The next morning, Jayden woke up grudgingly. He scrubbed his face, his eyes burning from a severe lack of sleep. He had spent the entire night pacing his room, staring at the ceiling, and stroking his invisible beards... all in the hopes of trying to formulate a strategy to defeat Tazer.

He had come up with absolutely nothing.

The man wasn’t just a high-level brute like Duke; he was a super-mercenary. An ex-soldier. That meant he was highly trained, strictly disciplined, and incredibly tactical.

And then there was his ability: Lightning.

It was arguably the most destructive, volatile, and blindingly fast elemental ability in existence. It was no wonder his kill count was sitting at over eight thousand. He was an unstoppable force of nature.

For the first time since acquiring the System, Jayden realized he might actually be walking into a deathmatch entirely blind. He had to track down and eliminate this Pioneer tonight, and he had zero plan.

He stood up, his joints popping, and dragged himself to the bathroom to wash his face. As he stared at his exhausted reflection in the mirror, a cascade of blue interface windows suddenly exploded across his vision, accompanied by a rapid series of chimes.

[Subpack Member (Wolverine Stalker) killed an F-Rank Beast;

+20 EXP]

[Subpack Member (Tremor Gator) killed an E-Rank Beast;

+30 EXP]

[Subpack Member (Howler) killed a D-Rank Beast;

+40 EXP]

[Subpack Member...]

The notifications scrolled so fast they became a blur. Beasts were vastly more active at night, which meant his newly formed army had spent the entire time Jayden was stressing over Tazer absolutely slaughtering the Emerald City forest ecosystem.

When the rapid-fire notifications finally stopped, a new, massive window appeared.

[Total EXP Received: +1,200]

[Congratulations! You have Leveled Up!]

[You are now at level 17]

[+2 stat points has been added to all stats]

[Ep: 340 >> 360]

[Hp: 780 >> 830]

[Exp: 1000/7500]

Jayden gripped the edges of the sink, his exhaustion instantly evaporating. He was absolutely exhilarated. A rush of pure, rejuvenating energy flooded his cells, washing away the fatigue and making his muscles feel impossibly light. This was the most Exp he had ever received in a single lump sum, and he hadn’t even had to lift a finger for it. The Beast Taming ability was already paying massive dividends.

He quickly brushed his teeth, took a hot shower, and threw on some comfortable clothes. He sat back at his desktop, reinvigorated, and began deeply researching the physics of lightning. He searched for elemental weaknesses—grounding techniques, natural insulators, atmospheric limits. There were very few practical counters, but he dutifully noted them down, while also desperately trying to figure out what drove an elite ex-soldier to become a syndicate hitman.

By the time Jayden finally stepped away from his desk, the sun was already setting. He collapsed onto his bed, deciding to catch some Zs before his lethal midnight rendezvous.

But just as his eyes fluttered shut, three sharp knocks echoed from his bedroom door.

Jayden groaned into his pillow. He dragged himself up and opened the door.

Standing in the hallway were Tasha, Jessica, and Cassandra. They were all dressed to the nines in stylish, casual evening wear—designer jackets, perfectly styled hair, and light makeup.

Jayden blinked, his sleep-deprived brain struggling to process the sight. "Wow. You all look... incredible," he managed to say, genuinely taken aback. "But what’s going on?" He looked specifically at Cassandra, surprised to see her out of the house.

"Tasha and Jessica invited me," Cassandra said with a soft smile, adjusting the strap of her purse. "For our night shopping trip. With you."

Jayden blinked. "Shopping? With me?"

Tasha looked him up and down, her brow furrowing. "Yeah. Why aren’t you dressed? Didn’t you look at the time?" she said sternly.

Jayden rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn’t even know I had plans with you guys today," he chuckled.

Tasha and Cassandra slowly turned their heads to stare at Jessica.

Jessica’s eyes went wide. She let out a dramatic sigh, turning her head away. "I... may or may not have totally forgotten to tell Jayden about the outing."

"Jessica!" Tasha groaned. "I asked you to tell him three days ago so he could clear his schedule!"

Jessica offered a sheepish shrug, batting her eyelashes innocently. "Well, I was going to," she defended. "But then I forgot. Besides, he knows now."

Tasha sighed, turning back to Jayden with an apologetic look. "I’m so sorry, Jayden," she said. "This was supposed to be planned. And it seems like you’re busy. We can just go another time."

Jayden looked at the three of them. He saw the subtle disappointment trying to hide behind their understanding smiles. He couldn’t turn them down. Not when they looked so excited.

"No, no, I’m not busy," he lied smoothly, a warm smile breaking across his face. "I’m totally in."

Tasha’s face brightened. "Really?"

Jayden nodded. "Yeah. Just give me five minutes to get changed." Then he ducked back into his room. Tazer and the Black Cobra syndicate would just have to wait. Right now, he had three girlfriends to please.

Fifteen minutes later, Jayden emerged looking sharp in fitted dark jeans, a high-collared jacket, and a fresh pair of sneakers. The girls were waiting in the living room. Harleen was on the sofa with a book and looked up when he appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Have fun, guys," she said. "Be back before midnight."

"Okay, mum," Tasha said automatically. "Bye."

Then they left the house.

The four of them piled into a cab and headed to the Emerald City Grand Galleria.

