Ultimate Soldier

Chapter 02

"Ben, stop it! Please!" Lucy cried, grabbing Ben's arm with both hands. "I-I'm sorry. My brother just got here from overseas. He doesn't know how things work around here."

Ben sighed in annoyance, flexing his arm. "Get the fuck off me!"

Ben didn't let up and shoved Lucy to the floor. That made Gerald's blood boil. His jaw clenched, his brow furrowed.

"Huh. So this newbie's your brother? I'll take care of—"

Before Ben could finish his sentence, Gerald's hand shot out and slammed into Ben's arm, the one still gripping his collar.

"Aarghhh!"

Ben winced in pain, clutching his stinging arm. Even though Gerald had just brushed him off with his bare hand, it felt like he'd been hit with a hard wooden ruler. Shocked, he stumbled back a few steps.

Gerald then walked over to Lucy to make sure she was okay.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine," Lucy replied, forcing a smile. She was really trying to hide her pain from Gerald.

After helping Lucy up, Gerald immediately took off his jacket. He covered Lucy's face with it, saying, "Just wait here, okay? I'll take care of this."

"You freaking bastard! I'm gonna kill you!" Ben yelled. The long-haired guy lunged at Gerald.

Gerald, with a calm expression, firmly planted his feet, then launched a spinning kick that slammed into Ben's shoulder.

"No! Ben!" Helen screamed in shock, covering her mouth with both hands.

In one swift movement and one breath, Ben collapsed unconscious. Juno's eyes widened, witnessing the scene. The speed and reaction time Gerald displayed shattered his arrogance.

"Fuck!" Celv yelled.

Before Celv could even react, his eyes went wide as he realized Gerald was already charging at him.

Gerald's speed was completely unexpected. His knee shot up, slamming into Celv's stomach, sending him flying back several feet.

"Ah!" Helen shrieked.

Gerald then turned to face Juno, slightly adjusting his glasses. In Juno's eyes, Gerald immediately saw that the guy's confidence had crumbled. His gaze was filled with doubt, his defenses were wide open.

As Juno took the initiative to attack, Gerald didn't budge. He threw a punch that landed squarely on Juno's jaw, knocking the blond-haired guy unconscious.

Helen's eyes popped as Gerald looked in her direction. "Huh?! No! Don't come near me!"

She was genuinely terrified, trembling as if she were staring at a monster.

Gerald didn't blink and continued to stare intensely at the woman, as if to tell her that they weren't people to be messed with.

"Gerald?"

At the same time, Lucy's voice broke the tension. Lucy was stunned to see the guys lying on the floor. Even though her face had only been covered for a moment.

Gerald immediately turned his attention to Lucy and took a step towards her. He gave her a faint smile and said, "Sorry about the mess."

Lucy was still frozen in place, unable to believe what had happened. "D-did you do all this?"

"You scared?"

"Uh..."

"Let's find another restaurant. What do you feel like eating?"

Helen, who was terrified and slumped on the floor, stole a glance at Gerald. She was completely shocked by the sudden change in Gerald's facial expression. Gerald looked sweet when he looked at Lucy, making her think, 'Was that the same guy who was fighting just now?'

"It's okay. It's almost evening. Uncle Harry said he wants to cook for you. Let's just stop by the supermarket to buy some ingredients."

"Alright," Gerald replied with a slight smile. He then put his arm around Lucy's shoulder and led her away from there.

...

At the supermarket, Lucy was picking out ingredients, while Gerald looked around at other groceries, keeping a respectful distance from Lucy.

When he got to the refrigerated section, he stared at a one-liter carton of milk. He suddenly remembered his mother, who used to serve him milk all the time.

'Drink lots of milk. Tell me if you want more. I'll get it for you.'

He had only experienced a month of warmth from his mother. Those words were still clearly etched in his mind, causing his hand to instinctively reach for the milk.

[Congratulations, you have completed 10% of the mission. $100,000 will be deposited into your account.]

As he finished taking the milk from the refrigerator, a holographic screen suddenly appeared, displaying Gerald's progress in his first mission. Shortly after, his bank notification rang, indicating that the system's money had been deposited.

Gerald was quite pleased with the reward he had just received. It turned out that in addition to the main mission reward, there were other bonus rewards. When he activated the system, he had also received $1,000,000 from the system.

However, in addition to the rewards, he was also focused on the completion progress, which had only increased by 10%. That made him think that the problem Lucy was facing was not as simple as it seemed.

"Gerald? Are you buying milk?" Lucy asked.

Gerald looked at the milk in his hand and smiled slightly. He wanted to answer, but Lucy cut him off.

"Aren't you allergic to cow's milk?"

The man paused for a moment. "Um... yeah. Yeah, I'm allergic to cow's milk. I was just looking at the carton, not planning on buying it."

When she found out Gerald was coming home, Lucy and her sixty-five-year-old uncle, Harry, had received Gerald's complete personal information. They discovered that in addition to a peanut allergy, he was also allergic to cow's milk, just like her uncle.

Actually, after Gerald was revived in Gerald's body in this world, everything related to him in the past had been brought over by the system, including the cow's milk allergy. He wasn't really allergic to cow's milk, but he still appreciated Lucy's concern.

"You want it?" Gerald asked.

After seeing Lucy shake her head slightly, Gerald immediately put the milk back in the refrigerator. A few moments later, they went to the cashier to pay for their groceries.

...

It was already dark. At home, Gerald, Lucy, and Harry, had just finished eating dinner. Gerald took the initiative to wash the dishes. The apron he was wearing was cream-colored with a Labubu doll pattern, making him look sweet and cute. It was a stark contrast to his battle mode. In his opponents' eyes, he was like a monster from hell. Harry had warned him not to do it, but Gerald insisted.

