Chapter 51: Chapter 51 100+ Missed Calls

Liam knew he wasn’t going to make it to Amanda’s home.

Hell, at this rate, he wasn’t even sure if he’d make it anywhere.

His vision was already darkening at the edges, his breathing shallow, each inhale feeling like fire was burning through his chest. Even keeping his hands steady on the steering wheel was a struggle, his fingers trembling as he forced himself to focus on the road ahead.

And then—

BEEP!

A sharp, electronic sound rang through his skull, making him flinch.

The system interface flashed in the corner of his vision, hovering just above the dashboard like a holographic screen only he could see.

[CRITICAL HEALTH]

Liam gritted his teeth, cursing under his breath. He didn’t need some goddamn system to tell him he was dying—he could feel it. The blood loss, the pain, the sheer exhaustion pulling him down like chains.

But then—

Something changed.

The interface zoomed in.

Not just any part of it.

His EXP bar.

It suddenly expanded, growing larger in his vision as if the system itself was trying to point him toward it.

Liam’s blurry gaze locked onto the display, barely able to keep his eyes open as he struggled to keep driving.

[EXP: 100/100]

It was blinking.

Full.

And right next to it—

A button.

[LEVEL UP]

His mind barely processed it, his thoughts sluggish, his body running on nothing but sheer willpower. But something deep inside him told him—

Do it.

Before he could think twice, he focused on the button—

And clicked it.

The moment he did—

Agony.

A pain so intense that it obliterated everything else.

It wasn’t just his wounds. It wasn’t just the exhaustion.

It was something deeper.

Something inside him.

As if his very cells were being torn apart and rebuilt at the same time.

His vision snapped into darkness.

His body convulsed.

His muscles locked up.

His hands ripped away from the steering wheel.

And then—

The car veered off the road.

He barely registered it as his body went limp, his mind completely overwhelmed by the sensation ripping through him.

The tires screeched.

The vehicle skidded violently, taking random, uncontrollable turns as it sped off the road, hurtling toward the side of a ditch.

And then—

CRASH.

The impact slammed through his body, the car flipping over once—twice—before it rolled violently down the embankment, metal crunching, glass shattering, the world spinning in chaos around him.

The seatbelt dug into his chest.

The airbag exploded outward, slamming into his face with brutal force.

And then—

Stillness.

Silence.

Darkness.

But Liam wasn’t even there to notice.

Because right now—

He was in a different place.

A place where there was no car.

No road.

No sky.

No anything.

There was only—

Pain.

An unimaginable, indescribable pain.

It wasn’t physical.

It wasn’t something that could be touched.

It was something deeper.

Something inside him.

Like his very existence was being rewritten.

Like he was being reborn.

—

Hours Later…

“Hey, man… are you alright?”

Liam’s eyes snapped open.

His head pounded, a sharp migraine pressing against his skull as his vision slowly came into focus. Sunlight poured through the shattered windows of the overturned car, casting long shadows over the crushed interior.

For a moment, he was disoriented.

Then, as his senses caught up, he realized—

He was still alive.

He blinked, his thoughts sluggish, his body feeling strange—not exactly weak, but… different.

Slowly, he reached up, shoving the deflated airbag out of his face. His fingers fumbled for the seatbelt, his movements stiff as he unclasped it.

The moment it came undone—

He fell.

A sharp grunt left his lips as his body hit the crushed ceiling of the car—now the floor due to how the vehicle had flipped.

Pain shot through his limbs, but—

Something was wrong.

Not in a bad way.

But in a way that made no sense.

His wounds—

His gunshot wounds.

They didn’t hurt.

He could still feel them. He could still see the blood-soaked fabric where the bullets had lodged themselves in his body.

But the pain?

It was just… gone.

His heartbeat quickened.

What the hell?

His breath came faster as he crawled toward the opening, his arms straining as he dragged himself out of the wreckage.

And when he finally pulled himself free—

His eyes went wide.

The car.

The state of it.

It was completely totaled.

A mangled, crumpled mess of metal and shattered glass, barely even recognizable as a vehicle anymore.

Liam just stared, his mind struggling to process the fact that he had just survived something that should have killed him instantly.

“How the fuck am I still breathing…?” he muttered under his breath, his hands slightly trembling as he pushed himself up.

A voice snapped him out of his daze.

“You sure you’re okay, son?”

Liam turned.

It was an old man.

Dressed in worn-out work clothes, a tattered hat shading his weathered face. He had a shovel slung over one shoulder, his gaze filled with concern as he looked Liam up and down.

“I was headin’ to my farm when I saw your car down here,” the man continued, stepping closer. “Figured I’d come check if whoever was inside was still—well… alive.”

Liam exhaled sharply.

He could already hear multiple dings from the system interface, notifications flooding his mind, but right now—

That wasn’t his priority.

He needed to move.

He turned to the old man, giving him a short nod.

“Thanks,” he said, his voice rough, his throat dry.

And then—

Without another word—

He started walking away.

