Master of Lust

The blinding white spotlight cut through the darkness of the hospital driveway, pinning Rick in its glare.

Directly in front of the shattered glass doors sat a massive, six-wheeled Corporate Oversight APC. The heavy diesel engine rumbled, shaking the concrete beneath Rick’s expensive Italian shoes. The worst part wasn’t the thick, reinforced armour plating. It was the heavy 30mm auto-cannon mounted on the roof.

The mechanical turret whined, swivelling sharply. The laser sight locked dead onto the centre of Rick’s chest.

Rick let out a loud, highly irritated sigh.

He was standing there, completely covered in drying blood and gore, with Marnus Warner slung over his right shoulder like a bleeding sack of potatoes. Victoria and Rachel were frozen in terror right behind him.

"Rick!" Victoria shouted over the roar of the diesel engine. "They’re going to fire!"

Rick didn’t flinch. He didn’t drop his hostage or dive for cover. He just stared at the massive gun barrel and frowned.

’System,’ Rick thought. ’Freeze it.’

[Ding!] [Skill Activated: Predator’s Focus.]

The world instantly stopped.

The spinning red emergency lights on the street froze in mid-flash. The deafening roar of the APC engine cut out completely. A heavy droplet of blood falling from Marnus’s leg hovered completely still in the air.

Rick had exactly one microsecond of mental processing time. He opened the System Shop interface in his mind.

He scrolled past the handguns and assault rifles. He needed heavy anti-armour ordnance. He found the explosives tab and quickly located exactly what he wanted.

[Item Selected: FGM-148 Javelin Anti-Tank Missile Launcher.] [Condition: Fully Loaded, Fire-and-Forget capability.] [Cost: $15,000.]

"Fucking rip-off," Rick complained in his mind. "Fifteen grand for one shot. Corporate inflation is out of control."

He confirmed the purchase.

[-$15,000 deducted from account.] [Item spawned in hands.]

Rick ended the skill.

Time violently snapped back to reality. The deafening roar of the APC engine hit his ears again.

But Rick wasn’t empty-handed anymore. A massive, heavy green metallic tube rested securely on his right shoulder. He gripped the targeting module with his left hand.

He didn’t bother putting Marnus down gently.

Rick simply shrugged his right shoulder. Marnus slid off his back and fell hard onto the concrete.

SPLAT.

Marnus landed face-first. His stomach hit the ground, driving the military-grade coagulant foam deep into his bullet wound.

"AAGGHH! FUCK!" Marnus shrieked in absolute agony, rolling on the ground and clutching his stomach.

Rick ignored the billionaire entirely. He flipped the power switch on the Javelin’s command launch unit. The thermal sights booted up instantly, locking onto the massive heat signature of the APC’s diesel engine.

A sharp, continuous beep sounded in Rick’s ear. Target locked.

The APC gunner realised what Rick was holding. The 30mm cannon adjusted slightly to fire.

They were too slow.

Rick squeezed the trigger.

WHOOSH!

The Javelin missile shot out of the launch tube with a deafening blast. The backblast blew a massive cloud of hot dust and smoke backwards, completely covering Victoria and Rachel.

The missile shot straight up into the dark sky for a fraction of a second, then angled sharply downward, striking the APC directly on the top of its turret—its weakest point of armour.

BOOM!

The explosion was catastrophic.

A massive fireball erupted in the hospital driveway. The shockwave hit Rick like a physical punch, rattling his teeth and blowing his bloody hair back. The sheer kinetic force of the anti-tank warhead ripped the heavy APC completely off its wheels.

The twenty-ton vehicle flipped onto its side. The thick metal hull crumpled like a cheap tin can. Thick, black smoke and bright orange flames engulfed the wreckage instantly. Secondary explosions popped off as the ammunition inside the APC cooked off.

Rick tossed the empty, fifteen-thousand-dollar launch tube onto the concrete. It clattered loudly next to Marnus’s head.

"My fucking ears!" Marnus wailed, blood pouring from his nose due to the shockwave.

Rick pulled his suppressed MP7 from his inventory. He stepped out of the lobby and walked slowly towards the burning wreckage. The heat rolling off the destroyed APC was intense.

Two Corporate Oversight mercenaries crawled out of the shattered back doors of the vehicle. They were entirely engulfed in flames, screaming in horrific, high-pitched agony as their tactical gear melted into their skin.

Rick didn’t blink. He raised the MP7 and fired two quick bursts.

Brrrt. Brrrt.

Both burning men took rounds directly to the head. Their bodies slumped against the burning tyres, completely dead.

Rick lowered his gun and sniffed the air. He scrunched his nose in disgust.

"Fucking smells like cheap, roasting pork," Rick muttered.

Victoria and Rachel rushed out of the hospital doors behind him. Rachel was coughing heavily from the smoke, covering her mouth with her hands. Victoria, however, was staring at the burning tank and then at Rick. Her ice-blue eyes were wide, her pupils blown completely black.

The raw, unapologetic destruction turned her on beyond reason.

"Move," Rick ordered. "Reinforcements will be swarming this block in exactly two minutes."

Sirens wailed in the distance. Police cruisers and heavily armoured Oversight backup vehicles were already rushing towards the hospital.

Rick scanned the street. About fifty metres down the road, idling near a police barricade, was a heavy, matte-black Corporate Oversight SUV. The driver was sitting inside, frantically shouting into a radio.

Rick sprinted towards it. He moved with brutal, System-enhanced speed.

He reached the driver’s side window before the mercenary could even drop his radio. Rick didn’t try to open the door. He raised the MP7 and shot point-blank through the reinforced glass.

CRACK!

The glass shattered inward. The 4.6mm rounds tore through the driver’s face, blowing chunks of brain and skull all over the passenger seat.

Rick yanked the heavy metal door open. He grabbed the dead driver by his tactical vest, hauled him out of the seat, and threw his bleeding corpse onto the asphalt.

"Get in!" Rick shouted at the women.

Victoria rushed to the front passenger side, pulling the door open and climbing in. Rachel scrambled into the back seat, her torn emerald dress hiking up high on her thighs.

Rick walked back to where Marnus was bleeding on the pavement.

"Please... hospital..." Marnus wheezed, spitting blood. "I’m dying..."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!