5: A Quest

CHAPTER FIVE

Tormented by the feeling of fear that he might never had a chance to get out in this dark prison, especially after challenging the powerful Lopez family, Gale finally succumbed to the temptation to flee.

Emerging from the cell, he carefully restored the iron bars he had bent, though they remained slightly twisted, ensuring no one could pass through. He then searched frantically for a window to exit without being detected. But every window in the police station was fortified with iron grills and thick glass. Breaking the glass would alert the officers, and before he could bend the grills, they might shoot him.

So he shifted his focus to the ceiling, searching for a ventilation opening. Upon finding one, he leapt up, his fingers just brushing it. Surprised at his incredibly high reach, he applied his strength, and the metal gave way easily, as if it were a paper. Climbing through, he navigated the ductwork until he found another opening leading outside.

Carefully prying it open, he dropped down silently and sprinted towards the police station's outer wall, leaping over it effortlessly sending him outside the establishment.

Gale marveled at the new things that he can do - super strength to bend iron bars, enhanced hearing, and now, the ability to jump great heights. All of these became possible after activating the system because of that near death experience at Redwood's mini-lake.

He's completely clueless as to why and how he gain this game-like system.

But he couldn't dwell on thinking about that for now. As escaping the and running away from police station's jurisdiction was paramount. Staying meant facing charges for crimes he didn't commit, but escaping will further his case.

But since he chose the latter, this means he have to escape as far as he can. To where? He has no idea as of this moment.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, his legs propelled him forward. He had been running for what felt like twenty minutes, yet fatigue never set in. Was this another enhancement that he got? Almost endless stamina that make him run faster without feeling tired?

"What do you want from me? Don't you know who I am?"

A female's desperate scream pierced through Gale's mind stopping him from his tracks. With his enhanced hearing, he can hear things from a distance.

Judging from the tone of the voice, Gale thought that the woman - whoever she is was in trouble. And maybe he can help.

What's the use of his great capabilities if he won't use it anyway?

Thinking about this, or more so excited about what he can do against some bad guys, Gale decided to go from where the voice came from. He couldn't gauge as to how far is it from him, but he can sharpen his senses to identify its direction.

He slowed his pace, straining to listen.

"We know exactly who you are. That's why we're kidnapping you for ransom," a smug and confident male voice replied followed by creepy laughters from the others.

This just means that there were more than one assualting the woman in question.

"Don't you dare! If you know who I am, you know what my family can do," the woman shot back, her voice trembling with both fear and defiance.

"We don't care about your family. We've planned this for a long time. We know what we're doing," another man's voice joined in, dismissive and cold.

"Let me go! Let me go!" The woman's scream of sheer panic spurred Gale into action. He pinpointed their location and sprinted towards them.

As he neared, he saw a woman being forced into a white van by three men, about a hundred meters away from him. Just as he was about to run towards the group a familiar notification sound can be heard in his mind.

It was then followed by the sudden display of the system screen with several texts written in it. But this time, they were different which made Gale stop.

[Emergency Quest Received: Save the woman from the kidnappers]

[Reward: Instant level-up]

'What is this? It really looked like a game now.' Still confused about this whole system thingy, Gale just stared at the system screen for a few seconds.

Then as the kidnappers successfully get the woman inside the van, they immediately sped off the vehicle towards Gale.

The screeching sound of the wheels of the accelerating vehicle snapped him out of his daze. With a swift move, he jumped to the left just when the van was about to hit him.

'Shit!' He cursed silently, but inwardly thankful with his reflexes barely saving him from being run over by the vehicle.

"Idiot!" one of the men yelled as the van raced past him.

Gale watched the van disappear into the distance while thinking about the quest that the mysterious system has given him. But as he was curious about what would happen if he will to level up, he decided to test his newfound abilities and resolved to pursue the van.

He noticed a car parked by the roadside where the van had been. It was likely the woman's car. But driving wasn't an option cause first and foremost he don't know how to drive, and second.. no that's it, he don't know how to drive so he'll just fuck things up.

So, he had to follow them on foot.

Despite the van's speed, it stayed within his sight as it was traveling straight. With his legs pumping with a surreal, almost inhuman endurance, he started to use all of his strength and sprint towards the direction of the vehicle.

When the car make a left turn, he immediately lost sight of it prompting him to run faster. To catch up with them, he decided to take a shortcut. Leaping over several fences and running in the narrow path in between the houses while ensuring his steps to be as light as possible in order not to attract attention. Thankfully Gale was no longer surprised by his abilities so he now have a better control on them.

'This is incredible. This is amazing.' Gale thought while running without feeling tired.

Eventually, he got into the road again and at the distance he saw the van heading towards the outskirts of the City where there were less and less houses.

Gale with his speed continued on tailing the vehicle.

Until nearly an hour of chasing, the van finally stopped in front of an abandoned building. It was located several kilometers away from the city center.

The place was sorrounded with rolling plains planted with different agricultural plants such as sugar cane, corn and pineapple. More than a hundred meters in front of it was the national highway leading to the next city.

The building looked 80% complete with rough and unfinished walls and windows and was still sorrounded by scaffoldings that were stained by the passing time. It has a three story and a rooftop. Gale has no idea what this building is for and why it was abandoned on its almost completed state.

But that doesn't matter now as he was focused on completing the quest that was given to him.

When the kidnappers got out of the van, Gale immediately hid behind a nearby tree while peeking at his target trying to watch and observe ther movements.

He saw them dragged the woman inside and left two of the men outside the building as lookout.

In the second floor of the building he saw another pair of masked man armed with high powered guns. It turned out that the kidnappers already had their companions waiting in this place. This only means that this kidnapping has been planned.

As he scanned the entire building, he counted that there were eight armed men here in total. A number that would make even the seasoned policeman or army nervous when on the mission to rescue the kidnap victim.

There were also two vans at the other side of the building which may mean that there were still others aside from the eight he saw, proving the situation more dangerous.

But Gale, being overwhelmed by the idea that he was way more powerful than any experts in the field of strength, agility and endurance, resolved to complete his quest no matter what.

While the two men where busy talking to each other, he silently approached the building. Dropping to the ground, he moved stealthily, trying to remain the lookout's blind spots.

Reaching at the back of the building without being noticed, he then slowly climbed in the scaffolds as quietly as he can until he reached the second floor.

While in the outside walls, he closed his eyes, focusing on the sounds around him trying to find the location where the kidnappers took the woman. His hearing sharpened, and he discerned the positions of the kidnappers and it was in the rooftop.

Using the scaffolds again, he climbed to the third floor and jumped upward to the beam of the rooftop. With the raw strength of his arms, he propelled himself upward successfully landing in the rooftop's concrete floor.

"Hey!" One of the kidnappers saw him and shouted alerting the other one that guarded the woman.

But knowing his speed would outmatch their reactions, Gale swiftly moved towards them.

He targeted the nearest kidnapper, striking him in the jaw with a powerful punch. The man collapsed without a sound, unconscious before he hit the ground. The woman, tied to a chair, stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief.

"You bastard-" another kidnapper screamed pointing his gun towards Gale, but Gale was faster, slamming his fist into the man's gut. Them man crumpled, foam bubbling from his mouth as he also fell unconscious to the floor.

"W-who are you? W-what do you want from me?" the woman stammered, her voice was like a mere whisper as Gale glanced at her. Her shock giving way to trembling fear as he walked towards her.

Gale didn't answer immediately, focusing instead on untying the ropes tied to her. She remained seating shakily, her eyes never leaving his.

"Don't worry, I am here to save you," Gale said softly trying to smile at her.

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Hey, is it just me or the system was trying to make Gale a super hero?