32 Cat in Black
Suspecting that my new neighbor might be going for an outing as Black Cat tonight, I had preemptively dressed up in my costume so I could quickly chase after her if I noticed anything weird going on.
Seeing her jumping onto the roof of a lower building next to ours and start running, all I had to do was open my window and, after making sure nobody was looking, leap out and start chasing after her as stealthily as possible.
Staying hidden isn't much of a problem as I have grinded my stealth skill in the past few months on random criminals by trying to take out entire groups without ever being noticed like I'm playing some sort of a video game. This has made me adept at staying in cover and remaining unseen with the effects of the skill, letting me effectively blend into the background even if the bright red costume I'm wearing isn't helping much on that front.
Keeping up with her is even easier, with me clearly having more mobility options than her. After a few minutes of pursuit, I haven't seen her do more than some sick parkour, jumping and climbing across buildings and at one time taking out a grappling hook to cross the street. My webs are much better, though.
While looking at her jumping around is nice and all the question on my mind is, where the heck is she going?
I continue chasing after her all the way to the south side of the city, where she finally stops to stare at a building directly on the other side of the road.
Where we are right now couldn't quite be called the slums, but it is definitely one of the poorest parts of the city, with most houses here looking run down or downright abandoned and inhabited by homeless people.
The building she is currently observing is no different on that front as it looks like nobody has done any maintenance on it for a long time, even the windows lack glass and are only boarded up with wood planks, but there are a few stark differences that set it apart from the surroundings.
The perimeter of the property is lined by a tall fence topped with barbed wire that looks brand new and very high quality. In addition to that, there are two people wearing suits standing guard outside the front entrance, they look very out of place with the clothes they are wearing.
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[Name - Ben Dover]
[Level - 3]
[HP - 110 / 110]
[Description - A low-level guard hired by Kingpin.]
[Affiliation - Kingpin
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[Name - Richard Ryder]
[Level - 7]
[HP - 210 / 210]
[Description - A low-level guard hired by Kingpin.]
[Affiliation - Kingpin]
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Both of them are working for Kingpin, which gives me a pretty good idea of why Black Cat would be targeting this place. Kingpin surely has something of value to be stolen.
The older of the two that is also higher in level is casually smoking a cigar, seemingly not even worried that someone would be brave enough to mess with one of the Kingpin's bases.
The younger one, however, is doing his duty better, being on high alert and looking around for any trespassers or dangers. Keyword being 'around' and not up at the roofs of buildings where Black Cat is currently aiming her grappling hook towards them.
The poor fools don't even know they are about to take a nap. I kinda envy them, I also want to take a nap right about now…
After taking aim, the hook shoots out and jets past the head of the younger guard, drawing blood from his cheek that it just barely grazed and sticks to the wall behind him.
Before either of them can react, Black Cat pulls herself forward and flies feet first in the younger man's head, sending him flying against the wall at high speed. Upon making contact with the man, Black Cat lets go of her hook, does a backflip to land on her feet, and immediately goes to kick the other guard in the face just as he is trying to pull out a pistol.
With that one kick, the guy falls to the ground unconscious. Without giving the two, a second look, Black Cat opens the front door and waltzes into the base.
The second the door closes behind her, I, not wanting to fall too far behind and lose sight of her, make my move.
Before heading in, I web the older guard to the ground to ensure he wouldn't be going anywhere even if he wakes up. As for the other one that was launched against the wall, judging by the amount of blood flowing from his head, I don't think he will be getting up anytime soon… or ever for that matter.
I waited nearly a minute before opening the door to take a peek inside. I was trying to be careful not to get caught by Black Cat since that would make my previous pursuit through the city meaningless, and I was inquisitive about what she intended to steal from Kingpin.
I really wish I had a minimap to track people's movement right about now. It would make this a whole lot easier.
[This feature has yet to be implemented into the system.]
Haven't seen that message in a while. Thank you, system, for reminding me to keep my expectations low.
Looking through a small gap in the doorway, I see no movement, so I proceed inside. I find myself in what looks to have been some sort of a reception room with hallways going both left and right. Judging by the two unconscious people on the ground on the left side, it's safe to say that's where Black Cat went.
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Note: A bit of a shorter chapter than the previous few. I wanted to do daily updates this week but already failed on monday… had some stuff to do and only got half a chapter done before saying fuck it and going to sleep. Oops.
