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Chapter 9: The Sweetest Revenge
Location: Catskill Mountains Base
Date: September 2007
"Now that my training is over… it's time to settle some old scores," I thought coldly, standing before the dimly lit monitors in my underground base.
The screen glowed with files, IP traces, and surveillance logs. After hours of digging and hacking through layers of digital filth, I finally found them—the five low-life scumbags who had beaten me senseless back when I was just a ghost. Back when I was a nobody.
But Leo wasn't gone. His pain, his fear, the helplessness of that night—they were etched into every neuron. Every blow, every kick, every insult—I remembered it all. I didn't suppress the pain… I embraced it. Played it on loop in my head. Turned it into fuel.
Tonight… I was going to collect.
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Location: Abandoned Warehouse, New York Outskirts
Time: 11:42 PM
A dirty poker table stood in the middle of a drug-packed warehouse, the air thick with cigarette smoke and overconfidence. Crates filled with narcotics were stacked floor to ceiling.
"Yo, when are they supposed to show up again?" one thug grunted, tossing a card.
Another checked his watch. "Any minute now. Quit whining. I'm about to win this hand."
Laughter followed.
Then—total darkness.
The overhead lights snapped off with a click.
The room fell silent.
"…The hell was that?"
"Probably a breaker or something... Joe, check it out."
"Why me?"
"Because I said so."
Joe sighed, grabbing a flashlight and heading off. The others resumed their banter—until a dull thud and a low groan echoed from the shadows.
Then—silence.
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You know what happens when a man with perfect memory, hyper-intelligence, and access to both ancient and modern medical knowledge spends eight months mastering combat under the world's deadliest martial artists?
You get a weaponized neuro-surgeon with the body of a super-soldier.
A man who can shut down your nervous system with a single touch.
A man whose custom-built shades allow him to see through your skin—to your heart, your spine, your weakness.
A man who doesn't miss, doesn't hesitate… and doesn't forgive.
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"Joe?" one called out.
Nothing.
Then another thud.
Panic.
They reached for their guns.
"Who's there?!"
Another man dropped, lifeless.
Fear set in.
The last three opened fire in every direction, spraying bullets into shadows.
But it didn't matter. One by one, they fell—silently, precisely, painlessly. Each hit a soft nerve cluster, shutting them down like unplugging machines.
None of them would wake up for at least 24 hours.
I tied them all up, quick and clean. I wasn't done yet.
I waited.
The truck was due any moment.
I wasn't leaving a single rat alive.
Moments later, headlights broke through the warehouse gate. The drug shipment had arrived.
Perfect.
The passenger opened the door. A thud—he slumped over.
The driver looked over—wrong move. His eyes went blank before his foot even left the pedal.
I cleared the area in seconds.
The drugs?
All of it burned.
I made sure they watched—at least, those still conscious enough to scream.
I tossed all seven of them into the back of the truck, shutting the doors.
But just as I turned toward the front, I heard something from a nearby container.
A faint clatter.
A voice?
A whisper?
Movement.
I narrowed my eyes, senses flaring.
And then—
End of Chapter 9