7 Shopping

Some time passed and the car left the city H. Near the city, where the industries were located, there was an old shed with rusty walls. This was the place where Elliot used to train before his injury. This was a place he had bought together with Mk, who was his physical trainer.

Stopping the car next to the shed, Mk grudgingly helped Elliot into the shed. Inside, no one would remember the rundown appearance of the exterior. A nice red carpet was on the floor, the walls had beautifully patterned wallpapers, and the furniture complemented all the pleasant surroundings.

In the middle of the shed, a beautiful woman who looked to be in her late teens was standing with her arms crossed in clear impatience. She had short pink hair. One side of her head was shaved, and a chip glowed sporadically. On her right arm, a tattoo of a dragon and a jaguar being hunted by a woman glowed faintly. She was wearing a black blouse that had a generous neckline, and her white belly was also exposed. A black legging covered her long slender legs, and a high-heeled boot increased her height, which was 5'7 (1.74 m).

Seeing the beauty in front of him, Elliot, still being carried by Mk let slip an imperceptible smile. But his tone of voice showed no emotion whatsoever.

"Long time no see, Bruja. You look beautiful as always." Elliot said.

The woman, Bruja, approached both of them with unstoppable momentum and raised her hand to slap Elliot, but gave up when she saw his deplorable state. Aside from the wounds and his injury, the strong, handsome Elliot she knew was gone and what remained was not handsome.

"What happened to you, Elliot? You disappear for a year, and when you show up you're all washed up, and on top of that, you've killed five people! What the hell is going on with you? What are you thinking?" Bruja let all his accumulated frustrations out at that moment.

When Elliot was about to start explaining himself after sitting down on a couch, she interrupted him and started cursing and cursing. A good few minutes went by, and every time Elliot was losing attention to what she was saying, she was slapped upside the head. When she finally finished, she was panting and her face was red. Elliot might have thought the whole speech was bad if he didn't know that she would look this beautiful at the end. Bruja went out to get some water. Making sure she was far enough away, Elliot looked at Mk, who was poking his teeth with a toothpick.

"That's the reason I didn't call Bruja." Elliot said in a serious voice.

"Kahahaha! Time passes and you don't change. You can kill 5 people with 3 bullets and a cane, but you can't counter the Bruja. Kahahaha!" Mk laughed with pleasure at Elliot's disgrace.

"You talk like you can" Elliot snorted.

"All right, let's talk business. I have a big-" Elliot couldn't finish his sentence when an extremely sweet voice sounded.

"Elliot~ You wouldn't happen to be planning on leaving me out of this would you?" Bruja said with a smile that was not a smile.

"Of course not Bruja! How would I dare?" Elliot forced a smile.

"We're going to rob the mayor of H-town. "Elliot said as if it was nothing.

"What?! Have you gone crazy, you piece of shit? What if the shed is bugged?" Mk quickly got up and went to an interface on the wall of the shed.

"Huhuhuhuhu. Which gives confidence to you Eli. You must know that the mayor owns crime in this town. Every notorious criminal in this city has to pay respect to him." Bruja said with a seductive laugh. Elliot was almost lost in his laughter but was quick to regain his composure.

Mk and Bruja's reactions were understandable. The mayor of H-town was a corrupt politician, and because he was mayor of one of the largest cities in Brezik country, the opportunities to rig contracts, steal taxes, and embezzle construction money were all in his hands. Mk feared the mayor's power, while Bruja found the idea interesting.

"We are capable of doing that. With this one theft, we will be able to accomplish our goals in this city. Mk wanted enough money to get out of the country. Bruja, I know you want money to go to Amerid to get treatment for your little brother. This is our only chance to do something big and get out of this place alive. Elliot spoke expressionlessly.

Mk turned serious and Bruja clenched her fists as she looked at Elliot cautiously, not knowing what to feel, knowing that Elliot knew about her brother. In the end, she sighed and relaxed her fists.

"What about you, Elli? What is your goal?" She asked in a soft voice.

"My goals are simple. In the short term, I don't want to be at anyone's mercy. Be it a human or a nation. In the long term, I want this planet to be mine." Elliot said as he leaned back on the couch and put his injured leg up.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Have you become one of those crazies who believes in planetary government this past year?" Mk asked suspiciously.

"Far from it, Mk. I want this world to be mine. I will own this place, and if there are other habitable worlds, maybe I will make them my private mansion." Elliot said with a maniacal grin on his face.

Mk stood dumbfounded while Bruja felt something tingle, but soon they were back to the plans of this robbery. Their target was the mayor, but not his money. In an age when paper money no longer existed, stealing money was pure idiocy. Their target was the energy crystals that the mayor had acquired weeks ago.

Elliot began to explain his plans, while Bruja helped tend to his injuries. Elliot eventually discovered that he had been stabbed in the back, something he could not remember. The pain in his leg was so intense that it was able to make him forget about the pain in his back. This stabbing didn't come from the fight, but from another matter that Elliot should take care of before leaving H-town. After hearing everything Elliot said, Bruja and Mk had serious expressions.

"Are you sure this will work? We will need someone who understands machines, Elliot, and you know how rare such people are. They don't accept just any service. "Mk said.

"We depend on that first service before we set foot in this shitty town. I've had enough of how any fool thinks he can put his hand on me just because he has some influence." Bruja spoke as she spat on the ground remembering disgusting things.

