Their banter made the woman driving frown.

Yes, she was very annoyed!

"How dare you, Ivy. How dare you steal the spotlight from me," Susinna gritted her teeth in frustration. Ivy, who was supposed to be enjoying a world tour, had contacted her, asking her to help find someone. Ivy admitted she had a new boyfriend—a tall, handsome man with a bright future.

Susinna, a single, pure-hearted woman who had never had a boyfriend, felt slighted. She'd devoted herself to Ivy, giving up her life and holidays, and now Ivy, who'd been dumped and was at rock bottom, suddenly had a wonderful new guy. Susinna found it incredibly unfair.

"How did you find me?" Asic asked.

"OC gave me your location. I've been following you quietly. I wasn't close, but whenever you moved to a new city, I moved too because I knew something like this might happen," Ivy admitted. OC had secretly contacted Ivy without Asic's knowledge.

OC had deemed Asic's solo missions too risky without support. If Asic died, OC would be destroyed as well. Reaching out to Ivy for help was its way of ensuring survival.

Asic had wanted Ivy to stay away, but OC had pulled her in anyway. He felt both disappointed and relieved.

"I dreamed, Ivy."

"What did you dream about?"

"An old friend... He was an ass. No matter what, he was always there—at school, on missions, investigating cases, or out clubbing. He was a part of my life." Asic spoke weakly, his voice filled with sadness. He paused for a few seconds before continuing. "He told me he became a cop to find his brother. His twin disappeared when they were kids. It tore his family apart. He wanted to find his brother and destroy the human trafficking network.

"In the end, his dream never came true." Asic stared out the window, trying to see the stars, but the city lights were too bright. Ivy noticed the disappointment in his eyes, like he was angry at the world for breaking its promises.

"We were on a hostage rescue mission. I had to choose between my partner and the hostages. We both made the same choice—the hostages came first. In the end, he sacrificed himself... He was the best partner I ever had. Before he died, he asked me to find his brother. And today, I think I finally found him." Asic would never forget the face of his lost friend. He had been close to Gascon for nearly a decade and had seen him crushed, reduced to ashes.

Gascon had no other relatives. His parents had abandoned him, leaving no one to properly handle his final arrangements. By the time Asic realized, Gascon had already become ashes, sealed in an aluminum can like those oatmeal tins sold on supermarket shelves. Gascon had died long ago, and there was no way Avid could be Gascon with memory loss.

Avid was the younger twin brother Gascon, his best friend and the other half of his soul, had spent his entire life searching for. The heartbreaking truth, however, was that Avid had become part of the very human trafficking ring that both Gascon and Asic had despised. Avid was undoubtedly a criminal.

Avid had likely been involved in ruining the lives of hundreds, perhaps even thousands of youths—an unforgivable crime. Worse still, the situation with Regis was a cruel twist. Regis, the older brother Asic had always thought led a clean, respectable life, had left behind a multi-million-dollar inheritance. Now, there were signs that Regis, too, was involved in the human trafficking operation.

Not only that, but those behind the massive human trafficking organization, the Onizuka Tiger gang, were highly placed figures within the police department itself.

The younger brother of his deceased best friend, his late older brother, and the very organization he had once served with unwavering loyalty—all these revelations came crashing down on Asic at once. Even a former special police officer, with a heart of steel, felt pain and despair when faced with betrayal and darkness time and time again.