Revenge System: From Betrayal to Pinnacle of Glory

Chapter 4 ~ The Mysterious Woman

"Okay, Jagur. This time, you need to cooperate with me. If I succeed, I won't ditch you; instead, I'll modify you really well, so don't be fussy anymore," Rafael said, patting the hood of his old car.

"Alright, I need to meet Dirk." Rafael climbed into his car and tried to start it, but it didn’t start right away.

"Come on, Jagur. Start," Rafael mumbled, trying again. Still, the engine didn’t turn on.

"Don't sulk now. This time, I’m counting on you, handsome Jagur," he said, attempting to start the car again. This time, the engine roared to life.

"Ha... you're only starting because I praised you. Stubborn old Jagur," Rafael grumbled, and as if understanding, the car stalled again.

"Geez, you're really sulking. Jagur, come on," Rafael sighed, frustrated with the behavior of his car that had been with him for years.

"Geez, you're acting like a Gen Z kid, sulking over the smallest thing," he muttered as he got out of the car.

"Alright, let's see what’s causing you to sulk."

Rafael opened the hood of the car, sighing deeply. The smell of oil and the heat from the engine immediately hit him, making him more frustrated. He carefully inspected the car’s interior, trying to find the reason why Jagur had stalled.

"Is it the cables or is the oil out?" Rafael muttered, rubbing his chin while examining the problematic area. But he wasn’t a mechanic, and his knowledge of engines was very limited.

Suddenly, the system provided a notification:

"Best Solution: Loose ignition cables. Tighten the cables to start the engine."

Rafael furrowed his brow and followed the instructions. Carefully, he ensured that the ignition cables were properly connected. After feeling reasonably confident, Rafael returned to the driver's seat and tried to start the car again.

"Come on, Jagur. Show me you're still loyal," he said, starting the car. The engine hummed quietly before finally starting up steadily.

"YES! You're amazing, handsome Jagur!" Rafael cheered softly, slapping the steering wheel with excitement.

"Wow, the system answered without me asking. Truly reliable," he chuckled.

However, he couldn’t enjoy his victory for long.

"Alright, let’s go. Dirk won’t wait forever," Rafael said, shifting the car into gear and driving off with his old Jagur toward their planned meeting point. Even though the car was aging, Rafael was confident that Jagur would continue to bear witness to the extraordinary journey he was about to embark on.

At an intersection, Rafael stopped for a red light, and then he heard the scream of a woman being forcibly shoved into a car.

The system appeared with a notification.

"Hidden Mission!"

"Huh? What’s this mission?" Rafael muttered as he opened the mission.

"Save the woman being forced into the car."

Main reward: $500,000.

Hidden reward: ?

Failure: Lose the Golden Opportunity.

"Huh? What is this? A hidden mission with a huge payout. Who is that woman?" Rafael muttered, frowning.

He stared at his phone screen, hesitating for a moment. He observed the situation ahead—a black car speeding away, the faint sound of a woman's scream despite the car doors being tightly shut.

"This is really weird," Rafael muttered, tapping the steering wheel. "But $500,000? And what’s the hidden reward? This could be more important than it seems."

He took a deep breath, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Alright, I won’t let this opportunity slip by."

Rafael accelerated, following the black car. Jagur, though old, seemed to respond to Rafael’s enthusiasm and sped up faster than usual. The system provided real-time notifications, showing the route and predicting the path the black car would take.

"Warning: Avoid the main road, take the shortcut to cut them off."

"This system is amazing, feels like I’m Tom Cruise," Rafael muttered as he steered Jagur onto a narrow side road. Though bumpy and narrow, he managed to pass the black car from the front, blocking its path at the intersection.

The black car stopped suddenly. The driver got out with an annoyed expression, while another man stayed in the passenger seat, keeping an eye on the woman who was sitting in the back with a panicked look.

"Hey, who are you? Move aside if you don’t want trouble!" the driver yelled.

Rafael calmly got out of the car, though his heart was pounding hard. He had no weapon, only his courage and the information from the system.

"Active Mission: Approach the woman and ensure she’s safe. Beware, the man in the car is armed."

"Armed man? Great... You want to get me killed before I even succeed, System? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? What should I do now? Damn it!" Rafael muttered, feeling confused. He stood there, unsure, without any weapons.

"Hey, idiot! What are you doing? Move aside or I’ll shoot!" one of the criminals shouted.

"Think, Rafael. Remember, Mom always said to value your life. Should I just run?" he thought, frustrated.

"Are you deaf?" they shouted.

"Sorry, sirs. But my old car just broke down. I didn’t mean anything, really!" Rafael said, raising both hands in the air as their weapons were pointed at him.

"Come on, system, don’t leave me hanging! Hey, what do I do now? I could die, I haven’t even earned a black belt!" he thought to himself.

Finally, the system sent a notification that both relieved and frustrated Rafael.

"Hint: Use your surroundings to create a distraction. They won’t expect it. Focus on saving the woman."

"Use the surroundings? What does that mean? This isn’t an action movie, I only have an old Jagur and...," Rafael stopped for a moment, his eyes fixed on something nearby. A large trash bin full of glass bottles and cans stood not far from him.

He glanced back at the criminals still holding their weapons. Rafael decided to play along.

"Alright, alright! I’m moving now," he said, slowly backing toward the trash bin. He pretended to try opening the hood of his car, his right hand discreetly grabbing a glass bottle from inside the bin.

"Hurry up! Don’t waste our time!" the armed man shouted, losing patience.

Rafael gripped the glass bottle tightly, trying to keep his nerves under control. Cold sweat drenched his temples, but he knew this was his only chance to save the woman.

"Alright, calm down. I’m just checking the engine," he said while keeping an eye on the armed man out of the corner of his eye.

Once he was close enough to the trash bin, Rafael shouted in a panic, "Look behind you! The police!"

Reacting reflexively, the criminals turned toward where Rafael pointed. He seized the moment. With all his strength, he threw the glass bottle at one of the armed men’s head. The bottle shattered, causing the man to lose his balance. He threw another bottle at the other man who was about to shoot, knocking the gun far away.

"Alright, at least I’m good at baseball."

"Asshole!" the other criminal shouted, swinging his weapon toward Rafael, but Rafael had already run toward the back door of the car.