The mall was a massive, sprawling complex of neon lights, towering glass ceilings, and high-end boutiques. For the next two hours, Jayden found himself at the epicenter of a whirlwind. The girls dragged him from store to store, holding up dresses, trying on jewelry, and asking for his opinion.

Jayden insisted on paying for everything. With the massive payouts from the tournament and the beast corpses he’d sold, his bank account was flush.

They walked through the bustling promenades, heading to the food section which occupied the north end of the ground floor. It smelled like six different things competing for attention. They found a vendor selling fresh-pressed fruit drinks with a short enough queue to be worth it and settled at a standing counter with four cups and the particular easy relaxation of people who had nowhere specific to be for the next hour.

Jessica was already three sips in and describing, unprompted, the entire plot of a show she’d been watching, at a speed that suggested she’d been waiting for an audience.

Tasha listened with the patient expression she’d presumably developed over years of practice. Cassandra asked a question at the right moment that sent Jessica off on a secondary tangent.

Jayden drank his and simply watched the three of them; Jessica with her hands moving when she talked, completely incapable of describing anything without gesture. Tasha with her elbow on the counter and her chin on her hand, following everything despite the expression that suggested she wasn’t. Cassandra finding the thread of Jessica’s logic and pulling on it, genuinely interested, the way she always was when someone gave her something to engage with.

A smile spread across his face as he stared at them. He thought about how different this was from a year ago. From six months ago. From even three months ago. The family he’d arrived into and the family it had become were not the same thing, and the distance between them wasn’t something he could have planned or manufactured. It had just happened, in the accumulated weight of ordinary moments. Dinners and training sessions and late nights and disagreements and everything else.

He was glad he’d come tonight.

The thought was simple and completely true and he didn’t do anything with it except hold it for a moment.

Jessica pointed at him suddenly mid-sentence. "You’re not listening." She pouted.

"I am," Jayden chuckled. "The main character’s cousin was the one who stole the artifact."

Jessica blinked, surprised he knew that info. "How did you—"

"You said it twice," Jayden said, smiling.

"Hm. So you were listening after all. Good," Jessica said, and went back to her story.

Two hours into the evening they had covered: the clothing stores, a accessories vendor where Jayden bought each of them something specific; a bracelet for Jessica that she immediately put on, earrings for Tasha that she held carefully and thanked him for with the particular sincerity she reserved for things she actually valued, and for Cassandra a thin silver chain that he fastened at the back of her neck while she held her hair out of the way, and then she turned around and looked at him for a moment before saying thank you in a voice that was slightly quieter than usual.

They passed a group of boys approximately their age near the escalators. Three of them, collectively attempting to look casual while watching Jayden move through the mall with three separate women, all of whom were operating at a level of obvious comfort and affection that made the situation clear.

"Bro, look at that guy," one of the boys whispered loudly to his friend. "Is he a prince? Does he have a mind-control ability? What is his secret?!"

"Life isn’t fair, man," his friend muttered, glaring at Jayden with intense, burning envy. "I can’t even get a text back."

Jayden heard them all with his enhanced hearing and just smirked.

As they neared the end of their trip, they passed a massive, neon-lit VR Arcade and Game Store. Jessica and Cassandra immediately stopped, pressing their faces against the glass.

"Oh! Jayden, please!" Jessica begged, tugging on his sleeve. "Let’s go look at the new releases!"

"No video games," Tasha interjected firmly, crossing her arms like a strict mother. "Not until after the tournament. We need to stay focused on our training."

Jessica and Cassandra groaned in unison, their shoulders slumping.

Tasha laughed. "Oh, don’t be babies. We’re having fun just enjoying each other’s company." She turned to Jayden, her eyes softening. "Actually, I was thinking... after the tournament is over, we should all take a trip to the coast. Go to the beach for a weekend."

"Yes! I strongly agree to this," Jessica beamed.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Cassandra added, looking at Jayden. "What do you think, Jayden?"

But Jayden didn’t answer.

He was constantly looking around, his eyes scanning the upper balconies and the thick crowds. His instincts were suddenly screaming, telling him something bad was about to happen.

"Jayden?" Tasha called out, her smile fading. "What’s wrong?"

"Something feels off," Jayden murmured, his muscles tensing.

Tasha opened her mouth to ask what, but before she could utter a word....

BOOOOOOM!!

A massive, deafening explosion ripped through the air, completely obliterating the main glass entrance of the Galleria. Shards of reinforced glass rained down like shrapnel.

Pure chaos erupted. Screams echoed through the massive concourse as terrified shoppers began to stampede in all directions.

Jayden was already moving, pulling Tasha by the arm and scanning for the other two simultaneously. Jessica was three meters to his right, frozen, her expression cycling through shock toward something that would resolve into composure if given ten seconds she didn’t currently have. Cassandra was beside her, and she’d gone still in a different way... held in the stillness of someone deciding what to do.

Through the thick, black smoke billowing from the entrance, figures began to march into the mall. They were all men, clad in heavy black tactical gear, and heavily armed with energy rifles. As they spread out, Jayden’s enhanced vision locked onto their exposed necks and forearms.

There, etched darkly into their skin, was the unmistakable tattoo of a coiled serpent.

Jayden frowned.

They were Black Cobra.