As Jimmy ran toward the flickering firelight ahead, he suddenly felt a dangerous presence behind him just as he entered the cellar. He instinctively dove forward, knocking over a basin of water, and quickly turned around—only to see Erika standing there, holding her sai.
This time, Erika had removed her mask, revealing her full face (imagine a young Jennifer Garner).
"Heh, I didn't expect you to chase me all the way here," Erika narrowed her eyes at Jimmy and said.
"I don't want to fight you. Tell me where Kingpin is, and I'll leave right now," Jimmy replied in a low voice.
"Hmph, do you really think you've won already?" Erika sneered coldly. In an instant, she lunged at Jimmy with her sai.
Jimmy rolled away, raising his right hand, but Erika quickly threw one of her sai, knocking the gun from his hand before pouncing on him. Jimmy, unwilling to be pinned down, tried to kick her off. But Erika wrapped one leg around his, pinned his stomach with the other, and pressed against his arms with her hands.
Staring at Erika, who was gritting her teeth, Jimmy said, "Can't you just take a step back? How much is Kingpin paying you?!"
"Hmph!" Erika snorted. "That doesn't matter anymore! If you can beat me, I'll tell you!"
Looking at her sharp, determined expression, Jimmy scoffed. "You really are confident."
"Then prove me wrong… with your strength," Erika lowered her head, her face almost touching his as she spoke.
Jimmy, looking at her so close, smirked. In Erika's stunned gaze, he suddenly stuck out his tongue and licked her lips.
"Pervert!" Erika snapped, opening her mouth to bite his tongue, but Jimmy quickly pulled it back. Unexpectedly, Erika pressed her lips against his and slid her tongue into his mouth!
Jimmy froze for a moment, feeling her soft, agile tongue dance inside. Not to be outdone, he tangled his tongue with hers. Both of them were momentarily lost in the sensation.
When they finally parted, Jimmy only saw provocation burning in Erika's eyes.
Jimmy was suddenly stunned—he realized his strength had grown! Testing it, he found his power wasn't just stronger; it had returned to normal!
Although he wanted to check his stats immediately, Erika wouldn't give him a chance. She lunged at him again, but this time Jimmy easily dodged her kick and grabbed her smooth, slender leg with both hands.
Erika tried to pull her leg free but failed. Jimmy yanked forcefully, and she fell into his arms. Looking at the startled Erika, Jimmy chuckled. "Now… can you tell me?"
"You haven't won yet!" Erika smirked. She suddenly raised her right elbow, aiming for Jimmy's eye. But Jimmy easily caught her elbow with his other hand.
Erika's smirk turned sly, and she swung her left fist at his face. Jimmy didn't flinch. Instead, he pushed his right hand forward—and Erika's smirk instantly froze.
"If you keep groping, I'll cut your hand off!" she hissed through gritted teeth.
Because Jimmy's hand had slid to the inside of her thigh!
"Heh, aren't you enjoying it too?" Jimmy teased, letting his hand glide further to feel the smoothness.
Furious, Erika struggled free and sat on the only bed in the cellar. She glared at Jimmy and finally spoke, "Kingpin will finish inspecting his Manhattan factory and leave before midnight. The factory is in District 3, near the docks."
Jimmy nodded, picked up his gun, and turned toward the exit.
"Are you going alone?" Erika's voice came from behind.
With a confident smirk, Jimmy replied, "Don't underestimate me."
As his figure disappeared into the dark corridor, Erika silently looked at her sai lying on the ground.
Jimmy quickly exited the cellar. Out on the street, he flagged down a taxi, gave the address, and pulled out his phone. He saw that only a few dozen points of his attributes had recovered, and his combat power was now over 130.
Jimmy pondered deeply. He suspected that his abilities and stats had been suppressed by that antidote—but why? This question haunted him.
"Sir, we've arrived!" The driver's voice snapped Jimmy out of his thoughts.
After paying, he stood in front of a massive factory, surrounded by five-meter-high iron fences, and stared blankly for a moment.
There was only one entrance, heavily guarded by armed security, with many patrolling inside as well.
Jimmy narrowed his eyes. He didn't plan to sneak in; instead, he hid behind a large rock on the path they'd have to take when leaving. Erika had said Kingpin would leave at midnight.
Jimmy waited behind the rock for over an hour. Finally, at midnight, he saw three black Mercedes driving out of the factory.
With a thought, two shotguns appeared in Jimmy's hands. Suddenly, his left eye blurred. By the time he shook it off, the cars were already gone!
He quickly chased after them. Even without spider webs, he kept up easily. The three cars stopped in front of a tall building.
A man hurried out to open the back door of the last Mercedes.
First, a lavishly dressed, languid young blonde woman stepped out. Next, a tall, heavyset man in a white suit and hat, holding a cane—Kingpin himself—followed. Finally, another brunette woman in a revealing outfit stepped out.
Jimmy focused entirely on the fat man. That outfit looked exactly like Kingpin's design in the cartoons! Jimmy narrowed his eyes, watching Kingpin strut into the building with the two women as their entourage bowed respectfully.
Jimmy ran up the stairs to the building.
Wearing a suit, he blended in easily and slipped inside.
Once in, Jimmy realized the building was extremely complex.
It had bars, upscale restaurants, legal casinos, underground fight clubs, and even a black market…
Standing in the elevator, staring at the twenty-some floors of buttons, Jimmy couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye.