“Bzzz—”
The phone in the blonde boy’s pocket vibrated.
The blonde teenager was lazily strolling down the street, looking bored out of his mind.
The moment he felt the vibration, his eyes lit up and he pulled out his phone.
“Hello?
Who’s this?”
“Bang!
Bang!
Bang!!”
Instead of a voice answering him, the phone blasted out the sounds of rapid gunfire and the metallic clinking of shell casings hitting the ground.
After listening for a moment, the boy sighed helplessly.
“Hit-Girl, how many times have I told you?
Don’t call me in the middle of a fight!
The thing I hate most is attending funerals!”
“Damn it, Alex!
Even if you died, I still wouldn’t!”
A girl’s rude voice exploded through the phone.
Surprisingly though, her voice was extremely pleasant to hear.
Even amidst the gunfire and impacts, it remained clear and sweet—though her words themselves were far from elegant.
“Tch.
So what do you want?
Let me make one thing clear—don’t ask me to help you fight.
I’m in Canada enjoying the scenery right now.”
Alex casually changed the topic.
Judging by how unfazed he was by her language, he was clearly used to her weird personality.
“Ohhh, so you’re vacationing in Canada?
No wonder nobody was home at your place!
Not cool!”
As she complained, the gunfire became louder.
Alex could tell she was firing back now.
Considering she still had spare time to call him while fighting, her opponents probably weren’t much of a threat.
“How did you know nobody was home?
I’m pretty sure my front door lock was solid.”
Alex sounded depressed.
He already knew her answer would make him feel even worse.
And sure enough—
“A door lock?
You think something like that can stop Hit-Girl?
I rang your doorbell forever and nobody answered, so—bang!
One shot and your lock was gone!
Pretty impressive, right?”
Alex nearly spat blood.
“What’s impressive isn’t your skills.
It’s your intelligence.”
He sighed deeply.
“Knowing you, I’m guessing you didn’t replace the lock afterward, right?”
“Of course not.
I’m not a locksmith!”
“You…”
Alex clenched his teeth.
He wasn’t worried about the door itself.
He was worried about the priceless artifacts and collectibles inside his house—treasures he’d gathered while traveling the world.
If some random thief stole them…
He’d cry blood.
“Please let the neighborhood security be competent.
Depending on Hit-Girl is impossible…”
As Alex prepared to lecture her, his expression suddenly shifted.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Hit-Girl, can’t talk anymore.
Something really interesting just happened over here.
Bye.”
“Hey!
Wait!
I wasn’t done talking!
When you get back to America, I’ll seriously teach you a lesson—You sons of—Bang bang bang—”
Alex shook his head.
He had officially given up on this “little friend.”
Hanging up, he quickly headed toward a nearby alley.
The “interesting thing” he mentioned was happening there.
In a dark corner of the alley, a young girl wearing dirty clothes and worn-out shoes curled herself against the wall, trembling in fear.
She stared ahead with terrified eyes.
The source of her fear—
Two men.
They wore strange combat suits and pointed guns directly at her.
She knew very well:
If she resisted even slightly—
They would pull the trigger without hesitation.
And the bullets would instantly take her life.
“Good luck.
She’s a mutant.
Bring her back to the island and we’ll get a huge reward.”
A white man wearing special glasses grinned at his companion.
“Exactly.
Sam told me about it.
Every mutant you capture earns a huge payout.
That lucky bastard caught one recently and now he’s living rich—spending money everywhere.
Once we get our reward, we’re partying too!”
“Heh heh…”
The two laughed happily.
Neither cared in the slightest about the terrified little girl.
The white man grabbed her wrist.
“Alright, little one.
Time to come with us.”
“N-No…”
The girl struggled.
But against the burly man, her resistance meant nothing.
He easily dragged her toward the alley exit.
“Ahhh!”
Suddenly he cried out in pain.
Turning around, he saw that the mutant girl had bitten hard into his arm.
“You little freak!”
Enraged, he shoved her violently into the wall.
Then raised his gun.
His companion immediately panicked.
“Damn it, are you insane?!
Stop!
If you kill her, what happens to our reward money?!”
“Reward…”
The man paused.
Reluctantly lowering the gun, he nodded.
“You’re right.
Can’t let money fly away.”
Then he walked forward and kicked the girl.
“You’re lucky you’re a mutant.
Otherwise I’d blow your brains out.
Resist again and I won’t be so nice.
They only said they wanted mutants alive.
Didn’t say they needed all your limbs attached.”
The girl’s pupils shrank.
Her head instinctively shook.
“That’s better.”
The man grinned viciously and pulled her back up.
Threatened by both words and guns, she had no choice but to obey.
Step by step, she followed them out.
Outside sat a black sedan.
Most likely their transportation vehicle.
“Sniff…”
Under the pressure of two armed men, the girl slowly walked toward the dark car.
Fear of the unknown future made tears stream down her face.
“Damn it, stop crying!”
The white man impatiently raised his hand to slap her.
“Hey, that’s enough.
Bullying a little girl isn’t exactly gentlemanly behavior.”
A casual voice suddenly sounded.
Alex walked toward them from down the street with a smile.
Hands in his pockets.
Completely unconcerned about the guns pointed around him.
The little girl’s eyes immediately filled with hope.
But after seeing Alex clearly—
That hope faded.
He was just one person.
No way he could beat two armed men.
“Damn brat!
Where the hell did you come from?
Want to meddle in our business?”
The white man pointed his gun at Alex.
“See this?
Get lost while we’re still in a good mood.”
“Two oversized lighters?”
Alex grinned.
His pace never slowed.
“In my eyes, they’re less useful than kitchen knives.”
“Bastard!”
The other man got angry and immediately fired.
BANG!
A bullet struck the ground near Alex’s foot.
Sparks flew.
Broken stone scattered.
“If you want to live, get lost!”
The white man laughed.
“Kids these days never learn.
Watch a few superhero stories and suddenly think they’re superheroes themselves.
Idiot!”
“Exactly!”
Then—
A weak voice suddenly appeared inside Alex’s mind.
“Big brother…
hurry and leave…
you can’t beat them…”
Alex instinctively looked at the little girl staring at him.
“Telepathy?…
Or something else?”
He wondered.
But his footsteps never stopped.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
“Just because you said that…”
“I’ve decided I’m definitely saving you today.”
As his words fell—
A faint red glow slowly appeared in Alex’s eyes…