The Crime System

The Strange Detective

It was 6:30 am in the morning, the sun just peeking over the horizon of New York, most of the city still shrouded in shadows. Luke Sullivan hadn't witnessed it himself, but he had been told about the scene at the 24-hour McDonald's on Banyan Street. Two middle schoolers were there, trying to catch up on their morning recitation while quickly devouring their chicken sandwiches.

Suddenly, a woman stumbled in. She wore a brand-name windbreaker, but it was stained with blood. Her hair was a mess, and she was clearly exhausted. She nearly collapsed as she pushed open the heavy glass door, limping towards the students.

"H...H...Help..." she managed to call out weakly.

The middle schoolers looked up and nearly screamed. They scrambled back, dropping their juice in shock. The woman was missing her right hand! At the end of her wrist was only an ugly, blood-soaked bandage.

At 8 o'clock that morning, Luke was lounging in the giant bed of his new flat, feeling utterly content. The rent was still three thousand dollars a month, but now his landlord's daughter was footing the bill. Where else in the world could he find such privilege?

Luke couldn't help but chuckle. With the 7 thousand dollars he got from Jenna, after paying the rent and giving James Dalton six thousand for the first six months, he still had a thousand left as pocket money.

James Dalton didn't bother arguing with Luke. As long as he paid the rent, Dalton was fine with the arrangement. They signed the agreement on the spot, and Luke finally had a satisfactory place to stay.

Luke was a cunning man. If he had greedily taken all ten thousand from Jenna today, he'd have made a quick profit, but there'd be no second chance. Now that he had an ongoing arrangement with her, he'd get money every month. Clearly, the long-term option was more beneficial.

Of course, Luke knew that encouraging the girl to hack gaming accounts and pocketing the money were both illegal. Especially considering he was a police officer, which made the offense even worse.

But the current Luke didn't really see himself as a true police officer. He still had the same character as before his... change, and had even considered returning to his old profession! What he'd done with Jenna today was nothing compared to his past escapades.

Thinking this far, Luke comfortably enjoyed his situation, even considering using the leftover thousand dollars to get a better phone.

Just then, the system in his mind spoke. The androgynous, neutral, machine-like yet amazingly clear voice said, "Today's Adventure has been completed. Completion rate: 80 percent. Obtained one invisibility device, please accept!"

Again? What kind of rewards did he get this time?

Luke couldn't wait a second longer as he rushed to check in his mind. In his head, there was an extra black, round ball.

Upon clicking it, the system's voice started immediately, "Invisible Tracking Device: after use can achieve invisible tracking ability, undetectable, lasts for forty-eight hours."

Invisible Tracking Device?

Luke thought it over. "It's probably just something used to track people. Put it on someone, then immediately know their position?"

He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He had expected some better rewards from the system! Like some overpowered items for x-ray vision, wall phasing, cloning skills, or even just some kind of invisible camera or knock-out pills.

But it had only been eavesdropping or tracking so far. Not to mention, it had a time limit. What fun is that?

Luke started pondering again. This time the adventure completion rate was 80 percent. If it was higher, would he get something even better?

But how could he get a higher completion rate?

He thought maybe he should restart the system again, and this time carefully observe what happens.

So Luke pulled out his beedi, lit it and breathed in deeply. But strangely, this time he didn't even cough. He tried taking a few more puffs but had absolutely no reaction.

'Huh? What happened? How come it doesn't even work anymore?' he wondered.

Luke breathed in deeply over and over until he couldn't catch his breath, yet the strange Crime System didn't appear. His mind was quiet as usual.

"Hm..." After a short moment of panic, Luke calmed down and started analyzing the situation. Thinking back to the two times he managed to activate the system and complete the adventure, he quickly realized a possibility: "Could it be... the Crime System could only be activated once a day?"

So today he already used it up, and had to wait till tomorrow?

Luke was focused on figuring out the mystery of the Crime System when his phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Bella.