"I hope you liked my cooking," Harry said awkwardly. He sat on the sofa, next to Lucy. "Actually, I'm not very good at cooking. But I tried my best."

"Your food was delicious. I really liked it," Gerald replied.

Harry smiled shyly at the compliment. He seemed relieved that his efforts hadn't been in vain.

Beside him, Lucy looked at Harry with a smile. Lucy knew how much effort Harry had put into cooking for Gerald. When he found out Gerald was coming back, he even took cooking lessons at the senior center.

"So, how was school today?"

Gerald paused for a moment, then turned to look at Lucy. Lucy's face looked a little tense, as if she didn't want Gerald to tell him what had happened. Harry had a heart condition. If Harry found out Gerald was in trouble, it might worry the old man.

"Everything was fine."

"That's good." Harry seemed relieved to hear that.

A few moments later, Gerald sat on the bed, examining his arm.

"There's nothing wrong with my muscles. Didn't the system adjust everything? It gave this kid my old physique. But why did I feel so much weaker when I was fighting earlier? I guess I'll have to buy some gym equipment to work out," he muttered.

After thinking about it, Gerald immediately lay down. After lying down for a while, he thought about the care and affection he had received in this family. From the first time they met at the airport, Harry seemed very happy, even crying tears of joy, seeing Gerald. His touch was so warm on his cheek, making Gerald remember how his mother in his previous life used to touch him when he first came home. The same went for Lucy. The cute girl hugged him tightly, conveying the longing that had been buried in her heart for so long.

Thinking about this, tears welled up in his eyes. Thirty years of living like he was in hell, befriending weapons and violence. Finally, he could also feel what family love meant.

...

The next day, Gerald came out of his room and saw Lucy preparing breakfast.

"I was just about to wake you up," Lucy said. "Sit down. I made you breakfast."

Gerald smiled. He walked over and sat down, looking at a stack of pancakes covered in blueberry jam and non-dairy whipped cream.

Lucy then handed him a glass of milk. Lucy said, "I told Harry about you grabbing the milk at the supermarket yesterday. This morning he bought his favorite soy milk at the supermarket nearby. He hopes you like it too."

"You didn't have to, Lucy."

"Harry said you can't refuse. As long as you like it, just say so."

Again, Gerald was amazed by Harry's concern. He really felt lucky to have met a family like them. Harry was the older brother of his mother, who had passed away while giving birth to Lucy. Her father had also died in an accident. Now, Harry was their only family.

"Finish your breakfast. I'm leaving early."

"Why the rush?"

"I have an urgent assignment in class."

"Where's Harry? Has he had breakfast?"

"He left at half-past six. He's been on leave these past few days because he knew you were coming."

Gerald nodded slightly.

"Lucy?"

Lucy, who was about to leave, immediately stopped and turned to look at Gerald.

"Give me your phone."

Lucy was a little confused as to why Gerald was asking for her phone. Even so, she still gave it to him. Unexpectedly, Gerald opened her banking app and transferred $50,000 with just one scan.

"No! Gerald, what are you doing?"

"Just use that money as you like. Just don't spend it on people who don't deserve it."

Lucy was silent, thinking for a moment about why Gerald said that. Could it be that Gerald knew she always used her money to spend on Emma and the gang?

"Thank you, Gerald."

Gerald just nodded briefly with a slight smile.

...

Behind the school, Emma gathered with her group of girls. As usual, the blonde-haired woman looked arrogant.

"So, that new kid in third grade is Lucy's brother?"

Helen replied, "Yeah."

She still hadn't forgotten how scary Gerald's gaze had been that day. To her, Gerald was like a handsome psychopath who was part of an underground organization. The glasses that made him look nerdy were just accessories. In her heart, she doubted whether it was still possible for them to bully Lucy again.

"Tch. I don't care how great that nerdy student is. In front of my brother, he's nothing," Emma said.

"Huh. He might be strong. But he's all alone. How could he possibly fight Axel and his friends?" Eve added.

Hearing that, Helen regained some of her confidence. She muttered, "That's right. Axel is the strongest guy in the third grade. He's also the leader of a gang. What do I have to worry about?"

"Hey guys!"

At the same time, Monica came over, putting her arm around Lucy, whose face was full of worry.

"Huh. Here comes the little rat," Eve smirked.

Monica then roughly pushed Lucy towards Emma. Emma's eyes looked cynical, causing Lucy to immediately lower her head.

SLAP

"Ah!"

Lucy fell to the ground after Emma's palm slammed hard against her head.

"So weak! You fall just from getting hit like that," Eve said.

"Looks like you're starting to get a big head after Gerald showed up." Emma's voice was sharp. She immediately squatted down and continued, "Helen already told me. So what if your brother can fight? He's all alone."

When she saw Emma pick up her phone with a smirk, Lucy suddenly felt uneasy.

"No! What are you going to do?" Lucy asked, frowning. Yesterday's incident had kept her up all night. Knowing Emma's cunning nature, she would definitely rely on Axel's strength to retaliate against Gerald.

"Oops. You're asking me? Hahaha. Since your brother dared to mess with Axel's friends, he won't be living peacefully from now on either."

"No! No, no, no! Gerald doesn't know anything. Please, he just didn't want to see me scared."

SLAP

"You fucking little bitch! How dare you raise your voice at me? You think I care?"

"Hahahaha!"

Eve then laughed, followed immediately by Monica and Helen.

"No. Gerald? Gerald!"

Lucy immediately got up from the ground in a panic, intending to find Gerald. However, Monica grabbed her hair and pulled her roughly.

"Ah!" Lucy screamed.