The System of Justice

Chapter 9: The Body Whisperer

"Rio, did you receive a new mission from the system?" Arga asked via message. He glanced at Sarah, who was fast asleep in the passenger seat.

"Yes, Uncle. It's about Dr. Amelia. Are you going to take this mission and save her?" Rio asked from the other end.

"It turns out our missions are aligned again. Okay, I’ll accept. You can assist me, right?" Arga messaged back.

"Copy that."

Arga switched off his phone screen with a swift motion. He stared at Sarah for a moment; her face looked peaceful, though the lines of exhaustion from the ordeals of the past two weeks were still visible. He didn't have the heart to wake her, but a life was currently at stake.

[Ghost: Uncle, I’ve bypassed the deepest layers of the police database. Dr. Amelia isn't just any doctor. She's nicknamed 'The Body Whisperer' because of her uncanny forensic abilities. She can read corpses as if they were speaking to her.

"And that’s precisely why she’s a target," Arga muttered under his breath.

[Ghost: Exactly. She was laid off for refusing to erase anomalous findings in an autopsy case involving an influential figure’s henchman. Now, her location is tracked to an old warehouse on the outskirts of Sector 9. There’s intense radioactivity there. It looks like they’re moving in for a 'clean-up.'

"Rio, I’m heading back home to drop Sarah off. Then I'll proceed to Sector 9," Arga said.

"Understood, Uncle. I'll keep monitoring Dr. Amelia’s signal. But remember, we only have 48 minutes left. Every second wasted means the room temperature drops another degree," Rio replied urgently.

Arga floored the gas pedal, racing the Black Cab across the darkening city streets. As Rio's security system now heavily guarded the apartment, Arga carefully carried the still-sleeping Sarah inside. He laid her on the bed, tucked her in, and kissed her forehead for a long moment.

"Wait for me, Sarah. I have one more life to save," he whispered.

As the apartment door locked automatically, Arga returned to the car. His expression turned cold. The aura of the shadow detective enveloped him once more.

"Rio, activate Nitro-Boost mode. I don't have time for red lights," Arga commanded sharply.

[System: Command Received. Speed Limit Bypassed. Estimated Arrival: 12 Minutes.]

The car streaked like a black bullet toward Sector 9, an abandoned industrial zone choked with factory smoke and derelict warehouses. Upon arrival, Arga’s Eagle Eye glasses immediately detected heat signatures in a chemical waste processing plant.

[Predator Intuition: 10 Targets Detected. 4 on the roof, 6 at the entrance. [The primary target is 5 meters underground.]

"Uncle, they’ve started cutting off the oxygen to the basement! They want her to suffocate before they freeze her body!" Rio shouted through Arga’s earpiece.

Arga didn't bother with the entrance. He spotted an old tanker truck parked right against the warehouse wall.

"Rio, hack the hydraulic system of that truck. We’re making our own door."

CRASH!

The truck reversed at high speed, slamming into the brick wall and shattering it to pieces. Dust billowed violently. Arga leaped out of the car before the debris had even settled, his hands steady on his silenced pistol.

Thwip! Thwip!

Two guards rushing toward the commotion collapsed before they could even pull their triggers. Arga moved like a shadow among the rusted iron racks. Using his [Structural Weakness Analysis], he located a secret hatch beneath the floor, hidden under a pile of chemical drums.

"Uncle! 3 minutes left!" Rio yelled.

Arga blasted the lock with a point-blank shot and kicked the hatch open. He dropped down, landing in a narrow corridor where the cold bit deep into his bones. At the end of the hall, a man in a black lab coat was holding a digital tablet, monitoring a large glass tube containing a limp woman whose oxygen mask had stopped pulsing.

"Who are you?!" the man screamed in panic.

Arga didn't answer with words. He lunged forward, dodging shots from the man’s aide using [Bullet Time], then landed a crushing blow that shattered his opponent's ribs.

The man in the lab coat shrieked hysterically, "Kill him! Now!"

