Just as Corin was thinking while nimbly avoiding the obstacles beneath his feet, a high heel coming straight at him suddenly enlarged in his vision.
Corin raised his arm to block.
Crack!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The heel slammed into his arm with a loud noise. His arm warped instantly, and the huge impact forced Corin to retreat several steps before he could steady himself.
The bone healed silently.
Corin narrowed his eyes at the other person.
A tight leather suit paired with crisp tactical gear, tall and curvy, blonde hair and blue eyes, sharp features. A rose with thorns.
Her sensual silhouette blocked the only light in the alley.
"Golden Girl" Alyssa Sweet lightly clapped her hands.
"Not bad reaction~ pretty boy~"
He stared at the woman before him, but the sound behind him triggered his alert. It was just an ordinary car.
"Relax. Those suit-wearing guys got lost long ago. You run ridiculously fast, like you know this place well."
Alyssa glanced around. Her curious look turned to disgust when it swept over the vomit beside the trash can.
"Who are you?"
His heart was nowhere near calm. The tech-looking gadgets hanging from her waist made Corin feel a bit pressured.
Besides, coming in without a word and kicking his arm half off, definitely not a friendly visitor.
"Who I am isn't important. Someone paid me to take back something that doesn't belong to you," She took out a photo as she spoke.
The man in the photo had East Asian features, black messy hair, deep brown eyes, long narrow eyes, refined looks with a trace of nobility. It was Corin himself.
Corin's pupils tightened as he murmured, "Bounty hunter?"
Then he froze. He didn't understand why this unfamiliar phrase slipped from his mouth like it was a profession he knew.
Suddenly, a few flashes crossed his mind.
An abandoned dock, a dim bar.
A burly man in a suit with a scorpion tattoo slapped his shoulder.
("Corin~ it's all yours!")
Corin instinctively patted his pocket. There really was something there.
At the same time, memories surged like a tide.
He looked at his suit full of bullet holes and a strange look flickered through his eyes.
"I'm actually part of Hydra?"
Corin stood dumbfounded as the memories before and after crossing collided, giving him a surreal tearing sensation.
But there was no time to hesitate. The girl had made her move.
Seeing that Corin ignored her, Alyssa struck out in anger.
A flurry of close combat attacks instantly surrounded him.
Thanks to the talent he exchanged for, Jeet Kune Do Mastery, Corin neutralized every attack.
The more he fought, the smoother it felt, and he couldn't help but sigh inwardly, 'Brother Bruce really was a grandmaster.'
Very soon, Alyssa realized something was wrong. His moves were bizarre. She was intercepted the moment she made a move, leaving her with that suffocating feeling of strength going nowhere.
Realizing melee was useless, Alyssa backflipped to create distance and pulled out a pistol, aiming at Corin.
"I'm very sorry."
Corin looked at the pistol in Alyssa's hand. A price tag appeared on his retina:
[Used Glock 26 (with 10 rounds) → Estimated value 400 dollars]
"Wait," Corin had just opened his mouth.
BANG!
A wisp of smoke rose. The bullet pierced straight through Corin's forehead.
Under Alyssa's shocked gaze, the bullet hole healed visibly.
Corin sighed lightly, 'If bullets worked, I would have died dozens of times earlier.'
'First, I should figure out what this woman's deal is.'
He walked over to Alyssa, took her pistol gently, showing a perfect gentleman's demeanor.
"Miss, suddenly shooting at someone is very impolite. I'll be keeping the item. I trust you don't have any objections?"
[Unclaimed weapon detected. Exchange now?]
'Exchange!'
The small Glock 26 dissolved into data in his hand. His account rose to 400 dollars.
Alyssa's pupils trembled. She didn't even react to him taking her gun.
'Holy!'
'What did I just see?'
'Bullet straight to the forehead, and he's fine? That's insane!'
'Damn it! It was supposed to be an ordinary job. Why did I run into a monster?'
