Infinity, The Arcade Age

Hidden Mission: Castle Chase (Punisher, Stage Two)

Mission Difficulty: C-level

Mission Objective: Participate in the defeat of the Stage Two BOSS: Battle Robot

Completion Reward: 4000 points, 4 attribute points

Failure Penalty: Deduct 4000 points

Description: Revenge should be absolute! The enemy's escape won't save them! Chase into the castle! Kill the target and destroy everything!

With the mission accepted, the return countdown in Qin Ming's mind vanished, signaling his commitment to the hidden task. Without wasting any time, he followed the Punisher to the so-called "secret base," which turned out to be nothing more than a rented house. However, inside was a stash of Punisher's backup weapons.

The Punisher opened a hidden compartment in the wall and pulled out a large crate. As he opened it and began checking his firearms, he casually handed a gun to Qin Ming.

"Need this?"

Qin Ming glanced at the green-grade handgun, which couldn't be taken out of the mission world, and shook his head while patting his own revolver.

"I've got my own."

Seeing this, the Punisher retracted the gun and continued to check his ammo while speaking.

"A Colt revolver, huh? Classic. But your version looks like it's been modified—large caliber. Probably hits as hard as the Smith & Wesson M500. It's got serious stopping power, but revolvers are handicapped by their limited ammo capacity. Not too practical."

The Punisher paused and gave Qin Ming a curious look.

"By the way, did your size shrink? You were bigger earlier. What, are you a sponge?"

Hearing the Punisher's confusion, Qin Ming, who had reverted back to his regular 1.7-meter frame after his transformation ended, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"Special ability."

"Oh, one of those guys, huh? No wonder you're tough in a fight, even though your hand-to-hand combat skills suck."

Nodding, the Punisher seemed uninterested in pressing further. After all, in his world—part of the legendary Marvel Universe—people with special abilities weren't exactly rare. It wasn't worth dwelling on.

While the Punisher busied himself organizing weapons, Qin Ming took a moment to study the new information before him. Now that he had officially joined the Punisher's side, he had gained access to the main character faction's exchange shop and title quests specific to this world.

The rewards in the Punisher's shop were limited, but what they lacked in quantity, they made up for in quality.

100 favor points: A white grenade that deals 30 fixed area damage.

250 favor points: The Smith & Wesson 1911, the same green-grade pistol the Punisher had offered. Fixed damage: 5-10, ammo capacity: 12 rounds.

500 favor points: Two options—Punisher's Battle Suit: Blue-grade equipment (+5 Strength, +5 Agility).

Special Training: A mysterious option described as "Punisher's special training," though its exact effects were unknown.

The ultimate prize required a whopping 1000 favor points:

Punisher Medal (Punisher World)Type: Accessory (Silver-grade story equipment)

Requirements: None

Effect: The wearer assumes the identity of the Punisher in each mission, gaining 100 initial favor points with all main characters and inducing fear in enemies, with a significant intimidation effect on henchmen and elite enemies.

Description: "If justice won't come, I will bring it myself. I will be the darkness that serves the light. I am... the Punisher."

In addition to these exchange options, Qin Ming also triggered title quests unique to this world. Like the rest of the Punisher's rewards, the title quests were few in number, but each one was incredibly valuable.

Title Quest 1:

Dark Justice: Kill 100 mob bosses (elite enemies). Progress: 3/100

Reward: Green Title – Anti-Hero (+5 to all attributes).

Title Quest 2:

Lone Hero: Defeat the Stage Two BOSS Battle Robot solo.

Reward: Green Title – Lone Wolf (+10 Strength, +5 Constitution).

Title Quest 3:

No Survivors: Kill the Punisher, the Stage Two BOSS, and every enemy in the castle, leaving no survivors.

Reward: Blue Title – Villain (+5 to all attributes, +100 favor with all villain factions in future missions).

Staring at the list of available rewards, Qin Ming couldn't help but feel his eyelid twitch.

"These title quests are insane! Who could possibly complete them?"

He knew his own limits—there was no way he could take on the Stage Two BOSS solo, let alone wipe out every single enemy, including the Punisher, by himself. That was beyond impossible. If he had that kind of power, he might as well be the boss himself!

Shaking his head to dispel the absurdity of it all, Qin Ming turned his attention back to the Punisher. The Punisher's favor rating toward him was sitting at a mere 100 points—barely enough to count as an acquaintance. It was clear that the Punisher had only invited him to tag along because he needed an extra hand. This was purely a practical partnership, not one based on friendship or respect.

The only reason the other adventurers hadn't been invited was simply because they weren't strong enough to be useful.

Not that Qin Ming minded. He was using the Punisher to get stronger by killing enemies. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, with both parties aiming to exploit the other to achieve their goals.

Settling down, Qin Ming reached into his inventory and pulled out the treasure chest he had earned earlier. He hadn't had time to check the loot from the henchmen due to the rush, so the only key he had collected was from the BOSS, the Russian henchman. Unfortunately, because of the Punisher's involvement, it was only a dim silver key.

With a shrug, Qin Ming used the key to open the chest.

A flash of light revealed his reward:

Item Name: Ace Bodyguard's Gold Belt (Punisher, Stage One)

Type: Waist (Blue-grade story equipment)

Requirements: Constitution 10

Effect: Defense +5, Constitution +5

Description: A badge of honor awarded to top bodyguards by their employers. Though it looks luxurious, it's really just made of brass.

Satisfied with the defense boost, Qin Ming quickly strapped the belt around his waist. Defense was a highly valuable stat, especially in a fight. His previous blue-grade armor had fetched him two C-grade skills, showing just how much value adventurers placed on defense.

Under normal circumstances, adventurers would need 10 points of Constitution to gain 1 point of defense, which was why Qin Ming had been able to shrug off bullets from ordinary henchmen. His 30 Constitution effectively gave him the equivalent of a bulletproof vest.

With this new belt, his defense had now risen to a solid 8 points, making him nearly impervious to standard attacks from minions. He could practically stroll through a crowd of goons without a care in the world.

Of course, this was only against regular henchmen. Elite enemies and bosses were a different story. He could never hope to tank hits from someone like the Russian henchman, with his absurd 50 Strength.

"Getting hit by that guy would've smashed me into pieces!" Qin Ming thought, grimacing at the memory.

Defense, in the end, was a tool for bullying weaker foes. Against the real heavy-hitters, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

(End of Chapter)