****

After about thirty minutes of walking he reached home.

He didn’t take the front door.

Hell no.

In the state he was in, walking into his house like a normal person would’ve been suicide.

Bloodstained clothes. Ripped fabric. The faintest scent of gunpowder still clinging to his skin. His entire body looked like it had been through a goddamn war.

And in a way, it had.

He slipped through the back, keeping low, making sure no one saw him. His breathing was controlled, his movements silent, every muscle in his body trained for one thing—

Don’t get caught.

With practiced ease, he made his way to the back door, sliding inside without a sound. The house was quiet. Dark. The way he left it.

Good.

Still, he didn’t waste time.

He climbed the stairs, his legs moving faster now, his mind racing as he entered his room, shutting the door behind him.

Then, without hesitation, he moved to the mirror.

The moment he reached it, he gripped the edges of his shirt and ripped it off.

His breath hitched.

There were holes.

Not just in his shirt.

But in him.

His fingers traced the wounds, his skin still slick with dried blood. There was one near his stomach, the bullet still lodged inside. Another on his shoulder, but that one had gone straight through, leaving only a hollow hole behind.

His heart was pounding, but not from fear.

From curiosity.

How the hell was he still standing?

His hands tightened into fists.

Only one way to find out.

Without hesitation, he took a deep breath—

And jammed his fingers into his stomach wound.

Pain flared instantly, but it wasn’t the unbearable, paralyzing kind. It was dull. Manageable. As if his nerves weren’t registering it properly.

His fingers brushed against something hard.

The bullet.

With a single, sharp motion—

He yanked it out.

His body tensed, a sharp hiss escaping his lips, but the moment the bullet left his skin, something insane happened.

The wound began closing.

Not instantly.

Not like some magic healing bullshit.

But fast enough to be unnatural.

Liam just stared.

His mind racing, his breath uneven.

Then he moved on to his shoulder wound.

But there was nothing to pull out. The bullet had already passed through. Only a hole remained.

And yet—

No pain.

No weakness.

His hands trembled slightly as he turned his gaze back to the mirror, his eyes scanning his body for anything else that might be different.

That’s when he noticed it.

His muscles.

They were… bigger.

Not by much.

Not by anything a normal person would notice.

But he noticed.

His arms looked more defined. His shoulders broader. His torso leaner.

And his face?

It was sharper. More mature.

Liam took a step closer, running a hand over his jaw.

“…Did I get taller?” he muttered to himself, blinking in mild disbelief.

But before he could even begin to process what was happening, his vision flickered.

A ding echoed in his head.

Then—

[SYSTEM MESSAGE INCOMING]

His body froze.

A second later, a transparent blue screen materialized in front of him.

—

[CONGRATULATIONS!]

[YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!]

[CURRENT LEVEL: 2]

—

Liam exhaled sharply.

So it was real.

The level-up. The increase in power. It wasn’t his imagination.

His eyes shifted lower, reading the next line.

—

[EXP: 0/1000]

—

That was different.

It took 100 EXP to hit level 2—but now, the bar needed 1,000.

The system wasn’t going to make this easy.

His gaze darkened slightly.

But that wasn’t what really caught his attention.

It was the realization that came right after.

“…Wait a minute.”

The EXP bar…

It had filled when he killed someone.

Which meant—

The system rewards me… for killing people?

His lips slowly curled into a smirk.

“…That’s pretty fucking cool.”

Another ding.

A new screen popped up.

—

[LIAM CARTER – STATS]

Strength: 24/1000

Agility: 22/1000

Endurance: 18/1000

Charm: 16/1000

Intelligence: 18/1000

—

Liam’s brows shot up.

His stats had doubled.

Every. Single. One.

He clenched his fist, feeling the difference in his own body.

Before?

He had been strong.

Now?

He was something else entirely.

If he went up against Khan again—

He’d win.

No doubt in his mind.

Another ding.

A new line appeared beneath his stats.

—

[GUN MASTERY – LEVEL 1]

—

Liam blinked.

Gun mastery?

There was even a progress bar underneath it.

Which meant—

I can level this up too.

A low chuckle escaped his lips.

This system just kept getting better and better.

But it didn’t stop there.

Another section appeared below Gun Mastery.

—

[SKILL POINTS: 2]

[Skill Points can be freely assigned to any stat.]

—

Liam licked his lips.

“Beautiful.”

The possibilities were endless.

For the first time since this whole insane day started—

He actually felt excited.

But just as he was about to dig deeper into the system—

His phone vibrated.

His brows furrowed as he pulled it from his pocket—

Only to realize—

It was fucked.

The screen was cracked to hell, the edges chipped, a long, deep fracture running through the middle.

It looked like it had been through the same crash he had.

Which, technically, it had.

Liam frowned, tilting the device slightly to see if it still worked.

To his surprise, the screen lit up.

But the moment it did—

His eyes widened.

Over 100 missed calls.

His heart skipped a beat.

“What the fuck…?”

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