'If that's the case…'
Her eyes shifted. Alyssa prepared to flee from this freak, despite his politeness.
But her wrist was tightly gripped.
"No need to rush off, miss. You haven't told me, who hired you?"
Feeling the silky coolness of her wrist in his hand, looking at her blue eyes like a frightened deer, his other hand slowly reached toward her waist.
[Unclaimed blade detected. Appraise now?]
[Unclaimed rope detected. Appraise now?]
[Unclaimed device detected. Appraise now?]
[Un…]
A faint smile appeared in his eyes.
'Appraise. Exchange.'
———
The bounty hunter known as "Blonde Girl" Alyssa Sweet experienced the darkest moment of her career.
A man she couldn't beat nor kill held her tightly and interrogated her about her employer.
As a professional bounty hunter with principles, Alyssa felt humiliated.
She glared fiercely at Corin and gritted her silver teeth.
"A man named Scorpion Baring from Hydra. Retrieve the item or kill you. Payment 2000 dollars."
She almost spilled the color of her underwear.
A man with a scorpion tattooed on his face appeared in Corin's mind. Baring Turt. His former self's boss.
'Wasn't he the one who handed me the item?'
'Seems there are things I need to figure out.'
The thought flashed through his mind. Corin smiled, brushed a strand of Alyssa's hair, and his hand slowly reached for her smooth neck, ready to finish this overconfident woman.
"Either way, thank you, beautiful lady~"
But hearing the noisy voices of people searching for him, Corin didn't have time to waste.
He released Alyssa's wrist and neck, turned, and walked away. His calm manner showed he didn't care whether she would seek revenge.
Alyssa looked at the imprint on her wrist, recalling the sensation on her neck, a trace of fear in her eyes.
"He was… going to kill me?"
Then she suddenly noticed all the weapons she had been carrying on her waist were gone.
Terrified, she fled the place.
———
Corin was now heading toward a place he remembered: the abandoned dock.
He casually knocked out an agent chasing him and changed out of the bullet-riddled suit.
To be fair, Hydra's suits were really high-quality. Looking at his reflection in the glass, tall posture, broad shoulders, slim waist, handsome face, Corin raised his eyebrows and nodded in satisfaction.
He took a moment to study the system. Golden data formed a holographic screen before him:
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Name: Corin]
[Age: 28]
[Physical Fitness: 5]
[Current Account: 10200 dollars]
[Existing Talents: Sub-Wolverine-level Recovery, Dynamic Vision Lv.1, Jeet Kune Do Mastery]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Surprised that the blonde woman's equipment was worth so much, Corin opened the system shop for the first time.
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
[Infinity Stone (Blue) ******** dollars]
[Infinity Stone (Green) ******** dollars]
[In...]
[Magneto → Magnetic Control, 20000000 dollars]
[Superman → Man of Steel, 10000000 dollars]
[Professor X → Psychic Projection, 6000000 dollars]
[Doctor Strange → Artifact Summoning, 5000000 dollars]
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
As he looked at each familiar name, Corin narrowed his eyes.
"So it really is Marvel's world."
'Oh? Even Infinity Stones are purchasable?'
When he looked closely at the price…
'One trillion? Dollars?'
'Alright then. Never mind.'
Aside from the Infinity Stones, countless other talents filled his vision, hundreds of pages.
The cheapest ones were still no less than ten thousand dollars.
This made Corin realize how lovely the system's recommended talents with a 90 percent discount truly were.
Those were originally 100000 dollar talents.
From the looks of it, as long as he had money, there was nothing he couldn't exchange for in this system.
'In that case, why the hell am I still a grunt at the bottom of Hydra?'
His former self had been a disposable pawn barely surviving on meager wages.
'Making money is the true path.'
"Time to switch jobs! I am absolutely switching jobs!"
'Being a bounty hunter earning cash nonstop to level up and earn more, isn't that perfect?'
But before that, he needed to sort out what was happening. Being chased constantly wasn't fun.
Decision made, Corin hailed a taxi.