"This looks completely unheroic," Selena merely threw a glance before tearing her gaze away.

"But you have to give it to him, he looks really good... You sure you weren’t meant to be a model?" Dana added, her eyes glinting with amazement as she studied Nicholas.

"His black coat is so cool, the shades and gloves add a nice aesthetic too!" Dana’s voice was filled with excitement. "You have a knack for fashion."

"Dana, that’s not the point... What hero walks around like that? Anyone would be able to tell his identity?! " Selena retorted furiously. "And I’ll ask again, what were you thinking when you got this costume?! Are you a hitman or something?"

Nicholas glanced at Selena. "Yes, I am."

Selena facepalmed. "This isn’t a movie. A costume like this will easily give out your information, and it could potentially risk your security. The association won’t be able to help you if you go out sharing your information with the entire world!"

"I have to agree with Supervisor Selena on that. If you work with that, they’ll tell who you are quickly." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Nicholas shifted his gaze to the two of them, weighing their words. ’I can easily kill anyone who is a potential threat. But if I agree with their request, then I won’t have to kill many people, I guess.’

"If you like your fit, you don’t have to change it. I’ll only have to change the shades to something that can cover a better part of your face," Dana said calmly.

"A mask? He’d look like a clown if he wore a mask with that," Selena scoffed.

"I doubt it. His good looks can buy him out of that, except you just want to keep admiring his face," Dana said with a teasing smile.

Selena quickly turned pink with embarrassment. "Shut up! There is nothing to admire about this brat!"

"I could say the same for you," Nicholas added casually.

Selena shot him a glare, while Dana burst out in loud laughter.

"Good news though, it’s not a mask. The association has been working on a new device. I’m sure it’ll suit him perfectly and also help him out for his first mission."

Nicholas turned his gaze to Dana, raising a curious brow.

Dana pulled out the device from under the counter. "I knew this would come in handy. X Glasses. They come with a modified AI assistant with access to most of the association’s information, so it can give you information on your enemies and also have some other features. It’s still in the works, this is a prototype, so you’ll be the first testing this. If you notice anything, you can let me know so I’ll inform the team," Dana said excitedly as she pulled out the X Glasses.

’The technology in this world also seems to be quite advanced,’ Nicholas thought in genuine surprise as he took the X Glasses. He was certain that if this existed in his previous world, he would’ve made sure to get one for himself.

They looked like VR sets, thinner in width but longer in length, covering up to half his face.

"Looks perfect on you! Right, Supervisor Selena?" Dana beamed, turning to Selena for support.

"At least no one can tell who he is easily," Selena said calmly, crossing her hands over her chest. "Let’s get going, if that’s all."

"Oh no no no, that’s not all. He hasn’t taken any of his weapons yet," Dana cut in, shifting her gaze to Nicholas. "Since we can’t give you all of them now, you can pick the ones that are of most importance to you right now. But the price should be limited to $100k."

Nicholas raised a brow. "The association can’t give me all the weapons, but can hand me glasses worth $300k for testing and allow me to pick weapons worth $100k? Doesn’t sound too far off. I believe explaining that I was expected to complete some tasks before you’d invest much in me would’ve been a more appropriate way to approach this."

"How did you know the worth of the glasses?" Dana asked with a wry smile.

"I asked the AI assistant," Nicholas shrugged.

"Tsk. Well, you’re a sharp one as expected," she complimented with a chuckle. "The higher-ups don’t like wasting funds, so they had to see if you’re worth the investment. I was allowed to give the prototype to anyone, it just so happened that you needed it."

Selena stood dazed by the side. "They even considered giving him that much?!"

’It’s only been a day since this brat joined the association. 120k as a welcome bonus, 300k glasses, and even a possible chance of getting an arsenal worth 500k? I should request an increase in salary, because what is all this?’ Selena knew the root of all her frustration with Nicholas. It was the fact that he was pulling in so much more money than she did in just a day of working with the association, despite the fact that she’d worked with them for years.

"Well, the costume funds are highly underused, many people don’t ask for much. Nicholas hit us as a surprise," Dana chuckled, turning to Nicholas. "You don’t have all day for the first mission. Pick your weapon so you can get to work."

’Classic government scam,’ Nicholas let out a sigh as he walked up to the counter to select the weapons he would be carrying with him for the first mission. ’Mafias... I think I know the best tools for that group,’ Nicholas thought as a cold smile cut across his face.

---

Standing elegantly on top of a tall skyscraper, cape moving under the wind, staring down at the streets bustling with activity.

A lady with a white costume hugging her voluptuous figure, with a large golden stripe forming a V over her chest.

"Vixen reporting, I’m at the red district where the brothel is located. Should I proceed with the mission?" She spoke into the telecom attached to the hood of her cape.

"Vixen, why are you in a rush? Wait! We’ve contacted the reporters so they can have you on screen when you’re in action, that way we can have the fans watching," the old grumpy voice came from the speaker.

"But these girls are being treated wrongly! We have—"

"Vixen, who gives the orders?"

Vixen bit her lips. "Councillor Richard."

"Good, the councillor wants you to wait for the media."

"Understood."

"I hope you do. With the information we received, this will put you in the spotlight for a while longer. So don’t screw it up, acting hero now won’t benefit any of us, hmph," the voice scoffed.

Vixen stared down at the building below her, gritting her teeth, her hands curling into tight fists.