Chapter 023

'I was too scared to hide the file in my house. Alisa was scared that people were keeping an eye on her, so I thought they would do the same with me. So, I hid it in my friend's house. He was on vacation and I didn't have another place...'

Alex thought about the words that he had heard through the transceiver as he leaped through rooftops, trying to go as fast as he could.

His costume fluttered due to the wind as his mind repeated the entire interrogation that he had heard sitting in his room.

Going through the interrogation, he had to admit that Matt and Foggy were way better lawyers than what he had initially thought.

They had taken small clues and just by using those managed to solve the case.

Alex had accidentally stumbled upon Markus and it had surprisingly connected him to one of Kingpin's underground illegal activities.

If he managed to get the flash drive that contained those files, then one of Kingpin's major businesses would take a big hit.

"It's my chance to inflict a bruise on Kingpin."

He muttered as he skillfully did an acrobatic flip before landing at the edge of a building. One wrong foot and he would have fallen straight to the ground, losing his life.

But Alex had already gotten used to jumping around like a parkour expert.

His flexibility skill had levelled up after constant use and these days, he felt like his body was getting lighter and lighter.

'Clive hid the file under the vent in the bathroom. I need to sneak into the house.'

He thought, thinking back to the words he had heard. He looked down to the house where the flash drive was hidden.

Clive's friend also lived in Hell's kitchen and was away on a vacation. Because of that, the whole house was empty and he needed to sneak into it.

"Heroes really have to do everything. Even something like sneaking into a house."

He thought as he opened the hero shop.

He didn't want to break a window or something, so the only way was to buy an item from the shop that would let him enter the house without breaking anything.

After searching for a minute, he finally found the right item.

___

[Secret key]

–Can unlock a door once.

–Won't work with heavily guarded doors.

–Will turn to dust after using.

___

Alex bought the key for 20 HP and instantly, a red colour key appeared in his hands. It was a low grade item and wasn't useful for opening anything other than normal houses.

But currently, it was more than enough for him.

He jumped down and landed with a roll. Then, he quickly used the secret key and the door opened with a click.

'Items from the shop never disappoint.'

As the key turned to dust, Alex thanked his hero shop in mind and walked inside the house.

The bathroom was thankfully on the ground floor and it didn't take him much to find the vent. Opening it, he put his hand inside, trying to search for the flash drive.

His hand touched something and he quickly grabbed it.

"I finally found it."

Alex smiled looking at the white flash drive in his hand. 

It was when he was thinking about how much HP he will get if he can reveal the scandal that he heard a noise.

It was the sound of footsteps.

'Someone else is in the house...'

He thought as he stepped outside the bathroom, trying to focus on his hearing and vision. 

At that moment, he felt a shadow leaping up at him. A sharp object flashed as Alex crouched down, saving himself from getting a knife rip through his brain.

Then, he punched as the man raised his elbow to protect himself.

Through his mask, Alex was able to see the man's face. He was a scrawny looking man with a big scar running through his face.

'One of Kingpin's professionals.'

Alex thought as the man lunged at him with a knife. Dodging the repeated strikes, Alex waited for the right moment before tackling the man to a cupboard.

Sound of glass shattering resounded as the knife was thrown on the ground. With no weapon in his path, Alex freely traded blows with the man.

'I need to finish this quickly. It's hard to fight with the flash drive in my hand.'

He took a deep breath as he channelled the energy protecting his soul. As Alex suddenly stopped attacking, the man saw it as a chance and leapt at him.

But before he could even touch Alex, a dark coloured mystical wolf jumped at him. The wolf took out his claws and slashed at the man.

The killer smashed into a wall, unconscious. Blood trickled down from the man's chest where Alex's wolf had striked him.

'He isn't dead yet.'

Confirming the man had only lost consciousness and hadn't died, Alex took a sigh of relief and called back his faithful companionship. 

Although he was fighting with gangsters, Alex hadn't killed anyone yet. Maybe it was his cowardness or something else but he wasn't ready to take that step.

He was still a normal human some weeks ago and he wasn't ready to kill another human yet. 

He very well knew that it wasn't something he could run away from forever. He would have to kill someone sooner or later. Still, he didn't want to rush into it.

"I should get out of here as soon as possible."

Shaking his hand, Alex put the flash drive in one of his inner pockets and rushed through the door. He needed to get the flash drive to the right place before reporting about a criminal trespassing into a house.

'So much work in just a single night.'

Alex frowned as he made his way up a building, thinking about how he won't get any sleep tonight.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice a gaze that watched him from a distance.