Free Web NovelChapter 16: Ch 16: Veritas: The Jester Of Terror and Truth
I can’t believe 700 Power stones were achieved this quick. Here’s your bonus!
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After Luke’s escape, the police swarmed the Daily Bugle building.
Now, the rescue was completed. The last of the hostages had been escorted out, shaken but alive.
Captain George Stacy stood on the twelfth floor with Officer Jefferson Davis and a handful of trusted personnel. Six people total.
The bomb squad technician, Mike, pulled off his helmet and stood up from after examining the device.
"Yes, this bomb was fake," Mike confirmed.
Captain Stacy nodded grimly. "Suspected as much. Good job, Mike. Keep it to yourself, though. Orders from above."
Davis looked confused. "We’re keeping it from the public, sir?"
"We have to, Davis. For public safety." Stacy’s jaw tightened. "You saw the stream? Saw how people reacted?"
Davis nodded slowly. "Yes, sir. I couldn’t believe it. Public opinion is actually divided. Some people supported some of his action. Said he was... speaking truth. Saved Mathew..."
"Exactly." Stacy turned to face the room. "This guy is a madman. You know it, I know it. But some fools don’t. If we announce that both his attacks used fake bombs, those fools will only cheer louder. And what’s worse—" he paused, letting the weight settle, "The madman has access to high-yield explosives. He used two today just for show. Next time, the bomb for the hostages might be real."
He looked directly at Joe, a young officer who had a reputation for pillow talk. "You got that, Joe? You’re not telling your wife, not even after sex."
Joe’s face went crimson. "Y-yes, sir. I wasn’t going to."
"You’d better not."
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Three hours after his exit from the Daily Bugle, Luke finally crawled back to his sanctuary: a dusty, abandoned garage on the edge of the city.
Even though his phone’s anti-surveillance mode was basically a "cheat" against any kind of digital tracking, Luke wasn’t taking any chances.
He had spent the last few hours playing the world’s worst game of hide-and-seek, trekking through dark alleys, highway tunnels, and a couple of underground sewage lines that smelled exactly how you’d imagine.
"If the Gwen or cops don’t kill me, the smell of New York’s plumbing definitely will," he wheezed, finally sliding the heavy garage door shut. "Man, I want teleportation."
Once he was sure he was safe, he peeled off his sweat-soaked hood and the surgical mask. He caught a glimpse of himself in a cracked mirror and winced.
His jaw was a lovely shade of dark purple, and his ribs and back had multiple large bruises.
"Gwen Stacy has heavy hands," he muttered.
If she heard this, she’d beat him more.
He collapsed flat onto the damaged, dusty mattress. He had clean sheets for cover, but he didn’t wanna get up.
He was beyond exhausted. Between the fight, the explosions, and the fact that he hadn’t slept in over twenty hours, his brain felt like mashed potatoes.
He wanted to go the comfort of his home, the Dunphy house, but he couldn’t... the bruises looked ugly and suspicious.
"I need healing factor... or some good air conditioning," he grumbled, wiping sweat from his forehead. "It’s like a furnace in here."
His eyelids were drooping, heavier than lead. He just wanted to pass out and sleep for 10 hours. But before his brain shut down completely, he had to satisfy the curiosity.
How much Terror Points (TP) had he actually raked in from the stream and donations?
With a lazy flick of his finger, he willed the floating system phone to hover right in front of his face.
He opened the T-Stream app, the bright screen making him squint.
[Quest: Live Terror Stream]
Objective: Conduct a live-streamed terror operation using the Start Stream feature within any commercial or public facility.
Conditions:
— 20+ minutes duration
— 10+ hostages
Achieved:
— 21.6 minutes duration
— 13 hostages
— (Bonus) Engage in battle with a superpowered individual.
[Status: Accomplished successfully.]
Luke let out a tired, goofy grin.
He scrolled down to the juicy part. The bonus rewards.
[-------------------------------------------------------------------------]
— Exceeded total duration by 1+ minutes — Bonus +2 TP awarded.