Elliot was almost lost in anger hearing Bruja's words but managed to restrain himself in time. He wanted to do a quick and clean job before he left, but maybe he should clean the house a bit first?

"That's all for now. Bruja, find who we need. Mk will take care of the equipment. And I'll use the gym to train." Elliot said.

Mk and Bruja were a little surprised that Elliot was taking the lead. Elliot was always more the type that goes with the flow and not the one that generates the flow. To see how much he had changed in just 1 year was something new to them. If only they knew how much time had really passed for Elliot. Bruja wanted to discuss about the distribution of tasks, but just as she was about to start, Elliot looked at her. He didn't do anything, just looked at her without any expression, but Bruja could feel that she couldn't defy Elliot's orders, not at that moment.

**************

Elliot was lying on the floor in a sweat suit, completely wet with sweat. Although he found his sweat disgusting, he couldn't move. At that moment, a sound rang in his head.

*Ding!

┌ ┐

Congratulations on completing

the mission!

Rewards are being calculated...

└ ┘

*Ding!

┌ ┐

Congratulations!

You have received a status point!

You have unlocked the experience

function!

└ ┘

"Now that is something new...but I'll have to look into that later. I need to take a shower first." Elliot muttered to himself.

He was now using a common, cheap aluminum cane, and he really didn't like it. These days, iron was easier to find than wood. Elliot's previous cane, although simple, was made of pure wood, not those that are created in a laboratory. Elliot still remembers that when he bought it, he almost cried at its value.

Elliot took a shower and changed clothes. Although his stomach was not gone, because he was wearing better clothes, Elliot no longer looked like a homeless person, although he still looked messy with his current haircut and unshaven beard. A few hours had passed since the meeting Elliot had had with his two friends, and he was getting ready for bed. But at that moment, with a loud crash, Bruja opens the shed door with all his might.

"Elli! Come here! We have work to do!" Bruja says in a happy voice.

On normal days, Elliot always found Bruja's joy and energy charming, but his day seemed not to want to end. He was either reincarnated or went back in time, or had a horrible nightmare and now has a nameless system in his head. He killed 5 people and still had to exercise for 2 hours after 1 year of sedentariness. That certainly was not a good day for Elliot.

"Come back later Bruja. It's night time, I have to sleep." Elliot said as he tried to climb the stairs that led to the bed.

"First, it's morning already. Second, I have found someone who may be important to our plan." Bruja said with equal joy.

With a sigh, Elliot resigned himself to his fate and gave up sleep momentarily. Elliot slowly walked over to Bruja, so that they were going to find this important person.

"Easy, easy. Where are you going like this?" Bruja spoke as she saw Elliot approaching her.

"Didn't you just tell me we have to leave? Did you use that smoke again?" Elliot was impatient.

"No, you idiot! I'm not wearing it again! And I'm talking about that ridiculous outfit of yours and that haircut of yours!" Bruja crossed his arms and pouted.

"I left the house without taking any clothes. And what's so great about my hair? Just comb it a little and..." Elliot ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to fix it.

"It's not just your clothes! You don't have a haircut, you're unshaven... tell me Elli, how are we going to convince anyone of anything if our leader walks like a beggar!" Bruja held Elliot by the shoulders and led him to Mk's car, and they both got out and headed back to H-town.

Elliot's nose was wrinkled at the filth in Mk's car, and so was Bruja. Bruja then said that they were going to buy new clothes and go to a barber. After some thought, Elliot decided to go to a tattoo parlor first. If he wants his determination never to die, he needs a constant reminder of this.

Upon arriving in town, they went to the tattoo parlor first. Once there, Elliot saw some acquaintances he hadn't seen in a while. He chatted a bit with them, and soon it was his turn. Elliot got two tattoos. One, on his collarbone, a phrase he should never forget. "Se vis pacem, parabellum." And another on his neck, which read, "Casus Beli."

Se vis pacem, parabellum, means that if you want peace, prepare for war. And casus beli, was to remind Elliot that there was a reason for everything he would do.

"I like your tattoos Elli! It really is past time for you to get one!" Bruja was happy for Elliot's tattoos.

Leaving the tattoo parlor, Elliot and Bruja went to the barber shop. Elliot now had his hair cut short, and combed to the side, and his beard was done. The next step was to buy clothes, but there were none that Elliot liked.

For any young person of Elliot and Bruja's age, these were beautiful clothes and worth their price, but Elliot found them too plain. They didn't have a very strong appeal. After a few hours of shopping, Elliot's complexion was sweaty and pale. Because his tibia and fibula were broken beyond repair, they were replaced with metal parts. The doctor who operated on him, however, was not one of the best, causing his injured leg to weigh a few pounds more than his healthy leg. Walking was a great pain, his body was not prepared for that additional weight. Seeing Elliot's condition, Bruja couldn't take it anymore.

"Maybe we should buy some clothes, Elli. Another day we can buy something that pleases him more." Bruja said as he approached Elliot.

Elliot shuddered unconsciously at the thought of someone touching him but managed to restrain himself. Before Elliot had time to respond, he saw a store that caught his eye. In the store window, old-fashioned clothes were on display, AND a symbol was displayed.

"We don't need to look any further. We have found the place where I will buy my clothes." Elliot said and walked slowly into the store.