Zane ran under the heat of the sun. He spent most of his morning running like mad. And for once he had a change of venue. Rather than on a treadmill, he did it the old-school way, sprinting through the outdoor, embracing the briny sea air of the beach.

His chest was heaving for breath as it was no casual running. He had been sprinting throughout the whole session, pushing his legs to the absolute limit. The extent of his training even drew his surprise as the duration he could pull off such an extensive action was close to reaching half an hour. By the time the sun stood on top of his head, what he had been waiting for had come.

[Break the limit! You have gained +1 Vitality.]

The feeling of success made him smile. It might be what they called instant gratification, but seeing his effort being paid off really lifted up his mood.

Zane found a good restaurant through his phone and splurged like no tomorrow. The dishes kept on coming as he devoured them one by one, filling his belly with good food after a long tiring training session. Even the chef had second-guessed Zane’s order as he was told it was a table for one. But seeing Zane wolfing it down with relish really opened the chef’s mind to the impossible. It took him one and half hours to feel full, and coming out from the restaurant his mind was already thinking about desserts.

Focus, Zane. You’ve eaten enough, and now is the time to find a better way to get stronger, Zane thought. But a couple of ladies went past him, licking at the sundae cones in their hands as they beat the heat with vanilla coldness. I guess a sundae cone wouldn’t hurt.

He went off. Searching the last menu of his meal. By chance, he found it. It was packed as people were going in and out of this particular ice-cream store as if it was the trendiest place to be. And judging by all those people taking selfies with the store in the background, his assumption might not be that far off. After waiting for a while, he came out with a ridiculous height of a sundae cone, seven different flavors stacked on top of one another like a rainbow. Quite girlish for a man to order it, yet Zane was unfazed by such silly notions. He would eat whatever he wanted and no one could stop him.

He was about to take his first bite, yet his senses were tingling. A quick turn to the back, and someone was running at him at full speed. He took a step back, barely avoiding the man. But his hand failed to adjust. The sundae cone swayed, and with his wide eyes, he stared at the top half of the sundae leaving him for the ground. Splat. The ice creams melt on the pavement, as his eyes lost their will to live. He could just buy another one but seeing good food gone to waste ached his gourmet heart.

“Fucking chase him down!” Zane heard a commotion from afar. A group of men dressed in all-black in the middle of the afternoon was running down the pavement as they seemed to be chasing the one that made his sundae fall from its grace.

Not because he was shallow or anything, but at first glance, these men look like those typical goons he saw in a gangster-genre movie. Nonetheless, Zane cheered on the sideline. Pumping his fist in the air, hoping they would deliver justice on behalf of his sundae cone. But he stopped. Something intriguing caught within his eyes, and his line of sight chased after it until all of those men were gone at the end of the road.

“They have guns,” he smirked. He didn’t know whether it was because of his perception or not, but he saw a glimpse of it as these men swaggered down the road, flapping their black blazers due to heat, revealing the firearm hidden underneath their armpits.

Smiling like a kid who just found a new toy, he wasn’t going to let this opportunity slip by. Looking to the side, Zane saw a thing that might tip him a bit in his favor.

* * *

In the back alleyway of JB City, a man with a duffel bag watched in horror as he met a dead end.

“Give it up, Black,” a voice rang from behind. The man with a duffel bag turned as he pulled out his butterfly knife at these thuggish people.

“Get back, you bastards!” Black shouted. Spitting saliva at the dirty black stain road. His eyes kept shifting around, searching for a way out of this mess he made.

“You made a big mistake, Black,” said the head honcho. Fanning himself with a paper fan while the other hand flapping his blazer. “Stealing Ah Long’s money in broad daylight is pretty much fucking stupid.”

“It’s mine! I’m the one who did it! If wasn’t for me that piece of shit Ah Long wouldn’t even dream of getting this much money!” Black shouted. Hugging the duffel bag close underneath his armpit.

“What did you just call our Boss?!” someone among the group blared out loud. “Cut off his tongue!” another chimed in. “Pull out his fucking gut!” their words grew more disturbing. “Let’s fucking kill him!” the thugs were getting riled up like vicious dogs readied to pounce. If it wasn’t for the head honcho controlling these mutts, they would have torn Black apart like paper.

“Give it up, Black,” said the head honcho. Patting the sweats on his forehead with his handkerchief. “If you do, we might just let you off over a few fingers.”

“Fuck you, Jai” Black trembling hand pointed the knife at the head honcho. He wasn’t going to let the money go, not after his promise cut being ignored by Ah Long time after time again. His hand brought out a lighter from his pocket as his fingers flicked the flame to life.

Jai narrowed his eyes. “Don’t do anything more stupid, Black,” he said.

“Back up!” Black threatened them. Hovering the flaming lighter near the duffel bag. Whatever Black was doing, he was really desperate. “I said back up!”

“You don’t want to do this, Black,” Jai tried to calm Black down.

“Who’re you to order me around?” Black barked. “You’re just Ah Long’s lapdog, a bitch that likes sucking on Ah Long’s tiny dick.”

Jai stopped fanning himself. He stared at Black coldly for a full minute before he waved his hand in a single motion. The thugs rushed forward, yelling in a battle cry. Clenching their fists tight, readied to teach Black a lesson that he would never forget.

Cries of pain echoed in the narrow alleyway. Slowly Black’s plea drowned out by the constant pummeling that sent him sprawling to the ground, beaten until he was bloody.

Jai watched from afar. Lighting a cigarette as he savored the sight of an idiot being punished for acting like one. But he felt a touch on his shoulder. He turned and jerked away, surprised by what he saw. “Who the fuck are you?” Jai looked up and down at a man wearing a cheap plastic Ultraman mask.

“Hi, I’m your friendly neighborhood Ultraman,” Zane said.

“If this is one of those Youtube pranks, I advice you to fuck off kid,” Jai said. “You don’t want to get—”

Jai didn’t see it coming. A single punch slammed against his face, breaking his nose and knocking him out unconscious.

“That was scary,” Zane said. “Good thing I held back a bit, I don’t want to imagine what would happen if I really punch him.”

While the thugs were oblivious to Jai’s situation. Zane looted the unconscious Jai and found what he wanted. He didn’t just take the gun as he also snatched the shoulder holster and an extra clip of ammo. Smiling, he wore the shoulder holster in a jiffy and felt the gun in his sweaty hand. Even if he was getting stronger, he was still nervous over handling such a weapon.

Yet that wasn’t the end. He holstered the gun and brought his sight onto the relentless thugs that were probably beating a corpse by now. He eyed one of them and cracked his knuckles. “Time for some real-world looting.”