Chapter 51: No.51: Stage Two {2}; A licence to Kill
A few hours later, Bruce could be seen stepping out of a building on a shady-looking street, one that could barely be described as an enterprise.
This, however, was different from the previous one he’d first entered a few hours ago, being further down the street and in the more sketchy corners of the City, but the overall premises of the structure was roughly the same as the previous ones.
Previously, upon coming to terms at a negotiable amount that could be lent to Bruce, at a reduced timeframe of about a week maximum, Bruce made sure to specify that the exact time stated in the contract would be approximately 168 hours upon signing the contract, to ensure they didn’t try to weasel him into another one of their schemes, as this week was practically over already.
The shady figure became mildly surprised at how quickly Bruce had agreed to his terms, despite the conditions clearly being unfavorable to the former.
Though this could be attributed to Bruce still being relatively green when it came to dealing with these kinds of underhanded things.
Yet, the figure couldn’t shake the feeling that despite obviously still being new to such exchanges, based on Bruce’s behaviour, he was no ordinary person either.
Almost akin to a gut feeling, from dealing with these kinds of exchanges over the years with more experienced and cunning individuals, he prided himself on his ability to read people easily.
Still, despite Bruce’s harmless and timid behaviour, he couldn’t help but notice subtle hints of one with a cunning insight. Making him feel as though he was trying to make a deal with a fox, while being unaware that the fox had already made plans to double-cross him while reaping all the benefits.
Aware of this, he couldn’t help but smile inwardly at how he was able to read the young man before him as well.
However, he wasn’t worried about Bruce running away with the money, as they had connections in the Agency, capable of tracking down anyone within the City.
Enabling them to find him no matter where he tried to hide.
Acting oblivious, pleased that he’d figured out Bruce’s plan, the shady-hatted man simply smiled upon transferring the amount to Bruce’s account as he replied.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Wade. We’ll be seeing you again, very soon."
Smiling as he returned the gesture, Bruce simply nodded.
"Likewise."
Recalling these events as he made his way down the dimly lit street, Bruce glanced at the amount he’d accumulated upon visiting multiple other loan sharks after the first one.
"I guess this is the most they can borrow a non-working student from humble backgrounds."
The total amount, barely over 10 million Kepto in total, despite having visited nearly a dozen loan sharks already. Yet, it still wasn’t even one-quarter of the amount sitting in his Bank account.
However, this was never meant to be the main explanation for his sudden acquisition of wealth.
Instead, this was simply the first step to set the stage for the main event of his plan.
Glancing at his OmniBand, he realized it was already late, so he decided to head back home for now, choosing to move on to the next phase of his plan tomorrow.
"Ahh...! Would’ve been better if I could wrap it all up today though."
Sighing at his inability to simply freeze time and complete the Task, Bruce simply headed home for the day and called it a day.
.....
Next Day...
Dropping off at the bus stop of a flying vehicle as it offloaded most of the passengers within, Bruce took a moment to take in the sight before him.
Standing a short distance from him stood a grand structure.
The sheer size, being about three to four times bigger than the Main Gym, as this was one of the largest, if not the largest, structures in the entire City.
The structure’s name was displayed in bold letters across a holographic screen atop the building, as though welcoming everyone to its premises.
Hunter’s Association Inc.
Marveling at the sight for a brief moment, Bruce finally made his way towards the entrance of the building.
Having decided to take the bus, as jogging from his home to this place would’ve taken a while, since it was at the heart of the City, and time wasn’t exactly at his side at the moment.
Especially after having a little over 48 hours left to complete the Task. So, he wasn’t at liberty to delay.
Entering the building, Bruce was immediately greeted by the refreshing air from the inbuilt air-conditioning.
The breeze, seemingly washing away whatever little fatigue might’ve accumulated on his way here.
Scanning the interior of the structure, he noticed that, similar to a supermall or supermarket, this place was also separated into multiple sections.
With an LED marquee displaying the name of each section in bold letters, as the animated name slowly moved from the left to the right, repeating the cycle after a few seconds’ interval.
Walking towards the section that was labelled ’Receptionists’, Bruce made his way towards one of the workers that had the least number of people to attend to.
After waiting in line for a few minutes, it was finally his turn.
A practiced smile plastered across her face, the receptionist welcomed him with a rehearsed line as she greeted.
"Welcome to the Hunter’s Association, sir. How may I be of service to you today?"
Returning the gesture, Bruce smiled as he drew closer to the desk, while making sure to maintain a bit of distance, as to not discomfort her.
"Umm...! I’m here to get my Hunter’s licence today."
Understanding his intention, the receptionist simply replied with the same gentle smile on her face.
"Okay! To get your licence, we’ll first have to register you into the Hunter System, and to do that, we’ll need to have your information to make things easier. Kindly place your hand on the device near you, and we’ll get right to it."
Glancing at the similar-looking device he’d used when he went to the loanshark region, Bruce complied as he placed his hand in the triangular device.
Skimming through the information displayed on the screen next to her standing desk, a brief expression of surprise flashed across her face as she hesitated a bit.
"Umm..! If you don’t mind me asking, sir... But. Are you the same person as the one on the screen?"
Nodding in reply on glancing at the image displayed on the screen, visible to both the attendee and the receptionist, Bruce simply added.
"It was taken a long time ago, but yes. That’s still me. I’ve been asked that a lot lately. I wonder why?"
Smiling awkwardly as he did, Bruce sighed on seeing the doubtful expression on the receptionist’s face.
"Ahh! What ’bout now then?"
Inhaling as he briefly closed his eyes, Bruce changed his expression a bit, enabling it to resemble the picture displayed on screen as best as he could.
Tilting his head slightly to the side, his eyes becoming sharper and more piercing as his overall features appeared more akin to a handsome delinquent.
His features now mildly resembling that of the previous picture, as a slight resemblance was now evident upon changing his expression.
Slightly flustered on seeing this, the receptionist cleared her throat, finding his current expression somewhat more attractive than his previous carefree one as she realized she might secretly have a thing for bad boys.
"Egham! Sorry for the inconvenience, sir. I’ll get right to it now."
Upon saying this, a new string of information appeared on the screen displaying his information.
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[Hunter ID]
{Status - Active}
{Name- Bruce Wade}
{Age- 20}
{Rank- Novice Hunter}
{Combat Aptitude- 20%}
[Ability- Luck Roulette]
{Ability Type- Support}
{Designation- Unique}
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