Part-96

  James' blood ran cold. He couldn't believe the escation. Ign the groceries still clutched in his hand, he surged forward, adrenaline c through his veins. He reached the se just as the leader boy loomed over the fallen woman, his face torted with a mix of anger and fear.

  "Leave her alone!" James roared, his voice eg iunned silenbsp; He pced himself between the enraged boy and the vulnerable woman, his stance defensive. The System, ever vigint, silently calcuted his options, analyzing the boy's strength and potential moves.

  The leader boy, momentarily taken aback by James' sudden intervention, s him. "Who are you supposed to be, her bodyguard?" He spat, his eyes fshing with defiance.

  "Someone who doesn't tolerate bullies," James retorted, his voice surprisingly steady despite the ing in his stomabsp; He knew he wasn't physically strohan the group of boys, but he wouldn't back down. The memory of his past self, the one who had always avoided flict, flickered in his mind, but it was quickly overshadowed by a newfound sense of resolve. He wouldn't let these thugs intimidate him or anyone else.

  The situation hung in the banbsp; The leader boy, fueled by anger and humiliation, gred at James, his hand instinctively reag for something hidden in his pocket. The other boys, emboldened by their leader's defiance, shifted closer, their faces mirr his aggression.

  James, his gaze locked on the leader, braced himself for the possible frontation. He knew he might not win a straight-up brawl, but he wouldn't let them intimidate him. A part of him wondered if using Auto bat was the best option here. The situation wasn't life-threatening, and using the Crazy Mode in public could lead to unwatentio to know full extant of it's viont nature.

  The leader boy, nostrils fring, shoved his face right into James' personal spabsp; "Get lost," he growled, his breath reeking of cheap dy and something vaguely sour. "This doesn't you. You wan destroyed?"

  James held his ground, the stench of the boy doing little to deter him. He met the boy's gaze head-on, a newfouermination hardening his features. "This s everyone who believes in doing what's right," he tered. "Now, you either leave these people alone or face the sequences."

  The leader boy scoffed, a harsh ugh erupting from his throat. "sequences?" he repeated, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He gnced back at his buddies, a shared amusement flickeriween them. "What are you gonna do, huh? This little runt?" he sneered, gesturing dismissively towards James.

  Before James could retort, the leader lunged forward, throwing a powerful punch aimed at James' fabsp; However, the days of releraining, the lessons in awareness and anticipation, paid off in that split sed. James, with a practiced movement honed from tless throws and dodges, dipped his head uhe swinging fist. The punch whistled past his ear, the force of it creating a small gust of wind that ruffled his hair.