From the shadows of the concrete pillars in the basement corridor, two elite mercenaries emerged with tactical knives and automatic weapons. Arga had no time to take cover. The room was cramped, freezing, and filled with clouds of freezing nitrogen vapor.

[Active Skill: Bullet Time—Duration Remaining: 10 Seconds]

The world slowed down. Arga saw the muzzles of the enemy weapons begin to spark. In a movement that looked like a dance of death, Arga twisted his body, letting hot lead whistle just centimeters from his ear. Once close enough, he grabbed the first shooter’s wrist, twisting it with system-enhanced strength until a sickening CRACK echoed.

Without letting go of his opponent, Arga used the man’s body as a human shield against his comrade’s fire.

RATATATAT!

Bullets from the second mercenary riddled his partner’s back. Seizing the moment, Arga snatched the silenced pistol from the incapacitated foe and fired a single precision shot directly between the second attacker's eyes.

Thwip!

The second mercenary dropped instantly. However, the man in the lab coat—the operation leader—turned out to be more than just a scientist. He pulled out a syringe filled with a thick blue liquid and slammed it into his neck.

"You won't take her!" the man snarled. His muscles suddenly bulged, his veins turning black and protruding across his neck.

"What kind of creature is this, Rio?" Arga asked, deeply shocked.

[Ghost: Uncle! That's the subject of the illegal "Dragon" experiments! They’ve forcibly injected him with a cell-accelerating serum. He’s no longer human; he’s a failed biological weapon! Don't let him touch you!

Arga swallowed hard. Before he could reposition, the monster-man lunged with impossible speed.

BOOM!

A massive fist collided with Arga’s arm as he moved to parry. Arga was sent flying backward, hitting the concrete wall so hard it fractured into a spiderweb of cracks. Excruciating pain flared through his arm; if not for his polymer vest and system reinforcement, his bones would have been pulverized.

[Warning: Physical Damage Detected. Activating Overdrive Mode: 150% Power Output!]

"You... will not... survive!" the creature roared. His voice was now more of an animalistic growl than a human sound.

The creature lunged again, reaching for Arga’s head. But Arga was ready. With the last few seconds of [Bullet Time], he ducked low, letting the monster's fist smash through the wall behind him.

Arga struck back with a brutal counterattack. He drove his elbow into the creature's solar plexus, followed by a flurry of rapid strikes to nerve points highlighted by his Eagle Eye glasses.

THUD! THUD! CRACK!

Despite the monster's steel-hard muscles, Arga found a gap in the neck joints. He leaped, locking his legs around the creature's neck, and twisted his body with the full force of the system’s thrust.

KRAAAKK!

The sound of a snapping neck echoed in the narrow corridor. The monster convulsed violently, its blackened eyes bulging before it finally crashed to the floor with a heavy thud. Frothy blue liquid leaked from its mouth as it ceased to breathe.

[Ghost: Uncle! Dr. Amelia’s temperature has reached a critical point! Her lungs are starting to freeze! NOW!]

Arga wasted no time. He ran toward the cryogenic glass tube. With a fist still coursing with Overdrive energy, he punched the center of the glass.

SHATTER!

Liquid nitrogen flooded the floor, releasing thick white vapor. Arga caught Dr. Amelia’s limp body before it could hit the frozen ground. The woman’s skin was deathly pale, her lips blue, and her breath incredibly shallow.

Arga pulled her close, using his body heat and tactical vest to warm her. "Doctor! Hang on! You have to live!"

Dr. Amelia’s trembling hand reflexively gripped Arga’s jacket collar. Her eyes fluttered open slightly, looking at him with a blurred, terrified gaze.

"Micro... chip... inside... autopsy... wound..." she rasped, before her head slumped into unconsciousness against Arga’s chest.

[Warning: The primary clean-up team will arrive at the upper entrance in 60 seconds.] They are carrying building-demolition explosives to erase all evidence of this experiment!]

***