— Exceeded hostage count by 3 — Bonus +13 TP awarded.
Available Rewards:
— Terror Shop Gacha (Rare Guarantee)
— +100 Base TP
— +100 Battle Bonus TP
— +15 Overachievement TP
[Accept Rewards] [Reject Rewards]
[-------------------------------------------------------------------------]
He hit the [Accept Rewards] button without a second thought.
The Gacha voucher was instantly stored in the shop tab, and a little coin animation played on the screen as his newly earned TP was deposited into his dashboard.
He clicked over to his profile to check his shiny new stats.
[---------------------------------]
Username: Luke Dunphy
Terrorist Rank: 4,988,232 -> 4,932,441
Power Level: D-
Achievements: New Recruit
Total Terror Points: 255
[---------------------------------]
[Next Quest Wait Time: 20 Hours 11 minutes]
[---------------------------------]
Latest Stream Stats - Patron Section:
Max Viewers: 13
Total Duration: 20.6 min
Total Hostages: 13
Comments: 18 | Likes: 5 | TP Donations: 38 freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
[---------------------------------]
"Nice," Luke smiled, his eyes barely open now. "Viewership went up, and I got 38 TP just from donations. I’m practically an influencer now."
He clicked on the view comments tab.
He regretted it...
[Ark_D_Lucifer: bro taking advantage during the fight... Lucky you]
[Ark_D_Lucifer: very romantic but in a dangerous way...]
[ SHADOW_REAPER: Now kiss. ]
[ChickenInPain: hawt ]
Luke swore he had no dirty thoughts like that while fighting, but reading these comments, he blushed nonetheless.
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Meanwhile, less than six hours after the attack, the media machine was already running at full throttle.
Channel 7 had assembled a panel.
The anchor addressed the camera.
"We have with us tonight a victim of his first attack at the convenience store three weeks ago: Miss Cassie Adams. We’re also joined by Dr. Frank Abagnale, head psychologist at Medanta, to help us understand the mind of the masked psychopath."
The camera panned.
Cassie Adams sat with her hands folded in her lap. The dark circles that had always haunted her eyes before and during the attack were gone. Her skin had color. She looked... healthy. Alive.
Dr. Frank Abagnale, a distinguished man with silver-rimmed glasses, gave the camera a curt nod.
The anchor leaned forward. "Miss Adams, let’s start with you. You watched today’s stream. When you saw that man what went through your mind?"
Cassie took a slow breath.
"I felt angry," Cassie said, "He holds you at gunpoint and forces you to hear truths you don’t want to hear. I hate him for what he did to Matthew and to me. But honestly? Some part of me is grateful. And I hate that I feel that way."
She let out a shaky breath. "I quit my job the very next day. I feel healthy, happy, and alive ever since. It’s shameful to say, but when I asked my manager for a single day off to recover from the attack, he started yelling at me. Screaming. Over the phone. And I realized... this guy was right. The terrorist in the clown mask was right about my life. How messed up is that?"
"To anyone out there struggling, work for yourself. Not your stupid, soul-sucking mana—" freёweɓnovel.com
"Thank you, Miss Adams," the anchor cut in smoothly, "Powerful words"
The anchor turned to Dr. Abagnale. "Doctor, from your professional perspective, what kind of criminal mindset are we dealing with?"
Abagnale leaned forward, "We are witnessing a highly intelligent narcissist who craves an audience above all else. He doesn’t just want to commit crimes; he wants to be seen. These ’honest conversations’ aren’t a gimmick, they are his genuine, twisted motivation. He feels ignored by the world and is forcing us all to look at him."
"And his effect on the hostages?" the anchor prompted.
"Extreme," the doctor said gravely. "He uses intimate secrets to shatter their defenses. Online people are already calling him Veritas—the Devil Jester of Truth. It’s a fitting name for a predator who uses the truth like a scalpel."
"What about Spider-Woman?" the anchor asked. "Will his manipulation work on her?"
"Veritas can do anything he wants," Abagnale conceded, "but she won’t budge. Her will is made of steel."
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