Chapter 16: The Third SSR Card
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Stu Shepard was a publicist and middleman in the American entertainment industry, specializing in hyping up celebrities and liaising with media and magazines. His greatest skill was getting something for nothing—spinning elaborate lies to navigate between stars and the press. He was also known for cheating on his wife with young actresses.
But this time, he faced retribution.
Trapped inside a phone booth, a stranger with a sniper rifle aimed at him forced Stu to confess his infidelities to his wife and admit to the public that he was a fraud—or else face death.
Sweat poured down Stu’s face as the voice on the other end of the line spoke: “Do you know about that German pervert who was killed on 38th Street ten days ago? He fancied himself an artist but refused to admit his copper obsession. Believe me, he had plenty of chances to escape this fate—if only he had confessed everything to the public. He didn’t, so I killed him.”
A blatant threat.
The voice then mentioned another victim, a stockbroker who manipulated the market by dumping shares at their peak, causing a crash that trapped countless retail investors.
“If he had just repented and shared the money, maybe things would have turned out differently,” the killer said.
The previous sniper shootings were all his doing.
This was an extremist, arrogant killer who employed extreme measures to punish others, forcing strangers to expose their darkest secrets under the threat of death.
Yet he was undeniably clever—skilled at concealment and strategy. In the original story, he fooled everyone, even boldly showing off in front of his victims before calmly slipping away under the police’s nose, hiding his “glory and name.”
...
Luca stood with Matilda at the edge of the crowd, watching the commotion.
Too far to hear the conversation, they could only see Stu’s terrified, tense face.
“So many cops...” Matilda scanned the scene. “Luca, I see Officer Mills.”
She pointed to David Mills standing beside a police car.
Matilda had seen him at the scene when her father was killed.
Luca was surprised Mills was involved in this case. He also noticed William Somerset by the patrol car.
Besides those two, Luca even spotted Richie Roberts.
And another nearly bald white cop—John McClane.
This was a legendary, five-skill, SSR super rare card!
[Character Card: John McClane]
[John: SSR]
[Origin: Die Hard series]
[Skills: Bad Luck, Vent Shaft Assault, Barefoot Warrior, Die Hard, Heroism]
[Bond: Stranger]
Seeing these familiar faces, Luca exclaimed, “Wow!”
Just a small sniper case and all these rare cards come out?
Who is this killer to dare face you all without fear of being beaten to a pulp?
Come to think of it, the New York Police Department really is full of talent.
Especially John McClane’s SSR card—just from the skill ‘Bad Luck’ alone, you know this guy isn’t ordinary.
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This guy was like a “Conan” magnet for disaster—wherever he went, chaos followed. When he visited his wife in Los Angeles, a robbery turned into a building explosion; at Washington airport, he encountered a terrorist attack that blew up a plane.
The kicker was none of these incidents were his fault. The criminals had no connection to him—it was pure coincidence. But as a cop, he couldn’t turn a blind eye.
Even his wife complained about how misfortune always seemed to follow them.
Luca finally understood how the ‘Bad Luck’ skill worked.
That skill... even if Luca jumped off the Empire State Building and died, he wouldn’t learn that cursed skill.
But the other skills looked promising; after all, it was an SSR card with multiple skills. Aside from ‘Bad Luck,’ there were four more.
This was a friend worth making.
But before engaging, Luca wanted to learn a skill.
Currently, Luca and Matilda’s bond had reached ‘Close Friend,’ allowing them to learn ‘Resourceful Hands’ and ‘Harmless Disguise.’
The former boosts assassin skill learning efficiency; the latter reduces the target’s alertness.
After some thought, Luca chose the second.
‘Harmless Disguise’ had broader application. When approaching a target, it reduced their vigilance—perfect for making friends. Coupled with ‘Shameless Rogue,’ dealing with cops would be much easier.
[Use 50 skill shards to acquire “Harmless Disguise”?]
[Yes/No]
Yes!
[Exchange successful. Skill added.]
[Harmless Disguise: Disguise as a harmless character (student, delivery worker, etc.) when approaching the target, reducing target’s alertness by 20%.]
[Remaining skill shards: 14]
New skill acquired.
...
Meanwhile, several officers gathered, consulting with other cops and superiors on countermeasures.
William, the veteran detective, approached from the phone booth holding a megaphone. “We can almost certainly confirm Stu is under threat. The person on the other end of the call is the true mastermind!”
David said excitedly, “Somerset, is this related to the previous sniper attacks? Apart from the Bronx drug dealer, the other two shootings happened near Times Square. The victims were all on the phone when they died. There’s definitely a connection to today’s case!”
“Most likely,” William nodded. “Let’s focus on handling this case first... Get the tech team here—I want to know who Stu is talking to.”
“We can trace it, but only with a warrant,” Richie Roberts insisted, sticking to rules and procedures.
David’s temper flared. “To hell with that! We can’t just give up over technicalities.”
He was the kind of cop who would kick down doors and conduct searches without a warrant.
William said, “Listen, tracking the phone’s location isn’t illegal, right?”
“As long as we don’t listen to the call content,” said John McClane, exasperated.
He had come to Times Square just to buy a gift and visit his child—his marriage was in ruins, and he’d lost custody. He wanted to make things right.
But no sooner had he arrived than a murder occurred.
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Why was he so unlucky? Trouble followed him everywhere.
McClane was annoyed—every time he showed up, chaos happened.
He just wanted the damn killer caught so he could get some rest.
Soon, the tech team arrived and began tracing the signal from a nearby telecom box, trying to pinpoint the shooter’s location.
However, the killer had already installed encryption devices.
It couldn’t be cracked quickly.
Even the highly skilled cops found themselves helpless.
The killer didn’t show himself; the only clue was the phone’s location, but it couldn’t be decrypted in time.
“We can’t track or listen in on their calls for now—the lines are encrypted,” Richie brought bad news. “The techs need more time.”
“I knew something was off about this case,” William said, then looked at David. “Mills, have the SWAT checked the surrounding buildings?”
For the killer to snipe Stu, the distance couldn’t be far, and no obstacles should be in the way.
David pointed at the tall, densely packed skyscrapers. “Look at these towers the capitalists built. How can we possibly sweep them all quickly?”
“I’ll lead a team to search,” McClane volunteered eagerly.
The others felt a shiver—almost forgot McClane was here. Wherever this guy appeared, something big happened—either a building blew up or a plane exploded...
William thought a cautious approach best. “We should call for backup, bring officers from other districts. I have a feeling something major is about to occur.”
The others nodded, agreeing.
McClane muttered, “Damn it! Don’t look at me like that, guys. I’m just here to buy a gift, not cause this mess.”
Just then, a technician rushed over. “Sir, we’ve located the source—the call is coming from a room in the Buckley Hotel.”
The officers exchanged puzzled looks.
Wasn’t it impossible to trace so quickly just a moment ago?
William asked, “Do we have the room number?”
The technician replied, “604. The second window in the corner row. SWAT is preparing to move in!”
“Tell them to seal all doors, windows, emergency exits, and any possible escape routes!”
“Understood...” the technician added, “By the way, a helpful citizen just solved a technical problem for us—he helped us find the room number.”
The officers blinked in disbelief.
Wow! New York actually has helpful citizens?