No wonder Double Bravery always knew when someone was about to ambush him.
Who could withstand a three-to-four-kilometer automatic surveillance function?
"But what are these people here for?" Morin frowned slightly as the thought surfaced.
According to his ID, there was nothing wrong with his current identity on Blue Star.
He was just a "normal" retired soldier with PTSD.
Over the years, aside from hoarding weapons, he lived a normal life. Buying groceries. Cooking. Watching movies and TV shows.
He had almost no contact with the outside world.
A typical shut-in.
...Just with a slightly more hardcore collection. Which was fine. Totally fine.
But judging from the situation, the small team outside was well-equipped, well-trained, and clearly had undergone rigorous military training.
Their objective was also obvious.
They were heading straight for Morin's villa.
Without enough information, guessing the outcome was meaningless.
So Morin opened the wine cabinet. After rummaging around for a while, he finally found what he was looking for.
A wine glass.
He poured himself a glass of iced 1982 plain water.
His [Tavern Owner] profession was still at a low level, which meant his [Beer Body] skill was also low-level.
Even with the bonus, the effect was negligible.
Naturally, he chose his favorite beverage.
Besides, Morin wanted to test his new abilities.
The team advancing toward the villa had no idea they had already been detected from three or four kilometers away.
They moved in a textbook-perfect tactical formation. Fast. Quiet. Careful.
They advanced while periodically using instruments to scan for traps.
Morin sat on the sofa, bored, sipping his 1982 plain water, watching them through Double Bravery's "super-wide range surveillance" skill.
When the tactical team finally reached the area near the villa and prepared to break in, Morin stood up and walked outside.
It looked like they planned to force entry.
That wouldn't do.
Morin had already noticed something.
Aside from his ID and documents, there was no cash in his system space, unlike in every other world he'd been to.
Instead, the system seemed to have converted all that value into this villa, along with the weapons and ammunition inside.
Did he hit the jackpot?
Leaving aside how much money he had in his "self" account within the Interstellar Federation, just on Blue Star alone-
A villa plus this arsenal was worth several times more.
Because of that, Morin couldn't allow them to break in.
If it were someone else's villa, that would be fine.
But if his villa got damaged, repairs would cost money.
If money could be converted into experience points, he might have let it slide.
But for a [Ten-Year Veteran] profession, compensation probably came only from missions or a military salary.
Less trouble was better.
To protect his property, Morin decided to stop them ahead of time.
"...Wait!"
In the bushes, James Shade, the assault team's captain, raised his hand slightly.
The team halted.
"Someone's coming out!"
"It's not the security here," Judy said.
"The security personnel should be a woman named Alice and a man named Spence Parks. He's definitely not Asian."
"Then why is he here?" Rain Ocampo asked.
"Because we're not at the right place yet," Chad Kaplan said while checking the map.
"This isn't the villa with the Hive's backup entrance. We're still five kilometers away."
The team stared at Chad.
Confusion was written all over their faces.
"Then why did you make us stop?" James asked, baffled.
"Because this building wasn't on the map," Chad shot back. "At least, it wasn't when I checked."
"The problem is that he just appeared."
"How old is that map?" Rain asked.
"Let me see..." Chad glanced down, his eye twitching. "Six months."
"This map was provided by the Umbrella Corporation!"
"...Forget it," James said after a pause. "We'll bypass this place and move fast."
They had almost made a huge mistake.
"Hey, you guys over there!"
Just as they were about to move, Morin's voice rang out. He had been listening at the front door for a while.
"Are you sure you don't want to come in and sit for a bit?"
...He found us?
The thought flashed through the team's minds.
That was impossible.
"I'm very familiar with this place," Morin said as he walked toward them, gently swirling the wine glass in his hand.
"I can tell who's coming just from a little rustle. I smelled the gunpowder on you from three kilometers away."
"So you're a dog?" Rain scoffed.
"...Silence!" James snapped, shooting her a look.
He stood up and spoke calmly. "We didn't mean to offend you. We were just passing through."
"Are you sure?" Morin tilted his head slightly, glancing at the gun pointed at him.
"...Just precautions," James explained.
"I say we take him out," Rain said coldly. "After all, he's just-"
"Silence. Don't cause trouble. He's not our target," James cut her off.
"...You look very familiar," Morin said, squinting at Rain.
Rain Ocampo.
Always foul-mouthed. Actually kind-hearted.
She would later die on a train after being bitten by a zombie.
The reason Morin found her familiar was simple.
She really was.
