The three thugs looked at each other, and one by one, smiles began to form on their faces.
"Funny you ask." One of them spoke, his hands moving around as he pointed randomly. "We saw a sketchy fellow in the neighborhood and thought we should see what he’s here for."
"Uh-uh," Dante nodded. "I think there was a rule for things . What’s it called again?" He looked up, making a show of thinking. "Oh, right, they called mind your fucking business. Have you heard about it?"
There was clearly some type of lag, seeing as the thugs’ reaction to his words was a bit delayed. Dante used that time to study their appearance, checking for any signs that hinted at them being members of the local gang. Their clothes showed nothing, and they had no visible tattoos.
The one at the center wore one of those shades that glowed a neon purple, which pained his face with the color. The guy on his left had a yellow jacket, while the last one covered half of his face with a black mask and wore a large beanie on his head.
[Threat Evaluation: Level 0 Basics] Volcan said. [No implants. The one in the center has a gun. The one on the right has a knife. The one on the left is unarmed.]
’So just your average broke street rats.’ Dante thought. ’No one is gonna miss them.’
He wasn’t going to kill them, of course. That would defeat the purpose. As the looks on their faces slowly warped, Dante pulled his hands out of his pockets and stood in a seemingly relaxed manner
"Let’s teach this punk some manners!"
All at once, the three thugs lunged at him. They likely expected him to turn around and run; that’s why seeing him sprint in their direction crashed their brains. Kicking the ground, Dante launched himself in the air and tucked his knees close to his chest.
The first thug followed him with his eyes, failing to react before the foot that rose to his eye level shot out with explosive force, smashing his glowing glasses along with his face. The kick sent him flying and his two friends watched it happen, their jaws falling as their eyes widened.
Landing between the other two, Dante reconsidered his next move and held back. He could’ve ended everything in two more moves, but instead he gave those two a chance, and they didn’t disappoint.
Seeing their friend get kicked in the face ignited their anger, and they turned furious glares at the perpetrator, who stood there waiting for them to make a move. Yellow-jacket raised a fist while Beanie produced a folding knife and lashed out.
Dodging the knife, Dante gave most of his attention to Yellow-jacket. He blocked one punch then evaded another, ducking under a hook before sending a light jab to his nose. That didn’t matter much, unfortunately, since a punch with diamond knuckles was still a punch with diamond knuckles.
Yellow-jacket’s nose shattered, and blood burst out of his nostrils. Leaving him disoriented, Dante shifted his body and evaded another swing from Beanie’s knife. There was no technique to the thug’s movements, so seeing through them didn’t prove to be too difficult.
Dante evaded another swing, then another, and when the thug tried it for the fourth time, he brought a fist down on his wrist and forced the knife out of his hand. Just as he recoiled from the pain, Dante stepped in close with his right fist pulled back.
As if a trigger had been pulled, Dante twisted his body and his fist exploded forth, rotating as it dug into the thug’s stomach, lifting his body off the ground. Good thing he was wearing a mask, which blocked whatever burst out of his mouth at that moment.
The blow reverberated through Beanie’s body and his knees buckled the instant his feet were back on the ground. He wasn’t about to get a break, however. Pulling back his right fist, Dante followed with a three strike combo and ended it with an uppercut, feeling something crunch with each blow.
The leader was already getting up while reaching for something behind him. Seeing that, Dante caught the punch Yellow-jacket threw at him, twisted his arm, and pulled him close just as his friend took aim.
Thanks to the leader’s terrible aim, the three bullets missed Dante’s newly acquired meat shield. He was starting to suspect that the way their brains lagged wasn’t due to natural reasons, seeing how long it took the leader to realize he almost shot his friend.
It wouldn’t be too strange if they were on something. The night was just getting started, making it the best time to get high. Well, for a bunch of street rats, being high was their natural state. They didn’t need an excuse to smoke something, be it day or night.
Equipping his Blue Berry, Dante took aim and fired a single bullet, and since he wasn’t so blind that he would miss someone barely six meters away, his shot found its target, blowing the gun out of the thug’s hand along with half of his fingers.
A shrill wail sounded through the back alley. Before it disappeared, Dante raised his weapon and struck Yellow-jacket on the head, knocking him out.
’Volcan...’ A satisfied sigh escaped his lips. ’Do me a favor and check their NIMs for records.’
[Already done.] The AI replied. [I erased your presence from the surveillance system as well. There will be no records of you entering or exiting this alley.]
Two of the thugs were unconscious while the third was writhing in pain. He would have preferred if they put up more of a fight, but expecting a lot from the lowest class of street rats was a waste of time. Sparing them one more glance, Dante unequipped his weapon, placed his hands into the pockets of his jacket, then walked away.
’Still no sign of our stalker?’
[No.] Volcan said. [To think they would be this difficult to identify.]