Chương 7: Return to Alamo City

"Now that you are fully geared up, it is time to begin. I recommend you first target Justin Philips, the coroner." Spector Android explained.

"His death is the least likely to arouse any suspicion and alert the others regarding who you are and your motive. Adam nodded in agreement before asking, "How should I find him?"

"I have already determined that since he is single, has no children and lives alone, the best place to assassinate him is his apartment in the city centre. The GPS on his basic communication device indicates that he almost always heads straight home after work, and his calendar shows no appointments in the foreseeable future."

"You hacked his phone?" Adam asked in surprise.

"There is nothing on this planet I am incapable of hacking." Spector Android said matter-of-factly before adding.

"Now I suggest you get changed and gear up before departure."

"Sure," Adam said with a nod before he started taking his t-shirt off; however, he soon stopped when he noticed that Spector's android was just standing there staring at him.

"Is there a problem?" She asked.

"Would you mind turning away or leaving the room?" Adam asked shyly.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm about to get changed and will only be in my underwear."

"And? Need I remind you I have seen you naked before, so why does my seeing you in your underwear pose a problem?"

"It's just strange having a girl who isn't my girlfriend stare at me while I get changed."

"But I am not a girl, while my basic physical appearance is based upon a Solarian female and I possess all her abilities, please remember that I am not a living being, I am an artificial lifeform, an android." In the end, he decided this topic was best left alone for the time being and instead continued to get changed while trying to forget that a beautiful blonde elf girl was watching him closely. …

After he finished changing, Spector Android showed Adam the exit to Spector, and he found himself in a dimly lit cave with the entrance right in front of him. He turned around to look behind him, but all he saw was the solid cave wall; however, he knew that the entrance to Spector was there, he just could not see it for some reason. After leaving the cave, Adam appeared in a forest surrounded by tall trees swaying gently in the wind as the sun shone down through their branches.

He guessed that this was the place he had landed after being thrown off the cliff, and where Spector Android had found him. After glancing at the spot and not finding any evidence of his fall, he turned his head away and looked around, trying to tell which way the city was. As he spun around, he noticed a diamond-shaped symbol appear on his compass, and as he focused on it, words appeared beneath it.

[Missions Location: Coroner's Residence] After reading the text, Adam set off in the direction indicated on his HUD compass. It took him just over an hour to reach the edge of the forest and find a road. Adam started following the road in the direction of the tall buildings and skyscrapers of Alamo City he could now see in the distance.

He and Jenny, months prior, had caught a bus from one of the city's bus terminals near the edge of the city to get to the forest, so he knew he would come across a bus stop eventually if he kept walking. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. As expected, after around twenty minutes of walking, he came across a bus stop, and after checking the times on the board, he found he had roughly ten minutes to wait.

Soon, the bus arrived and allowed Adam to climb aboard as he scanned his public transport pass before going to find a seat. Spector Android had already returned his belongings, including his wallet, to him, which still had his cards and ID in it. The driver and the few passengers who were already onboard gave him strange looks because of his dark clothing and his hood being up; however, they soon ignored him as they had seen far worse, especially the driver, who had seen what people wore on nights out in the city.

About half an hour later, the bus reached the terminal where Adam planned to switch to the underground. After checking the times, he saw that the train he needed was still several minutes away, so he decided to go buy some food since he would be waiting for the coroner to get home before he could act. 💫💫💫 At the Alamo City police station, a man walked briskly towards an office before knocking hastily on the door that had a sign saying Inspector Sarah Sanders, homicide division.

A moment later, a female voice saying "enter" was heard, and the man quickly entered.

"What is it?" Sarah Sanders said as she sat behind his desk, working on something.

"Inspector, we just got a hit on a bank account you requested we keep an eye on?

"So?" She replied without much interest before asking.

"Whose bank account was it?"

"Adam Spencer, ma'am." At hearing that name, she finally looked up before asking.

"Where was it used?"

"In a shop located at the forest edge bus interchange."

"Send a patrol unit there asap, keep monitoring any activity and keep me informed."

"Yes, ma'am," the officer said before leaving. Sarah Sanders tapped her index finger on her desk for a moment while thinking before she pulled out her mobile phone and made a call.

"Mr Morose, you asked me to contact you if there was any sign of Adam Spencer""Possibly, sir, we have been tracking his bank account, and we just got a hit from Forest Edge bus interchange."

"Unclear, sir, for all we know it could be a thief who found his card and is using it to buy cigarettes and alcohol."

"I just sent a patrol unit; whoever it was will most likely be long gone by the time they arrive. All they can do is ask around and check the surveillance cameras there."

"Yes, sir, I will inform you of any future developments. Should I also inform Justin Philips about this? Though it's unlikely the boy knows anything."

"You will send someone to inform him while making sure he keeps quiet, understood, sir."

"Yes, sir, thank you." Sarah Sanders hung up before turning back to her work. 💫💫💫 Adam was naturally long gone before the patrol car arrived, and after travelling across the city, he now stood at the entrance to a dark alleyway across from a tall apartment complex. He was currently invisible to any individuals who passed the alleyway entrance since he was standing in the shadows.

As he was waiting in the alleyway, Adam suddenly heard a voice as if coming from right beside him, which caused him to spin around wildly before he realised it was Spector communicating with him via the neurolink. As he sighed in relief and calmed himself down, he listened to what Spector had to say. [An anomaly has been detected in your bank account after your recent usage of it. Data suggests that your account is being tracked by Alamo City police, and surveillance cameras of the area show a patrol car turning up a few minutes after you left the area.] [Surveillance cameras currently show them accessing the surveillance camera recordings of you at that time.] As Spector said this Adam's HUD received a video image of two police officers in what appeared to be a security room, with a security guard looking puzzled as to why the video they were watching only showed a distortion where Adam should have been.

"Well, I guess that confirms that I don't need to worry about security cameras." [Correct.] Spector replied before saying. [It is suggested that you dispose of your bank card and start using the new account I just set up. I have linked it with your uniband and have also transferred all remaining funds from your old account to your new one.]"Thank you," Adam said with a sigh. He was slowly starting to get used to the capabilities of Spector. [You're welcome.] Spector replied before going silent, and Adam continued to wait. A short while later, Adam saw a car pulling into the parking lot of the apartments he was watching just before Spector spoke again.

"GPS location indicates that …. Has just arrived at his place of residence."

"Well then, let's get started," Adam said after he saw … enter the apartment building. [Confirmed activating stream.]"Wait, what?"