Zain soon thought of sothing after looking at them.
"Wait a minute... my system should be able to scan them, right?"
Zain smirked as he turned to the system. "Scan them! Let's see what I'm really dealing with."
---
[Na: Splinter]
[Rank: C]
[Stats:]
[Str: C]
[Vit: D]
[Agi: C]
[Int: D]
[Low-Tier Ability: Bone Projectile]
---
[Na: Knuck]
[Rank: C]
[Stats:]
[Str: C]
[Vit: C]
[Agi: D]
[Int: D]
[Low-Tier Ability: Bone Claw]
---
Zain exhaled softly, eyes narrowing.
"I see... the book wasn't lying. Their abilities and stats check out."
He shifted his weight slightly, already planning three steps ahead.
"Knuck's more of a straight-up fighter—strong and tough. He'll charge in head-on."
"Splinter's quicker, favors distance. A support striker with those bone shards."
His eyes scanned the grotesque, jagged bones sticking out of their arms.
"Disgusting and probably painful. Using your own skeleton like weapons..."
He shook his head slightly. "You two are walking biohazards."
Still, a glint of excitent burned in his gaze.
"But this'll be interesting... fighting opponents like this. Disgusting, new... but fun."
Splinter quickly made his first move.
Without hesitation he growled and pulled so bone shards from his forearms.
"Eat this, pretty boy!"
He whipped his arms forward, launching the sharpened bone projectiles straight toward Zain's chest.
But instead of dodging, Zain rushed in.
His speed left a faint blur as he moved, enhanced by Quick Step.
WHIP—CRACK!
He caught the flying bone shards mid-charge.
He didn't dodge or even flinch.
The jagged edges should've pierced through anyone's hand but not Zain.
Instead, he tightened his fist.
CRUNCH.
With a flick of his wrist, the bone shards shattered into pieces inside his grip.
Splinter's eyes widened.
"What—?! You caught them? With your bare hands?!"
Zain smirked, tossing the crumbled bone fragnts aside.
"Hard Grip. Not just for show."
But he didn't have ti to celebrate.
Knuck was already on the move as he charged from the side.
His larger body lunged towards Zain with bone claws fully extended on each knuckle.
"You're wide open!"
Knuck roared as he slashed down.
Zain's smile didn't fade.
He raised his left arm to et the attack.
SLASH!
The claws connected but only left a shallow wound.
Thin trails of blood trickled down, but Zain's arm held firm.
Knuck's eyes widened in disbelief.
"What the hell—?! That should've torn through your arm!"
Zain's eyes glead.
"Hard Skin. You're not the only one who has superpowers."
Then, before Knuck could retreat...
Zain's right hand shot forward and clamped around his forearm like a vice.
"Gotcha."
Knuck's face twisted in pain.
"AARGH—WHAT ARE YOU—?!"
Zain's grip tightened, the bones beneath Knuck's skin audibly cracking.
"How's it feel having your bones broken for a change?"
But before he could snap the arm clean, a sharp sound tore through the air.
Splinter had launched another volley of bone shards, this ti aid for Zain's side.
"Let go of him!"
Splinter snarled, already forming more bones from his ribs.
"You think you're untouchable?!"
Zain glanced to the side—
The bone shards were too fast and close.
He didn't have ti to block it with his fla.
Instead of letting go of Knuck, he shifted his body mid-grab and spun slightly.
He then dragged Knuck forward as a human shield.
Thud. Thud. THUNK.
Three bone shards embedded into Knuck's back, making him scream even louder.
"SHIT—SPLINTER YOU IDIOT!"
Splinter's eyes widened in panic.
"I—damn it!"
Zain took advantage of the distraction.
He twisted Knuck's arm hard, sending him crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.
But Splinter was already rushing in, closing the distance.
He tried to jab a sharpened bone blade from his wrist toward Zain's ribs.
Zain parried with his forearm—
The blade scratched against his Hard Skin, barely leaving a cut.
Still, the movent felt sluggish. The extra tension in his skin reduced his flexibility just slightly.
Splinter noticed.
"Tch... your body's hard, but it's stiff. Not smooth."
Zain grinned.
"Yeah, I noticed too. But stiff or not—"
He shifted his stance, planting his foot behind Splinter's and twisted his hips.
"—I've still got technique."
WHAM!
Splinter's body tilted sideways.
He was off-balance and wide open.
Zain smirked as he took the chance.
He stepped in with his right hand clenched into a fist, grinning.
Fla began to ignite his knuckles, swirling like fla serpents.
"Take this if you can..."
He drew his fist back.
"Blazing Tyrant's Fist."
BOOM!
His fist connected directly with Splinter's gut—
And then the fla erupted.
A fiery explosion burst out with the impact, sending a shockwave through the alley.
"GAAAH—!"
Splinter coughed violently as he was launched backward from the sheer force, his chest singed and smoking.
CRASH!
He slamd directly into Knuck, who had just started getting up.
Both of them were sent flying, colliding into the crumbling brick wall behind them with a loud crack.
Dust and bone shards scattered across the alley floor.
Zain exhaled slowly and lowered his fist, fla still flickering before fading into steam.
He looked down at his own hand, flexing his fingers with interest.
"Huh. So the Fla Hand ability can be channeled into martial arts too."
He smirked, walking toward the two groaning figures slumped against the wall.
"Interesting... This superpower keeps getting better and better."
Zain crouched briefly to check their conditions, making sure they were alive.
"Still breathing. Good. I need you two alive, after all."
He stood up again before looking down at both villains.
"But just to be safe... let's make sure you two nap a little longer."
He ntally activated the system.
---
[Hack Initiation: Forced Knockout]
[Target: Splinter & Knuck]
[Effect: Induce unconscious state for 24 hours]
[Cost Required: 100 Hack Points]
[Status: Executing...]
---
Both of them soon went into a deep, system-induced sleep.
Zain nodded with satisfaction.
"Perfect. No twitching. No talking. Just silence."
He turned slightly, glancing up at the sky. He began to smirk.
"Two C-Rank criminals, caught alive. That's more than enough to push into C-Rank myself."
He slung one of them over his shoulder and grabbed the other by the collar.
"Let's go turn you in, boys. Ti to cash in this promotion."
With a small smirk and both unconscious villains in tow, Zain disappeared into the night.
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