Torn City: The Almighty System

To Arms

Lincoln had dinner in Chief Officer Johnny’s office.

Two hot dogs, one doughnut and three pieces of fried chicken together with a jug of fresh orange juice.

Although he could only use one hand, because the other one was cuffed to the chair, he still gobbled down the food easily.

Considering he had been eating fast food for the past three years, the food before him was like a gourmet meal.

"It tastes just like real food!"

When he finished the last drop of orange juice, he savored the sweetness and sourness on his taste buds, and squinted his eyes.

The meal only removed the [Hunger] debuff.

"Was that also a newbie advantage?"

The answer was obvious.

He regretted that he had not been able to bring canned food and water from the System world, although he had managed to bring both rocket launchers.

Never underestimate a man’s stinginess.

Just as Lincoln placed the jug back on the table, the door opened.

Johnny entered, holding a cigarette in his mouth, and tossed Lincoln the keys.

It was clear. Lincoln was free to go.

After removing the handcuff, Lincoln massaged his left wrist and asked, "Who the hell was that guy? Don’t tell me he’d been hired by some old friends of mine?"

"No, he wasn’t. Remember earlier today, when you caught that killer and the pickpocketing gang?" Johnny asked.

"Don’t tell me that thieves these days are brave enough to take people’s lives?" Lincoln said in surprise.

Although he was not a true detective, he knew that thieves and pickpockets lived in the gray zone and never took anyone’s life.

"Of course they don’t, but the boss behind them would. Do you remember me mentioning the name Jimmy before?"

Johnny exhaled smoke out of his mouth.

"Yes. Isn’t he supposed to be missing? Your block was in a hot mess because of his disappearance, right?"

Johnny nodded in agreement. "Never have I wished so bad to see that bastard! By disappearing, Jimmy left the underground faction leader’s position up for grabs! Those who wanted to get a promotion or get on the fame train became obsessed with taking it themselves!"

Johnny lit up another cigarette, although he’d just had one two minutes ago.

"So was I just a demonstration target?" Lincoln suddenly realized what was going on.

After Johnny’s explanation, he could now see the whole picture.

Earlier that day at the train station, the boss of the pickpocketing gang had been planning to take over the block when Lincoln had accidentally provoked him.

It just so happened that the boss needed more fame for himself.

What better than getting rid of the guy who had just provoked him and raising his own notoriety at the same time?

Fight-hungry fellows seeked revenge for the slightest grievance.

It was a danger to normal people, but an advantage for the underground factions.

"Calm down, I’ve sent my men to arrest that bastard. I will make him spent the rest of his life in jail!" Johnny’s rough face formed an angry smile.

One could not help but feel uneasy at that smile.

Johnny had learned about the situation through the patrolling police officers. As Chief Officer, he knew very well that that fellow was not joking around. He was out to take Lincoln’s life.

If it was not for Lincoln’s exceptional abilities, the two of them would have been meeting in the morgue instead.

Johnny still valued Lincoln’s friendship, especially after Lincoln had helped him solve the murder case earlier that afternoon. He now considered Lincoln his best friend.

"So, do you have anything on Arta Hunter?"

After Johnny had made sure that the gang boss would be arrested, Lincoln did not press the matter any further. Instead, he asked about the missing person case.

Lincoln knew that the Chief Officer would let him get away with self-defense, but he would not allow him to go around killing people intentionally.

Especially during such hectic times. If Lincoln went for the gang boss next, he would automatically cease to be on Johnny’s side.

As long as he didn’t have any exact information on Arta Hunter, Lincoln could not afford to lose such a strong ally.

If he did, he might as well be trying to find a needle in a haystack.

"I’ve put all the men that we can afford on the case, including my own spare officers," Johnny said.

Johnny’s answer made Lincoln understand that the completed Sub Mission [The dead woman in the station] had already made its play.

Lincoln would not mind speeding up the searching process as well.

"I got some solid information on the case this afternoon. Some man had been with the missy! The lucky thing is, the man had a very distinct facial feature. There was a big scar on his face, from the middle of his eyebrows straight down to the left edge of his mouth. He had strong arms and he had suffered an injury on his back," Lincoln described the person according to the information he had gotten from Guntherfield.

Johnny seemed stunned by his words.

"What’s wrong?" Lincoln asked. "Are you looking for this guy?"

Johnny took out a picture from the pile of documents on his desk.

Although Lincoln had not seen the man before, the scar from his eyebrows to his mouth was an easily recognizable feature. He was pretty sure it was the guy he was looking for.

Lincoln did not say this out loud, though. Instead, he asked who the guy in the picture was.

"Who is this?"

"‘Blackhand’ Jimmy, the boss around this block!" Johnny replied.

Lincoln was stunned by his answer.

After a while, he rubbed his temple and sighed in distress.

"What are the odds that the girl I was looking would be related to this "Blackhand" Jimmy? That means that the man Arta Bolton saved was him! When Arta disappeared on that rainy night, it was because she was worried about this wounded man and the place where he was hiding. He had no shelter from the rain, just a crude place without a roof! If Bolton knew about this, he would be off his rocker!" Lincoln thought while he looked at the picture in his hand.

The man named "Blackhand" Jimmy was kind of good-looking, despite his scar. He looked quite young as well.

His identity would have seemed exciting to Arta. That kind of young lady would be extremely attracted to a man like him.

The worse part was, Arta was not some kind of weak girl. She had been trained under Guntherfield and was far stronger than the average Jane Doe.

Such strength would definitely make her long for more adventure.

She would not want to be tied down in her father’s manor, even if it was for her own good.

Her strength would eventually lead to her demise. Reality was far more cruel than she thought.

[Main Mission: Find Arta Bolton within 1 month, dead or alive.]

Looking at the Main Mission, the word "dead" made Lincoln let out a long sigh.

The mission already stated that Arta Bolton might die.

"I don’t care how Bolton might feel. I just know that if I could find "Blackhand" Jimmy, this mess would end! Then I would have all the time in the world to deal with each of them by myself!" Johnny said.

"Then I hope that there aren’t many places without shelter from the rain in the city!" Lincoln said with a laugh.

"No matter how many there are, I will still find him!" Johnny concluded as he turned around and left the office.

Lincoln shook his head.

After almost a whole day, Arta Bolton and "Blackhand" Jimmy went missing. The odds of finding them at the same place had gotten worse.

The Chief Officer had to know this, but he would still not give up even the slightest clue.

Lincoln had not tried to stop him.

He straightened his back and stood up, picking up the box with the [Viper-M1] and preparing to head home.

He had no plans of spending the night on a police station desk.

As Lincoln walked out of the office, he saw an officer walk by in a rush.

"Hey, Carl!" Lincoln waved at the young policeman.

"Detective Lincoln! Where’s the Chief?" Carl asked as he greeted him.

"He just left. What happened?" Lincoln asked out of curiosity.

Although Carl was young, by his brief interaction with him that afternoon, Lincoln had gathered that he was not prone to overreaction. If he looked this anxious, then something must have happened.

"Our men are fighting Marx’s men. They have heavy firepower, we need reinforcements!" Carl summarized the situation.

"Marx?"

It was the first time Lincoln had heard that name.

"It’s the assassin that tried to kill you on the street!" Carl explained.

"Is it?" Lincoln squinted his eyes in surprise.