[Trud's Smartphone Messages]
Trud: We're going to my girlfriend's vacation trip tomorrow. We're leaving at midnight to get there before sunrise, so don't be fucking late.
Herry: Whatever you say, big boss.
Francis: Are we bringing the meds, big boss?
Trud: Don't forget them—like what happened today. I'm gonna fuck my girlfriend tomorrow, whether she likes it or not.
Henry: Then I'm bringing enough for three.
Francis: Let's get all three of them, your girlfriend and her friends, high and fuck them.
---
With the reward from Quest 5—Trud's Archive Update—Jeff was able to view Trud's plan involving Jess through the holographic screen of the Returner Fantasy System.
Things had changed from what Jeff remembered in his timeline before his regression.
In his past, Jeff didn't notice Jess showing any signs of not being herself. She might've started acting awkward after the first day of their vacation—when Trud dragged her away from the beach—but it wasn't like she was high or drugged.
But now, Trud was planning to drug Jess just so he could have sex with her. And that's something Jeff considered unforgivable.
"That shit bastard's gonna wish he were dead tomorrow."
"Shit bastard?"
"Who?"
Jeff couldn't explain to Kris and Marc how he knew about Trud's plan. He was asking for their help, yet all he could explain was what he wanted to do—not the reason behind it.
Even if Jeff had authority as one of the Ironrod Champions, the decision to mobilize the Ironrod Legion—of which Kris and Marc were members—still needed to be judged by both of them to see if it was truly worthy of their pledge.
"You want a reason? It's to save Jess, of course!"
—"Fine! Let's beat the shit out of whoever that bastard is!"—
---
The next morning, just before sunrise, Jeff, along with Kris and Marc, waited at the hotel parking lot for their target.
Kris and Marc had agreed to Jeff's ridiculous plan. It was so over-the-top that neither of them would've dared do it alone—but since there were three of them, so be it.
With items they bought from a nearby convenience store, supplies from their service bus, and things they already had, the three prepared themselves.
At Jeff's signal—upon spotting Trud's new luxury sports car, identified using information from Trud's Archive—the trio made their move.
Trud, along with Henry and Francis, arrived at the hotel parking lot.
It was still before sunrise, and everyone taking early morning walks was on the beach, on the opposite side of the parking lot.
Which meant there was no one around the hotel parking lot.
Except for three topless guys wearing only black swim trunks and improvised black shirt masks, who quickly surrounded Trud's luxury sports car just as he parked.
—"What the fuck!"—
—BAMMM!!!—
Before Trud, Henry, or Francis could process what was happening, the masked topless guy in front—Jeff—smashed the front of Trud's car with a sledgehammer.
Then Kris, on the left, smashed the door handles with a fireman's axe, and Marc, on the right, used a metal baseball bat to do the same.
Jeff, Kris, and Marc had found these emergency tools on their service bus—equipment their instructor had stocked as a joke, in case something ridiculous, like a zombie attack, happened during their vacation trip.
By destroying the car's door levers, they trapped Trud, Henry, and Francis inside.
Trud frantically tried to start the car to escape, but before he could, he saw the masked guy in front pour gasoline onto the broken engine hood.
Jeff held up a lighter.
Trud instantly recognized it was real gasoline, and his hand shook at the sight of the flame.
"Fucking bastard!"
Gaining a flash of courage, Trud reached for the pistol hidden behind the driver's seat and pointed it at the masked man—Jeff.
However—
"Stop, big boss!"
"Don't do it!"
Henry and Francis immediately stopped him—not because they feared committing murder, but because they didn't want to die.
Jeff, Kris, and Marc had anticipated Trud might have a gun. That's why they created a situation where he couldn't use it.
Kris had pried open the gas tank and now held the ignited lighter dangerously close to it.
The message was clear: Try anything, and we all go up in flames.
Henry and Francis froze. Even Trud got the message. He dropped the gun.
Seeing Trud unarmed, Jeff smashed the car window with the sledgehammer, grabbed Trud, and dragged him out.
—Thud!—
"Argh!"
Jeff threw him onto the concrete, then handed the sledgehammer to Kris, challenging Trud to a fistfight. Or so Trud thought.
"You're gonna pay for what you did, bastard!" Trud snarled, standing up and getting into a stance.
He was 170 cm tall—around Jess's height—and although Jeff was 190 cm, Trud was confident in his muscular build and fighting skills.
But Jeff wasn't exactly lacking in muscles or combat ability either.
"You should've kept the sledgehammer, idiot!" Trud shouted, charging at Jeff.
Jeff knew he'd have the advantage if he used a weapon—but he wouldn't be satisfied unless he beat Trud with his own hands.
Besides, Jeff never said this was going to be a fair fight.
As Trud charged, Jeff raised his leg and kicked him straight in the balls.
"Ugh!"
"Big boss!"
Henry and Francis stayed inside the car, watching Trud fall to his knees, clutching his shattered pride.
They wanted to help, but not without knowing how much Trud would pay them.
"Bastard…"
While Trud knelt groaning, Jeff grabbed his head and kept slamming his face into the car door.
—BAMMM!—
Jeff continued kicking Trud's groin while Kris and Marc kept threatening Henry and Francis: one wrong move, and the car goes up in flames.
By the time Trud was writhing on the ground, crying from the pain, Jeff reached for the sledgehammer once more.
But Kris refused to hand it over, noticing the murderous look in Jeff's eyes.
"You're better than that shit bastard, Jeff," Kris said, worried Jeff was about to do something irreversible.
"Right. It's not like you can't think of a plan that won't get you jailed for life," Marc added—half joking, half serious.
Not quite the follow-up Kris expected, but it worked. Jeff began to calm down.
And then—a police siren blared in the distance, rapidly approaching.
Jeff, Kris, and Marc immediately made their escape, while Henry and Francis exited the car and tried to wave down the police.
Two officers got out and approached them. But instead of offering help, the officers handcuffed them and started searching their pockets.
"This one's got the drugs, Senpai!"
"I see... You three are under arrest for possession of illegal sex drugs."
—"What the fuck?!"—
"You have the right to—"
"—Get fucked up in jail."