No wonder the Skull Gang Leader had been so afraid. Who could have imagined that the attacker was the famous Hawkeye?
Hawkeye was a true Deadeye. Armed with a bow and arrows and always ready to deal his enemies a fatal blow, he was a fearsome killer—a true assassin!
He had been in the Marvel Universe for so long, yet this was the first time he had seen a superhero with his own eyes.
He'd almost been unable to resist coming out to greet Hawkeye, but he held back. He knew he absolutely couldn't let himself be discovered right now.
"Take him out!"
At the captain's order, the special forces soldiers launched a fierce assault on Hawkeye. Countless bullets streaked toward him.
"Whoosh!"
The moment Hawkeye landed, he loosed another arrow. He was so fast that by the time the soldiers reacted, another man had already been shot through the throat.
A dense hail of bullets riddled the trees, sending leaves fluttering to the ground. Hawkeye dodged like a nimble leopard, drawing his bow and firing three arrows that became three streaks of shadow, each piercing a special forces soldier's throat!
In the blink of an eye, nearly ten men had fallen to Hawkeye's arrows. The soldiers were stunned.
Against a Deadeye like him, they were nothing but sitting ducks. No one could escape his gaze. If they stayed, they were as good as dead!
"Fall back!" the captain shouted at once. The remaining soldiers stopped fighting and fled in all directions.
There was no way Hawkeye would let them get away so easily. He aimed at the soldier running at the front and shot him in the back.
"Whoosh!"
Another man fell, making the soldiers run even faster. Hawkeye immediately gave chase.
As he passed a pile of leaves nearby, he suddenly stopped. Something seemed off to him. He took out the bow and arrows he'd just put away.
Drawing the bow and aiming at the pile, he said coldly, "Who's hiding there? Come out!"
William's heart lurched. His eyes met Hawkeye's. Damn, it looked like he really had been spotted.
While William hesitated over whether to emerge from the leaves, Hawkeye suddenly let an arrow fly.
It shot forward at incredible speed, reaching William in an instant. The arrow slammed into the pile of leaves above his head, passing so close it nearly grazed his scalp!
William clamped a hand over his mouth, struggling not to cry out. His heart raced so hard it felt ready to leap out of his throat.
The surroundings fell deathly silent. Even the birdsong and insects in the woods seemed to stop.
After a while, Hawkeye seemed to shake his head. If someone really had been hiding there, that arrow would have exposed him.
It seemed he'd been imagining things.
"Damn, I almost forgot what I came here for," Hawkeye muttered. Only then did he remember the fleeing special forces soldiers. He hurriedly put away his arrows and disappeared into the night.
Only after Hawkeye had gone far away did William finally poke his head out from beneath the leaves. He gasped for breath, his whole body trembling.
That was close. He'd nearly died just now.
Hawkeye's arrow had passed within a centimeter of his head. If the angle had been even slightly off, it would have taken his head clean off.
But if Hawkeye hadn't shown up, the special forces would have caught him sooner or later.
But why had Hawkeye appeared here? Had S.H.I.E.L.D. been keeping tabs on the Skull Gang all along?
There was no time to think about that now. Staying in the forest was still dangerous, and he had to get out fast. He looked in the direction Hawkeye and the others had gone, then ran the other way, praying he wouldn't run into them again.
"I'm finally home alive."
William lay on his bed at home, too exhausted to move. By the time he got back to his Brooklyn apartment, two hours had passed. He'd run through the forest for a long time, then emerged and hailed a taxi, getting out far from home.
The driver kept sneaking glances at him—or, more precisely, at the briefcase in his arms. William grew tense, worrying that the driver might try to steal it. Thankfully, the man was only curious and meant no harm.
"William, you have successfully completed the main quest: The Secret of the Skull Gang. Congratulations! You have received an experience reward and reached level 2. Rewards: Loot Box x1, 700 gold coins."
The main quest was complete, but even now, William still couldn't make sense of a lot of things. The Skull Gang, the special forces, Hawkeye...
Everything that had happened told him that the briefcase was no ordinary thing. He hurriedly opened it. The moment he did, William froze, drool slipping from the corner of his mouth.
"This is a dream. It has to be a dream!"
That was the only way William could describe how he felt. Bundles upon bundles of neatly stacked bills filled the case.
The bills were piled layer upon layer until they filled the whole case. Each bundle held a hundred-dollar bills, and there was a full hundred thousand dollars in there!
William hurried over to lock the door and draw the curtains. He picked up a stack of cash and giggled foolishly.
Ever since arriving in this Marvel Universe, William had been constantly strapped for cash.
His monthly pay was pitifully low. He was sick of eating frozen sandwiches, and he couldn't even afford a secondhand bicycle. He'd been scraping by every day.
To keep his boss from finding out that his bicycle had been stolen, he'd had to take an advance on his pay and buy a used car. That had left William so broke he could barely afford to eat.
But things were different now. This hundred thousand dollars had made him rich overnight. He could buy a brand-new bicycle and eat steak every night!
"You have two Loot Boxes now. Would you like me to open them for you?" Athena asked.
"Go ahead." He was supposed to wait until midnight to open his boxes, but William had just struck it rich and felt flush with cash. He believed he had Lady Luck on his side today and was bound to get a Legendary.
Amid the familiar music, the Loot Box began to shake. Three beams of light shot out and appeared before him.
White... white... blue...
"Wow, a blue sky and white clouds!" William covered his face with both hands and couldn't help shouting. White and blue were the lowest grades, commonly called "blue sky and white clouds."
He looked at the last Loot Box and began to hesitate over whether to open it. After a moment's struggle, he still clicked on it. He refused to believe his luck could stay this bad forever.
White! White...
The first two rewards from the second box were white as well. The third reward was about to appear, and William had already given up. It looked like he couldn't escape another round of "blue sky and white clouds." But then the third reward flew out too—and it was purple!
"Thank heaven." Curiosity getting the better of him, William opened the purple reward. It was a skill card.
"A skill card? What's that?"
Athena explained, "When a Loot Box from the Overwatch System is opened, there's a chance of getting a hero, skill, weapon, equipment, consumable, spray, or skin. Consumables include many different items, such as skill cards, Ultimate Energy Supplements, and Time Hourglasses."
After hearing Athena's explanation, William picked up the skill card. Skill Card: Sombra: Hack.
If he remembered correctly, Hack was one of the Overwatch hero Sombra's abilities.
In the game, this ability let Sombra hack enemy heroes, preventing them from using their abilities and ultimates. She could also hack health packs to make them recharge faster, keeping enemies from using them. He wondered what the ability would do in the real world.
Hack: Sombra's ability can hack into any network, computer, or electronic device.
Note: This skill card is a single-use consumable and can only be used once.
"This skill card can only be used once. After you use the ability, the card will disappear automatically."
Athena continued explaining, "Skill cards are divided into two grades, purple and gold. If you get a gold skill card, you'll have a chance to obtain a permanent ability."
William nodded, more or less understanding what skill cards were for. Even a single-use card could be very useful, never mind a permanent one. It would be incredible if he could get one of the heroes' ultimate abilities.
Of course, William knew someone as unlucky as him had practically no chance.
Overwatch: William
Level: 2
Gold: 1000
Energy: 4 points
Skill: Sprint
Item: Sombra Skill Card
Heroes Unlocked: 1
"I can hack anything—and anyone..."
Sombra's beautiful figure appeared before William's eyes. Her right hand danced through the air, purple lines intertwining until they formed virtual keys in midair.
Hack could only be used once. William decided he wouldn't use the card unless there was absolutely no other choice!
Was a hundred thousand dollars really that simple?
Before you continue