The actress who played Rain had also played Letty-the girlfriend of Dom Toretto-in a world Morin had already experienced.
"Haha... that pickup line's pretty old," Rain sneered.
"You say I look familiar, but you don't even know my name?"
"If I'm not mistaken, I have some photos in my room," Morin said, raising an eyebrow.
"Want me to find them?"
He turned around and walked back into the villa.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we have to go," James said, frowning.
In his eyes, this was just a rich guy distracted by a pretty face.
He signaled the team to continue their mission.
"The place you're heading to is very dangerous right now," Morin said without turning back.
"Are you sure you don't want to come in and sit for a while?"
"What do you know?" James immediately sensed something was off.
"Follow me, and I'll tell you what you want to know," Morin said as he kept walking.
"Of course, if you're determined to go die, there's nothing I can do about that."
"Answer me, or I'll shoot!" Rain raised her gun and flicked off the safety.
"...Are you sure you want to point that gun at me?" Morin stopped and slowly turned around.
"If you cooperate and answer our questions," James said, no longer stopping Rain.
He already knew this man knew something.
"In response to that," Morin said as he walked straight toward her, "I bet there are no bullets in your gun."
The team froze.
Was this guy insane?
"Can I shoot him?" Rain asked, rolling her eyes at James.
"Sir, I'm not joking," James said grimly. "Stay where you are and tell me who you are and what you know."
James wasn't a patient man.
Otherwise, Rain wouldn't have followed his orders.
Yet standing in front of Morin, he felt an instinctive need to remain polite.
A survival instinct.
"I told you," Morin said. "There are no bullets in your gun."
"No-there are no bullets in any of your guns."
"Do you want to try?"
"I've had enough!" Rain shouted, aiming.
"No!" James yelled.
Too late.
Rain pulled the trigger.
Click.
Nothing happened.
The gun jammed.
Rain stared at it, stunned.
She had considered many possibilities.
Just not this one.
This wasn't some outdated antique firearm.
"You can try again," Morin said as he turned back toward the villa.
Furious, Rain grabbed Judy's gun, disengaged the safety, and pulled the trigger.
Click.
Silence swallowed the team.
One jam, while unlikely, was still possible.
Two in a row-after Morin's words-
That crossed into something else.
Something unsettling.
"Have you heard of the legend of the wizard?" Chad muttered.
"A villa not on the map. Magical powers..."
"If you keep staying up all night watching that stuff, you're off the next mission," James sighed.
He waved his hand. "Follow him."
"This mission's getting strange. Any information helps."
They entered the villa.
And then-
"What the fuck?"
The team stared at the walls.
Weapons.
So many weapons.
Some they didn't even recognize.
The variety. The quantity. The sheer firepower.
Was this a villa?
Or an armory?
"I'm a retired ten-year veteran," Morin said, fully aware of their reactions.
"You can take any weapon you like."
"But you have to pay."
"Can't you just give them to us?" Rain said, reluctantly touching a finely crafted dagger.
"You're rich. You don't need the money."
"Being rich and being generous are two different things," Morin replied calmly.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch."
He "carefully" took out a photo from a drawer.
In reality, it came from his system space.
He handed it to Rain.
"You've changed a lot over the years," he said, his tone heavy. "Rain."
Rain froze.
In the photo, a woman was hugging a man around the neck.
They looked close.
It was a photo of Morin and "Rain."
In truth, it was a photo of Morin and Letty.
Nothing improper.
Morin had principles.
You didn't mess with your friends' wives.
Back then, he had become sworn brothers with Dom Toretto and joined the family.
There were plenty of photos with the family members.
Many included Letty.
It was a purely platonic, brother-sister relationship.
Catwoman was different.
But that hadn't happened yet.
And Bruce had already gotten a bright Gotham and a happy ending with his childhood sweetheart.
With Morin's acting-his "emotion," his "distant memories," and the photo as ironclad proof-the story was simple.
Rain was shaken.
"Who... is this?" she asked, her mind blank.
The woman in the photo was her.
Every detail matched.
But she had no memory of it.
"When did you learn about our mission?" James cut in quickly, sensing the situation slipping away.
"We're here for a top-secret operation, not a melodrama."
Even James believed it.
Looking alike was one thing.
Having the same name?
Morin had called Rain out directly.
And James was certain they hadn't mentioned names before.
"It's a long story," Morin said.
He had already had his fun.
That was enough.
"You're heading to the Hive," he added.
A single sentence.
It stunned them.
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