Alex slowly settled down after confirming that the screen in front of him wasn't harmful in any way. He stared at its contents, confusion deepening across his face.
"What… is this? Level... Reputation… Operator...?"
[This is your Status Window. It offers a comprehensive overview of your current status.]
[Reputation denotes your influence and recognition within and outside criminal networks.]
[Influence Level is a cumulative measure of Host's reach, resources, and perceived power.]
Listening to the monotone voice, Alex sank into thought, eyes scanning every word. After a long silence, he finally spoke.
"So basically… you're saying you're here to help me, and this little glowing window is your way of tracking my climb to the top?"
[Correct, Host.]
"…Okay, and how exactly am I supposed to trust you? I don't even know where you came from."
[System Directive: Assist Host in all possible requests.]
"That's like saying I should trust you because you said so. Not exactly comforting."
Alex sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
'Let's just forget about it for now. I need to track him down first.'
As he pushed himself off the bed, planning to start making his move—
[Ding!!]
[New Task: Track down Lucian Greyfall.]
[Time Limit: Not Specified.]
[Reward: Not Specified.]
[System Recommends: Contacting Mark Collins.]
Alex squinted at the task notification. "System… what now?"
[System noted Host's intentions and generated a task to maximize efficiency toward objective completion.]
'Oh?'
He looked again at the recommendation.
'Oh yeah… that might work. At least this thing's not completely useless… I'm not telling it though.'
[Host, please be advised: System can also intercept thoughts.]
"…Great," Alex muttered, rolling his eyes.
He rose from the bed, grabbed his watch and holstered his gun.
Time to move.
--
The morning breeze rolled softly from the river as the city started to wake up from its slumber, or in the case of Ashbridge City, it was getting its daily dose of caffeine to keep itself from slowly drifting into its slumber.
Alex, clad in his black leather jacket, black shirt, silver watch, and black jeans tucked into white sneakers, strolled along the riverbank, footsteps steady but heavy. His eyes landed on a man seated at a bench, cigarette burning between his fingers.
Walking along the Ashfall river, its surface reflecting the morning sunrise causing it to sparkle charmingly.
He walked up to him and sat down, they sat in silence for a moment, until the man finally spoke,
"Never thought I would hear from you," Collins said, voice low and rough, like a man who'd smoked one too many cigarettes, "Especially not after.... what happened."
Alex didn't respond immediately, just staring ahead.
"I need a favor." He finally spoke
The man hearing him, took one last drag of his cigarette and flicked the cigarette into the river, leaning back on the bench chuckling humorlessly.
"Thought as much." Collins responded with a tired sigh.
Alex studied the man, his expression and demeanor as he thought to himself, 'Embracing the dark side of this city is easy, but embracing it and still pursuit justice, now that's worth admiring.'
"You know, I've seen you work many times, and I'd like to believe I know your style." Collins said as he continued to reach for his pocket to pull out another cigarette while continuing, "Your moves clean, Quiet, no bodies and nothing left behind."
Finally, lighting the cigarette and blowing a puff of smoke. "But this, if I dare say, was sloppy from you."
"That wasn't me." Alex replied flatly as he gazed at the city landscape.
A flash of surprise surfaced in Collins face, "No? Then explain why your crew's painted across a warehouse floor and you walking around like its just another morning for you."
Alex finally looked at Collins eyes, his cold and emotionless face unsettling the man. "That's why I'm here, so you can help me find the person who did this."
"Do you know the man who did this." Collin asked
Hearing his question, Alex jaws tightened and replied, "No."
Sensing that Alex wasn't giving him the whole truth but still, he let it go. Over the years working with this man, he has learned to never ask too many questions. He replied as he looked away, "Fine, I'll see what I can dig up, but it's probably going to take some time."
"That's fine." Alex responded
Standing up Collins tidied his brown trench coat and shifted his black tie a little, "I'll call you when I hear something."
"Appreciate it...Detective." Alex responded as he looked at the man intently.
And as Collins left, Alex was distracted by the System screen that appeared in front of him.
[Name: Mark Collins]
[Age: 37]
[Occupation: Detective (Ashbridge Police Department)]
[Skill: Driving Proficiency: B+
Firearms Handling: A
Investigative Analysis: A+
Interrogation Technique: B
Urban Navigation: A]
Alex studied the system screen and fell into deep thought, Interesting, if I'm reading this right, and I'm pretty sure I am, this is Collins status similar to mine right...?'
[Host is correct]
'But why didn't I see this skill section in my Status.?'
[Due to Host still being at influence Level 4, you have not unlocked that feature]
'Okay, and how exactly do I increase my level then?'
[By increasing your Influence and Control in any aspect of your business and organization.]
'Interesting', Then let's fix that. And as Alex stood up from the bench, another system notification sounded.
'Okay, now you just being annoying.'
[New Task: Rebuild your organization]
[Time limit: 6 days 23 hours 43 minutes]
[Reward: Level up | *******]
[System recommendation: Salvage whatever you can from your casino]
---
Ashbridge Central
This was the hearts of the city, towering skyscrapers casting an ever-present shadow onto its streets. Business, banks and cafes lined every corner of the streets.
Office workers rushing to jobs and cafes filled the brim with customers wanting their share of the caffeine.
Alex navigated the streets and constantly looking around discreetly as he entered one of the buildings. What was once a bank was now stripped bare; such is the fate of many businesses in this city.
Entering the elevator, Alex was taken to an underground parking lot where he used to host his illegal high stake casino games. Looking at the now desolate floor, he couldn't help by sigh,
'Guess I was expecting too much...' He thought as he tried to rummage through the mess and see if anything is still usable.
Not finding much, Alex took one last look out of habit, but this time noticed that a file cabinet was laying in a corner untouched, approaching it and opening it, Alex was surprised by what he saw.
File after file filled the cabinet, each file containing a name.
Pulling one random file and opening it, he couldn't help but smirk.
'Definitely thought they were going to take these…...I guess hiring Idiots has its perks.'