"Trash! Useless! Just die!"
The buzz-cut brute took advantage of the combat training to bully the skinny guy with glasses, and it wasn't as if no one noticed.
Yet, almost everyone just stood by, watching coldly.
Some even had eager expressions, as if in this place, weakness was a crime, deserving of nothing but oppression.
"Hey, big gorilla, you're having so much fun. How about letting me join in?"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind the buzz-cut brute.
The man turned around, his face full of disdain. "Nova Jay? Stay out of this. Others might be afraid of you, but I sure as hell ain't. Go home and play with your ***!"
Jay smiled, cheerful, even.
His attack was even more abrupt!
With a loud bang, before the buzz-cut brute could react, Jay's fist slammed into his face. His nasal bone caved in instantly. Everything went dark as he collapsed backward.
"Huh? He went down already? But I didn't even use my full strength."
Jay looked genuinely surprised.
"I'm gonna kill you!"
Clutching his bleeding nose, the buzz-cut brute got back up with a roar, raising his fists and charging at Jay.
But to Jay, his movements were riddled with openings!
Dodge!
Close in!
Counterattack!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Jay's first punch struck the left side of his opponent's face, instantly knocking out a few bloodied teeth.
His left fist followed, slamming heavily into the brute's abdomen, making him curl up like a shrimp, further losing the ability to fight back.
Finally, Jay jumped and drove his knee straight into the brute's chin.
There was no chance to retaliate. In mere moments, the buzz-cut brute was KO'd, knocked to the ground, unable to get up again!
Everyone nearby was dumbfounded.
If Jay's first punch could be brushed off as a sneak attack, then what about everything that followed?
They had just witnessed something unbelievable, Jay had taken down his opponent effortlessly.
This was nothing like the weak and pathetic Jay from a month ago!
"Johnson didn't die in vain."
For some reason, that thought suddenly popped into some people's minds.
After swiftly finishing off the buzz-cut brute, Jay had a clearer understanding of his current strength, just a bit stronger than your average cannon fodder.
"I remember your name is… Porter, right? When you were getting beaten up, didn't you tell this big gorilla that you're under my protection?"
Jay crouched in front of the bespectacled skinny guy and asked.
Porter, still lying on the ground, stammered, his eyes turning red, "I… I thought you were just saying that. Like you were messing with us…"
Jay sighed. "That hurts, man. Do you believe me now?"
Porter nodded quickly. "Yes! Thank you, Boss Jay."
"Boss?"
"S-Sorry! I heard Buck call you that, so I just"
"Call me bro, not boss. If Colonel Hammond hears that, he probably won't be happy."
"Understood, Big Bro Jay!"
Even though he had just been beaten half to death, Porter was trembling with excitement.
That "Big Bro" rolled off his tongue naturally, even though he was actually a few years older than Jay.
"Can you stand? I'll take you to get patched up."
"I-I can go by myself."
Jay didn't insist and let Porter do as he pleased.
The whole time, their instructor was still asleep.
Jay was getting bored and decided to leave.
However, just as he was about to walk away, a series of shocked gasps erupted behind him.
Turning his head, Jay saw that the buzz-cut brute had somehow managed to stand up again, his face covered in blood, as he grabbed Porter by the throat and lifted him high into the air.
"You're asking for death."
Jay's eyes turned cold as he stepped toward him.
"Stop! Take another step, and I'll snap his neck!"
"Let's play a game. I hope your math skills aren't too bad."
Ignoring the brute's threat, Jay suddenly broke into an all-out sprint. In just a split second, he closed the gap between them.
Porter's face was already turning purple.
Two more seconds, maybe three, and he'd be meeting God… if God even existed.
But unfortunately for the brute, he wouldn't get that chance.
Using the momentum of his sprint, Jay delivered a flying kick, sending the brute soaring through the air.
Then, he quickly followed up, pinning him to the ground and twisting one of his arms behind his back.
"The game begins. What's 1000 - 7?"
CRACK!
A sickening sound rang out as Jay snapped one of his fingers backward into an unnatural shape.
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
The brute let out an ear-piercing scream.
"Again, 1000 - 7?"
"9…993!"
Jay grinned. "Correct."
But just as the brute let out a breath of relief
CRACK!
Another finger bent the wrong way.
"Keep going. 993 - 7?"
"F*** you! You psycho!"
Jay said nothing. He simply grabbed a third finger and
"NO! STOP!"
CRACK!
"AAAAAHHH! I'LL KILL YOU! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!"
His threats were met with nothing but a chilling, emotionless question.
"993 - 7?"
It didn't matter whether the brute answered correctly or not. Every response was followed by a sharp snap and another burst of unbearable pain.
Brutal.
Absolutely brutal.
The onlookers, now filled with horror, instinctively backed away.
They couldn't help but recall what happened in the cafeteria, when Jay had stuffed Johnson's mouth full of shattered dishes and punched his face into mush.
It was the same level of ruthless cruelty.
You couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of life someone had to live to come up with such terrifying methods of revenge.
Nova Jay is not someone you mess with.
Ever.
He's a lunatic. A monster.
By the time all ten of the brute's fingers were broken, he no longer even had the strength to scream.
His entire body went limp, his face soaked in a disgusting mix of tears, snot, saliva, and blood.
"P-please… let me go… have mercy…"
Jay stood up, straightened his clothes, and looked around.
"Why are you all staring at me? Is training over?"
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone snapped back to reality and immediately turned away, resuming their sparring as if nothing had happened.
From this moment on, in the minds of many, Jay had become an outright devil.
"Buck, take him to the medics. You know what to say, right?"
"Heh, of course. It's combat training. Injuries are just part of the deal."
Buck quickly dragged the broken man away.
Porter, who had nearly been strangled to death, gave Jay a deep bow before silently following along, wincing from his wounds.
Soon enough, this incident would spread like wildfire.
Jay needed more people, more tools, to help him fulfill certain conditions.
And guys like Porter, the ones who were always getting bullied, were the easiest to recruit.
The buzz-cut brute? He was just unlucky.
He had stepped right into the crosshairs.