Morning. Outside clamor filtered in as Hunter's internal clock woke him after five hours of sleep.
"Mm."
He opened his eyes, then froze: his arm was wedged in yielding softness.
Sensation and memory returned—the plush press of flesh, the cheap scent of motel body-wash.
He glanced sideways at the sleeping face beside him and remembered last night's extra "payment."
"Rough life, tragic story—but you're a good girl."
He brushed Tali's cheek, then tried to ease his arm free.
Big mistake; he'd underestimated "397's" vigilance.
The moment his arm moved, Tali snapped awake, wary, tightening her grip on his limb.
Recognizing the room—and him—she relaxed, until memories of the previous night's frenzy flooded back.
"Morning," Hunter said with a smile.
"Morning, Hunter," she answered, eyes dewy.
She'd learned his current name last night.
He shifted; accidental friction made her redden and loosen her hold.
He slipped free, fished a pack of Camels and a lighter from his private space.
"Mind if I smoke?"
She shook her head. "Can I have one?"
He studied her still-baby face and refused. "Forget it; cigarettes are poison."
He already knew: Tali had turned sixteen a short while ago.
In some U.S. states that counted as legal adulthood.
Relief mingled with ache—she'd been snatched at seven or eight and sold to Boston's Russian Gang, turned into their cash cow.
While other kids were coddled, she'd endured the vilest cruelty.
Even Hunter, no paragon of virtue, felt murderous toward the gang.
"Once my stats are higher," he thought, "I'll follow the example of Robert, the avenger."
"Charging into Moscow Nights alone and personally taking care of the mastermind Slaviy and his gang members."
Hunter reaffirmed this thought in his heart.
As for charging in right now, although he was confident, he wasn't blind.
The protagonist of 'the avenger', that top-tier black agent Robert.
He was a top-tier agent who had served in the US elite Special Forces and later served in a certain US intelligence agency for many years.
His marksmanship, killing skills, and various combat experiences...
...were far beyond what Hunter, who was just a powerless transmigrator three months ago, could compare to now.
But Hunter was not discouraged because he knew.
Surpassing Robert was only a matter of time and money.
Hunter now had over thirty million us dollars in assets. Never mind spending it all on upgrading all his skills.
Just taking out one-tenth would likely be enough to raise many of his skills by three or four levels or more.
Moreover, it wouldn't take too long.
Therefore, it wouldn't take Hunter long to help Tali get her revenge and deal with that Russian Gang.
"Three months..."
"No, two months later..."
"I will return to Boston again and completely deal with that Russian Gang."
He made a silent decision in his heart.
Hunter lit a cigarette for himself, took a puff, and exhaled a series of smoke rings.
He then looked at Tali, who was leaning on his shoulder, and asked, "Tali, do you remember if you have any relatives?"
"I can send you there to start a new life!"
Hearing this, Tali's body trembled violently.
After a moment of silence, she shook her head and whispered, "I don't know. Maybe I do, or maybe they're all gone..."
"I have nowhere to go now."
"After escaping, I suddenly realized I don't know where to go."
Tali didn't remember much from before she was seven or eight.
She only vaguely remembered that she should be American.
Her father seemed to be a police officer.
It seemed like there was also a younger sister, a few years younger than her, in the family.
The nightmare all started one night.
It seemed like a group of bad people broke into her home one night while her father and sister were away.
Her mother was shot and killed by the bad people. Tali was tied up, gagged, and blindfolded.
She was terrified!
She didn't know how much time had passed before the black cloth covering Tali's eyes was untied.
Then she saw a group of people pointing at her and judging her as if they were buying merchandise.
Afterward, a tall and sturdy man raised a sign.
Before long, Tali's eyes were covered again.
By the time she was uncovered again, she had been brought to Boston and became a money-making tool for that Russian Gang.
"Moscow Nights looks like a hotel on the surface, but it's actually a nightclub."
"The boss is named Slaviy, a Russian immigrant."
"He has at least seven or eight hundred thugs under him, all Russian immigrants. I heard many are veterans from the Former Soviet Union era."
Hunter listened patiently to Tali and fell silent as well.
He could tell that Tali didn't seem to want to leave him.
However, this was completely different from the plot of 'the avenger' that Hunter had seen.
"Robert saved her, and in the end, Tali was incredibly grateful and went to a strange city to pursue her dreams."
"I saved her, but she seems to have stuck to me."
"What is this supposed to be?"
In Hunter's mind, a joke he had seen on the internet in his previous life inexplicably popped up.
If a hero saves a beauty and the hero is an ugly freak, the beauty's response is: 'Thank you, benefactor, for saving my life. I have no way to repay you, so I can only serve you as a beast of burden in the next life to repay your great kindness.'
But if the hero is a handsome guy, the beauty's response would be: 'Thank you, benefactor, for saving my life. I have no way to repay you, except to offer myself in marriage to repay your great kindness!'
Hunter felt that the difference between Robert and himself was probably something like that...
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