Infinity, The Arcade Age

As the towering shadow of the two hulking figures blocked out the sunlight, the Russian henchman frantically waved his one remaining arm.

"Don't shoot! I'll tell you everything! Bruno's gone to his villa! It's outside the city, in the fourth suburb! I'm just a bodyguard—I take orders and get paid! I've got nothing to do with him, please don't kill me!"

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The henchman's desperate pleas were abruptly cut off by the deafening gunshots that followed. Qin Ming, expressionless, had unloaded six bullets directly into the man's body, each round hitting a vital point, leaving the Russian full of blood-soaked holes.

When the large body fell limp and motionless, Qin Ming holstered his empty revolver and turned to glance at the Punisher. To his surprise, the Punisher, who seemed momentarily shocked, raised an eyebrow at Qin Ming's cold efficiency.

"Sorry," Qin Ming shrugged, "I don't like leaving loose ends."

The Punisher raised an eyebrow, then, without hesitation, leveled his own gun at the henchman's head and fired two more shots.

"Next time, aim for the head," he said. "Shooting the body doesn't guarantee they're dead, but headshots are always fatal."

With that, the Punisher holstered his weapon and jumped off the wrecked bus.

Qin Ming blinked, stunned for a moment. He glanced between the body of the Russian and the Punisher, before finally shrugging again. Bending down, he retrieved the key dropped by the boss and then followed the Punisher off the bus, the vehicle now a shattered wreck.

Just as they reached the ground, a car screeched to a halt nearby. Two other adventurers scrambled out, their faces twisted in frustration as they stared at the corpse of the boss.

"Damn it! We're too late!"

Not only had they missed the boss fight, but they hadn't even gotten a chance to land a single blow for credit toward the mission. It was a total failure for them.

As the two adventurers exchanged bitter glances, the Punisher instinctively placed a hand on his gun and shot a sharp glance at Qin Ming.

"Are these your friends?"

Qin Ming smirked and shrugged.

"Never seen them before. Aren't they your fans?"

The Punisher snorted and turned his back on them, walking away without another word. Seeing him leave, the two adventurers hurried to catch up, one of them calling out eagerly.

"Punisher! Sir! We're huge fans of your work! We're here to help you take down criminals! We can assist you—we're good at fighting!"

The Punisher didn't break his stride.

"I don't need dead weight. Get lost."

"But we—"

"Last warning. Get out of my way."

The Punisher drew his gun and pressed it against one of the adventurers' chins, his eyes narrowing dangerously. The adventurer immediately raised his hands in surrender, stepping back with a fearful gulp. With a scoff, the Punisher holstered his weapon again and continued walking.

The two adventurers exchanged looks of disbelief before turning their attention to Qin Ming. One of them forced a smile.

"Hey, bro. You're an adventurer too, right? Why don't we team up?"

Qin Ming chuckled and waved dismissively.

"Team up? One boss is dead, and the other escaped. What's left to team up for? Go home. I'm out."

Without another word, Qin Ming turned and left, leaving the two adventurers to stand there in frustration.

"Damn it! Just because he's stronger, he thinks he's hot stuff! What a jerk!"

"Shh! Keep it down. He might come back and shoot us!"

"He's already gone! Ugh, this mission ended way too quickly. We need to find some henchmen to kill to make up for it. Since that guy doesn't want to team up, it's just you and me now. Let's go!"

Having made up their minds, the two adventurers quickly left, heading back to the casino in search of stragglers.

Meanwhile, in a nearby alley, Qin Ming was moving cautiously, deep in thought. He couldn't help but feel a little irritated as the notification from the Nightmare Space echoed in his mind.

The mission had ended way too fast.

In the previous two missions, Qin Ming had fought for days, battling multiple bosses before completing his objectives. But this time, it was over in a flash. He had barely killed a few enemies and only one boss. It felt anticlimactic, to say the least.

As he considered whether to spend the remaining 48 hours finding more enemies to kill and earn additional loot, Qin Ming suddenly froze.

He felt something cold press against the back of his head.

Without hesitation, he swung around, knocking the gun away from his head and drawing his own revolver, ready to fire. But when he pulled the trigger, there was only a sharp click. The barrel of his revolver had been blocked by a finger, preventing him from pulling the trigger.

At the same moment, he felt the cold barrel of another gun press against his neck. Staring wide-eyed in shock, Qin Ming found himself face-to-face with the Punisher.

The Punisher stared at him with narrowed eyes, one hand holding back the trigger of Qin Ming's revolver, while the other pressed a gun to Qin Ming's throat.

After a brief moment of tense silence, the Punisher sighed and shook his head, retracting his weapon.

"Your reflexes are too slow. You've got the body for combat, but you lack the training."

"You?" Qin Ming gasped.

"Who else? If it were anyone else, you'd be dead by now. In the time you took to react, I could've put six rounds in you—all kill shots."

The Punisher holstered his gun and leaned back against the wall, arms crossed.

"Don't take it too hard. Most people in the Marine Corps can't keep up with me in close combat. You've got raw talent, but no training."

"You came here just to show off?" Qin Ming growled, rubbing his neck.

"Of course not. I'm not that petty."

Straightening up, the Punisher crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at Qin Ming.

"I'm going after Bruno. Want to come along?"

Ding! Congratulations, Adventurer 441985! You've triggered a hidden quest! 'Castle Chase!'

Accepting this quest will unlock the second stage of the Punisher world and raise the difficulty to C-level. Do you accept?

Qin Ming blinked, stunned by the sudden notification.

A hidden mission had come to him on its own? Since when did he get that lucky?

"Wait, didn't you say you didn't need anyone's help?" Qin Ming asked cautiously.

"I said I didn't need dead weight," the Punisher corrected. "From what I've seen, you've got no love for Bruno and his goons either. If we share the same enemy, we're better off working together. Besides, you've got some skill. We worked well together back there."

The Punisher extended his hand.

"So, what do you say? You in?"

Qin Ming grinned, grasping his hand firmly.

"Of course, Mr. Punisher!"

Ding! Hidden quest accepted! Stage two of the Punisher world unlocked!

(End of Chapter)