"I was gone for one whole day. Why are the dishes still unwashed, and why is the leftover pizza still lying around?"
Returning to his apartment, Sean glared at the golden-haired little girl lounging on the couch eating ice cream, surveying the mess with indignation.
Two days had passed since dealing with Frank D'Amico.
Out of a momentary surge of sympathy, he had brought this little girl named Mindy Macready home...
At the time, the police had already cordoned off the area, and they had barely managed to slip away through the building's maintenance passages.
Who would have thought this little girl (who had just lost her father) was only using her innocent appearance as a disguise? After just two days of living together, Sean already had a headache.
"Shouldn't washing dishes be your job? Books say a gentleman should do more for ladies, especially a little lady like me!"
Mindy blinked her big watery eyes, her expression so full of aggrieved innocence, that Sean almost felt guilty for saying something so unreasonable.
'Better not argue... Better not argue...'
Setting down his backpack, Sean silently walked to the kitchen and started cleaning the dishes.
Never try to reason with a woman, especially a freaky little girl!
"Any news from the police?" Sean asked as he scrubbed the plates, glancing at Mindy, who was sprawled on the couch watching TV.
"After such a serious incident, the West Coast police seem to have suppressed the news... But they haven't found any useful leads. I wiped all the surveillance footage before leaving, and all the gunmen who saw us are dead. That guy Lars and the others were all taken care of too." The little girl with golden twin tails replied calmly while licking her ice cream with relish.
Having been subjected to her father's brutal training since childhood, Mindy had never experienced such a relaxed and peaceful life before.
"But you're weird. Your physical capabilities are even better than my dad's, yet you don't know anything about disguise, investigation, or hacking." Mindy pointed out as she took a big bite of her ice cream.
After living with Sean for two days, she was intensely curious about this boy who had single-handedly stormed Frank D'Amico's stronghold.
He had astonishing physical prowess but seemed completely untrained in combat, firearms, or any formal fighting techniques... relying purely on inhuman strength and body control to bulldoze through Frank's men.
"Uh... that's hard to explain. Normal people improve through training, but I'm different." Sean dodged the question.
There was no way he would ever reveal the source of his power to anyone.
"If you call me 'teacher', I can teach you all that..." Mindy suddenly sat up excitedly, nearly smearing ice cream on her face, "Right now, your training is all about physical conditioning, which is slow. What you lack isn't strength, it's the techniques to use it! I can teach you that, plus disguise, explosives, assassination... everything!"
Listening to the little girl's enthusiastic spiel, Sean wiped his forehead, inwardly stunned, 'What kind of twisted father had turned his daughter into such a lethal weapon?'
[Ding! Card System activated!]
A line of text suddenly appeared in his mind.
Squinting, Sean focused on the system that had lain dormant since his body's transformation.
As Mindy chattered about training plans, the interface shimmered with a soft white glow.
Delving into his consciousness, Sean discovered a new «Cards» option in the previously simplistic system framework.
A card labeled
『Skill Card: Firearms Mastery (A-rank)』
'What's going on?!'
Sean's eyes snapped open, locking onto Mindy, who was now assembling a Colt pistol on the living room couch.
The golden-haired little girl deftly disassembled the handgun into parts before swiftly reassembling it, almost as if showing off, all while rattling off an analysis of the weapon's strengths and weaknesses.
'Can I obtain skill cards from people?'
After some thought, Sean vaguely recalled that the original game had a similar mechanism where players could draw and acquire superhero-exclusive skills.
'It seems this system is more useful than I realized. I just never explored it properly...' Sean shook his head ruefully.
This was his oversight. Ever since arriving in this world, he had assumed his enhanced physical abilities would be enough to carve out a place for himself through gradual growth.
But this was the arrogance that came with sudden power...
When he really thought about it, this world was teeming with formidable figures; a genius scientist who flew around in high-tech armor, a terrifying giant who transformed when enraged, an extraterrestrial prince, and even a notorious cosmic warlord eyeing this blue planet from the depths of space...
Surviving in such a dangerous and extraordinary world was no simple feat. At the very least, the pursuit of power should be endless!
Sean fell into deep reflection...
Perhaps because he had encountered no real setbacks since gaining his abilities (easily crushing street thugs and gang enforcers), he had grown complacent.
Touching the soft white light in his mind, Sean smiled slightly. The newly acquired card dissolved into a shower of light, merging into his consciousness.
"Mindy, are you trying to turn me into a mercenary?"
The young boy patted the little girl's head, then (in one fluid motion) dismantled the reassembled Colt into scattered parts before putting it back together again. His movements were smooth and precise, as if he had practiced countless times.
Mindy's jaw dropped in shock. She knew Sean had been completely ignorant of firearms, barely able to flick the safety and pull the trigger...
"Heh. Call it natural talent, learning just by watching..."
As the little girl bombarded him with questions, Sean smirked mysteriously before dragging her into cleaning up the messy apartment.
"What do you want for dinner?" he asked.
"Mexican wraps! There's an amazing pizza place a block over! And a strawberry sundae!" the little rascal replied excitedly.
"Won't you get fat eating all that...?"
"Shut up! I'm your teacher now, so show some respect! Hey– stop patting my head!"
Their figures walked down the evening street, elongated by the setting sun's glow.
Beyond them stretched the sprawling city (a cold, towering jungle of steel) slowly swallowing their small silhouettes...
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Read ahead on my P@treon...
p@treon.com/MayaMatengele01