RETIRED WAR GOD'S EVERYDAY LIFE

5

Mason did not shift his gaze. He maintained his friendly smile—the type of neutral, warm expression typically worn by a service clerk trained to handle difficult customers.

"The Quiet Nook sticker?"

Mason chuckled softly, shaking his head as if hearing a silly joke. "Ah, that must be Toby's doing. My young cashier just handed out a hundred promotional stickers around the train station two days ago. Anyone could pick one up from a utility pole or a trash can, Detective."

Valerie did not laugh along. Her cheek muscles remained tight. "Gaston Pierre isn't the type to collect promotional stickers in his trouser pockets, Hayes. That man is an international fugitive. He’s a former Foreign Legionnaire hired by the mafia to clean up people who refuse to bow."

"Well, maybe he stopped by to buy a coffee before getting arrested?" Mason said casually, twisting the portafilter handle and locking it into the machine's group head. "Or maybe he's just a lucky criminal who found our sticker on the street. Who knows?"

Mason pressed the extraction button. The subtle buzzing sound of the water pump diverted attention for a moment. A thick, golden-brown liquid slowly dripped into the thick white porcelain cup.

[Key Character Detected: Detective Valerie Vance]

[Threat Level: High (Possesses the tactical intuition and observation skills of a senior investigator)]

[Secret Mission: Brew a coffee that reduces Detective Vance's stress level by 30%.]

[Reward: Access to the Chicago Police Department (CPD) Surveillance Camera Network via the System, +300 Tranquility Points.]

Mason stared at the System transparency indicator floating near Valerie's shoulder.

[Target Stress Level: 88% (Extremely High — 28 hours of sleep deprivation, mental exhaustion).]

"You have an excuse for everything, don't you?" Valerie muttered, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized Mason's hands.

She noticed the man's fingers. Mason's thumbs and index fingers were free of ink stains or food residue, but thick calluses lined his knuckles—the signature calluses of someone who spent thousands of hours gripping pistol grips and lifting heavy weights, not just holding ceramic cups.

"I only have excuses for reasonable things, Detective," Mason replied. He retrieved whole milk from the under-counter refrigerator, poured it into a stainless steel pitcher, and began steaming it. "By the way, you look exhausted. Those dark circles under your eyes can't be hidden by that light makeup."

Valerie gave a harsh snort, crossing her arms. "None of your business. Just make my coffee."

"It becomes my business if my customer passes out on the bar counter," Mason countered sharply, yet without an offensive tone.

He used a specialized blend of coffee beans from the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia, processed via the dry method—yielding sweet berry notes and a crisp acidity that could rapidly trigger endorphin release. The water temperature was raised precisely to 92 degrees Celsius to extract the essential oils to their maximum without leaving a burnt, bitter taste.

Mason poured the frothed milk with an elegant sweep of his hand. A precise rosetta leaf pattern took form on the coffee's surface. He placed the cup in front of Valerie, right next to a plate of freshly warmed cinnamon rolls.

"I didn't order this," Valerie cut in suspiciously, pointing at the pastry with the tip of her finger.

"On the house," Mason said, resting both elbows on the bar counter. "A bonus for a cop who keeps our streets safe from people like Gaston Pierre."

Valerie stared at the coffee cup. Its rising steam carried a sweet aroma that pierced right through her nose, clogged by the Chicago cold. The tension at the base of her neck suddenly eased just from inhaling the scent. Without realizing it, Valerie reached for the handle of the cup and took a slow sip.

The warm liquid washed over her tongue. The crisp fruit acidity blended seamlessly with the milk's velvet smoothness and an elegant bitterness on the finish. A wave of warmth spread from her throat straight to her chest, melting away the chill that had gripped her body during the past twenty-eight hours at a South Side murder scene.

Valerie froze. Her eyes closed for a moment as she let out a long breath. "Good Lord..." she muttered unconsciously. "This... is incredible."

[Target Stress Level: Dropped to 52%!]

[Secret Mission Completed!]

[Reward Received: CPD Surveillance Network Access Unlocked.]

[Current Tranquility Points: 1,500 Points.]

Mason flashed a faint smile. "Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Excellent for triggering dopamine after a day under pressure."

Valerie opened her eyes, looking at Mason with a slightly softened gaze, though the suspicion at the back of her eyes hadn't entirely faded. "You've got talent, Hayes. But don't think a good cup of coffee makes me forget that your name is on the District 1 radar."

"Radar?" Mason raised an eyebrow.

"The Moretti Gang is in a frenzy," Valerie said, biting off a piece of the cinnamon roll. "Frankie 'Two-Toes' was picked up late last night because 'someone' sent his entire voice recording log and extortion ledger straight to the Chief of Police's email. This morning, three of his thugs who sneaked into your cafe ended up locked in a car trunk. Whoever pulled that off is practically inviting open war with Don Sal."

"Maybe there's a masked vigilante in Wicker Park?" Mason joked.

"There are no masked vigilantes in Chicago, Hayes," Valerie said coldly, her tone turning serious. "There are only bastard vigilantes who end up dead in oil drums sunk into Lake Michigan. If you really aren't involved, my best advice: close this cafe for a week and take a vacation to Florida. This place is about to become a battlefield."

Before Mason could reply, the service radio clipped to Valerie's shoulder suddenly erupted with a high-frequency hiss.

"All units in Districts 1 and 12! Code 3 Warning! Rolling gunfight underway at the intersection of Ashland Avenue and Division Street! An armored vehicle is under attack by an unidentified group using automatic weapons! Repeat, Code 3!"

Valerie snapped to her feet, instinctively catching her coffee cup before it tipped over. Her pastry dropped onto the plate. "Damn it!"

She reached into her trench coat pocket, tossing a fifty-dollar bill onto the bar counter without waiting for change. "Keep the change, Hayes! Lock your cafe doors right now!"

Valerie whirled around and sprinted out the front door. The cafe bell rang loudly, accompanying her hurried footsteps toward her dark Ford Explorer police cruiser parked across the street. Sirens wailed piercingly, cutting through the morning silence as the vehicle surged forward, burning rubber on the wet asphalt.

Mason stood alone inside the quieted cafe.

He looked down at the fifty-dollar bill on the bar counter, then shifted his gaze to his black tablet hidden beneath the counter. Without touching a physical button, the System interface in his field of view instantly shifted, piping in a live feed from the police surveillance cameras he had just unlocked as a mission reward.

The screen in Mason's eyes displayed the corner of Ashland Avenue.

A black Lincoln Navigator SUV was torn to pieces by a barrage of 7.62mm rounds. Its glass was shattered into millions of fragments. Three armed men wearing black skull masks were surrounding the vehicle, unleashing sustained automatic fire at the still-locked rear passenger door.

Inside the besieged vehicle, through a traffic camera angle zoomed in by the System, Mason could see a young blonde girl wearing an elite private school uniform cowering in fear on the floorboards. Her two front bodyguards were already soaked in blood, motionless.

The girl was Claire Montgomery—the only daughter of Richard Montgomery, owner of Montgomery Corp, the largest military manufacturing conglomerate in Illinois.

[Emergency Mission Detected!]

[Mission Title: Disaster on Ashland Avenue]

[Description: Claire Montgomery is in critical danger. The Ares Initiative mercenary militia group is attempting to kidnap her to extort Montgomery Corp.]

[Objective: Secure Claire Montgomery. Killing in public is strictly prohibited.]

[Reward: 10% Ownership of Montgomery Corp Stock, Access to Industrial Technology Blueprints, +1,000 Tranquility Points.]

[Time Limit: 3 Minutes before the armored vehicle doors are breached!]